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Do you care about the morality and ethics of video games? That's among the many questions posed by Crispy Gamer's David Thomas in a recent editorial about Brutal Legend.
The ethics of Brutal Legend are ambiguous: The game's "hero" is sent on a mission from a demon and has to save rock and roll by murdering people and creatures that are considered evil in the game world. Players are supposed to think of Heavy Metal as Good, even though Heavy Metal has always taken great pains to define itself as Evil. And we're supposed to think it's funny, too. We're supposed to consider the over-the-top histrionics and self-seriousness of Metal as humorous (which they are) and laugh along with the game's mayhem as we literally melt people's faces.
Personally, I love when video games abandon the traditional "good guy/bad guy" thing and veer into moral complexity, but it undoubtedly destroys an oft-repeated defense of gaming. "Sure, there's a lot of violence," the old saw goes,"but it's a good guy killing bad guys! Those are clearly monsters/aliens/zombies/Nazis!" Novels, theater and movies don't have to create simple-minded moral universes in order to not upset people's delicate sensibilities, and yet video games still do. Meanwhile, Real Life remains stubbornly morally ambiguous, as it has since the Dawn of Man.
Do you care at all why your dude is killing the other dudes in games? Do you think ethics in games matters? Have you ever played a game that made you uncomfortable with its own extreme violence/evil? So far, I haven't, although it's only a matter of time before a video game comes out that draws attention to the excesses of the art form effectively enough to make us queasy... like Funny Games or A Clockwork Orange have done in film.
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poker909
Ethics in games need to mirror the virtual world in which the game takes place. A heavy metal world should have half-dressed groupies, beer, and a lot of partying. This is not the "Bible" game after all, and even that game would have Sodom and Gammorah I'm sure.
cralius
ok, thats it...normally im very reserved about the worthless dribble people write about video games, and keep my mouth shut; but im sorry, i must protest. Honestly, i feel like this "Stephen Johnson" is writing, simply to stir up trouble. If that is the case, then the joke is on me for jumping on it...haha. ANYWAYS, first off...he isnt sent on a mission BY a demon. If mr. Johnson bothered to get into the history/story of Brutal Legend he would know this. He is transported back in time, by ormagoden (im sure i mispelled that), via the ancient talisman he wore as a belt buckle. There was no mission, no command; he was simply hurtled backwards in time to this land of rock. Not to mention, ormagoden (sp?) isnt a demon at all. He is simply refered to as "the fire beast, ormagoden" (man i gotta figure out how to spell that right). In fact, his sheer presence was too much for the ACTUAL demons of the land.
Next on the list,
"has to save rock and roll by murdering people and creatures that are considered evil in the game world."
Who is "murdering" people? let me try to remember correctly...you kill DEMONS...aaaand you kill (what is basically) the UNDEAD...aaaaand, for a small portion at the start, you are killing other humans (gasp!) however, thats because they are WORKING for the demons...sooo, i dont REALLY see the evil there, either. As for "murdering...creatues"...what? you mean some of the animals roaming around that you manage to plow over with the deuce?...since when is road kill considered "murder"? Oh? what? You're actually referring the killing of boars, for the sake of collecting guns from their skeletons? Oh, man...you got me there. It is SO obviously a HEINOUS crim against nature! i mean, people are hunting an animal because we can use them for continued survival! DEAR LORD! This is a catastrophe! Brutal Legend must be REMOVED from all store shelves immediately!........this is where i reveal, for those less astute among you, that i've been employing sarcasm.
His next point:
"Heavy Metal has always taken great pains to define itself as Evil."
Hmm, i see. Let me ask, do you actually listen to metal? Or are you basing your judgement off of a few bangs/songs here and there? I realize, yes, there are many "dark" aspects of metal; but there are just as many, if not MORE "good" aspects of metal. Metal is, in itself, a very umbrella term. However, for the most part, metal isnt about evil or darkness...its about power and self-esteem. The birth of metal created a generation of people that were out there, kicking ass and taking names. Ok ok, well im not writing to defend metal; im writing to defend the good name of video games from this "holier than thou" charlatan.
Next on my hit list:
'I love when video games abandon the traditional "good guy/bad guy" thing and veer into moral complexity, but it undoubtedly destroys an oft-repeated defense of gaming."Sure, there's a lot of violence," the old saw goes,"but it's a good guy killing bad guys! Those are clearly monsters/aliens/zombies/Nazis! "'
This is a very true statement, and would be a valid point...were we talking about G.T.A. or some such. No, unfortunately for Mr. Johnson...today we are discussing Brutal Legend. Does he claim to state that killing demons, undead, and humans (working FOR the demons, of course) doesnt fit into the "good guy killing bad guys" defense? Now, im not claiming Eddy Riggs as some kind of God-sent angel, nobody is perfect; but do you seriously believe he is abandoning the traditional "good guy/bad guy" thing? I'd like to cast my vote for no...no he is not.
gotta hurry up, running out of space in the comment...
"Do you care at all why your dude is killing the other dudes in games? Do you think ethics in games matters? "
Ok, this is tricky territory. I dont want to jump to the conclusion that he is accusing gamers of such thoughtlessness. However, im not going to pass it over. This is where it gets a little personal, because i know that every gamer is different. I'm sure there are millions of gamers in the world that DONT care about "why your dude is killing the other dudes"...but for them, your argument is completely dead. None of the "shoot first, never ask questions" gamers will care the littlest bit what your saying here. Then, there are those of us that DO care...that DO think about ethics and decisions; and WE are the people that you offend with your little "expose" on Brutal Legend. I, personally, am effected greatly by my conscience while i game. I found very very little at fault with B.L.'s sense of morality.
Well, ive all but run dry of remaining characters in this comment. If you've actually read through all of my little rant, i sympathize with/congratulate you. If anyone has anything to say, be it an argument or a comment, feel free to email me at cralius@msn.com...including Mr. Johnson himself. Well, *dusts off hands* i do believe im done here. Take it away, whoever leaves the next comment.
GamerNx
This guy obviously isnt a metalhead. I have never defined it as evil, in fact only Black Metal and maybe Slayer are the only ones who really try to present themselves as such. Most folks just get labeled that. For instance, in an interview with Dio about the album cover for Holy Diver, he was asked why there was a demon drowning a priest, he replied, "how do you know it isnt a priest trying to drown a demon?"
loupinconnu
As far as morality in games goes I could care less. If you're too immature to differentiate real-life from the fictional world then you shouldn't be playing games in general.
As to the second question though, I have no issues with games where the story is "These guys are bad, go kill them." Granted I'll more than likely play it once and then go on to something else, but it isn't a deal-breaker for me if it's like that.
However though if a game does add it in where the lines between good and evil become truly blurred and the question of why gets tossed in there I think that alone can make a storyline. In fact actually, it is the reason that I love the Killzone franchise by Guerilla so much. At first it does look like a generic "they're bad we're good, go kill them" but once you dig into the story a little bit you find out so much more and start to realize that this little war is much more conveluded than it initially shows. (On a side note, I know other games do a great job at this too, KZ was just the first to come to mind when I read the article. Most of them are RPGs but you get the idea.)
As far as games that I would not buy just because they go over the top with violence I'd have to say Manhunt and possibly GTA (though Gears is borderline that with IMO the cheesy executions and the chainsaw at the end of the gun).
ThePsychoGamer
This is a simple morel question, it's the same religions have been using for thousands of years, they have one ideal, i have a different one, and thus they must die
Oinkness
I'm a modern gamer. i don't think of the texturized polygons as living or emotional entities. They're just statistics on my murderous rampage.
dwmatteson
If anyone would actually PLAY THE GAME before spouting off about it they would know there's nothing ambiguous about the morality in the game. Doviculus is unambiguously evil, Eddie, Lars and Lita are unambiguously good. It's pretty cut and dry if you pay any attention to the game at all.
Also if you're actually a metal fan you will know most bands do not identify themselves as evil nor do they advocate being "evil" to their fans. There are many exceptions but for the most part metal doesn't take itself seriously, which is one of the greatest things about it.
whatever007
I don't care about games with over the top violence, it's the prerogative of the developer, what concerns me is the fact that people feel that a game isn't any good unless it's over the top and violent. People were crapping there pants when PS3 toned down the blood in Ninja Gaiden 2. Guess what, it was still a good game. I just wish more developers would just worry more about making game good and not all about blood and guts.
godsteve1@aol
listen nobody is going to buy a game created by the pope starring kirk cameron, or will they? listen why don't you go play some chess. just imagine when you take a pawn you can hear him scream in horror as you believe you are doing GODs work.
spicydeath82
I did in fact feel uncomfortable playing a game based off it's violence without reason game play. Any body remember Manhunt? I played for maybe two hours, and got so disgusted with it I never played it again. The only goal was to kill people for the pleasure of some pervs... WTF people!? I never finished playing GTA: San Andreas because i just couldn't identify with the anti-hero's motives.
Granted, in real life morality is all about perspective. And most things are shades of gray, but i don't play games to experience real life. I play games to experience things I couldn't or wouldn't do in real life.
I vote we leave morality to philosophers, and focus on great gaming experiences.
scottyrob82
My attitude is if you don't like it don't play it. Speaking of bad music, country music is the deadliest music. Studies show that areas that play mostly country music have a higher murder and suicide rate.
Blue_Vortex
I had new thought after reading aztecyankee's post. Maybe the guy who wrote the article is the type to get all fanboyish about genres of music. So I'm saying he's against this game because it's based around metal and not something like rap...
aztecyankee
I'm always dumbfounded when i read articles such as this. First and foremost IT'S A GAME!!! What moral issue should come about a fantasy world that we live in for the 1-4 hours(longer if unemployed and you live in your mother's basement!!) ? Weather I'm running the ball on Madden, passing a lob on FIFA or Fraggin somebody on HALO morality should not be involved! It always ticks me off to hear such arrogance specially coming from somebody who writes about video games. Plus I'll like to add I've checked out crispygamer.com just to read the article. It;s nice to know David Thomas(wrote the article) top ten games includes GTA III at the number 1 spot!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA.....WOW!! Metal and Demons evil=yes....Killing hookers,selling drugs,and doing drugs in a game = not evil!!! LOL
o_NIGHT_TRAIN_o
No i don't care
Unannounced Fart
That chick looks bangable. I might actually have to buy this game after all.
pwnappetit
As Nathan Drake, I've put Rambo to shame when I look back at Drake's Fortune and Among Thieves and think about how many nameless gun-wielding baddies I've killed.
samiam0605
I don't mind playing the young hero that saves the day from the evil lord who has kidnapped the princess for the 98th time, but I also like playing as the bad guy who lives by no rules other than his own, A Rebel Wthout a Cause if you will. I also like it when the game gives the choice of good or bad even though I wished games had a little more gray area of "is this good or bad" like in real life decisions. Overall I think ethics in games matter because I think the help create the world of the game. Do I think ethics in game matter in my real life? No! Because I don't take ethic lessons from games. I take them from movies and TV like a real American who don't read.
P.S I would most definitely play a "A Clockwork Orange" game. As long as there is a feature where I use the RockBand microphone to sing Singin in the Rain and for every note I get right I kick the old guy.
mindsale
My favorite example of shoehorning morality into videogames is in the Uncharted series. Drake is just killing tons of rival fortune hunters because they're after the same treasure he is, and then suddenly it's justified because the treasure resurrects some ancient evil. It's all good, thousands of people whose necks I snapped in my bare hands.
Moye
I honestly thought the morality issue you were bringing up was about the scantily clad girl in the picture and objectifying women but then I remembered you were talking about videogames.
I personally don't have issue with the bad = good; I like it when people add a twist to the moral and make things fun. It brings the fact that you're not supposed to take gaming that seriously. Then again, I do feel uncomfortable shooting soldiers in realistic war games like CoD. Unless they're ugly aliens. Then it's okay.
blkbear1018
The problem is that mainstream media views video games in general are primarily for kids. Kids which are "impressionable" What they fail to realize is the kids of 20 years ago have grown up and are adults now that do need a predetermined moral compass. We didn't "out-grow" our games. We loved them and cherished them and evolved with them. They should also intern evolve with us but whenever that happens media steps in and rebukes it.
Ethics in games do matter to the impressionable (which are kids). That is what the ESRB is for. There shouldn't be a mandatory moral compass in my M for mature games. Also I should be able to buy/play AO adults only games. If you don't want to sell them in mainstream stores, fine. Make them available online or in specialty stores. Make me buy it w/ a credit card to verify age. It is easier to get porn than it is to find a AO game. That is sad.
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