Do you ever feel bad at killing someone in games?

[JaiGuru]

Never. I've never lost sight of the fact that you're not killing people in a game. You're "killing" pixels and object-oriented programming instances. I think it's important we, as gamers, make sure this narrative is out in front of everything we do. There are powerful interests who seek to use gaming as a scapegoat for their ridiculous political and religious agendas. We must be cautious not to give them ammo to use against us.

 

[randolm]

Of course- like accidentally killing someone in undertale (she said to prove your strong enough... then a quadruple damage hit later.....) or killing civilians in most games. Then there was that one guy who kept following me in GTA .... till he landed facedown in the concrete and got blessed with the respawn screen (he wouldnt stop following and already died twice but im not gonna let him have the chance to kill me so a cheap 3rd kill in a row it was... felt kinda low after that but at least he stopped chasing me lol.

There was also that time when I was new to the xbox and in coop kept accidentally sticking my partner with plasma in Halo.He'd just keep on pushing on till suddenly boom lol that felt bad occasionally but I never used such sensitive triggers before. Then he spawn killed me in coop (by making me fall to my death over and over and over lol)

And after hour+ grinding sessions sometimes I do start feeling sorry for the poor saps being farmed- does that count?

 

[konomi]

I don't think I've EVER felt bad about killing a character in a game. If the story sets it up to be sad, or like...if an ally character turns evil and you have to kill them, then that might be a little upsetting. But I wouldn't feel reluctant to kill the character, because...that's the game. That's how the story is meant to progress. Like, if I'm watching a movie and a character I like gets killed, it might make me sad, but I wouldn't stop the movie and turn it off.
That being said, I don't really play games where you run around and indiscriminately kill random human characters. So maybe it feels different killing characters in that sort of game.

 

[Neiltarquin]

No... That's the fun part about it. You can kill someone over and over without the slightest feeling of guilt can jolt your mind. A remorse-free world...

 

[OursIsTheFury]

well it's all in the fun of gaming, and if killing is a part of the game then I don't feel bad when it happens but for me I don't usually play war games or fighting games that much. I play mostly sports games which requires no killing.

Kinda messed up realization I had when playing strategy games like Civ or Red Alert. I sometimes use a decoy strategy where I send a number of my units in one area to attract the enemy defense, while the majority of the forces would strike after the enemy gets distracted. That would mean that you basically relegated a number of your units to get themselves killed for a tactical move, and this sort of thing happens in real life as well.

 

[Mace]

That would mean that you basically relegated a number of your units to get themselves killed for a tactical move, and this sort of thing happens in real life as well.

You cant save them all...

 

[Skip]

No not really

 

[olaryeankarh]

Often times, I don't care. I only have one character I had this feeling with back in 2013. I had no choice really but the said soldier had helped me conquer some really fierce battles before. But he rebelled. I had the option to quit that level (which would reduce my rank and give me more battles to fight) but killing him was the faster way to continue enjoying the game at that time. So I did. Watched the replay, almost cried. lol. I moved on.
The character is of blessed memory . The game? I can't even remember where I got it from but I played it in a camping program.

 

[overcast]

Never. I can differentiate between the real and imaginary things. So I keep the moral compass away when playing the games. I just look at the game players as non living beings. So that way I don't have to focus much on the games output. So that way it does not give me good or bad feeling inside.

 

[augusta]

I don't feel bad at all.infact ,it gives me more muscles to kill more. Though it just a game but come to think of it,if the opponents have the ability,they will do same without any pitying party.So I wouldn't slack in doing same.

 

[StolenKid]

I do not feel bad at all for killing someone in a game...Unless is a beloved character that has grown on me, whether is a likeable villain or someone you have to kill because of the plot needs.

 

[kenoobie]

No. I have not yet encountered an enemy in an RPG where I do feel bad for killing them. Seems like I have not played enough RPG eh? But other than that, Killing in an FPS or MOBA does not really bother me.

 

[Heatman]

We all kill a lot of people in game! For the plot, just for fun during a killing spree, any reason!
But there are those few times when you might feel a bit bad about killing your enemies. Maybe because the plot itself make you feel bad, or maybe because it's just a particular enemy you don't really want to kill.
For example I always have a hard time when I have to fight dogs! Poor doggos.

What about you?

Not really I don't feel bad killing animals in the game but when it comes to killing female opponents, it gives me hard time because I feel for them a lot ; especially when they get shot at how they cry and moan in pains.

But when it comes to killing other things, it gives me joy and satisfaction destroying them, especially when it comes to blowing up things. The sound of the bang gives me adrenaline rush and I feel like doing it over and over again.

 

[Gladdy]

If we're talking FPS games like Call of Duty or CS:GO then no, I don't feel bad about killing people there since it's what the game revolves around - killing the enemies. But there were some games, mainly the interactive story types, where I felt bad killing off certain characters. I didn't directly kill them but I did it indirectly through the bad decisions I've made. A great recent example would be Until Dawn. So many people in the story can die because of your decisions and sure, some are jerks, but it made me feel bad watching them die.

 

[yaorice]

Competitive online gaming? Not as much, because I know everyone's there for competition and for fun. But I've definitely felt guilty just disappointing a character in a story-based game before. I can't stand watching them being upset...which is probably a testament to how well-written the characters/story is.

 

[Dkaraly]

It depends. I don't really like to kill characters but if it's part of the game's plot then I will and I won't feel any remorse unless I grew fond of the character or the character is someone that I really like. For example, an evil favorite character, a villain, I don't want to defeat. But it doesn't mean I won't kill them, it just means I'll feel a little sad about it. On the other hand, if I'm playing an online game and someone kills me, that's a declaration of war and I'll enjoy returning the favor.

Curiously, GTA is the only game where I kill bystanders for fun. I don't know why.

 

[Jonathan Solomon]

Well, if I'm honest, the only time I've ever felt bad about killing someone in games was during Grand Theft Auto 4. As a hitman in Liberty City, you had to make multiple choices to either kill one person or the other. Ultimately affecting the outcome of the game itself. I find that game interesting because it pulled on my emotions throughout the story mode. By the end, I was left null and void of an actual purpose once everything was said and done. But I said all that to say that's the only time I've ever felt bad in a sense?

 

[Pink_Turtle]

I don't! After all it's just a game and characters are not a real person so it's ok xD.I don't usually play games where you need to kill people very often but when I do I don't mind at all. It's a part of the game and I repeat it's just a game. If it's something like counter strike they can just start a new game and that's it.

 

[vinaya]

I once had this game called Hungry Shark. In the game there was a hugry shark and we had to feed the shark with humans. If we did not feed the shark, it would die and we would lose the game. I tried playing this game but I could not continue, I felt very bad about making he shark eat human beings.

 

[JoeMilford]

Actually, no, I do not feel bad for killing anyone in a game. A lot of games require your character to kill in order to survive. I don't just kill characters for some sort of bloodlust fun, but I do enjoy the thrill of the fight when I succeed in destroying a group of monsters or zombies.