Killing things has been woven into the fabric of videogaming since its earliest days.
But where, Harry asks, can games go from here?
Videogames are getting older, even as we speak.
The reasons for this are manifold, but the one most often cited is the interactive nature of videogames.
Thats a discussion for another time.
What were interested in is the portrayal of violence.
Videogames have always dealt with physical conflict.
This is, of course, an oversimplified generalisation, but in the main it holds true.
Except youre not killing, not really.
Shoot, quip, move on.
There are very few moments in videogames that are actually difficult to watch.
Take theSawvideogames, for example.
When reduced to combinations of button presses, they become abstract, meaningless half-actions.
In essence, the fact that youre elbow deep in needles is nothing but window dressing.
The shock emanates from the narrative context of the shooting, not from the action itself.
Again, all youre doing is traversing one of the obstacles the developers have placed in front of you.
The problem videogames have is that they are really only able to show violence from one perspective.
