Does gore in games bother you?

Only if it gets in the way of the sex.

Typically, no

I ask this in relation to the blog post of Cliff Bleszinski stating that he winced at the violence presented in Bioshock Infinite which I think is only mildly gory.

I may have been desensitized by so many films and games I experienced to have any sort of knee-jerk reaction when it comes to splashing or spraying blood on screen.

nope, why would it?

there are FAR FAR FAR gorier movies out there. people dont whine about that much, why is it so different with video games?

Nope. I like it. Gibbing enemies is a great joy no one should do without.

No because I'm not a woman.

#1ReasonWhy

It's about context. 9 times out of 10, no, it doesn't bother me.

Not often, but things like Dead Space 2 do. Euuuuughhh.

Having said that, I did play Serious Sam 3 like this:

its fine if it feels totally insane/silly or its just appropriate for the tone. the times i get bugged is when it sticks out or feels like the purpose of the violence is to appease some adolescent hunger for that kind of thing. that said my friends and i flipped our lids when we first played soldier of fortune.

Not in games. In movies, though, I'm a wimp. Figure that out science!

I will say, I don't know if this is "gore" but FUCK FUCK FUCK that eye laser scene in Dead Space 2.

Nope. If it's ridiculous enough it can usually enhance the gaming experience, like the ludicrous gibb'ing in Gears of War. It can also at the very least help the world feel all the more dangerous, as well as your character feel all the more fragile at that.

I'd admittedly feel uncomfortable sometimes during, say, the Manhunt games, but that's intentionally so and it helped benefit the atmosphere and the tone of the games perfectly. Plus, at the risk of sounding like a complete psychopath, there's something oddly satisfying about shoving a crowbar into some thug's neck...

Oh, but now that you mention it, anything to do with eyes is also a huge no-no for me...

It doesn't bother me at all but I wish there was much less of it. I've always thought gore was immature and I don't really get anything out of it.

It depends really usually 9 times out of 10 no but if given the right context a scene of brutality can hit just the right notes that it comes off as disturbing. I do remember wincing at the scene in God of War 3 when Kratos murders Hercules. Good god man.

Nope. Love it.

Of course it does! DON'T YOU KNOW THAT VIOLENCE IN GAMES ARE CORUPTING OUR CHILDREN AND DESENS... Ah, Fuck it.

To be honest, not really. Even if I do find it offensive or disturbing, I just ignore it or move on. I do think there could be less of it though. I mean, do I really need to see a guy ripped in half or a slow motion X ray of a dude's bones breaking. Hmmmm.... now that I think about, maybe I do.

actually i'd like to revise my answer. i dont mind ultraviolence and gore. i do however mind when it detracts from the mood and story of a game.

bioshock infinite. the violence in it is FINE. im not offended by it at all. however it detracts from the story. you're supposed to be this haunted guy kinda looking for redemption and stuff, yet you rip guys ribcages open with a blunt hooksaw. it tries to do this nice quiet moment yet 5 minutes ago you tore some guys heart out with that same hooksaw, you'd be caked in blood and gore. come on!

just contextualize the violence is all i ask, it can be as over the top as you want, but make it work in the story. for example it works great in gears, you're tearing guys apart with chainsaw swords, blowing them into bloody chunks and it feels fine. in bioshock infinite it feels super out of place and awkward.

Nah.

Most of the games that I play have at least SOME gore in it so no, it doesn't really bother me unless it involves self harm, than it makes me nauseous. That kind of gore I can't handle in the slightest.

Nah, but to be fair, the executions in Bioshock Infinite were pretty crazy.

I love it actually, it's even more enjoyable than movie gore.I'm not violent and have no interest in hurting others, but 'fictional' gore is quite pleasing.

Having seen one too many fucked up things at my mother's clinic, gore does not bother me one bit.

Doesn't bother me in the slightest.
Either they're subtle enough that I barely even notice it's there or they go all out ala Mortal Kombat, in which case I tend to get a kick out of it.
Nothin' wrong with it.

I didn't use too many melee executions in Bioshock Infinite, but what I saw wasn't particularly shocking.
I didn't feel like it was out of place either. Game puts you in violent situations, I expect some people to get messed up.

Mostly no, but every so often something really bothers me.

@demoskinos said:

I'm pretty sure that nobody is supposed to get a kick out of the brutality in God of War 3 (not saying you did, mind). I was pretty positive during the (awesome) opening that the game was setting up Kratos as having crossed his moral event horizon and now he's a straight up villain. The shit he does to Helios for... being Helios cemented that interpretation for me. A lot of the crap Kratos does in the rest of the game (like the Hercules kill) makes a lot more sense when viewed through that lens.

Why isn't there a "Sometimes" option? I'm fine with gore if it's justified in context, like the general gore in Bioshock Infinite but I also find it find the brutality of the skyhook executions kinda a bit too much. I know, it's conflicting.

Gore doesn't bother me, no. I find the skyhook executions that people keep citing to be tame. It's kind of weird, gore doesn't bother me at all in video games, but many of the heat moves in the Yakuza games make me cringe every time I see them. Some of the shit you can do to people in the Arkham games is straight up brutal.

Jim Sterling wrote a good article on why Infinite's violence is one of the few instances in which it is perfectly justified here.

And I answered no. The eye stuff in DS2 does, sure, but I'm pretty sure it's supposed to. In cases like that I don't think being bothered is a problem.

I don't have trouble with gore unless there are heads exploding, or genitalia getting cut off or crushed.

Nope. Not one bit.

Normal gore? Nope. But don't ask why, but the 'gore' in 'Splosion Man really freaked me out. I think it was the association with food.

Not really. Hours of GTASA as a child have made me this way.

No, but I prefer Bill Clinton over Al Gore in my games.

Zing!

Not at all, typically. It tends to bother me in everything else, though.

Wait, so Cliffy doesn't like violence. What about Gears of War?

He's gone so far downhill after Epic Games was made into Microsoft's livestock.

Doesn't really bother me.

No not really, playing games like GTA: Vice City and even the Oddworld games in my youth helped to desensitize me.

Not usually in games, no. Films however, you betcha.

@smtdante89 said:

Same here. I wonder why that is. Realism, probably.

On the contrary, I love gore and bloody violence in games and movies, nothing like good kill scenes in old slasher flicks!

Nope, not anymore! When I was younger it used to scare me but after playing something like Mortal Kombat, it can't get that much worse... right?

But gore in movies? Yep, that shit is brutal.

Gore in video games doesn't really affect me. Gore in movies are killing me though, I can't handle that shit.

Not at all. Gore just doesn't bother me. I never forget that I'm looking at effects.

I've always been fascinated by medical matters as well, so I've seen some truly nasty stuff, and what's in games and even the most realistic of movies just doesn't compare.

I'm not impervious; catch me when I'm feeling a little off, and a particularly gruesome scene will make me a bit nauseated, and I find extreme, realistic suffering tough to watch.

Now, when it comes to morality, I do wonder if I'm not terribly and irreversibly desensitized. There's no denying that I have a bit of a gorehound streak in me, and although I'm strictly nonviolent in real life, it does leave me questioning what the hell I'm doing with my free time on occasion. If I just watched slashers and played Gears or something, it would be one thing, but I have a habit of hunting down some really soul-staining shit, and I couldn't begin to tell you why.

Like any other aspect, if it is integrated well into the world it isn't a problem. Dishonored is a hell of a violent game where people didn't seem to question it there.

The violence in Infinite is integral to the core of the story. When did the industry get so anxious to be politically correct and serious at every turn? It's hypocritical and more often than not the complaints are superficial.

I just don't like how gore is used in many games. I can watch it...its not that interesting. I can see its usefulness in games were it is used to effective for the narrative or convey a message. But, generally I think games like Tomb Raider (2013) miss the point when they just use it to seem edgy. I suppose my overall belief is that most developers use gore very poorly and could benefit with having a more thoughtful approach.

No, not at all.

Depends on how you mean bother. Morally I could care less, but when I see some shit (needle+eye=DS2) I gotta go oh what the fucking fuck. I think we need it in a lot of games though. I mean who doesn't want to see every single fatality in an MK game?