There is a certain hypnotic quality to violence, I find. Playing a game where it is a central theme runs the risk of being seduced by it, of allowing it to be the one and only raison d'être of the entire experience. A cult of violence exists within us all, and particularly in our roleplaying games. This sounds like an indictment, but it's not. For one thing, as I recently said over at Really Bad Eggs, the depiction of something is not the thing in itself. The depiction of violence is not violence, and treating it as the real thing is ludicrous. The depiction and experience of violence is something central to being human, and with it we can explore other things. Even when it appears senseless, it can really be a commentary on the purposelessness of life, the randomness with which we perish for senseless and incomprehensible reasons, or most simply the cruelty of man.
All of these things are inherent in the depiction of violence. But I find that there are certain settings and games, most particularly Warhammer 40k comes to mind, in which violence serves only as an end in itself. This is probably because 40k came into being as a war game and, like all war games, the story served as a reason to kill. There seems to be something sinister about 40k, though, particularly amongst the most iconic of groups: the Space Marines. They exist solely as arbiters of death and destruction. They are quite literally ubermensch, towering over most human beings, possessed of the strength to rip doors from concrete walls and crush skulls in their hands. They have excessive weaponry: exploding plasma-bolts, chain-saw swords, flamethrowers that can liquify bone.
What's my problem with these Space Marines? I'm not really sure. I like Warhammer 40k (though I think that Warhammer Fantasy has a much more cogent and well thought-out setting) but it seems somehow to be lacking in the content department. It has one or two themes, and it hammers them home with the subtlety of a screaming drunk. It espouses close-mindedness and racism, but in a setting where such things are valuable survival tools. It is, as the kids are saying these days, grimdark.
But it also runs the danger of falling prey to the treacherous siren-song of violence. While it may be dangerous for characters in the Imperium to think too much about their actions, the same is not true of their players. When players stop thinking and simply relish in the gore they are unleashing, is something not gone wrong? Violence without content has no depth beyond the most juvenile possible delight in destruction, and while it can be fun for a little while I cannot see myself engaging in a long-term 40k roleplaying game; at least not Deathwatch, which focuses on the Space Marines.
There are other elements that I enjoy and respect; the insane anarchism of Chaos, the hopeless (and very human) struggle of the Imperial Guard, and the clandestine workings of the Inquisition all have a lot of interest for me. But the superhuman muscle-flexing of the Space Marines seems somehow to be lacking, in many cases. That's not to say I dislike all depictions of the Space Marines, but that the ultraviolent trappings seem to be a pitfall that is hard to avoid. In their best incarnations, Space Marines are battle-brothers, knights of the horrific future age where all things are dark, an elite warrior-brotherhood, monks and templars. At their worst they are savage thugs who murder indiscriminately and casually and, worst of all, without examination by those who play them.
I do not mind violence in games as a general rule. However, I do dislike players who resort to violence as their default setting even if is obviously not the best option or other players want to try something different. Space marines, to use your example, would seem to breed that sort of play however.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I didn't mean to suggest that violence can never be used, or even that it can't be used frequently. My D&D games tend to be VERY violent; but the way I see it, CONTENTLESS violence (or possibly contextless? I'm not sure what exactly about it sets off warning bells) seems dangerously attractive to the point where it may overwhelm thinking on all grounds.
DeleteThe homogenity of the Space Marines is also something that I find disturbing in trying to play Deathwatch. They are all aethestically similar, and, indeed are all clones of a very limited number of archetypical prior marines. If I remember correctly, they're also pretty much programmed to serve the emperor and mankind through violent means. They are effectively bioengineered weapons, robots with less real autonomy than, say, a Star Wars protocol droid. This gives the players a great excuse: They are playing a weapon whose entire existence centers around violence. To not play it that way would seem out of character, in most cases. The homogenity and programming facilitates this. I wish I wasn't on my tiny android keyboard or I might expand my post to talk about military characters in games and how they often seem targeted to propagandize to young men about serving- Halo being a great examplebof this.
ReplyDeleteI would be eager to see an expanded post on this subject.
DeleteI think that your last point is particularly good. It is this lack of exmination by the player in a game, this lack of critical thought of violence in films by the watcher in a society that is supposed to uphold critical thought which is what really needs to be tackled. I do not myself worry about Space Marine players becoming addicted to voilence through gaming, I worry more about the sickness on display in the Saw films, where a mental illness is paraded in front of our eyes as being entertainment. If we are to reclaim our spirits back from the brink of being seduced by violence occuring unto others then we must do exactly what your last point says: we must examine the motives of the characters and we must examine the motives of the architects of the destruction.. and we must examine ourselves to determine if this is really what we want to see more - and inevitably worse - of.
ReplyDeleteI have tried to think about the violence that serves as entertainment in the games I play and it has always given me a headache. Take both Borderlands games for example. Violence is an everyday occurrence, something that never draws any suspicion or raised eyebrow. The game is simply about mass murder and mayhem. There is no way any society could exist on the planet of Pandora. Every aspect of life there is about violence. Death comes at a price measured in dollars, it only means you are sent back to the nearest spawn point and set back about 10% of you current cash on hand. But I love the game for its grim humor, the exploration, the imagery and the loot. Trying to figure out how a normal person could make a living on a planet where you might be murdered 3 or 4 times a day is utterly futile. No farmers exist, no infrastructure beyond guns, ammo, dune buggies and healing. The game simply is what it is, a first person shooter with CRPG elements that is a ton of fun to play wit my friends.
ReplyDeleteI also love WH40K and especially the Space MArines. Men who are what no human ever could be and most importantly the guys who keep humanity safe. But again, imagine trying to play WH40K as a farmer. Or as a businessman trying to move goods from one planet to the next. That isn't what WH40K is about, it's about the endless WAR. Once you try to make the Human Empire a real working, living, breathing place you suddenly make it mundane. I am more than willing to bet there could be people who never see a Space Marine in real life but the game isn't about that. It's about superhuman men and their enemies locked in combat. An eternal struggle for survival. It's a respite from the normal boring lives we live and a chance for a few moments of fantasy and excitement.
There certainly isn't anything stopping a person from trying to delve into the more human and real aspects of the 40K universe, Porky over at Porky's Expanse had a post about the emotional aspects of Chaos Space Marines and their questionable ability to express sadness. Find it here: http://theporkster.blogspot.com/2012/08/chaos-marines-dont-cry.html
I don't know. While such a question actually is interesting I can't see it being very fun as a gamer to get into the deeper emotions of the Space Marines. And since you bring up the Marines as an example, what about the Orks? They are an entire race built on the idea of death, destruction, rape etc. They have no purpose beyond violence. Try coming up with a valid societal model for them. How the hell could they get anything done at all? At least the Marines have their discipline.