Animal Abuse in video games

[OKeijiDragon]

Have you ever noticed any animal abuse in video games?

I know that in some games like Mega Man Legends where you can do more then just kick dogs. In fact, in its Japanese counterpart, Rockman DASH, you can not only kick the dog to save a certain female character early in the game, but you can even kick cats, and shoot down birds too with no penalty whatsoever. (This video is almost full of annotations that save me the trouble of describing everything in complete detail.)

There's more too. In many Zelda games you can strike at the Cuccos (The chickens) out of amusement. Though, they'll practically curse you with a flurry of them after your cruel ass.

Also, in the MOTHER/EarthBound series, you can strikes stray dogs, crows, etc. with a baseball bat. Even though its in self-defense. Plus, in MOTHER 3, there's a character that shocks his monkey servant out of amusement.

And let's not forget Duck Hunt.

What kind of examples of "animal abuse" do you spot in video games nowadays and before?

[Lilith]

I noticed the duck hunt one of course, but I've never really gone looking for animal abuse in games. I played the Monster Rancher series, and thus have scolded or punished my monsters, but I don't know if you'd consider that abuse. Sometimes you can work them too hard and they nearly pass out...

[Rose312]

Lilith those are monsters...And I get your point. Animal Abuse is wrong, but remember. You kill people in games too :/

[REmaster]

Well I for one am guilty as charged for the murder of hundreds of chickens in RE5, but I had to get an assortment of eggs for the trophy. In Modern Warfare 2, you can get a trophy for shooting a number of caged chickens in a under a few seconds. Poor chickens.

[Rose312]

So we have established it is okay to kill chicken in real life................as long as you get a trophy...

[Lilith]

Lilith those are monsters...And I get your point. Animal Abuse is wrong, but remember. You kill people in games too :/

Did I say animal abuse was wrong anywhere in my post? I don't think I did. Yes though, I do think it's wrong. But no matter how I feel about that, they are just pixels and there has been no real harm done. And also, killing people is different. People are worse than animals.

[GuardhouseMusic]

The Metal Gear Solid games have a lot of that. For instance shooting rats or ravens in MGS1 will get you a nice scolding from Campbell and the Codec Co. (I forgot whether they yell at you for being cruel or just wasting time).

[Rose312]

What about No More Heros...I hear in the new one you can play with the cat, and not in sexual ways! How Dare they!

[Vogue_Dirge]

So we have established it is okay to kill chicken in real life................as long as you get a trophy...

When was that established?
He was talking about RE5 and Modern Warfare...

[Rose312]

...I'm pretty sure...we...went over it...rrrriiiiggghhhtttt * slides 100$s into Vogue Dirge's hand* Right?

[TheSelfishGene]

As soon as I read the thread title I thought it'd be about Resident Evil 4.
The wolf in the bear trap.
The crows, chickens and snakes you can kill.
The cows on the farm that like being shot at with rocket launchers (or so I hear).

In earlier RE games you also have things like cerberus, snakes, spiders and crows.

[Rose312]

I forgot about the wolf in the bear trap. Don't see how that animal abuse...It just means the bear trap did it's job and got a wolf...

[GuardhouseMusic]

In earlier RE games you also have things like cerberus, snakes, spiders and crows.

That wasn't animal abuse, those animals were pre-abused by SCIENCE! We're just putting them out of their misery.

[Canas Renvall]

Animal abuse in games... please don't give the judges a reason to take back Jack Thompson's disbarment. We've had relative peace for a while.

It's a game. Hell, Modern Warfare 2 had you gunning down innocent civilians in the first level. BioShock is cruel 'cause you have the option to kill little girls. Resident Evil lets you kill tons of animals, from snakes to sharks (and plantlife, too ). (Edit: Looks like people beat me to it.)

Point is, am I going to get arrested for any of it? No, 'cause it's a game. I know the difference between gunning down a dog in RE and walking over to my own dog and kicking him in the side (which I would never do, I love him far, far too much ). I know it's fake. Same with blood. I could gut people all day in video games, but when I see real blood I freak out. I hate seeing the stuff. It's all about knowing the difference between reality and fantasy.

[Rose312]

Blame it on the SCIENCE!