Game makers ramp up carnage in new releases
LOS ANGELES — Game makers at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo went for the jugular.
That’s not just a metaphor about the competitive spirit of the video game industry. There were also depictions of throats being ripped out — as well as spleens, spines, hearts and testicles — in some of the goriest scenes ever shown off at E3.
Developers of such titles as Bloodborne, Let It Die, Mortal Kombat X, Dead Island 2 and Dying Light weren’t shy about harnessing the high- powered graphical capabilities of the latest generation of consoles to portray more realistic decapitations and other grisliness.
Why the apparent boost in high- definition gross- outs?
“I think in the early years of a console launch, you have the so- called early adopters and hardcore fan base,” said Shawn Layden, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, which launched the PlayStation 4 last November. “I think they look for the latest gaming experience that takes them to another level from where they’ve been before, and a lot of our publishing partners are pursuing the new, most impactful experience for gamers.”
The parade of carnage kicked off Monday at Microsoft’s presentation when the creators of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare demonstrated a level in which a character’s arm is ripped off while attempting to sabotage an enemy aircraft in South Korea. Michael Condrey, co- founder of Advanced Warfare developer Sledgehammer Games, maintained the amputation wasn’t only intended to shock.
“We know that war is terrifying,” said Condrey. “The military advisers that we work with talk about the horrors of war. Call of Duty isn’t just about gratuitous violence. The scene that you saw in Seoul at the Microsoft press conference, that’s an impactful story moment. ”
Other slaughter on display at E3 included a first- person perspective of a decapitation in a demo of the French Revolution-set Assassin’s Creed: Unity and several bone- crushing new moves in Mortal Kombat X.
“It seems, as time goes on, video games continue to become more violent, realistic and graphic,” said Brad J. Bushman, a communication and psychology professor at Ohio State University. “The research evidence clearly indicates that violent video games increase aggression in players, and can make them numb to the pain and suffering of others.”