Podcast #102: War, Violence, and Videogames
Today marks the release of Battlefield 3, a videogame that’s been positioned to compete directly with the most popular franchise in the military warfare genre, Modern Warfare 3. Both games thrive off of a key component: violence. In today’s podcast, editor-in-chief Richard Clark, editor Drew Dixon, and associate editor Ben Bartlett get together to discuss the nature of videogame violence. Does violence have a place in videogames? Does it have to be such a large place? They discuss these questions, plus Battlefield 3 and the like’s refusal to include civilian casualties in their games.
Plus, Drew Dixon offers up his Top 5 instances of videogame violence, for your, uhm, enjoyment?
Thanks to Luke Larson for the new CaPC theme music!
Further Reading:
When Games Matter: Civilians in War Games
Play in Process: The Virtual Battlefield
Virtual Scapegoats: Getting to the Truth About Videogame Violence
When Games Matter: Videogame Violence and its Frequent Lack of Self Awareness
When Games Matter: Shadow of Colossus and the Truth About Violence
Play in Process: Coming to Terms with Violence
The Wasted Potential of Videogame Violence
Every week, various Christ and Pop Culture writers delve deeper into recent articles and address some of the bigger issues in popular culture.
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Richard Clark (Co-Founder/Editor-in-Chief) has spent his entire life writing, reading, listening, and playing. He has a Bachelors in Theology from the Baptist College of Florida and has a Master of Arts in Theology and the Arts from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He lives in Louisville, KY where he is the classroom technology manager at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition to writing at Christ and Pop Culture, he is also a staff writer for 
Drew’s debut podcasts were, um, a LOT better than mine. Great job, Drew!
Haha, thanks Ben!
Erm, I don’t know about Modern Warfare suddenly glorifying war. I think it actually started a more serious look at war, than the first CODs. A bit more clarity?
Well, while my previous question stands, I see your point about MW2. But then again it’s supposed to be fast-paced and action filled, so it would be hard to make an entire game around No Russian. But, they really should make a game about the utter gruesome parts of war, like whatever movie you can think of, maybe Saving Private Ryan, but I haven’t seen that. (Too young XD)
BTW, what is that game you mentioned about being a journalist filming war? I had an idea for a similar type of game, and was surprised one like that exists.