Warren Spector: 'Ultraviolence' in games going too far
Epic Mickey producer Warren Spector had only a limited view of E3 from within meeting rooms, but he still saw plenty of gruesome violence. "The ultraviolence has to stop," Spector told GI.biz. "We have to stop loving it. I just don't believe in the effects argument at all, but I do believe that we are fetishizing violence, and now in some cases actually combining it with an adolescent approach to sexuality. I just think it's in bad taste. Ultimately I think it will cause us trouble."
Spector said he left Eidos in 2004 because of the over-the-top violence he saw overwhelming that company's lineup. "We've gone too far," he said. "The slow-motion blood spurts, the impalement by deadly assassins, the knives, shoulders, elbows to the throat. You know, Deus Ex had its moments of violence, but they were designed - whether they succeeded or not I can't say - but they were designed to make you uncomfortable, and I don't see that happening now." To call Spector's newer efforts "Mickey Mouse games" would be taken as a compliment in multiple ways, we expect.
The other troubling trend Spector saw is an increased emphasis on non-game apps at E3, including services like Netflix. "When the games are the least interesting part, there's a problem."
