"BioShock" Creator Explains Why Video Games Are so Violent

The creator of "BioShock" Ken Levine explains why video games are so violent.

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Complex Original

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Ken Levine, long time game maker and the creator of the groundbreaking BioShockseries explained to NPR just why his, and the industry's, games tend to be so violent.

“One of the reason there's been a lot of violence in video games is because it's relatively easy to simulate,” Levine told NPR. “And generally it's been... like action movies, there's an easily perceivable market for it.”

It's true that action movies have a definite marketing target just like video games. But Levine feels this is changing and the question of why there is so much violence proves an evolution is underway.

“I think the reaction to the violence is more an expression of people building confidence in the industry’s ability to express itself in more diverse fashions.”

As the millions who have played Levine's BioShock series can attest it's a profoundly violent game. But with the latest in the series, BioShock Infinite, gamers complained that maybe it didn't need to be as violent as it was. The game starts off with graphic scenes of murder and the first action of the game centers around slashing away an attackers face off with a device called a Skyhook.

Levine recently closed his award winning studio, Irrational Games, moving on to creating smaller, episodic games.

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RELATED:Interview: Ken Levine Talks "BioShock Infinite" And The Nerd Power To Make It

[via NPR, GameSpot]

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