Building from an article earlier this week, it's always interesting to look at the huge range of possible things that can offend a mass audience. Although it's always an ongoing issue, ever since Ubisoft unveiled another male-fronted Assassin's Creed and followed it up by saying creating a female protagonist would have been "too much work", the issue of gender in games has been back at the forefront of the industry again. It's not just gender though; for the longest time the biggest go-to problem that mainstream press and mass audiences have with gaming is the depictions of violence. Not just aesthetics either, as something like Resident Evil or Silent Hill may have macabre visuals for the sake of establishing a horrifying mood, whereas other titles like the Mortal Kombat series are straight-up trying to be as disgusting as possible. Even so, there are thousands of fans who absolutely adore MK and its twisted, incredibly over-the-top sensibilities, saying that the gore doesn't bother them - and is actually quite enjoyable - because of the very fact it's so stupidly over-exaggerated. What about games like Manhunt and The Punisher though? Titles that - especially in Manhunt's case - present all the blood and violence in the most realistic way possible? Does it ever get to the point where you're wincing at something on-screen, even though it's 'not real'? Over the years depictions of violence have increased exponentially along with newer hardware, to the point now where everything from dismemberment to brutal beatings can look almost photo-realistic, but did any titles take it too far? Where do you draw the line when it comes to violence in games? And have you ever turned anything off because it was just too much?
