Post ADUrxDKkNj5OMSF6WW by mithrandir@raru.re
(DIR) More posts by mithrandir@raru.re
(DIR) Post #ADTrxykRtwFEFyfYOG by tindall@cybre.space
2021-11-17T04:31:02Z
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thinking, as i so often am, about violence in video games
(DIR) Post #ADTtZiBs0j0drW3G2y by tindall@cybre.space
2021-11-17T04:33:54Z
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there's a real way in which it's an almost purely historical phenomenon - video games were made by people with computers, maths nerds and physics nerds who made games about swords&sorcery, and about warfare
(DIR) Post #ADTtZikFwsVzaA8ie0 by tindall@cybre.space
2021-11-17T04:34:33Z
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but beyond that, it's a mechanism that slots so neatly into all the criteria that good game mechanics require. if we want to replace violence as a mechanical theme, in all its forms, we have to seriously look at why it's endured so well
(DIR) Post #ADTtZjGA2G2HB74CNE by tindall@cybre.space
2021-11-17T04:36:18Z
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it creates clear stakes. it creates all-or-nothing outcomes when needed, reducing the frustration of needing to load a save from ages ago to fix a mistake. it lets designers easily tune how much your resources are drained by challenges.
(DIR) Post #ADTtZjqfqVF70M9MHo by tindall@cybre.space
2021-11-17T04:37:36Z
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it's universally legible in a way that, say, your crops failing due to over-fertilizing, or your plane losing speed due to incorrect flap/slat config aren't - not that there isn't a market for super noodly technical games, but it's smaller.
(DIR) Post #ADTtZkTfVWR0xIOV4C by tindall@cybre.space
2021-11-17T04:39:10Z
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even games like *Stardew Valley*, which absolutely could have simply said "no weapons, no violence," choose to embed harm and killing - why? we can't be flippant if we want to understand why it's so embedded in the DNA of gaming.
(DIR) Post #ADTtZl4BJldqmXTeym by tindall@cybre.space
2021-11-17T04:39:58Z
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and i don't meant to act like i'm the authority on this - I'm not, there's lots of good stuff written about this. but my experience is that people often go "violence in video games bad," and not just from the stereotypical direction
(DIR) Post #ADTtZlkilbfYuTNdHk by tindall@cybre.space
2021-11-17T04:41:56Z
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it's not just old people who "don't get it" - the young and esp. queer game design crowd often has an anti-violence aesthetic, and that's _awesome_. but i want to understand why we go back to it so easily. what is so attractive about hitting shit?
(DIR) Post #ADTtZmIkj4tKc1IoKW by tindall@cybre.space
2021-11-17T04:43:30Z
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anyway all this because i can't stand modern FPSes, my mom can't stand even cartoonish/explicitly nonhuman strategy games, and my boyfriend hates watching me play combat flight games.our distaste for violence, and vice versa, is deeply personal.
(DIR) Post #ADUrxDKkNj5OMSF6WW by mithrandir@raru.re
2021-11-17T04:46:42Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
@tindall conflict is one of the easiest ways to keep the audience interested. One of the easiest kinds of conflict to portray is violence.
(DIR) Post #ADUrxDr0RmtFyVKro0 by drq@mastodon.ml
2021-11-17T16:05:57Z
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@mithrandir moreover, conflict *is the* core to story. If you have no conflict, you have no story. Nothing is happening. A game without conflict is the Rock Simulator.It's the same dialectics as anywhere else. Conflicting opposites set the world in motion.@tindall
(DIR) Post #ADUsOJvhxusUdaSLNQ by drq@mastodon.ml
2021-11-17T16:10:52Z
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@mithrandir moreover, conflict *is the* core to story. If you have no conflict, you have no story. Nothing is happening. A story without conflict is a blank page. A game without conflict is the Rock Simulator.It's the same dialectics as anywhere else. Conflicting opposites set the world in motion.@tindall
(DIR) Post #ADUsS65jMFvwsQweUC by drq@mastodon.ml
2021-11-17T16:11:33Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@mithrandir moreover, conflict *is the* core to story. If you have no conflict, you have no story. Nothing is happening. A story without conflict carries as much information as a blank page. A game without conflict is the Rock Simulator.It's the same dialectics as anywhere else. Conflicting opposites set the world in motion.@tindall
(DIR) Post #ADVpjZZ8UZQNI7Y6jY by mithrandir@raru.re
2021-11-18T03:15:47Z
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@drq @tindall well games don't really need story. Tetris doesn't have a story.
(DIR) Post #ADW3fRSKAwMrr6clUm by drq@mastodon.ml
2021-11-18T05:51:54Z
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@mithrandir it still has a conflict between a player and the box filling up with blocks. A player has to sort the blocks so they form solid lines which disappear to keep the screen from filling up. The player does not want the box to fill up.That's a conflict. A Greek Tragedy caliber of conflict, no less, by the way, because the player is always destined to loae and be crushwd under the blocks, no matter how good they are.That's Russian game design for you.@tindall
(DIR) Post #ADWBkPOi3SmiYLoS4O by drq@mastodon.ml
2021-11-18T07:22:27Z
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@mithrandir Life in Russia is depressing, so are our games.@tindall
(DIR) Post #ADXNBri0hPGmIsapTk by Alonealastalovedalongthe@toot.cafe
2021-11-17T04:49:55Z
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@tindall "if we want to replace violence as a mechanical theme, in all its forms, we have to seriously look at why it's endured so well"You make good points and I think the only other thing that consistently give as clear stakes and easy to parse mechanics in virtual experiences as violence does is sports. Rocket league is a game free of violence (I mean you can demo other players but it hardly feels *violent*) but it has all the immediacy of FPS games, if not more.
(DIR) Post #ADXUuI0MzWb4HRJKDI by Hyolobrika@fedi.club
2021-11-18T22:31:52.502886Z
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@mithrandir well then I think there's @tindall@cybre.space’s answer. simply replace violence with other forms of conflict, such as rivalry for partners and resources, or arguments
(DIR) Post #ADXV2RZxHO7kI2qNI8 by Hyolobrika@counter.fedi.live
2021-11-18T22:34:07.467434Z
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@mithrandir well then I think there's @tindall@cybre.space’s answer. simply replace violence with other forms of conflict, such as rivalry for partners and resources, or arguments
(DIR) Post #ADXVDE7je63hkFmmga by Hyolobrika@counter.fedi.live
2021-11-18T22:36:04.325382Z
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@mithrandir cybre.space seems to be blocking both my instances. oh well, I guess tindall won't be able to see my interesting post, what a shame ¯\_(ツ)_/¯maybe some one could relay it?
(DIR) Post #ADXVFy43oI88o5NFYm by newt@stereophonic.space
2021-11-18T22:35:45.812633Z
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@drq @tindall @mithrandir oh man.. you have clearly never read icelandic literature. They have entire books where nothing happens except for the last few pages :comfyjoy:
(DIR) Post #ADXVIQNpUaG9DPnBTc by icedquinn@blob.cat
2021-11-18T22:36:13.953991Z
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@Hyolobrika @mithrandir @tindall thousands of years of society selecting for men that were good at enduring elements and fighting off beasts and other men?
(DIR) Post #ADXXtZmPidOyyt8OOW by newt@stereophonic.space
2021-11-18T23:05:19.430444Z
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@Hyolobrika @mithrandir just embrace being blocked and have pride in it :comfyjoy:
(DIR) Post #ADXdcFffpS5FPv6Vrk by Hyolobrika@counter.fedi.live
2021-11-19T00:10:14.391689Z
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@newt @mithrandir I was being passive-aggresive. if they want to stick their fingers in their ears, it'll hurt them more than me