this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2024
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A left case against ultra-violence in video games (or at least MK fatalities)? (hexbear.net)
submitted 3 months ago by FugaziArchivist@hexbear.net to c/games@hexbear.net
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[CW: violence/gore]. As the title suggests, is there a left case to be made against ultra-violence in video games? I'm thinking mostly about MK11 and MK1 fatalities, as opposed to less gratuitous and less hyper-realistic violence--in Dark Souls or something. Whenever this topic is brought up, other factors usually take up the oxygen in the room: People might immediately think of family-values conservatives, such as the Media Research Center, who act like wet-blankets towards entertainment. Or we think of nerdy Joe Lieberman, who showed the 1993 Sub-Zero spine fatality to Congress (lol). There was Hillary Clinton who decried the Grand Theft Auto franchise, and the host of rightwing politicians who blamed Doom for the Columbine shooting (clearly as a way to absolve gun legislation from any culpability). So this is what I mean when I say that the conversation on video-game violence has been ceded entirely to these dudes, as opposed to something left spaces can discuss without sounding like squares or censors. This came to mind after I was reading about the video game designer who developed PTSD after working on Mortal Kombat 11. His dreams became excruciatingly violent, and his day-to-day was interacting with coworkers studying medical anatomy and watching videos of slaughtered animals. That can't be good for anyone. I guess what I'm asking is: should leftists see this as harmless fun, or something problematic? And, will photo-realistic Fatalities exist in the communist future?

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[–] KnilAdlez@hexbear.net 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

there's just a point where worker rights needs to be prioritized over your desire for simulated snuff treats, and we've already gone well past the point.

Literally all of my comments have said that the workers should be protected. If everyone consents to making a violent video game without coercion then there's no reason to stop them.

Literally what is the point of communism if our goals are not to protect people and improve lives?

How is banning violent video games improving lives? How is it protecting people? The point of communism is not to prevent someone from getting scared because they actively chose to consume violent media.

[–] EmmaGoldman@hexbear.net 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Are you suggesting that people should not be able to decide of their own free will to engage with these forms of media?

If everyone consents to making a violent video game without coercion then there's no reason to stop them.

"If everyone consents to working in the collapsing asbestos mine without coercion then there's no reason to stop them."

Literally every argument you've made in favor of this has just been libertarian Consensual Capitalism nonsense.

Most people don't seem to be genuinely interested in doing this work or making this type of content, either, outside of the structure of being assigned to do it by their corporate employer. The indie games that do lean into this trope of realistic ultraviolence based on real life gore have all had this triple whammy of fascist developers, reveling in making others uncomfortable as the first and only goal, and not really having the interest or skill to make a game that people will want to play. That's where we got things like Agony and Hatred, both of which hover right around the 40% mark of shame on review sites.

I'm not saying that all violence in video games should be banned, I'm saying that there's a level of realistic violence being produced in media that has gone beyond the level of reasonable and shouldn't be allowed for the same reasons that surgeons shouldn't be allowed to skip handwashing, that parents shouldn't be permitted to deny their children vaccines, and that bikers shouldn't be allowed to ride without a helmet. These are unreasonable and troubling risks that people shouldn't be permitted to consent to.

[–] KnilAdlez@hexbear.net 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

It's fiction. It's not real. If you have an actual study that shows that it causes actual harm, I'll listen to you but until then you're just making moralistic argument for no discernable reason besides that it makes you feel icky.

Most people don't seem to be genuinely interested in doing this work or making this type of content, either

Bullshit. The Indie horror scene is and has always been huge. People enjoy it and IT DOESNT HURT ANYONE so there's no reason to outlaw it. What does need to be outlaws is coercive business practices that keeps employees from having to experience these forms of media against their will. Again every single one of my comments has been pro-worker. You would rather impress your own morals on others without ANY scientific backing or attempt to understand another's point of view. You are literally saying the same arguments that SWERFS say to attack sex workers.

Believe it or not, I think communism is about raising up the proletariat, not policing video games.