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Poll

Anyone Else Here Psychologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?

Yes, but my philosophy hasn't affected my decision
Yes, and my philosophy is affecting my decision
No, but my philosophy has not affected my decision
No, and my philosophy has affected my decision
Other, please specify

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Author Topic: Anyone Else Here Psychologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?  (Read 4872 times)

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shezmu

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Hi guys, so as you know if you haven't been living under a rock, Modern Warfare 2 is out now and everyone mad hyped about it. The game has already sold over several million copies and counting. To no surprise, I myself am interested in playing it, though I have come up to a probably insurmountable problem with the game.

As an Anarchist, I have very strong moral opinions on war, people who start them, the people who support and/or maintain them, and especially the people who fight them. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), it seems that my philosophy is affecting me, being that I physically feel unease when thinking about playing the game. This is probably because the game will undoubtedly glorify people dressed in funny costumes invading countries around the world and terrorizing, kidnapping, torturing, and killing effectively defenseless people who's only crime was being on the wrong arbitrarily defined plot of land at the wrong time.

That said, is anyone else having similar feelings?  
« Last Edit: November 13, 2009, 01:04:24 PM by shezmu »
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Sam Gunn (since nobody got Admiral Naismith)

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Re: Anyone Else Here Physiologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?
« Reply #1 on: November 13, 2009, 12:41:53 PM »

wtf are you talking about "Physiologically unable to play"?  Do you understand the vocabulary you are attempting to use?
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"Do not throw rocks at people with guns." —Hastings' Third Law
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shezmu

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Re: Anyone Else Here Physiologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?
« Reply #2 on: November 13, 2009, 12:45:49 PM »

wtf are you talking about "Physiologically unable to play"?  Do you understand the vocabulary you are attempting to use?

Putting the douchebaggery aside, by "physiologically unable to play" I meant are there mental/physical barriers preventing you from wanting to play the game. I'm not sure how that wasn't clear.
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Rillion

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Re: Anyone Else Here Physiologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?
« Reply #3 on: November 13, 2009, 12:52:04 PM »

I think you mean psychologically unable to play.  You would be physiologically unable to play if, for example, all of your fingers were broken. 
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shezmu

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Re: Anyone Else Here Physiologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?
« Reply #4 on: November 13, 2009, 01:03:06 PM »

I think you mean psychologically unable to play.  You would be physiologically unable to play if, for example, all of your fingers were broken. 

I don't intend to or care enough to start a semantics debate, but wikipedia defines Physiology as a science of organs (read: brain).


Fuck it, consider the poll edited. :9
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AL the Inconspicuous

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Re: Anyone Else Here Psychologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?
« Reply #5 on: November 13, 2009, 02:54:34 PM »

I refuse to play any game that distracts from podcasts playing in the background.

So I mostly focus on very simple games with no text or audio, like card games, etc.
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Sam Gunn (since nobody got Admiral Naismith)

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Re: Anyone Else Here Psychologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?
« Reply #6 on: November 13, 2009, 03:56:35 PM »

Okay I apologize for being a jerk.
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"Do not throw rocks at people with guns." —Hastings' Third Law
"Income tax returns are the most imaginative fiction being written today." —Herman Wouk 

"If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Bill Brasky

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Re: Anyone Else Here Psychologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?
« Reply #7 on: November 13, 2009, 04:26:00 PM »

Hi guys, so as you know if you haven't been living under a rock, Modern Warfare 2 is out now and everyone mad hyped about it. The game has already sold over several million copies and counting. To no surprise, I myself am interested in playing it, though I have come up to a probably insurmountable problem with the game.

As an Anarchist, I have very strong moral opinions on war, people who start them, the people who support and/or maintain them, and especially the people who fight them. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), it seems that my philosophy is affecting me, being that I physically feel unease when thinking about playing the game. This is probably because the game will undoubtedly glorify people dressed in funny costumes invading countries around the world and terrorizing, kidnapping, torturing, and killing effectively defenseless people who's only crime was being on the wrong arbitrarily defined plot of land at the wrong time.

That said, is anyone else having similar feelings?  

A lot of people are morally opposed to war toys.  You can either put your opposition into perspective with your interest on next-gen tech/soft design, or you can't.  If you have an appreciation for new software design and a mentality that can isolate fiction from reality, then go for it.  You should understand, this moral opposition should extend to war movies and other fictional accounts of government sanctioned violence, not just this game. 

Personally, I don't gravitate towards violent entertainment by nature.  But it doesn't induce any paralysis or moral dilemma for me, either.  I'll play the game or watch the movie, no big deal.  I like some action movies, but not every movie I watch is an action movie, you know?  I'd probably find it interesting, or even enjoyable for a short period of time.  But I wouldn't buy it, nor would I steep in it for days and weeks and months.  I think that shit warps your perspectives on reality a little bit, if you're immersed in it for too long. 
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DontTreadOnMike

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Re: Anyone Else Here Psychologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?
« Reply #8 on: November 13, 2009, 05:29:24 PM »

I dont have problems playing games like this but I usually have a problem relating to the story. For example: All of my friends have been ranting and raving about how much fun Mass Effect is and how the story is one of the best stories in video game history. So I finally got my hands on it and I come to find out that the main character is not only a soldier (which i expected and can live with, no biggie) but he's also been initiated into a group called the spectres. THey are super-secret elite soldiers created by a sort of intergalactic United Nations that are quite literally above the law in every sense of the word. The "council" doesn't even want to KNOW what their soldiers are up to after their mission is relayed to them. FUCK!

Don't get me wrong, the gameplay was fun and everything. I even played through more than once because of all the options. But I eventually found myself tuning out the story because I just couldn't support my own character. Sorry friends. NOT one of the "best stories in video game history". Not by a long-shot.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2009, 05:31:12 PM by DontTreadOnMike »
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shezmu

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Re: Anyone Else Here Psychologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?
« Reply #9 on: November 13, 2009, 10:03:36 PM »

Hi guys, so as you know if you haven't been living under a rock, Modern Warfare 2 is out now and everyone mad hyped about it. The game has already sold over several million copies and counting. To no surprise, I myself am interested in playing it, though I have come up to a probably insurmountable problem with the game.

As an Anarchist, I have very strong moral opinions on war, people who start them, the people who support and/or maintain them, and especially the people who fight them. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), it seems that my philosophy is affecting me, being that I physically feel unease when thinking about playing the game. This is probably because the game will undoubtedly glorify people dressed in funny costumes invading countries around the world and terrorizing, kidnapping, torturing, and killing effectively defenseless people who's only crime was being on the wrong arbitrarily defined plot of land at the wrong time.

That said, is anyone else having similar feelings?  

A lot of people are morally opposed to war toys.  You can either put your opposition into perspective with your interest on next-gen tech/soft design, or you can't.  If you have an appreciation for new software design and a mentality that can isolate fiction from reality, then go for it.  You should understand, this moral opposition should extend to war movies and other fictional accounts of government sanctioned violence, not just this game. 

Personally, I don't gravitate towards violent entertainment by nature.  But it doesn't induce any paralysis or moral dilemma for me, either.  I'll play the game or watch the movie, no big deal.  I like some action movies, but not every movie I watch is an action movie, you know?  I'd probably find it interesting, or even enjoyable for a short period of time.  But I wouldn't buy it, nor would I steep in it for days and weeks and months.  I think that shit warps your perspectives on reality a little bit, if you're immersed in it for too long. 

Well, it is my emotions and all, so please forgive me if they don't follow logic. That said, I probably should have stated that MW2 isn't the first case I've felt uneased when playing a game. For instance, I feel bad (but am not unable to) killing random people yet I do not feel uneased when killing cops in game. Again, this is likely due to my philosophical beliefs. Also, this actually isn't limited to games. For example, for a while now I haven't been able to stand Law&order:SVU and plain law&order for a while now, through CI is an exception for some reason.

I don't think I'm qualified to respond to your second point as I've been on a fighting game binge for a while, my interest for media generally goes to fantasy/philosophical works, and I hope that that isn't going to have an effect on my any time soon.

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Ecolitan

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Re: Anyone Else Here Physiologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?
« Reply #10 on: November 14, 2009, 11:55:03 AM »

I think you mean psychologically unable to play.  You would be physiologically unable to play if, for example, all of your fingers were broken.  

If the brain/mind is merely a function of chemicals and electrical impulses then psychologically = physiologically.  

I can relate to the OP.  I find I'm increasingly unenthusiastic about simulating immoral actions.  I play anarchy online.
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Zat

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Re: Anyone Else Here Psychologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?
« Reply #11 on: November 14, 2009, 01:41:51 PM »

I pretty much had a lot of these thoughts for the first time when this game came out. I've gamed for years, so of course there have been plenty of military shooters in there.
This is actually the first time that I've felt torn as to whether or not to buy a game like this.
Yeah, it's a game and simply entertainment, but my principles have, at this point, become so adverse to the glorification of the military that I truly have no desire to play it.
I'm rapidly getting to be the same way about movies, TV shows, etc. that do the same glorification with the military or the police.

Of course, I'm not going to preach that someone else should or shouldn't do, I couldn't give a crap what someone else does. But for me, I think that my principles are getting so pervasive and consistent in my life now that I have no desire to support or consume things like this.

That being said, if the online play is good enough, I'll probably easily cave to peer-pressure and pick it up.
I will realize the I am intentionally violating my feelings on the matter though, for whatever that is worth.
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Sam Gunn (since nobody got Admiral Naismith)

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Re: Anyone Else Here Physiologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?
« Reply #12 on: November 14, 2009, 01:50:10 PM »

I think you mean psychologically unable to play.  You would be physiologically unable to play if, for example, all of your fingers were broken.  

If the brain/mind is merely a function of chemicals and electrical impulses then psychologically = physiologically.  

I can relate to the OP.  I find I'm increasingly unenthusiastic about simulating immoral actions.  I play anarchy online.
This is correct and I've always felt myself inclined towards this position.  But I still cringe when people use incorrect medical terminology. 
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"Do not throw rocks at people with guns." —Hastings' Third Law
"Income tax returns are the most imaginative fiction being written today." —Herman Wouk 

"If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Rillion

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Re: Anyone Else Here Psychologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?
« Reply #13 on: November 14, 2009, 01:57:47 PM »

I don't feel at all bad about simulating immoral actions per se....I play a rogue in WoW.  We have a skill called "backstab."

But that might change in the context of a simulation of a historical war, particularly if the graphics are good and the violence is explicit.  I don't play those games though, just not really interested.

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Sam Gunn (since nobody got Admiral Naismith)

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Re: Anyone Else Here Psychologically Unable to Play Modern Warfare 2?
« Reply #14 on: November 14, 2009, 02:04:21 PM »

I don't feel at all bad about simulating immoral actions per se....I play a rogue in WoW.  We have a skill called "backstab."

But that might change in the context of a simulation of a historical war, particularly if the graphics are good and the violence is explicit.  I don't play those games though, just not really interested.


It's just a friggin game.  I love military shooter games.  They are some of the best!  Especially Rainbow 6 (the original).  Most of them have moral ends regardless if you're a "state employee" in the game or not.  Even if they don't, who cares?  Hasn't anyone played Fallout 3?  The expansions have some games within them with very questionable, morally gray choices to choose from, but that is one of the best games on the market now!
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"Do not throw rocks at people with guns." —Hastings' Third Law
"Income tax returns are the most imaginative fiction being written today." —Herman Wouk 

"If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
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