Well, I mean, there's M:TW 1&2, Empire:TW, virtually all of the Civ games (which added distinct cultures in Civ 3 - so, I suppose you can really say 3, 4, and 5 if you want to be picky), and Europa Universalis. There're probably more than that - but what's at least in my library gives a decent amount of variety...

To be totally fair, I think there was a bit of a missed opportunity in the article, which is to highlight exactly how dehumanizing we get online. I mean, that's talked about, but it's couched in a sub-discussion of "rape culture" in multiplayer games - which, due to the nature of controversy, basically carries any…

I think, maybe, part of the problem is less that the article is introspective, but that it forefronts the problem-effect rather than the problem-cause - in large part, because the effect stirs controversy.

This is exactly how I feel about. Most adults - and I mean that in the terms of emotional/psychological maturity, not just age - I've played with in my history of multiplayer gaming have used headsets/mics to chat with friends or co-ordinate attacks... since, y'know, that's what they're for.

I see it, more or less, gender-to-gender respective - and there's a lot of assuming that most people online are guys, so, unless the other person pipes up over voice chat, filling in those blanks makes most "rape" guy-on-guy in multiplayer context.

"If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

Honestly, though, there's one giant step missing from all of this:

But we could ultimately replace CoD with [variable game x], and the business model stands. I mean, to a lesser degree, the same thing's happened with RPGs. Smaller in scale, sure - but it's all about cloning, copying, and finding a way to fit a price point that looks reasonable on the product. It is a historical fact…

" You people brought this on yourselves, you know."

I care less about the race and more about the culture.

Now that there's a damn good response.

I had a completely broken thermometer in my last apartment. It'd swing anywhere between mid-60s to mid-80s with little to no real indication on the manual knob of where I need to put it to get to my ideal 74 or 73. Blegh...

This is why I have to go pay some smaller games on the PC from time to time. The lower budgets (or virtually no budget) means that they've got to be a little more inventive to keep my attention - or at least polish a mechanic to the point where I won't quit after ten minutes.

How about the fantasy that you'd even have time to run away?

"Trouble is that very scripted games with binary end goals to violence have been proven a profitable dependable source of income, and since many publishers don't really get games they go with the numbers and metrics."

Who said anything about movies and books not receiving the same criticism?

"By promoting violence I was meaning it morally, the game never tells you gunning down these guys is a good thing, it's a means to an end in a society that collapsed on itself, and it is used for survival or getting to your more important objectives."

"But it seemed to me that in fact, governor Chafee knew exactly what he was talking about."

Bioshock isn't violent for violence's sake, but it does promote violence. Considering that you have virtually no other method for solving a conflict, and the game's clearly designed to maximize methods of killing (instead of maiming or rendering unconscious even) in creative ways, Bioshock's pretty stuck on violence.

It's a little bit of a weird game, to be honest. (I mean more gameplay-wise, not aesthetics - I liked that part a lot.) It was a lot of fun, but I think there's a pretty good reason why roguelikes went the way of the buffalo.