Humanity in games

Something I noticed a lot in games is a lacking sense of humanity, mostly due to a recognition of events seemingly not mulled over or reacted to by characters in the game.  I was playing Uncharted again, something I noted in another board, and I really enjoyed the game a lot as well as its sequel.  What struck me as odd is that the main character Nathan Drake didn't strike me as a killer, yet the majority of the game is spent shooting copious amounts of people for an alleged fortune that could be made.  There is no reaction to it, no show of emotion or anything when it came to killing the enemy.  I can see if a character like Kratos or Master Chief show little negative emotion when it comes to killing, Kratos seems to enjoy it and characters like MC or Gordon Freeman are doing it more out of necessity than anything else.  The only games of late that seem to contemplate the destructive nature of its characters are Heavy Rain when certain characters have the ultimatum to kill or not and Metal Gear Solid 4 where war and what it meant emotionally to those involved was examined.  Even Brothers in Arms, a series I love for its attempt at bringing emotion to the battlefield, contemplated issues of death and the failure to protect those you care about within a fps environment.  What does everyone else think on the lack of even a shred of humanity in most games? Should the player contemplate their actions while the characters contemplate it within the game? Or is it more "Who cares, they aren't real people and that's just how you play the damn game"?

Well, think of it this way. How many action movies have you seen where the characters got wistful about all the nameless minions they killed? Video games aren't novels; it's hard to balance introspection and crises of conscience while keeping the action moving.

" Well, think of it this way. How many action movies have you seen where the characters got wistful about all the nameless minions they killed? Video games aren't novels; it's hard to balance introspection and crises of conscience while keeping the action moving. "

I spose you have a valid point but if your going to start commenting on game realism i think there are more obvious things to target than character's emotional responses to their actions. Like the fact that Nathan Drake can take multiple bullets with little effect to his health.   

Itss still a developing art to create true emotive characters. Theres still alot of experimentation as to animate emotion. In the mean time they have to make up for the shortcomings that are still present in this medium with the action movie esc. persona. Even games like metal gear while very good at the drama and do help push the limits of these shortcomings, still have some over the top portions of the game. Games such as L.A. noir are playing with new technologies for emotive characters. If animation technology can get to a point of reliable emotive tech then mroe games can be dramatic. Even then there has to be some other way to compensate for less gameplay action.
 
Making games if fucking hard. Theres just so many friggin things to consider.

Maybe its because they are shooting at him, trying to kill him and he has done it before.  A lot in fact.  Indiana Jones was the same.

"Like the fact that Nathan Drake can take multiple bullets with little effect to his health.    "

I think for games like Uncharted you need to do a little 'suspension of disbelief'.  He also was shot multiple times and didn't die yet, in some cutscenes, some characters died in one shot (or, in some cases, stab).

To me, it's more like if you didn't feel anything when doing some sort of in-game action, it's because you weren't supposed to. The director in a movie can make a death tragic using his various moviemaking tools, and the same goes for games. 
 
For example, I was really sad to have to take out Wrex. Once you realize you have to kill that guy (sans good enough charisma), it kind of puts more weight on your dialog choices (did anyone else fully level up their charm/intimidate skill after failing the Wrex scene?). 
 
Morrowind really made me think about who I let live and die, too.

" Well, think of it this way. How many action movies have you seen where the characters got wistful about all the nameless minions they killed? Video games aren't novels; it's hard to balance introspection and crises of conscience while keeping the action moving. "

you should try Nier because maybe it doesn't make the character not want to kill all those things, it sure makes you not want to.

" When playing games I try not to focus on things like that. Video Games require you to suspend disbelief and keep the logic of the gameplay and narritive seperate. I agree though, the nature of video games being a interactive medium makes it hard to create a compelling story. "

When the protaganist starts doing that kind of stuff it can come of as kind of whiny, that kills my affection for the character pretty quickly. If it is done well then sure it's great but if not.... urgh.

Theres still alot of experimentation as to animate emotion.

It's something I've thought about but like people have said, it's just hard to do. I've always thought it would be a neat thing for a game to do something like a freeze frame after the character kills his first enemy and dive into a short exposition about who the person he killed really was and what the main character's thoughts are. I always thought it would be a powerful scene to do in a war game. 

Games about killing people are the easiest sell.  Wait until GB puts up the Users Best of 2010 list and count how many of the games have a guy holding a weapon on the cover.

" It's something I've thought about but like people have said, it's just hard to do. I've always thought it would be a neat thing for a game to do something like a freeze frame after the character kills his first enemy and dive into a short exposition about who the person he killed really was and what the main character's thoughts are. I always thought it would be a powerful scene to do in a war game.  "

 What does everyone else think on the lack of even a shred of humanity in most games?     

If you find a solution to this problem, you'll be rich. "

this is one of thousands of reasons why i think final fantasy x was such a fantastic game. due the reflective nature of the main character tidus, he often comments on how he feels about events as they happened. i recall him at one point saying that something he was seeing was almost horrifying to him and that he never wanted to see it again. you dont hear them talk like that anymore, even in games today.

Personally, I think more developers needs to take a look at Dreamfall. That was a perfect blend of everything I wanted.

" @Christoffer said:

Personally, I think more developers needs to take a look at Dreamfall. That was a perfect blend of everything I wanted.

In terms of story Dreamfall was great, in terms of mechanics I however found it rather underwhelming compared to Indigo Prophecy or Heavy Rain, as it was basically just old point&click with 3D graphics and direct character control thrown. And the action sequences that they had, had basically the same issues that all action sequences in adventures ever had (awkward controls, barely functioning mechanics, badly integrated, etc.). "

I guess the main reason is because if the protagonsit broke down crying every time he scored a headshot it would really cramp the momentum and style of the game. Uncharted 2 is pretty lighthearted, and Nathan Drakes lack of interest in the dudes he is killing can be seen reflected in any number of action films. As a contrast, here's that scene from Layer Cake, where such gravity is given to a single murder that it dominates a large chunk of the film.