This is so obvious. Pac Man eats and never gets fat. What is the result?

There are no moral consequences to going bankrupt in Monopoly, and actually having a monopoly is rewarded! What kind of message is that teaching our children?

/And I don't play chess because of the implied regicide.

There are consequences...do stupid things in GTA, you die. Often. And quickly, for those of us that don't use cheat codes.

These tards seem to never grasp that in the average video game you'll die from 5-50 times.

Barakku: There are consequences...do stupid things in GTA, you die. Often. And quickly, for those of us that don't use cheat codes.

These tards seem to never grasp that in the average video game you'll die from 5-50 times.

E4T NADE' N3W8!!!1111oneleventy!!!111

no consequences? Have they seen the way the cops react when you get 6 stars wanted in the GTA games?

Fallout and Fallout 2 spring to mind. Sure, you could go around blowing away the little kiddies, but a lot of people would stop talking to you, and you would start getting cool-but-annoyingly-dangerous bounty hunter squads after your sorry ass.

/TACTICS NEVER HAPPENED!

Matthew Devereux writes about the video-game industry and is a former staff writer of Edge magazine.

Some edge there Matthew, whining about the immorality of video games. What happen, get a girlfriend who has little kids?

Since when do kids see graphic images of soldiers shooting each other on CNN, anyway? The US news is quite sanitized (image wise) from what I can tell.

I mean, they'll report on some car bombing that killed dozens, and have a background image of some destroyed things at the market, burnt out cars, but they don't let you SEE the "body parts all over" that they mention in the story.

Barakku: These tards seem to never grasp that in the average video game you'll die from 5-50 times.

I think what TFA is getting at is social sanction from the other characters, meaning - they don't like that you get to play villains and bad guys in video games, as the first person character.

This is the big line in the US, for "appropriate" vs. not. People always say "why is sex right out, but they let kids have violence?" But, if you look at the old comics codes and what, the dividing line seems to be "violence is okay if it's done by the good guys, on the side of The Man, or as long as The Man always wins." Extending to CNN, it's okay to see "our" side winning, or them shooting but it's implied they're doing the right thing.

I'm not saying I agree with that line, but when these things come up in various forms of entertainment, that seems to be where the line IS. Parents were all upset about kids wanting to role play Darth Vader, too, why do they want to be the bad guy? Etc.

SilentStrider: no consequences? Have they seen the way the cops react when you get 6 stars wanted in the GTA games?

Heck, just getting FIVE stars gets you a quick death sometimes.

That's crap. I'm gonna go kill some Nazis.

AndrewGK: Heck, just getting FIVE stars gets you a quick death sometimes.

true.
although getting a tank means they can't get you but you can get them. blast away, and thats an easy 6 stars wanted.

the hard part is getting a tank.

abb3w: Fallout and Fallout 2 spring to mind. Sure, you could go around blowing away the little kiddies, but a lot of people would stop talking to you, and you would start getting cool-but-annoyingly-dangerous bounty hunter squads after your sorry ass.

You are now my most favorite person on Fark.

abb3w: Fallout and Fallout 2 spring to mind. Sure, you could go around blowing away the little kiddies, but a lot of people would stop talking to you, and you would start getting cool-but-annoyingly-dangerous bounty hunter squads after your sorry ass.

Kiribub: You are now my most favorite person on Fark.

*checks profile*
Wow. I work in Charlottesville, too. Yikes.

No Fable or KOTOR mentioned yet? Ok, I'll do it.

Fable and KOTOR had consequences for doing the wrong/evil/immoral/bad/mean thing.

There *are* consequences. For instance - a couple of weeks ago, I was playing TF2. I usually kick-arse but this one round I was dominated by an opposing player. I died twice trying to get revenge. On the second death, I hit my desk so hard that it knocked over a full glass of Campofiorin. Two programming books, 4 CDs, a USB hub, a cordless phone, two flash drives and my keyboard were all subject to a nice rich, full-bodied drenching with a hint of dark cherry and spices. So yeah, it can be bad.

Anyone who thinks video games don't have consequences is a moron.
Kill someone in GTA? Fail the mission and get a game over because the cops busted you.
Kill the wrong person in Metal Gear Solid 3? Create a time paradox and game over.

Unbridled competition combined with no moral consequence eventually leads to a lack of compassion. And without compassion, humanity is lost.



That's only true on the PvP servers. Mouth off in general chat on a PvE server and the raid guilds won't touch your sorry ass. Hope you like farming Shattered Halls on regular mode for the rest of your game card timer....

I'm now deathly afraid of eating cake. Thanks, video game industry :(

smooshie: I'm now deathly afraid of eating cake. Thanks, video game industry :(

The cake is a lie.

Kome: Fable and KOTOR had consequences for doing the wrong/evil/immoral/bad/mean thing.

well, with KOTOR at least, its not so much "consequences" as "unlocking alternate endings"

Somebody call the:

You can beat postal 2 without commiting a single act of violince

smooshie

I'm now deathly afraid of eating cake. Thanks, video game industry :(


Cake or death?

Of course there's consequences! Do you think I want to repeat level 5 from the very beginning?

eqtworld

Someone needs to define "moral" before I can tell if something is "immoral".


You have already defined 'moral' - and thus 'immoral' - for yourself, even if you haven't consciously done so.

abb3w:

/TACTICS BOS NEVER HAPPENED!

FTFY

I don't know, a big message I get from video games is that its often very easy to die when you do something violent. Thus I have tended to avoid doing violent things in real life.

Tabula Rasa has "moral fables" which give you the choice of doing something a different way during a mission.

Sometimes I think I'm too moral for some games.

In Morrowind and Oblivion for example, I'm squeamish about stealing from and harming innocent characters, even though I know of course that they are just pixels.

Didn't read the article yet, but Ultima IV; you must live by the 8 Virtures, or you're not getting anywhere.

Honesty: Don't say untrue things to NPCs.
Compassion: Don't finish off fleeing monsters.
Valor: Don't flee from the battlefield.
Justice:
Sacrifice: Give gold to beggars, and donate blood to healers.
Honor:
Spirituality: Visit shrines to meditate often.
Humility: Don't boast to NPC's.

(I left a couple blank because I'm not sure just what you needed to do in game)

Oldiron_79: You can beat postal 2 without commiting a single act of violince


How is that possible?

Name me one board game with moral consequences. Or cops an robbers, or Cowboys and Indians. Or dodge ball. "Moral Consequences" aren't fun, that's why they aren't in many games.

Man, I lose all my wonderful weapons when I have to go to the hospital or get busted in GTA!!!!

"Violent video games will be the death of us all! Every second a child spends playing videogames brings that precious snowflake closer to complete sociopathy and utter amorality! Doom, I say! (deep breath) Doooooooooom!"

Oh, if only there was some person responsible for reminding kiddies of the difference between fantasy and reality. Someone who could make sure virtues were instilled and vices discouraged. Someone to teach morals and ethics, who could lead by example and always be near to answer questions. Someone who was already responsible for bringing their crotchfruit into the system anyway.

/depopulated entire worlds with automated death machines growing up.
//despite vast provocation, still haven't killed anyone in real life.

Of course game actions have consequences. Games that have no consequences tend to be boring. Actually, that would make a nice experimental game. Futile Quest, anyone?

darkjedi1: Oldiron_79: You can beat postal 2 without commiting a single act of violince


How is that possible?

Seriously you don't, all violence is optional. I'm always gonna kill the dudes that gimp you though, and throw a molotov in the gay bar.

Last time I bankrupted my dad playing Monopoly there were no moral consequences either.

I didn't have to witness the suffering of the poor Shoe as he lost all that he worked so hard for. I didn't see him struggle to make ends meet at a dead-end job while trying to pay off his debts to the bank. I didn't see the shoe turn to booze as a way to avoid his problems, eventually becoming abusive to his wife. I didn't feel the hopeless of little baby shoe as he always wondered if his parent's separation was his fault. etc. etc.

Yes and I am glad of this as I slide off into the guardrail at the 'Tourist. Or flat out in the rain at Monza.






/If you take out the guardrail in real life you are looking at around $15,000 Euros out of pocket if they had to shut the road/track down.
//GTR2 FTW

What problem is being addressed here, again?

Alphax 2008-01-13 03:07:33 PM

Honor was giving proper change to blind shopkeepers and not stealing. Justice was basically the same thing. And a better way of getting Compassion was giving alms.

Rob

eqtworld: Someone needs to define "moral" before I can tell if something is "immoral".

It was done by a Koenigsburg man in the Eighteenth Century..........


The more you know....

Amoral.



Immoral.

itazurakko: Since when do kids see graphic images of soldiers shooting each other on CNN, anyway? The US news is quite sanitized (image wise) from what I can tell.

I mean, they'll report on some car bombing that killed dozens, and have a background image of some destroyed things at the market, burnt out cars, but they don't let you SEE the "body parts all over" that they mention in the story.

That's an excellent point and something I've thought about as well. In true retrospect, there is very little violence on the news, yet people always talk about it negatively as if there is. They'll say things like, "You're worried about your kids seeing R-rated movies but you let them watch the evening news!!" Yeah, it's all crap. I'm not sure what memory bias it falls under, but it's basically recalling something (such as the news) and attributing your own beliefs onto it. IE, if you think the news is violent, then whether it is or not is irrelevent, you're going to remember it as being violent regardless.

(new window)

Jesus Saves After He Passes Each Level

I think you guys are missing the point. The kind of consequence he's talking about isn't "Well you might have to do the level over again". He's referring to the fact that you never see the stormtroopers' grieving families, never face any kind of social stigma for being a killer, never get charged with crimes and led through a shameful and costly trial and punishment for war crimes, etc.

Man On Pink Corner: What problem is being addressed here, again?

Thank you for posting the "crime rate is dropping" graph. As we all know, the cause there is legalized abortion in 1972, as proven in Freakonomics.

Molehill: I think you guys are missing the point. The kind of consequence he's talking about isn't "Well you might have to do the level over again". He's referring to the fact that you never see the stormtroopers' grieving families, never face any kind of social stigma for being a killer, never get charged with crimes and led through a shameful and costly trial and punishment for war crimes, etc.
i still feel horrible about killing the weighted companion cube

IE, if you think the news is violent, then whether it is or not is irrelevent, you're going to remember it as being violent regardless.

Well, to be fair, news reporting is the only type of audiovisual content that can be positively demonstrated to give rise to real-world violence.

Otherwise, there would be no such term as "copycat killer," right?

Bullshiat.

I just finished playing Indigo Prophecy a few days ago and the entire basis of the game is moral consequence. Mass Effect, Fable, KOTOR, Black and White; all these games have a morality system. WTF is this dude talking about? Or is he only concentrating on the obviously violent games? fark, even they have their own form of a morality system.

And besides, games like Manhunt 2 and the GTA series were never meant for children.

Consequences? Sure, you don't hear a knock at the door after ripping someone's head off in a game...but you don't rip someone's head off, either; it's a damn game. Next someone's going to say medical dramas are 'immoral' because they encourage young children to cut people open and replace things with Lego bricks.

/Come to think of it, what does that say about Operation?