Why is killing children in games taboo

Vermillion_Raventhal

I have always wondered why killing children is taboo.  Not that it's something that I desire. 

Just a curiousity maybe from someone who thinks a little more binary. I mean a pixel is a pixel. I understand not wanting backlash but even games like GTA don't kill children even with the depravity that takes place in the game.

RPGs usually avoid having children altogether or make them unattackable/immortal or away from conflict. I mean children die in movies not even PG13  I mean you will have a whole village murdered but no kids in sight like Elder Scrolls games for example. 

The only exception is when the main character is a child or teen.  

JackieRyder

its the principle behind it.... most fickle minded individuals would associate it with the mindset of the developers and call them baby killers and such

Ginaz

The media, politicians and general public would lose their minds if killing children was possible in a game.  A lot of video games are banned in many countries for stupid reasons (looking at you Australia) so there's no reason to give them another.

Ungood

This was something that started with Horror Movies, can't say I know why, but there was basically an Unwritten Rule where children were pretty much off limits to be killed.

However malformed monsters made of babies are still allowed.. not sure how that works, but I just kinda roll with it.

Gruug

Why would anyone WISH to kill a child intentionally? 

iixviiiix

Vermillion_Raventhal said:

I have always wondered why killing children is taboo.  Not that it's something that I desire. 

Just a curiousity maybe from someone who thinks a little more binary. I mean a pixel is a pixel. I understand not wanting backlash but even games like GTA don't kill children even with the depravity that takes place in the game.

RPGs usually avoid having children altogether or make them unattackable/immortal or away from conflict. I mean children die in movies not even PG13  I mean you will have a whole village murdered but no kids in sight like Elder Scrolls games for example. 

The only exception is when the main character is a child or teen.  

That's why i have to mod to kill Braith just to get thank by Battle Born laid , heh , it kind of dark .

Warmaker

LOL, Fallout 1 & 2 you could light everyone up, even kids.   The same death animations like dances as automatic gunfire connects, plasma blasts melting flesh off bones, disintegrations from some energy weapons, lasers cutting them in half, half the head or a notable chunk of the body shot away by gunfire... It was all fair game, and nobody gave a damn.

FO1 & 2 had a title specifically for someone that killed a child, "Child Killer" and there were repercussions for it.  But most games these days, there is no choice at all.

Vermillion_Raventhal

Gruug said:

Why would anyone WISH to kill a child intentionally? 

Are you talking morality in games where your are literally a mass murderer?  It's a very bizarre angle to be like oh no the children while hacking away at whole generation of enemies.

Groqstrong

There is child death in AC:Odyssey. 

Vermillion_Raventhal

Ginaz said:

The media, politicians and general public would lose their minds if killing children was possible in a game.  A lot of video games are banned in many countries for stupid reasons (looking at you Australia) so there's no reason to give them another.

Yeah I always find it weird that governments will ban a game but allow movies that are just as violent pass.  Scratch that not sure why anything outside of what's illegal to record to be regulated. 

aRtFuLThinG

Vermillion_Raventhal said:

Ginaz said:

The media, politicians and general public would lose their minds if killing children was possible in a game.  A lot of video games are banned in many countries for stupid reasons (looking at you Australia) so there's no reason to give them another.

Yeah I always find it weird that governments will ban a game but allow movies that are just as violent pass.  Scratch that not sure why anything outside of what's illegal to record to be regulated. 

I think probably because most politicians and influential people watch movies but very few of them play sandbox games.

Same reason why politicians like to pick on MMA rather than boxing, and pick on boxing rather than football - even though in terms of contact sport football is probably the most dangerous one. A lot of those "the man" used to play football in high school but not a lot of them do martial arts of some type.

People tend to want to use other people who are different from them as scapegoat so they can enjoy their own violent delights.

AlBQuirky

Gruug said:

Why would anyone WISH to kill a child intentionally? 

Close to the same reason people slaughter whole villages/cities (men, women, and  domestic animals)? Close to the same reason they feel the need to steal anything not bolted down?  Simply put, "Because they can."

Here is me trying to help poor Lars Battle-born (in Skyrim) grow a backbone and stand up to Braith.

Poor Lars

Kyleran

Honestly, when a game has me killing creatures such as mammoths which have a baby or two trailing behind the mother I feel a little bad about it, even if they are just pixels.

Something ingrained deep within me, an aversion to killing the helpless I think.

kitarad

Generally call it weird but I don't even kill baby pixel animals. They look so cute and I cannot bring myself to kill them unless they are spiders then kill,kill,kill!!!

Rosenborg

Warmaker said:

LOL, Fallout 1 & 2 you could light everyone up, even kids.   The same death animations like dances as automatic gunfire connects, plasma blasts melting flesh off bones, disintegrations from some energy weapons, lasers cutting them in half, half the head or a notable chunk of the body shot away by gunfire... It was all fair game, and nobody gave a damn.

FO1 & 2 had a title specifically for someone that killed a child, "Child Killer" and there were repercussions for it.  But most games these days, there is no choice at all.

Yep, I remember playing FO2 and in the towns, kids would flock around you and steal from you. Killed one of those little criminals and one of my companions said, "I'm out" and left the group, I then of course killed him. After that I loaded up a previous save game and went without killing any kids.

There was one difference between the US and EU versions of FO2, in the EU version killing kids was disabled.

Kabulozo

Gruug said:

Why would anyone WISH to kill a child intentionally? 

So it is totally right to kill entire towns of innocent adult npcs, even elderly, in games like RDR, but terrible if its a dog or a child.

laserit

I’ve never thought about it, I would think that it’s quite distasteful and I would also think that it would also hurt sales as it would cross a line with a lot of parents not to mention drawing undesirable media attention.

aummoid

Vermillion_Raventhal said:

I have always wondered why killing children is taboo.  Not that it's something that I desire. 

Just a curiousity maybe from someone who thinks a little more binary. I mean a pixel is a pixel. I understand not wanting backlash but even games like GTA don't kill children even with the depravity that takes place in the game.

RPGs usually avoid having children altogether or make them unattackable/immortal or away from conflict. I mean children die in movies not even PG13  I mean you will have a whole village murdered but no kids in sight like Elder Scrolls games for example. 

The only exception is when the main character is a child or teen.  

A system can be binary without being restricted to a single bit of information.
Upgrade to 2-bit thinking and you will figure out the answer to your question very very quickly.

Amaranthar

It's a sad thing that so many people don't understand the callousness of this kind of game content.
What's worse is that some too many even bask in the glow of their e-tough callous attitudes, with little clue to the world and it's very real pains.

Ganksinatra

Vermillion_Raventhal said:

I have always wondered why killing children is taboo.  Not that it's something that I desire. 

Just a curiousity maybe from someone who thinks a little more binary. I mean a pixel is a pixel. I understand not wanting backlash but even games like GTA don't kill children even with the depravity that takes place in the game.

RPGs usually avoid having children altogether or make them unattackable/immortal or away from conflict. I mean children die in movies not even PG13  I mean you will have a whole village murdered but no kids in sight like Elder Scrolls games for example. 

The only exception is when the main character is a child or teen.  

Speak for yourself, champ. I kill kids all the time!



.....oh, you said in games? Yeah, I dunno. I guess I would attempt to avoid killing kids if I had the choice, but you get in my crosshairs when I am trying to take a 700+m shot, the Reaper wanted his pound of flesh, and you just happened to be in the way.

rojoArcueid

I don't know and I really don't care. When I play video games I only kill hostile NPC.

I would love a stealth game where I could persuade and/or control hostile NPCs to avoid combat all together. Non-combat walking simulators don't count as there is zero risk in those games.

Wizardry

Well people are a product of their surroundings,piers,parents and worst of all ,social media,TV,Facebook,chat rooms.
it starts with asshat parents,they have kids and those kids learn to be even bigger asshats.I would say having seen so many different personalities come through for example my job,the % of normal people is around 50% at best,that means there are a boatload of weirdos infecting this planet.the
people can't think,they bury their heads in their cell phone,constantly on Facebook,lazy as hell i don't see a lot of good coming through the turnstiles.

Ungood

BlazerX said:

You fuckers are all really sick bastards.  No wonder gaming industry has gone to shit.  All you fucking degenerates are playing it.

Hi, Welcome to the Forums, you will fit right in.

hfztt

Vermillion_Raventhal said:

Gruug said:

Why would anyone WISH to kill a child intentionally? 

Are you talking morality in games where your are literally a mass murderer?  It's a very bizarre angle to be like oh no the children while hacking away at whole generation of enemies.

Its not about the morality of it. It is about how it makes you feel. On a very basic emotional level, any parent will react when seeing a child hurt or abused.
I for one seek to be entertained in my games. Violence among adults does not emotionally hit that same cord as violence against children does.
Game developers knows this, and respects it, same as movie producers. You CAN hurt a child in your game or movie, but you need to understand what that trigger for a large part of your consumer base. Timed right, such an event can have immense impact (in a positive way) on the viewer, but used wrong it just alienates the viewer.

craftseeker

If you have to ask then you need to seek help from a mental health professional.

Some of the comments on this thread are so distasteful that I wonder what is wrong with the people that posted them. I was aware that there were people with mental health issues on this forum and this confirms it.

Blaze_Rocker

"Why is killing children in games taboo?"

Probably because Uwe Boll doesn't make games and therefor hasn't challenged the norm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuPfTXBmiJ4