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What It's Like to Work on Ultra-Violent Games Like Mortal Kombat

kotaku.com.au

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Re: What It's Like to Work on Ultra-Violent Games Like Mortal Kombat

#41

Post by klez »

ralusek wrote: post #27

Kotaku. ".au" For those that don't know, Australia has censorship practices that America would consider absolutely absurd. Kotaku are similarly inclined in encouraging a kind of puritanical sensibility of their own variety. I would find this article much more interesting if I didn't get the impression that its author would happily legislate away developer and consumer freedoms to make and/or play whatever games they'…

> I would find this article much more interesting if I didn't get the impression that its author would happily legislate away developer and consumer freedoms to make and/or play whatever games they'd like.

Why did you get that impression? I've seen nothing that would make me think of that. Is there something I don't know about the author? For example that they called for this kind of censorship in the past? That would put the article under another light, maybe.

ETA: I just remembered that the article even concedes that probably people who play the games could not have the same effects as those who worked on it, so I'm even more confused by the impression you got.

Re: What It's Like to Work on Ultra-Violent Games Like Mortal Kombat

#42

Post by [deleted] »

jacquesm wrote: post #36
stevenwoo wrote: post #23

I have worked on ultra-violent games but never did research on what actual killings looked like as referenced in the article. As the one quote said, context is important as well as how close something gets to realistic looking. That embedded Mortal Kombat trailer was pretty unrealistic looking IMO, the physics was cartoon like and several what would be real life death blows were not death blows until the fight was ov…

> there was one mission where you have to kill villagers Nothing like having a bit of Mai-Lai re-enactment thrown in.

[deleted]

Re: What It's Like to Work on Ultra-Violent Games Like Mortal Kombat

#43

Post by pvg »

skocznymroczny wrote: post #13
unicornporn wrote: post #4

Had a really hard time watching that trailer. Makes me question if the developers have researched what level of gore their audience finds acceptable in an age of near photo realistic gaming.

What is photorealistic changes every decade. Doom used to be photorealistic, then Unreal, then Crysis, now modern games are photorealistic. And yet they don't look realistic at all.

It doesn't 'change every decade' since it's a style rather than just a function of technology. Doom was never 'photorealistic'. The original 90s MK is, Smash Bros Ultimate isn't.

Re: What It's Like to Work on Ultra-Violent Games Like Mortal Kombat

#44

Post by xigency »

I worked on Mortal Kombat X as a programmer late in the game. While I did not suffer from PTSD, I did find the game's graphic violence initially shocking and then later mundane. I work in a different industry now so it's sort of funny to think back to eating lunch at my desk while the game was doing a soak test and heads and limbs were flying. But watching video game violence daily made me desensitized to it. I had to keep that in mind when showing the game to family and friends.

I do agree with the points that there should be policies around working with violent material and having the chance to step back or work on other projects. That was not something I saw at the time, and while Mortal Kombat stands out in terms of violence, I think it would be a useful consideration with most video games.

Re: What It's Like to Work on Ultra-Violent Games Like Mortal Kombat

#45

Post by rocqua »

ben_w wrote: post #31
skocznymroczny wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is photorealistic changes every decade. Doom used to be photorealistic, then Unreal, then Crysis, now modern games are photorealistic. And yet they don't look realistic at all.

I was about to suggest Myst 2 onwards as exceptions, but then I looked at some gameplay videos on YouTube and even those don’t look very realistic any more.

Crysis remains one of the best imho.

Re: What It's Like to Work on Ultra-Violent Games Like Mortal Kombat

#46

Post by save_ferris »

bgeeek wrote: post #38
some-guy wrote: post #24

I grew up on 90s video game violence. Doom, Mortal Kombat, Duke Nukem, etc. I've found that over time, the type of violence that disturbs me is the one that is the most realistic. I had friends growing up who joined the military because they _loved_ games like Call of Duty and Counter-Strike. Many of those friends came back with severe cases of PTSD. Mortal Kombat 11, Doom (the reboot), are not for everyone. But It's…

I think I was more disturbed by the news on TV when I was a kid, which was long before even remotely realistic games started appearing. There are so many depictions of violence in everyday life be it video games, the news, movies, music, and even art. I wonder if they had the same conversations back in the day, e.g. battle of 1066 etc, etc.

Same, I've been fascinated by the role of violence as entertainment throughout history, but I struggle to find good reading material about it.

Unfortunately, whenever I ask around for recommendations or research on this topic online, people assume that I'm anti-violence.

Re: What It's Like to Work on Ultra-Violent Games Like Mortal Kombat

#48

Post by baby »

save_ferris wrote: post #46
bgeeek wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I was more disturbed by the news on TV when I was a kid, which was long before even remotely realistic games started appearing. There are so many depictions of violence in everyday life be it video games, the news, movies, music, and even art. I wonder if they had the same conversations back in the day, e.g. battle of 1066 etc, etc.

Same, I've been fascinated by the role of violence as entertainment throughout history, but I struggle to find good reading material about it. Unfortunately, whenever I ask around for recommendations or research on this topic online, people assume that I'm anti-violence.

I'm wondering what would happen long term if art and other mediums banned violent material. I know it is censorship. I'm just wondering if we would become a more peaceful society or if this would not have much effects.

Re: What It's Like to Work on Ultra-Violent Games Like Mortal Kombat

#49

Post by malvosenior »

ryanmarsh wrote: post #28
stevenwoo wrote: post #23

I have worked on ultra-violent games but never did research on what actual killings looked like as referenced in the article. As the one quote said, context is important as well as how close something gets to realistic looking. That embedded Mortal Kombat trailer was pretty unrealistic looking IMO, the physics was cartoon like and several what would be real life death blows were not death blows until the fight was ov…

I found many movies (war, horror) unwatchable after having been in combat. People do die in some of the worst ways. Their last moments will make you shudder to think about. I don’t find pleasure in, and I look down upon those who enjoy, terrible death/torture scenes. Some scenes in games are too much for sure, but there are far more horror scenes that I think never should have been made and have no place as entertain…

One point of view is that it's important for people who have not been in combat to see these things. It makes war less abstract and educates people on what the reality of combat is like.
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