From KQED: In Violent Video Games, the Gameplay Sends its Own Message
By Carolyn Petit
We like to think that games that feature violence as a core mechanic can be critical of violence, and in fact a piece was recently published on Paste Magazine called 10 Violent Games That Comment on Violence. (Hotline Miami is on the list.) But I no longer think it’s possible for a game that sets out to be fun and entertaining, in which violence is the primary way or the only way available to you of solving problems and interacting with the world, to do anything but glorify and celebrate that violence.
Of course, these games can establish concerns in their stories about the moral rightness or ambiguity of mowing down hundreds of enemies. But you don’t just watch a game; you play it. Gameplay mechanics make meaning as surely as stories do, and any narrative handwringing about whether or not violence is really all that great as a means of problem-solving is invariably drowned out by your moment-to-moment experience of actually using violence to solve your problems and to progress through the game. “Killing is fun,” the gameplay says, “and effective.” Violent games sometimes nudge you into contemplating what you’ve done. They almost never encourage you or even give you the option to stop doing it.