Gamers are a twisted lot. The hours we have spent gaining one more level, saving/taking over the city, slaying the next boss, and getting just one more head shot has warped our minds. Mind you, I am not saying this in a Jack Thompson, negative light. Simply that the gaming world has desensitized us to a level of violence that your average non-gamer would most likely find extraordinarily shocking.
Leading me to my point!
The expanding world of games gives us an almost unlimited amount of freedom to explore this dark side of the human psyche. With more and more games flooding the market, we the gamers get the ability to go, do and act however we want in games. As black and white as it sounds, you can be very very good, or very very bad (Or anywhere in between if you so desire).
Case in point:
(Mind you, this situation went down roughly a year before the remake of Inglorious Bastards came to theaters)
A good friend and I were playing Commandos 2 co-op, when a maniacal idea sprang into my mind. The game gives you an excellent level of freedom to the extent of knocking out and tying up live prisoners (These of course being Nazzies). I collected between 20 to 30 nazi soldiers of all ranks, and aligned them into their most recognizable symbol, the swastika. After all the bodies were carefully in place, I instructed my friend to bring the Sapper to the middle of the enemy's most solemn symbol, light up the flamethrower, and spin. What resulted (When viewed from the air) was a burning swastika of nazi bodies.
I think this picture sums up the sheer mortification of any Nazi soldiers so unfortunate to stumbled upon that very spot...
They would probably be all quiet from then on from the shock alone.
I know I cannot be alone in this way of thinking, which drove me to this post in the first place. So I pose a question to you, Destructoid community. What is the most twisted, shocking thing you have ever done in a game? It does not matter what generation, genre, or platform the game is on, but indeed what heinous deed took place in that particular game.
Not to be too preemptive here, but lets keep the judging to a minimum here guys, as (As fucked up as it is) I would prefer this generate conversation over argument.
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I echo the sentiment that I am certainly desensitized to violence in games. After chainsawing enough people in Gears of War, the shock effect wears off. Does this desensitize violence for me in real life? Probably to some degree, but I'm not going to go out and murder a hooker like I have in GTA4. If a developer will allow you to exploit a games mechanics to an uber-violent degree, a gamer will do it, guaranteed. It's merely curiosity and it's the soul of gaming. Hell, it's the entire basis of games like Manhunt. This is both cathartic and absolutely NOT any indication that a gamer would do in real life. I believe most gamers are intelligent adults who can differentiate between fantasy and real life. At least I hope so.
As for me, my violent admission is from Spiderman 2. I would bludgeon enemies clearly past the point where they would be dead, then I would continue to beat their lifeless bodies just for the heck of it. Finally, I'd web tie their corpses, swing them around and chuck them in the river. It always tickled me that I could make such an upstanding superhero like Spiderman into a cold blooded murderer. Hehe.
And I did.
Oh yes.