One mature game, hold the violence please.

Last week an interview with Warren Spector started making the rounds, and in it he insisted that the gaming community needs to stop being in love with ultra violent games. I agree that the obsession could be reigned in for a lot of reasons, but I have one that is personal and, as I can recall, I've never seen addressed anywhere before.

I want mature, immersive games. I'm interested in well-rounded characters, interesting back stories and gorgeous graphics. At what point in video game culture did maturity come to mean intense, graphic violence?

I mean, I certainly hope not. Original image source.

Developers probably don't realize that they are excluding a portion of their potential audience by creating games that are overshadowed by gratuitous death scenes. I don't understand why I have to be excluded because I don't want the violence, but I want the gameplay.

It took me three years to finally play Fallout 3 because I was completely turned off by the slow-motion replay kill cams, splattering heads, and blood-speckled screens. Fallout 2 was one of my favorite games as a teenager, so I was excited for the release of the third one. My anticipation came crashing down when I played the pre-release demo at PAX that year; the game was simply too graphic for my tastes, and as a result I was initially pushed away from an incredible gaming experience.

This is not what I want. - VGBlogger.

Do developers realize that a group of gamers such as myself exists? Epic Games took a start in the right direction with their 'mature content' filter for Gears of War; one could turn off the language as well as the gory animations that would occur when slashing down an enemy. I wish that Bethesda had included such an option for Fallout 3, because despite all of the violence in the game, there is a truly mature and immersive gaming experience.

I would love to see more developers include a 'gore - off' menu option, because I'm tired of being chased away from so many games! Is anyone out there with me? Who else enjoys their mature games without an emphasis on violence?

-MJ

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