The Debaser Special - Violence in Seemingly Non-Violent Games or How Society Views Violence

Violence is everywhere in gaming.  Go look through your collection; I'm sure you've got violent titles that you never thought about.  No, I'm not talking about a few fist fights here and there.  There are some characters and franchises that we know and love that are violent enough to make Call of Duty look timid and even a bit girly.

We've all been near fires, right?  I hope that everyone at least understands the concept of heat.  Have you ever had the urge to set something on fire and throw it at a turtle?  Of course not; you'd be some kind of sadistic freak.  With that in mind, why do we excuse these actions when Mario does them?  This murderous, drug addicted psycho enjoys crushing living things with his own body weight, kicking objects into unsuspecting beasts, and throwing fire onto turtles and plants.  Even if you assume that the turtle deserved it,  why did the raging douche burn a plant?  Does it make him giddy when he lights someone's rose bushes ablaze?

This freak also enjoys dressing up as various animals and creating even more chaos.  He will dress as a raccoon and attack things with his "tail" or put a helmet on and literally toss hammers at passer-byers.  If I haven't described a scenario violent enough to humble Boston after a Sox loss, then I feel for society.

Let's play a scenario game.  Burglars have broken into your home and are chasing you.  Would you outrun them and call the cops, grab a weapon and defend yourself, or eat them?  If you don't choose option C, then Pac-Man thinks you're a bitch.  This guy has made gaming history through repeated acts of gratuitous violence throughout his many years of being an arcade legend.  He isn't a fan of the ghosts invading Pac Land, and he's more than willing to eat a power pellet and tear into the intruders.

It's about time!

But let's not place all the blame on the famous, dot munching hero.  We would all want to defend our families from psychotic, homicidal ghosts if we could.  These guys have been trying to kill Pac-Man's main squeeze, Ms. Pac-Man, for nearly as long as they've been out to kill him.  These maniacs can't be stopped either.  Even if their skin is eaten away, they'll freshen up and keep coming.

Anyone who knows about King Kong remembers his famous climb and the intense violence that occurred afterward.  Modeled after the famous film character, Donkey Kong hasn't always been a calm guy.  His debut game was simply titled "Donkey Kong" and involved kidnapping, tossing barrels, causing fires, and destroying buildings.  The carnage began when DK decided to kidnap Mario's old girlfriend, take her to the top of some whacked out structure, and start tossin' barrels like they were bullets.

Donkey Kong's descendant, also named Donkey Kong, doesn't seem to share his elder's ferocity and would rather play the hero.  He finds satisfaction in bashing reptilian pirates into submission and friendly go kart competition where tossing explosions are permitted.  Perhaps he doesn't follow his elder's ways because he realizes that the elder Kong is a damned psycho.

What would happen if someone kidnapped everyone you knew and transformed them into machines while simultaneously destroying the land you call home?  No, I'm not describing the crappy plot to G.I. Joe 2(also rated PG 13); I'm describing the life and legacy of Sonic the Hedgehog.  Sonic didn't appreciate Dr. Robotnik's arrival, and he was determined to send him packing.  He would wreck the doctor's machines to rescue animals while destroying several assault vehicles and bases in the process.

Bubble Bobble seemed like a cute, innocent slab of fun at first glance, but I was terrified when I realized what I was really seeing: two dinosaurs viciously devouring random creatures.  So the cave monsters wants Bub and Bob dead while these two dudes just want to save their girls and grab a bite to eat.  It seems harmless enough until you witness the senseless carnage that puts the Thunderdome to shame.

You've murdered enough!  You win the game!

In theory, Bubble Bobble is arguably the most violent NES game ever created.  Some heroes stomp on enemies, some shoot enemies, but these guy trap their enemies in bubble, cause them to explode and transform into another genus, and then eat them.  They go on a massive rampage where they even use water, lightning, and fire to kill whatever stands in their way.  In return, the monsters would love to murder the hell out of these bubble-breathing freaks.  They even have their ghosts on the prowl.  It makes Modern Warfare 2 seem quite timid.

Of course all of this is nothing more than a large quantity of overthinking, but it makes one wonder why the subject of video game violence didn't arise before the days of Mortal Kombat.  I was presenting the violence in these games in a joking way, but I certainly didn't make any of it up.  There was never an intense outcry to stop video game violence - that I can recall - until real actors were put in a game and shed digitized blood when hit.  I guess it's a bad thing for kids to understand that if they hurt a friend, then the friend would yell and bleed.  Crushing turtles and swinging a sword at stuff is good, wholesome fun.

American children have been brought up on the antics of Looney Tunes characters, and 80's kids were exposed to the relentless fighting of G.I. Joe and Transformers characters.  Even today as cartoonish video games actually get slapped with more mature ratings, some games like Super Mario Bros Wii slip through the cracks of our endless brigade to over-rationalize violence in video games.

I'm hardly stating that I believe Super Mario Bros Wii should be given a more mature rating because I find the game fun for the whole family.  What I am stating, however, is that, under the ridiculous guidelines given to us by today's peers, its violence is neglected and therefore not categorized like the other cartoonish games that are deemed "violent."  Does this sound ridiculous to you?  It should.

Despite having several fight scenes, a death scene, and a scene where a Foot Soldier is electrocuted, TMNT(1990) got away with a PG rating.

Violence in anything, just like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder.  While many of us find Mario to be fun and innocent, the definition of violence sees it as a massacre without the blood.  While some of us find Black & White to be an entertaining PC game, others see it as a slight against God.  While some of us believe that spanking a child is acceptable, others see pro-spank parents as barbaric neanderthals.  It's all a matter of speculation in the end.

The truth of this matter is that today's society is obsessed with keeping violence away from children yet chooses what type of violence is most worrisome.  If the violence doesn't fit society's pre-determined benchmark, then it can't be that bad.  These efforts, in simple terms, are nothing but moral propaganda.

Think for yourselves.

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