I thought I would make an entry in my blog as an extension of a Guinness-Breakfast conversation from last Saturday. That is the great thing about my friends and Guinness Breakfast in general, a melting pot of people and philosophies. Makes for diverse and stimulating conversation.

Many of the folks that come out to Guinness Breakfast enjoy games of one sort or another and our conversation eventually turned to video games. One of the games that entered the discussion was Grand Theft Auto IV. I indicated that I really had not interest in playing the game as it crossed a threshold of violence for me. That amused a number of people at the table as they know that I play Call of Duty 4 from time to time. I guess I appeared to be a bit hypocritical.

I want to get something straight before I continue with this post. I have nothing against people playing games that they enjoy and my comments are strictly an expression of my values and boundaries. In no way do I cast judgement on anyone who likes or plays something that I don’t.

I personally do not like the premise in Grand Theft Auto IV. I find that it crosses my boundaries of good taste and acceptability. I choose not to support that title by buying it or playing it. We all live in various shades of grey, and each person is entitled to define the boundaries of their own acceptable limits.  Call Of Duty 4 does not cross those lines for me. Is COD4 a violent game? Yes it is. The context of that violence does not violate my moral code or limits. I think that the context and the premise for violence is a very important component to a game. At least it is for me. These things are all on a scale and it is all relative.

There are a number of movies I can recall watching that disturbed me to the point that I would turn them off or switch the channel. These were not even gore movies. They were movies aired on television that had elements of senseless violence. I know there are many people who enjoy gore and slasher movies. It certainly is not my cup of tea. I don’t know, perhaps I should thicken up my skin? Perhaps I need to tune into the desensitization machine a bit longer? Until then, I will unabashedly say, “No thanks, that is not something I want” to those things that cross my line.  I guess there was no real point to this entry other than for me to try to articulate my thoughts and give myself a bit more clarity on this matter. Meh.

If the above service announcement struck you as hypocritical, please change the station and tune into another blog, or I might have to shoot you. 😀

EDIT: Ha ha ha. I just notices that this post is immediately above my Paintball post and picture. Love the irony.