I need your help Guys!

[Durwyn]

Codexians,

I would like to ask you to help my GF, who's working on her master's degree work on the subject of glamorization and celebritization of murderers, killers and such, by answering several questions connected with video games.

Questions:

1. What was the most appalling game you have ever played? Did it involve killing humans?
   
   
2. During the gameplay are you aware of the fact that you are performing an act of killing or is it an automatic action?
   
   
3. Does it evoke any feelings in you? If yes, what kind? (relief after a stressful day, satisfaction etc.).
   
   
4. Did gaming immunize you to the view of death and blood?
   
   
5. How gaming influences your view on murder? Is it less horrifying/appalling?
   
   
6. If you had an ability to choose one game character and to have its powers, which one would it be? Why?

Honesty much appreciated !

 

[mastroego]

Well ok, I'll play along.
Honest answers, no sarcasm.

1. Can't say. Only pixels are slain anyway.

2. It's a game. And pixels do dumb things all the time, reminding you they're just pixels.

3. Depends on the game. Can be relaxing, can be frustrating, can be a lot of things.

4. No. Probably movies and news did (more realism in the former, more reality in the latter).

5. No change (appalling btw, though I do think some people deserve to be destroyed).

6. My char on BG2. He had Chain Contingency.

 

[Turisas]

Is she going with the same old "Video games turn people into killers!" angle? Because fuck her master's degree if so.

 

[pippin]

1) If we understand "appaling" in terms of violence, then Manhunt. Yes, you must kill people. Lots of people.
2) Yes, I am aware that I am killing people. In the case of Manhunt, I didn't feel really OK with it. It was too excessive.
3) When it comes to Manhunt, it was kinda gross. I don't enjoy graphic games. I do like cartoonish violence and slapstick humor though.
4) No, not at all. I don't enjoy gratuituous depictions of torture. Even that scene in NV, when you're supposed to hit a prisoner of war, made me somewhat uncomfortable.
5) It doesn't, to be honest. Violence is bad. I'm not going to kill anybody. It's just a pastime, between me and my computer.
6) I'd rather be Guybrush Threepwood than the average Gears of War-like dude.

I don't like violence in videogames when it's presented as the main feature of the game. I do enjoy violent games, but most of the times that violence is just one of the aspects of the gameplay/story/setting and not the main goal of the game: think about Deus Ex and Thief, which encourage you to be non-violent, against the usual KILL ALL DUDES popamole. I even feel uncomfortable when you must kill "normal" animals in games, because of animal cruelty and stuff, but I'm not going to diss a whole game because of it. After all, we all played Doom and Mortal Kombat. It's like movies, I'll enjoy a movie that features violence but I wouldn't enjoy a torture porn movie.

 

[garren]

The second one is a loaded question, I'm not killing anyone, it's a game, sheesh. Or do you mean that am I aware that I just killed a character in the game world? Well, duh.

Also much depends on the game. When I play Space Invaders I don't really see myself "killing" the enemy, I just see units that I need to destroy to advance.

 

[Desktop Commander]

Codexians,

I would like to ask you to help my GF, who's working on her master's degree work on the subject of glamorization and celebritization of murderers, killers and such, by answering several questions connected with video games.

Questions:

1. What was the most appalling game you have ever played? Did it involve killing humans?
   
   
2. During the gameplay are you aware of the fact that you are performing an act of killing or is it an automatic action?
   
   
3. Does it evoke any feelings in you? If yes, what kind? (relief after a stressful day, satisfaction etc.).
   
   
4. Did gaming immunize you to the view of death and blood?
   
   
5. How gaming influences your view on murder? Is it less horrifying/appalling?
   
   
6. If you had an ability to choose one game character and to have its powers, which one would it be? Why?

Honesty much appreciated !

Honest piece of advice: Have her supervisor double-check her questions and/or have her read a book on properly conducting interviews, since these are the kind of (semi-open) questions that you'd typically ask in an interview situation.

- Questions 1, and 3 contain bias - remove the follow-up question of question 1 (let your respondents answer freely and don't bias them towards thinking about killing humans from the get go - skews results; Remove the examples from question 3 or make them less specific (or define 'feelings' with an example from a different context)).

- Clear up the referencing, e.g.; Does question 2 refer to the most appalling game from question 1 or games in general? What about respondents who don't play games with killing in them.

- Questions 2, 4, and 5 are suggestive questions and should be reformulated to allow the respondent to answer freely.

EDIT: +what garren said: Don't mix different categories.

 

[SuicideBunny]

1. What was the most appalling game you have ever played? Did it involve killing humans?
2. During the gameplay are you aware of the fact that you are performing an act of killing or is it an automatic action?
3. Does it evoke any feelings in you? If yes, what kind? (relief after a stressful day, satisfaction etc.).
4. Did gaming immunize you to the view of death and blood?
5. How gaming influences your view on murder? Is it less horrifying/appalling?
6. If you had an ability to choose one game character and to have its powers, which one would it be? Why?

ok, here's an honest answer:
1. not counting some shitty flash clickbait or obvious racist trash like ethnic cleansing, i'd have to say subversively racist rpgs like mass effect or anything with entire races of evil beings out to get you. no, i didn't have to kill any humans when playing mass effect. that would be illegal and immoral (see below).
2. neither. i am performing a gameplay action to reach a specific goal. those aren't human beings, and there are myriads of specific stimuli telling that to me: their skin doesn't look real or in most cases even remotely human, they move wrong, they don't tract properly to the ground or when interacting with the enviornment, player character making physical contact with them doesn't actually make physical contact with them, they don't have anything resembling individuality for the most part, they don't cry out in pain, crawling away from you or begging you not to hurt them or act in unpredictable ways to high stress situations like real humans would, most importantly i can't smell or touch them, and countless other shit. in short, they are about as close an approximation of a human being as a stick figure or a cardboard cutout, or even less, since those i can touch, and it's blatantly obvious on both a conscious and subconscious level to me.
3. killing characters ingame? not really. the general actions as such carry feelings with them, for example in games with action controls: frustration when the action i planned out to do fails, even more so when it does so repeatedly and i cannot exactly pinpoint why, joy when it does succeed, even more so when it was difficult to pull-off, tension during execution of any given non-trivial action. games with less direct controls tend to evoke those feelings to a lesser degree, but then i am driven by my desire to explore and see what interesting ideas the developers came up with. the only time i actually felt something about a character death in a game was in saints row 2, which i played on the pc and didn't know about the timing bug. there is a mission where you have to chase somebody after a funeral. the chase took me around 10 retries due to the timing bug, at which point i was friggin frustrated and really glad when i finally managed to pull it off and saw the sequence where he is killed (you don't actually do it yourself).
4. fuck no. but having to cook my own meals and handle raw meat myself (or not eat any) did to some degree.
5. i don't know. if it did influence my view, it must have been so subtle and slow that i didn't even notice it changing in the slightest, so i cannot honestly tell that i think it did influence me.
6. superman. because i would not need to sleep, eat, drink, or fear any disease, while also being able to use the equivalent of a bike dynamo to power all my gadgets by hand. plus being able to sculpt metal with my bare hands would be pretty neat.

 

[Goat Vomit]

Fug, misread and probably connected questions I shouldn't have. So damn tired. Let's try again.

1. I haven't played a game yet that I found appalling, I've got pretty thick skin.

2. Ehh, during what gameplay? Entirely depends on the context it is presented with in game and what game mechanics it uses.

3. Not really any in of itself, the results can provoke a reaction. Gibs are rather pleasing for some reason and ragdoll physics can make it entertaining. Also depends on gameplay context, if the enemy was a threat I might be relieved depending on the situation or if he drops something cool I'm happy about that.

4. Nope, TV and internet does that.

5. Nah, I don't think I'm all that influenced by fictional stuff when it comes to my views on murder and that sort of thing.

6. I'd like to have Vivec's powers. Knowing CHIM would be pretty useful. Not sure if that has anything to do with murder.

 

[Machocruz]

My answers my strike you as glib, but they are honest positions.

1. Perhaps the most glib answer, I only find bad design appalling. Not trying to be cute here. The things that would fall under the umbrella of "appalling," I apply different terms to. It's not whether something is extreme or graphic, but whether it is obvious, vulgar, immature, puerile, etc. So obvious stuff like the Postal games, Beat 'em and Eat 'em - trash, basically. In terms of brutality, Hotline Miami and Manhunt are the most raw, visceral, nihilistic that I can recall. Not appalled by them though.

2. Automatic action. I see games in terms of goals, systems, feedback. Never hesitated even once.

3. Satisfaction, either because of out playing the other person or CPU, or because the feedback is excellent. Right now I'm playing Hidden and Dangerous 2, and because of the sound of the guns and the recoil, combined with the lethality and challenge of the game, it feels very nice to pop moles and pull off tactics that result in much carnage.

4. No. My own worldview did so, anatomical study, not averting my eyes from such things happening before me. Not completely, but I just think there are realities to be accepted, and being in a state of upset, shock or worry hurts more than it helps. Fugue states and/or nausea are more unpleasant than actual pain to me. Though if my imagination takes a hold of something and makes it even more gruesome than it is, I will feel ill.

5. Murder is a violation of a person's right to exist and have; on the part of the murderer, it is the ultimate demonstration of greed and entitlement. No mere video game can alter this basic truth I've established for myself. Killing is an acceptable response to serious threat, though.

6. I don't know. Who is the best (non super powered) swordsman in video games?

 

[Jick Magger]

1. I'm going to assume by 'appalling' you mean it offended me on a moral level, or something closer to that tune. I feel as though the second half of the question is her (unconscious or otherwise) attempt at leading me to a specific answer that she wants, but I'm afraid there aren't many violent video games out there that've really appalled me that much (and I agree with Desktop here, you really should get her to have a professor or lecturer review these questions, if they haven't already). The most I've ever really been disgusted or otherwise frustrated with the content of a game is with Metroid: Other M, and it's character assassination of the protagonist, and her relationship with her commander which has extremely misogynistic overtones. The game does not really involve killing other people, though one of the bosses is a human saboteur who is trying to assassinate you (though he escapes and is never fought again).

2. Once again, feels like a bit of a loaded question here. If the game allows me to avoid killing NPC's, then I will generally trend towards avoiding killing them. If not, then I suppose I would call it an automatic process. These aren't people, I'm not killing actual human beings here, there is no murder taking place, and there won't be any families here in mourning. They are globs of pixels who are programmed and exist solely to try to stop me from getting from point A to point B. There is no negotiating with them, there is no third option here. Either I kill them, they kill me, or I stop playing.

3. Yes, I feel emotions when I accomplish something, even in video games. These emotions vary depending on the context. I felt like a piece of shit for killing, say, Great Wolf Sif and Gwyn in Dark Souls and The Boss in MGS3 because those moments are specifically designed to make me feel that way through atmosphere and tone, while I generally feel morbid satisfaction for running over pedestrians in the Grand Theft Auto games, primarily because they are overexaggerated, unlikable caricatures of American culture.

4. I wouldn't say so, no. I know to differentiate fantasy from reality. Real life violence and death tends to make me pretty squeamish.

5. ...No, the act of murder still disgusts me as much as ever. Don't really see how video games would change that. It would honestly be better if this question was re-worded to "The act of killing", as murder is a very specific form of killing and carries extreme negative connotations.

6. Don't really think I would. Think real-life superpowers would have much more downsides than there are upsides. Not to mention the whole "Great power, great responsibility" song-and-dance.

No means to offend, but is this the first time your GF's ever written interview questions? Because it really feels like it is. Since I major in Television, I regularly write interview questions for guests in our assignments, and questions like these would get me sent back to my computer for revision pretty quickly, as it feels as though she's trying to lead my to a specific mindset so that I give the answer that she wants. Though I admittedly do not know if the same logic for it applies for thesis research.

 

[toroid]

*rolls fifteen twenty-sided dice*

1. The Sims. I don't see how people play that crap, it's so sickly sweet and superficial. No, it did not involve "killing humans".

2. Are you asking about the game in the first question? It's The Sims. The player is unable to directly "kill" another in-game character in The Sims (at least as far as I'm able to say based on my limited experience with the game).

3. Does what evoke any feelings in me?

4. Ahh, finally another question that stands on its own that I'm able to answer. The answer is no; death and blood do not exist in games. The "violent" imagery present in games is fictitious and digital.

5. Gaming does not influence my view on murder, because games are games and killing is killing. They don't exactly share much in common.

6. Not a single one that I can think of off the top of my head. Though, maybe I could enjoy being the Kwisatz Haderach for a few weeks. I shouldn't have to explain why..



These questions are terribly worded. Tell your GF that she is being lazy and she needs to put more thought and effort into her work. The foundation of the entire interview teeters on an individual's concept of "appalling", and some of the questions assume that I'm going to answer in a childishly predictable way and/or are somewhat lazily manipulative.

Spoiler

How the fuck do you roll dice up in here?

 

[mediocrepoet]

1. I don't know, maybe Silent Hill 2. It was more about killing monsters and such, but the entire atmosphere and horror elements made me feel generally uneasy when immersed in the game play.

2. I dispute the idea that I am performing an act of killing when playing any game. I am, however, conscious of the fact that I am pushing buttons that cause the game character to perform certain actions, just as I am aware that the game character is not me and the game elements are not reality.

3. Does what provoke feelings? Killing-in-game or game playing in general? Game playing in general is either fun or sometimes is used to relieve stress. Killing-in-game isn't something I attach any feelings to, it's simply a facet of some (but not all) games I play.

4. Not at all. I saw that phone video of the black man getting gunned down by police on the internet a few weeks ago or so ago. It was shocking and horrific.

5. ... Seriously? No, gaming has not changed my view on death and murder. Does it strike you that most people (i.e. everyone who isn't a sociopath) wouldn't face a massive and obvious dissonance when deciding between running a bunch of not-people over in Grand Theft Auto or Saints Row vs. actually revving up their really-is-car to run really-are-people over in real life?

6. Easy. The Prince from Prince of Persia Sands of Time. That guy (well, technically his dagger) can rewind time by a few seconds at a time. Do you have any idea how useful and versatile that would be? Guess what though? I still wouldn't use it to murder people and then take it back. I might tell someone I didn't like where to go and then rewind it to avoid any political fallout from it. Or avoid being late for work by rewinding time so I didn't turn off my alarm or something. Or take the first bite of a great meal as many times as I wanted. Or climax perpetually until I got bored of rewinding it ... I seriously want that dagger right now.

Spoiler

There ya go! It only lets you roll 12 at a time though apparently.

 

[Jick Magger]

There really aren't that many games out there that I know of that outright glamorize the act of murder. The Hitman games paint the main character as being a pretty awful human being, and the only thing stopping him from being an outright villain is the fact that the people he kills tend to be far worse than he is. Games like Postal, Grand Theft Auto, and Saints Row tend to paint most of the passive NPC's as cartoonish caricatures of reality, so much so that it's hard to for people without some form of mental issues to actually liken it to the real world. And ultra-violent games like Manhunt and Hotline Miami, while arguably glamorizing its violence to a certain extent, do not paint the people comitting it or forcing others to commit it as being relateable, likable people, instead depraved psychopaths, and to an extent force the player to actually examine the death and destruction they've caused and how fucked up they are for being able to do it (I specifically recall the hallucination sequence in Hotline where the Horse mask asks the player "Do you like hurting other people?".

 

[DalekFlay]

1. What was the most appalling game you have ever played? Did it involve killing humans?

I think Resident Evil 4, because of the chainsaw decapitations. That's the only time I ever remember being grossed out by a game.

During the gameplay are you aware of the fact that you are performing an act of killing or is it an automatic action?

I'm not killing anything, they're polygons. Whether I think about killing the polygons depends on the game. An RPG with decent moral questions to ask can make you think. A shooter it's just twitch shit, no different than matching colors in Bejewled.

Does it evoke any feelings in you? If yes, what kind? (relief after a stressful day, satisfaction etc.).

A good story can make me feel a lot of emotions, so if a game puts killing polygons into an emotional context it can bring about feelings. Similarly if a game builds up frustration in an encounter, and then you release that frustration by finally killing the enemy, you are obviously flooded with feelings of success and relief.

Did gaming immunize you to the view of death and blood?

Not nearly on the level that watching gory 80's action and horror movies as a child did. By the time I was playing violent games I was 5+ years beyond watching movies like Total Recall and Nightmare on Elm Street. I was already "immunized."

How gaming influences your view on murder? Is it less horrifying/appalling?

Real life murder is no less horrifying or appalling, no. In fact I'm probably more against it than most, if we count war and shit as murder.

If you had an ability to choose one game character and to have its powers, which one would it be? Why?

If I could have any power it would be time travel, so I guess Doctor Who or a similar time traveling protagonist.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

I'm only gonna take take this seriously because OP's join date makes him my senpai.

1.What was the most appalling game you have ever played? Did it involve killing humans?

I don't know, I've been playing games since forever and I've never met something that I could consider "appalling". I suppose that someone who doesn't play games would think something like GTA (where you can kill defenseless human characters for no good reason) is scary, so that should qualify. I actually feel "worse" for voluntarily betraying a friendly character than killing. Probably because it's something I choose to do, while killing is usually imposed by gameplay.

2.During the gameplay are you aware of the fact that you are performing an act of killing or is it an automatic action?

Depends on the game. Some games take death more "seriously" and few characters die, in those cases I care more about what is happening to them. But in general the body count is in the thousands so it is just removing obstacles in your way.

3.Does it evoke any feelings in you? If yes, what kind? (relief after a stressful day, satisfaction etc.).

Blasting enemies away gives a feeling of relief and satisfaction, especially if it's spectacular (explosions, blood, etc) and the character "deserves" it (an annoying generic enemy, a scummy villain, etc), but it's more like popping-plastic-bubbles kind of satisfaction than anything. It eventually gets boring if there's no other objective to it.

4.Did gaming immunize you to the view of death and blood?

In real life? No. It would be cool if it did, though.

5.How gaming influences your view on murder? Is it less horrifying/appalling?

It doesn't. Games can't really depict murder in a realistic manner, anyway.

6.If you had an ability to choose one game character and to have its powers, which one would it be? Why?

Having superpowers sucks, no one leaves you alone. Just give me the Horadric Cube from Diablo.

 

[JarlFrank]

Codexians,

I would like to ask you to help my GF, who's working on her master's degree work on the subject of glamorization and celebritization of murderers, killers and such, by answering several questions connected with video games.

Questions:

1. What was the most appalling game you have ever played? Did it involve killing humans?
   
   
2. During the gameplay are you aware of the fact that you are performing an act of killing or is it an automatic action?
   
   
3. Does it evoke any feelings in you? If yes, what kind? (relief after a stressful day, satisfaction etc.).
   
   
4. Did gaming immunize you to the view of death and blood?
   
   
5. How gaming influences your view on murder? Is it less horrifying/appalling?
   
   
6. If you had an ability to choose one game character and to have its powers, which one would it be? Why?

Honesty much appreciated !

1. I don't find any games to be appalling. There's a story and there's gameplay and both might be violent, but it's not appalling because it's not real, it's fiction. Big deal.

2. No, I just play the game and see it as a challenge or a fun diversion. In a multiplayer FPS, for example, I am not performing an act of killing, I aim a gun made of polygons and pixels on a badly animated human made of polygons and pixels who is controlled by another real human and when I shoot him he respawns, it's all a fun competition about who is better at using his mouse and keyboard. Nobody kills anyone.

3. Satisfaction when I get good stats, frustration when I get rekd constantly, but hey, those are just normal reactions in any kind of competition-based play. Games don't tend to invoke any "feelings" in me through their content, mostly (except Planescape Torment when I first played it cause it was so well-written). Instead, I just enjoy the challenge of a good shooter or strategy game, especially in multiplayer.

4. No, I wasn't sensitive about that even before I played violent games. Besides, death and blood are just a part of life, should I be shocked when people die? No, it's nothing special, accidents and wars happen.

5. It doesn't. And it's a retarded question because, honestly, what's the connection between challenging games where you fight other armed people and murder, where you kill an unarmed person?

6. Garrett from the Thief games because being completely invisible in deep shadows is awesome! Sneak everywhere, steal stuff. Fun!


This is a pretty damn shitty questionnaire though, dude. It assumes that people enjoy games for the "killing people" part, rather than challenge, exploration, story, or competition (in multiplayer).

 

[warpig]

Questions:

1. What was the most appalling game you have ever played? Did it involve killing humans?
   
   
2. During the gameplay are you aware of the fact that you are performing an act of killing or is it an automatic action?
   
   
3. Does it evoke any feelings in you? If yes, what kind? (relief after a stressful day, satisfaction etc.).
   
   
4. Did gaming immunize you to the view of death and blood?
   
   
5. How gaming influences your view on murder? Is it less horrifying/appalling?
   
   
6. If you had an ability to choose one game character and to have its powers, which one would it be? Why?

1. Appaling in terms of graphic violence? I don't know, I like watching violence in video games.
2. I'm aware that I'm playing a game and no one gets killed.
3. Satisfaction from winning, frustration/anger when I'm losing. Some kind of "aesthetical pleasure" from games that look/sound the way I like.
4. Hard to tell. I'm not very squeamish but I don't know how I would react to a sight and smell of a rotten corpse or someone being beheaded IRL.
5. I don't think games influence my morals.
6. Duke Nukem. He has the power of x-treme badassery.

 

[praetor]

1. violence-wise? nothing. it's a game. if it goes "overboard" it usually has hilarious results (like f.e. that PSX banned fighting game, Thrill Kill)
2. i have not killed anyone. it's a game. otherwise you'd have to ask the same to chess players. do you think they think of "killing" pawns, knights etc? garren up there was too kind, it truly is a bullshit question
3. depends. if i accidentally kill a cool neutral or friendly NPC, then regret. if it's a normal mob/grunt or an easy "boss" than nothing. if it's a difficult "boss" then satisfaction for overcoming an obstacle
4. not at all. i thought it might have, but it really didn't
5. it has 0 influence on how i perceive the real world
6. dunno. Kain, i guess. the coolest and most badass voice in existence (also immortality and other "magical" powers )

 

[Diablo169]

1. I have never been appalled by acts I commit in a video game, It is fictional. I save my righteous anger for real life issues.
   
2. Nope because I am not committing an act of violence, I am playing a computer game.
   
3. I derive pleasure from playing computer games as a whole, I have never consciously sat down and thought "Ima murder people to make myself feel good"
   
4. Nope fairly sure I would loose my shit in a real life situation.
   
5. Video games have had no impact on my sense of morality. I would like to think I am smart enough to form my own opinions and feelings on important matters such as these without an impact from fictional entertainment.
   
6. Commander Shepard, with the special ability to fuck anything that breathes and have massive forums threads be dedicated to how romantic it is.

 

[Aeschylus]

Questions:

1. What was the most appalling game you have ever played? Did it involve killing humans?
   
   
2. During the gameplay are you aware of the fact that you are performing an act of killing or is it an automatic action?
   
   
3. Does it evoke any feelings in you? If yes, what kind? (relief after a stressful day, satisfaction etc.).
   
   
4. Did gaming immunize you to the view of death and blood?
   
   
5. How gaming influences your view on murder? Is it less horrifying/appalling?
   
   
6. If you had an ability to choose one game character and to have its powers, which one would it be? Why?

Honesty much appreciated !

1: Harvester. It had murder and cannibalism, but mainly because of how fucking awful the FMV stuff was.
2: Not really something I worry about.
3: Stress relief.
4: No. Not to real death and blood at least, because the violence in gaming is cartoonish even at its most realistic.
5: No real influence. No.
6: Manny Calavera, with the ability to turn a janitorial job to a flourishing casino within a year!

Worth noting that a survey with these questions would probably not be accepted into a major journal due to the extreme leading/biased nature of the questions.

 

[DwarvenFood]

1) Fallout 3, what a horrible sequel. Involved killing humans.

2) I am performing no act of killing, the character/car/plane/etc. that I'm controlling is.

3) Games can be fun, for a number of different reasons. I guess the feeling that evokes is some form of temporary happiness. Personally I enjoy the escapist aspect the most.

4) Definitely not. Movies and media also have not - check some real images of death and blood, you'll know.

5) I don't believe these is a connection here.

6) Hhaha lol... never thought of that one. Too much to choose from. Possibly some world-controlling god-like creature though. (Populous?)

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

1. Defcon
2. I don't understand the question.
3. When it's combat, it's mainly very stressful. Generally, there's stress, slight sadness, anxiety, also a bit of satisfaction. On the other hand systematically gunning down civilians can be pretty relaxed, almost meditation-like though with a little tang of sadness.
4. No. I'm not immunized to these things.
5. They didn't. On the other hand games like X-Com and Operation Flashpoint made me realise that I don't want to be anywhere near a battlefield.
6. Kain from Legacy of Kain. Though his powers aren't discrete enough...

 

[Lemming42]

What was the most appalling game you have ever played? Did it involve killing humans?

I'm not sure. I don't think I've ever been appalled by violence in a game, just rolled my eyes when a game goes overboard with it trying to be edgy or whatever.

During the gameplay are you aware of the fact that you are performing an act of killing or is it an automatic action?

Depends on the game. If the game wants me to be aware of it (Deus Ex, Thief etc) then I am, if it doesn't then no. I do have the weird hobby of trying to do pacifist runs of completely non-pacifist-allowing games, though, so in a way yeah, I'm aware of it.

Does it evoke any feelings in you? If yes, what kind? (relief after a stressful day, satisfaction etc.).

I don't think I'm quite testosterone-fuelled-aggressive enough to experience "satisfaction" from killing dudes in games. Most games use enemies as more of an obstacle than as actual living characters anyway.

Did gaming immunize you to the view of death and blood?

No, I still get upset if I stumble across real pictures of gore.

How gaming influences your view on murder? Is it less horrifying/appalling?

Most games are so abstract that I'd say it's almost impossible for them to impact the morality of even the most gullible, impressionable people. I must have killed billions of people in videogames and I don't believe I'd be able to kill someone in real life.

If you had an ability to choose one game character and to have its powers, which one would it be? Why?

Spyro The Dragon, so I could drown on land, get stuck in walls and fly off the edge of the map.

 

[Xor]

1) Appalling as in offensive? I don't think I've ever been appalled or offended by a game. The closest I can think of was with Spore, and that had more to do with being appalled at how different the final product was from what was promised.
2) Probably mostly automatic.
3) Really depends on the situation. I can't say I haven't been filled with immense satisfaction fragging some asshole in PVP after they act like a shithead for an entire match, and in intense moments getting a headshot on an enemy who was about to kill you can be very gratifying.
4) No. I'd say I'm probably more desensitized to violence from watching action movies than anything else.
5) it doesn't. Games are fiction. When you kill someone in a game it has no consequences outside the scope of the game itself.
6) I hate these types of questions. Pass.

 

[Cadmus]

Codexians,

I would like to ask you to help my GF, who's working on her master's degree work on the subject of glamorization and celebritization of murderers, killers and such, by answering several questions connected with video games.

Questions:

1. What was the most appalling game you have ever played? Did it involve killing humans?
   
   
2. During the gameplay are you aware of the fact that you are performing an act of killing or is it an automatic action?
   
   
3. Does it evoke any feelings in you? If yes, what kind? (relief after a stressful day, satisfaction etc.).
   
   
4. Did gaming immunize you to the view of death and blood?
   
   
5. How gaming influences your view on murder? Is it less horrifying/appalling?
   
   
6. If you had an ability to choose one game character and to have its powers, which one would it be? Why?

Honesty much appreciated !

honesty

1. this is a bad question. The most appalling games for me are the shit games I dont spend much time on, recently that was Singularity. Yes it did involve killing humans but thats completely irrelevant. Tell your gf to stuff this one up her cunt, it's a stupid question and stupidly worded.
2. Im performing no such act, Im playing a game. Bad question again. And if I discard the stupid wording, if it's automatic or not depends on the depiction and quantity of murder.
3. satisfaction IF the game depicts it properly/funnily
4. no way
5.doesnt at all and I don't like this question either
6. it would be probably some character with the power of influencing the time or some rich motherfucker. stupid questions like IF YOUR CAT WAS YOUR REDDIT NAME, WHAT WOULD BE HER SUPERPOWER??

this is really stupid and she should completely rework it, it's exactly the anita sarkeesian-type emotional bait full of loaded questions and implied correlations and shit and I dont have the energy to spend arguing every single point, but I can see how you can turn this easily into anything you desire because of the wording
5.