LA Times Explores Videogames and Violence

Extracted 19FEB2013 from http://herocomplex.latimes.com/games/violent-video-games-blame-game The incredible success of the ‘Call of Duty’-type stuff drives games away from more constructive conflict. I think that’s one of the sad things and one of the things I don’t like about the game business…. Enough with the shooting. Figure out another type of productive conflict — building, creating...

“Zero Dark Thirty” it is not. Make no mistake, “Call of Duty” asks questions of the gamer. They are all variations on the following themes: How fast can you shoot, and can you sneak through this area undetected? It’s a test of reflexes...

Yet it would be nice if the video game industry used the current gun debate as an opportunity, a chance to openly discuss whether its use of violence is artistic or gratuitous...

Independent developers like Telltale are taking risks and challenging the industry to tell better, deeper and more involving stories.

They’re not doing so by creating shooters. In fact, how to build a better shooter is not a question that should be asked. Even the bad ones today are fairly competent in their game mechanics. The question is how to make a more challenging game, and it’s not one some in the industry may be willing to ask.

See also, http://tinyurl.com/a5cngaf