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Would you be willing to play a game where you are a legit serial killer?

We have already one and it's awesome.

Hotline-Miami-05_top.jpg


But if you mean a more realistic one, no I wouldn't. It's the same reason why I wouldn't want to have children NPCs in GTA. There are lines that shouldn't be crossed.
 
One thing I noticed playing Shadow of Mordor was how fun some of the nemesis mechanics would be if applied to a game where I stalked and hunted down people instead of orcs. I'd be all for hunting the most dangerous game virtually.
 
I challenge y'all to name the AAA developer who will write a non-laughable, non-douchebag serial killer antihero/player character.
 
There's a lot of misunderstanding as to what a serial killer is here.

A serial killer is typically somebody that murders very specific people or people that the killer feels fits the profile of people they want rid of, a 'tormentor', which is why the murder often involves personal ritual, and their motivations for doing so are always born of being 'victimised' in some context or another from their own perspective.

Not someone that just goes on a rampage. That's a spree killer. Rampages can be serial, and conversely a serial killer's exact target profile can be so hard to determine that the victims are hard to tie together and may initially appear random, but indiscriminate killing is spree killing.

That said with the aforementioned comments about a lack of narrative - a serial killer game would have to have quite a backstory.

Hitmen (Hotline Miami), hardened criminals shooting anything in their way (Kane & Lynch) and self defence (Uncharted) obviously don't apply.

I feel like Frank Black.
 
It doesn't have to be realistic right?

What if you play as a clown who hunts down aliens on another planet? As long as it's fun, I'll play it.
 
Yes!
I would have loved a proper vg rendition of Dexter, where you have this issue but have made it a rule of only taking out who deserves it.
And planning murders to not be caught would make for interesting gameplay.

Also I have no problem in detaching my personal feelings with videogames I'm playing
 
Oddly... yes. If it was done well. Not some crazy tormenting simulator with lots of gore or anything.
I liked the start of Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy. I'd like a game where I have to think and clean up the crime scene and avoid getting caught. I prefer being the investigator, but being on the other side of everything would actually be interesting.
 
As interesting as the idea is, it would no doubt be creepy and uncomfortable. Also likely to rustle a lot of jimmies in the media even more.
 
I already don't play games like Grand Theft Auto because I don't enjoy being the "bad guy". I prefer being somebody that's actually doing good. So no, I would not like to play as a serial killer.
 
Serial killer is generally defined as a person who kills three or more people over the period of at least a month, where each killing is a separate event. Not only that, a serial killer generally targets people with specific traits, and commits acts of violence against them in accordance with a modus operandi (hint: these aspects are often sexual in nature).

Mass murderers on the other hand kill several people in one swoop, targeting everyone equally.

That being said, I've never played a game where you play as a serial killer, although I guess role-playing games could be utilized to create such a character.
 
Bergerac said:
There's a lot of misunderstanding as to what a serial killer is here.

A serial killer is typically somebody that murders very specific people or people that the killer feels fits the profile of people they want rid of, a 'tormentor', which is why the murder often involves personal ritual, and their motivations for doing so are always born of being 'victimised' in some context or another from their own perspective.

Not someone that just goes on a rampage. That's a spree killer. Rampages can be serial, and conversely a serial killer's exact target profile can be so hard to determine that the victims are hard to tie together and may initially appear random, but indiscriminate killing is spree killing.

That said with the aforementioned comments about a lack of narrative - a serial killer game would have to have quite a backstory.

Hitmen (Hotline Miami), hardened criminals shooting anything in their way (Kane & Lynch) and self defence (Uncharted) obviously don't apply.

I feel like Frank Black.
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Boy I don't know Frank, I know you've been right every other time we've done an investigation, but I'm going to trust my gut on this one.
 
Drazgul said:
Do you get to shoot anyone that is unarmed/innocent? Plus, that looks more like spree/mass murder.
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No, and there is a very good reason for that. Morals aside, a game where you can kill somebody so easily would get boring very fast. It would be pretty much like playing with some cheat god mode. I don't see how you could keep the game interesting for more than 10 minutes. The alternative? Let the 'victims' hide, which would lead to the typical find-the-keys-scenario and I don't know anyone who enjoys THAT.

Let's be honest here, being a serial killer is pretty fucking annoying. If you want gore, watch Braindead instead.
 
Only if I got to play as bishoptl killing people he permabans.

Really, probably not though. That seems a bit too much.
 
Sir TapTap said:
Am I not exactly this in most stealth games with a lethal option?
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I think OP isn't referring to the stalk and shoot kind of killing but more of the stalk, kidnap, tie-up, torture, rape, dismember, turn into a piece of public artwork, repeat kind of killing.
 
Oh yes I'd love it. A new idea for once. It would be even neater if you kinda got to pull off the perfect murder and have someone else found guilty for your crime as well.
 
MMarston said:
I think OP isn't referring to the stalk and shoot kind of killing but more of the stalk, kidnap, tie-up, torture, rape, dismember, turn into a piece of public artwork, repeat kind of killing.
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Hmm, I haven't played it yet but didn't a gtav mission veer pretty close to that with Trevor?
 
MMarston said:
I think OP isn't referring to the stalk and shoot kind of killing but more of the stalk, kidnap, tie-up, torture, rape, dismember, turn into a piece of public artwork, repeat kind of killing.
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I cant think of any way to make torturing someone fun and not sick, really. Hunting someone could be fun, but the rest of that sounds like some gorn fetish crap.
 
it depends. it could be an interesting character study. like, for example, you play a serial killer and when he's about to kill, you have control over the character but in a limited way. when he's about to approach the victim, you try to trigger things to make it stop, if you fail, he's gonna kill.
 
There's a lot of focus on "serial killer" in terms of just "I am killing people who are not Bad Guys".

But an actual serial killer simulation would involve a lot more than murdering civilians on a whim - that would be a psychopath, and video games have been specializing in psychopath simulation for a while now.

The real serial killer experience would involve very dark themes the player would experience from their point of view. Neurosis, sociopathy, misogyny, likely sexual assault or references to sexual assault - or sexual assault in the mind of the protagonist. You would be asked to see the world from the perspective of the ultimate form of misanthrope, and go along with their narrative that justified their actions.

In an interactive game, there could be a real issue with trying to play this out while not making it attractive and fun - because of the inherent adrenaline rush of stalking a human target, pouncing, and engaging in a life or death struggle.

There's probably a reason why fictional narratives (and games) in which the audience/player goes along with the bad guy, usually involve a larger than life, operatic villain. The cartoonishness distracts from the disturbing reality behind actual villainy.
 
Does Twisted Metal count?

The character of Sweet Tooth is an in-universe serial killer, at least that's what he became as of Twisted Metal Black. Hell, his story in the latest Twisted Metal game revolves around him hunting down his daughter because she's the only member of his family that he didn't murder.
 
Starviper said:
Hitman/manhunt come to mind.

I've never really had an interest in those games. They seem fun to a degree, but something about it unsettles me.

I do like games such as Splinter Cell, where you have more of a purpose than just going around killing people for money. Payday is fine with me as well.



Though you can sort of 'RP' a serial killer in Fallout games, I still think that's very different than a game where the premise is all about being a serial killer.
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No way, what other games let you simulate cannibalism? lol
 
Dude I'd play the fucking shit out of a game like that. I would love a game where you play the Michael Myers or Jason Vorhees stalking your victims. Even a new IP would be sick. Shit could be so immersive. Someone needs to make a game like this imo.
 
Nope. I don't even like playing games which the MC is a criminal, etc. Like GTA games, for example. Just nope. If I can't empathize with the MC, it is hard for me to play a game.
 
Absolutely. It'd be challenging and uncomfortable, but I'd be into it.

Games are great for experiencing things that we never experience in real life, and I never wanna kill anyone ever. I'd be down for beating a serial killer in a game though. Why not?
 
SDCowboy said:
But couldn't it be argued that a "good" serial killer game should cause those negative feelings? I mean, not every game is supposed to make you feel warm and fuzzy. A good game, like any story experience, should make the player feel strong emotions. Good, bad or otherwise.
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Sure, and that's what Manhunt and Postal did - gave me a visceral negative reaction through their tone. Even if the mechanics were brilliant I don't think the medium is mature enough from a characterization and writing standpoint to produce a thoughtful game about being a serial killer, and even if it was I can't see myself wanting to empathize with that situation due to my experience in games that tread similar territory.
 
No, I wouldn't want to play it because 1) if it were a cop out, anti-hero protagonist where all the victims are bad guys, it would just be Hitman with a different skin and not be worthwhile and 2) if it truly captured what it's like to have a compulsion to kill and torture people, and did a good job of emulating performing those acts, it would be disgusting and upsetting to me.
 
I just don't see how it would be " fun " personally.

would just be uncomfortable most of the time lol

i can play through GTA without killing a single person outside the story. so yeh, thats all choice really
 
I want to say I'd be really uncomfortable with playing as a serial killer, but I was able to play and enjoy Hotline Miami. So, I'm really not sure, I guess how it's presented matters.
 
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