A game without violence? BioWare thinks it's possible with the right audience
by Ben Gilbert 
{ Jul 6th 2009 at 4:00PM }
"We talk a certain amount internally about whether you need to have combat as part of the experience ... are there possibilities to actually start separating pieces of the game and actually tailor it to the audience," Zeschuk said to GamesIndustry.biz. "There are different audiences that would maybe just enjoy the story," he continued, hinting at the possibility of future BioWare games without any violent actions whatsoever. Though we're inclined to point to the plethora of adventure games out there, we're more hopeful for a Jade Empire sequel with extra spoonfuls of violence rather than too much reliance on story. We can hope, can't we?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 6th 2009 4:04PM
Blasphemy!!
Latin_Trident @ Jul 6th 2009 4:31PM
Tetris isn't violent. Unless you buy the black market version which shows blood oozing out of every block that gets crushed by the other falling blocks. I like that version...
Damian @ Jul 6th 2009 5:04PM
No there are people riding the blocks, and the blocks that land on top crush the people to death.
sony boy @ Jul 6th 2009 4:06PM
sex doesn't count as violence, right??? then i'm looking forward to mass effect 3.
MystileArmor @ Jul 6th 2009 4:07PM
Obviously you've never seen the best porns the internet has to offer.
Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 6th 2009 4:10PM
You gotta have a little violence with your sex. It makes it that much better.
ArchiGamer @ Jul 6th 2009 4:10PM
Bondage people say hi.
sony boy @ Jul 6th 2009 4:15PM
@the guy with blazblue avatar
ewwww. i don't want to see aliens bleeding.
Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 6th 2009 4:17PM
Whoa Sony Boy, not that violent. You're on a whole 'nother level of thought than me.
Captain Planet @ Jul 6th 2009 4:54PM
sony boy has obviously never seen Japanese porn.
Captain Planet @ Jul 6th 2009 5:07PM
@ Storm Eagle
Yes, I often like to perform the legendary "Donkey Punch" maneuver on my victims, erm, lovers.
chefgon_ign @ Jul 6th 2009 4:06PM
Just look at just about any adventure game that includes combat sequences, and almost without fail the combat is the worst part of the entire game. We need more people who are willing to stand up and say that violence is not required to make a great game that tells at great story.
WiredKnight @ Jul 6th 2009 4:24PM
i.e. Tomb Raider and Silent Hill.
Kevin @ Jul 7th 2009 2:54PM
Anyone remember Myst? It had story, exploration, and challenging puzzles, but no violence. We need games like that again.
MystileArmor @ Jul 6th 2009 4:07PM
Insult swordfighting in every game!!
ArchiGamer @ Jul 6th 2009 4:07PM
Conversations: The Game
Prepare to get Bored!!!
Zerokku @ Jul 6th 2009 4:07PM
Phoenix Wright's rampant popularity would like to say hi.
MowDownJoe @ Jul 6th 2009 4:11PM
To be fair, Pheonix has a big kick-me sign on his back, and suffers bodily injury in almost every case (especially in the second game, thanks to Franzika von Whippingstein... err, von Karma).
Zerokku @ Jul 6th 2009 4:13PM
I think there is a difference between the comic "violence" in PW, and the kind of combat/violence that bioware is talking about =P
Snakku @ Jul 6th 2009 4:35PM
What about endless ocean ?
rhythm heaven
wario ware series
Cody @ Jul 6th 2009 4:08PM
"A game without violence?"
Not on 360.
Wouldn't be "mature" enough brah!
Mr Khan @ Jul 6th 2009 4:20PM
Cut the unnecessary trolling, eh?
InFaMoUs1- @ Jul 6th 2009 5:32PM
lol +1
Preston @ Jul 6th 2009 4:08PM
Games without violence? Oh, so you mean like Maniac Mansion, Phoenix Wright or Hotel Dusk? Or even Tetris? :)
MystileArmor @ Jul 6th 2009 4:10PM
Yeah cause Tetris has such an amazing storyline...
Preston @ Jul 6th 2009 4:12PM
@Mystile - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE_1KlWFJyA
Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 6th 2009 4:12PM
Maybe you'd like to confront the families of the Tetriminoes that you mindlessly cleared away just for your enjoyment? Packing them into those tight spaces just to wipe them out in the blink of an eye. You monster!
rells009 @ Jul 6th 2009 4:14PM
@MystileArmor
I always thought Tetris was about the red straight puzzle piece trying to fit in with all of his irregularly shaped neighbors.
ArchiGamer @ Jul 6th 2009 4:21PM
I thought Tetris was social commentary on how we all want be accept by the masses....
WiredKnight @ Jul 6th 2009 4:28PM
Tetris is about the inevitable, unstoppable rise of communism and democracy's ultimately futile attempt to dismantle the communist party. Line by line, as it were.
Ashitaka @ Jul 6th 2009 4:34PM
@ Preston
Sorry, but that sucked.
http://www.2pstart.com/2007/09/19/its-not-you-its-me/
MystileArmor @ Jul 6th 2009 4:36PM
I thought the storyline in tetris was just a vessel for boobs and hot women.
Saria the Cat @ Jul 6th 2009 6:31PM
http://www.fanfiction.net/game/Tetris/
Drago Dracini @ Jul 6th 2009 7:11PM
... I was unaware phoenix wright was all about puppies and happy thoughts, instead of a new gruesome murder every chapter.
MystileArmor @ Jul 6th 2009 4:11PM
Pain sweet pleasure.
MystileArmor @ Jul 6th 2009 4:11PM
Oh oh reply fail.
Dan @ Jul 6th 2009 4:13PM
Puzzle games say HELLO!!!!!
GameDeveloper @ Jul 6th 2009 4:16PM
I guess no one at Bioware played Myst. Granted the story wasn't good and the game wasn't all that fun, but a game that only has story and no combat is hardly a revolutionary concept.
Mopo @ Jul 6th 2009 7:02PM
I tried to play Myst, but I got bored to tears; however, it sold like crazy back in the day. I believe most of the older Lucas Art's games have little to no violence and they sold well. For me, I want violence.
alahmnat @ Jul 6th 2009 7:59PM
I'm glad I'm not the only person who was wondering if BioWare had a 15-year blind spot towards Cyan Worlds... even Cyan's MMO, Uru, doesn't have any combat in it (they did kill one of the developer-controlled characters as part of the storyline, which kills the "no violence" label, but there's absolutely zero combat in Uru at the very least), and their titles have long been hailed for their depth of story (most especially Riven).
mxlplx @ Jul 6th 2009 4:19PM
METAL GEAR SOLID 4
mxlplx @ Jul 6th 2009 4:20PM
nm, that's game play not violence
Storm Eagle::The Blood Edge @ Jul 6th 2009 4:22PM
Wrong again.
It's cutscenes, not gameplay.
Andrew @ Jul 6th 2009 4:23PM
I think a BioWare produced adventure game would be amazing. I love the stories of KOTOR I & II, but the combat has always been kind of bland. If the focus was more on puzzle solving, critical thinking, and story telling, we could see BioWare adventures emerge as a force in the gaming industry, kind of like LucasArts adventures (though likely with a far more serious tone).
Duke @ Jul 6th 2009 4:21PM
How about Flower? I guess there was a little violence to it with the power lines, but it conveyed a story well without blood.
WiredKnight @ Jul 6th 2009 4:30PM
Flower petals falling drifting into electrified power lines does not constitute violence.
Courtney @ Jul 6th 2009 4:38PM
Agreed, I would call that a violent free game. Interestingly though, with the change in tone and color, it conveyed a sense of danger and violence (both past and present), without dragging the player through an orgy of death.
Plus, how many games have a primary mechanic that includes bringing things to life rather than destroying something. A few (Viva Pinata, a lot of Sim games), but by far not the norm.
Duke @ Jul 6th 2009 4:54PM
Wired, I agree, though we both know that someone would scream "The power lines were violent!!" if I didn't make mention of it.
Mr Khan @ Jul 6th 2009 4:22PM
I would be very pleased to see them do something like that, to try and test the strength of this medium from a pure storytelling perspective.
Dash @ Jul 6th 2009 4:22PM
May I remind you all of some old school RPGs that could be played only by dialogue and no combat at all? They were called Fallout and Planescape:Torment. (I beat Fallout 1 without killing anyone. And then I beat it again killing every single being in the game. That was true moral freedom)
And guess what? These games were made by the same guys that later on went to work on Bioware, keeping the tradition of Interplay and Black Isle Studios alive.
No surprise, I believe Bioware has the talent to make a non-combat RPG. Most likely it will be dialog centered like Torment, with skills that affect interactions with NPCs or something similar to lockpicker/hacking/mechanic skills of old Fallouts.