When Does Gore Get In the Way of Gameplay?

Wired is running a story inspired by the level of gore in the recent Wolverine game that wonders: how much is too much? It mentions a study we discussed in February which indicated that violence tended to interest gamers less than other characteristics. "... the longer you play a 'twitch' action game, the less you notice the cultural content — the gushing blood, the shrieks of agony. You're too busy focusing on the gameplay. I noticed this with Wolverine. For the first hour, I found the deranged bloodshed both shocking and exciting; it made me feel like I 'was' Logan, the grunting, killing-machine character from Marvel Comics' X-Men universe. But as I became more expert, the cultural shell of the game boiled away. In a sort of staring-into-the-cascading-numbers-of-the-Matrix way, I found myself looking past the visible aspects of the game and savoring the underlying, invisible mechanics of play. ... The game became pure physics and algorithms: Vectors, speed and collision detection. The gore had become mostly irrelevant."

Silent Hill 2

[bhunachchicken]

For me, gore doesn't add anything at all, save for when it's used sparingly, to the point where it is so unexpected that it shocks. However, if ever there was an example of a game which didn't need gore to shock and terrify then, for me, nothing can beat Silent Hill 2. Such were the psychological shocks that there were points when I would be playing this alone, at night, and decide I'm better off playing something a little more fluffy to wipe the images from my mind. Sure, it had gore, but it was delivered to compliment the terror I was already experiencing from the suggests the game was making.

Re:When

[Anonymous Coward]

Star Wars Republic Commando - at 2:18 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0LDttvWiyM&feature=PlayList&p=3D51379A5628AB32&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=3 [youtube.com] is this close?

Re:It's called...

[Anonymous Coward]

video games does not desensitize from real-life gore much. Real-life, on the other hand, desensitize from real-life quite effectively. After gutting a few dozen chickens, you do not notice the gore much: it is just a question of physics, sharpening your knife, handling the feathers.... After killing a few enemies, you do not notice the gore anymore, it is just a question of physics, hand-eye coordination, handling the weapon and re-filling the chargers. After raiding a few villages, you do not notice the gore anymore. It is just a question of keeping your machete clean, building arm strength and cleaning your clothes from the blood afterward. Ask any farmer/butcher/sniper/rwanda hutu ...

Re:Silent Hill 2

[einar2]

Actually, you learn this in a hospital. If you hit the artery of the patient you can repaint the ceiling. There is enough pressure to squirt up to the ceiling.

Re:can't you turn Gore off?

[Anonymous Coward]

Kind of funny to reflect the game was banned in australia for a while. It's gory, you can't turn the gore off in game, but all the 3d dolls have had their naughty bits removed.

Remember! Sex bad! Gore good!