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Violence in video games does not present in a homogenous form.
While some games certainly are guilty of gratuitous violence, many game
developers consider the use and purpose of their violent content much more
carefully and place decisions as to how violent the gkme becomes squarely in
the hands of gamers. A prime example of this is the 2012 stealth game
Dishonored. A stealth game is one in which the gameplay mechanics allow the
player to avoid enemy confrontations and to disable enemies rather than killing
them. The player can also, in some stealth games, with a measure of care and
forethought, avoid being detected by enemies altogether. D ishonored offers the
player a choice of paths: combat or stealth. As the gamer powers up protagonist
Corvo Attano, he or she can choose whether to focus on upgrades that relate to
killing or to stealth. While the player can choose either mode, the game rewards
the strategy and care needed to play the game with stealth instead of violence.
The game’s setting is the plague-ridden industrial city Dunwall. The plague
spreads through vermin and the more corpses of victims there are, the worse the
plague becomes. Therefore, if the player chooses a violent play-through, this
creates more bodies and more overall chaos in the city. The plague spreads more
broadly and each successive mission in the game features more corpses, more
infected, and more human misery. The game is also made more dangerous, as
the infected lash out violently and will rove in packs as their numbers build, as
do feral rats drawn to and responsible for helping to spread the plague. The
choice to use stealth and non-lethal takedowns of enemies also changes the
game’s ending. This positive ending finds the young Emily Caldwell, crowned
empress after her mother’s assassination, learning from Corvo’s example and
ruling well and wisely. A very violent play-through ends with Emily learning to
rule with cruelty and violence as the plague continues to rage unchecked.
Gamers create the world they want to inhabit while in this virtual space.
In fa m o u s: Second Son (2014) takes a similar approach. The gamer,
playing as Delsin Rowe, has recently awakened what are essentially latent
superpowers. Many Americans have been displaying these same powers, which
are varied and akin to the types of powers the X-Men display. Those without
powers lash out with bigotry and hatred toward those with powers, called
Conduits by those with powers, Bio-Terrorists by the government. The
government has gone so far as to round up any known Conduits into
concentration camps, for their own safety, of course. As Delsin Rowe, the gamer
can choose to use non-lethal means to subdue these government forces and in
several major places in the narrative, can choose to either corrupt other Conduits
by encouraging violence and resentment, or help them by encouraging them not
to lash out at those who hate them. If the player chooses the darker path,
Delsin’s appearance begins to change. His face hardens and he looks, frankly,
evil. The everyday citizens he encounters on his missions in Seattle are terrified
and will call the authorities, leading to even more conflict. If the player instead
chooses the path using the least amount of violence and helping citizens along
the way, the game transforms. Citizens cheer the once outcast Delsin as he tries
to save his fellow Conduits and they will often interfere with government forces.