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@tindall@cybre.space to push back slightly against this, i present the following argument:

• making art about death is one of the most human activities imaginable

• consequently, if video games are to be art, they need to accommodate death

• due to the interactive nature of video games, they lend themselves well to exploring death which is preventable

• all preventable death is violence

in addition to explaining why violence will and needs to persist as one theme (not the only) in video games, i think this argument also explains why violence HAS persisted as a theme. humans make art, including games, about dying. they like to explore their own mortality in safe magic circles where consequences are limited to a game over. the horror genre of course is the exemplary case here, but i don’t think it is the only one.

i think an interesting and necessary question follows: what does it mean to make a game where one can die, but not kill?

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