The Innocent Bystander: Why We Love to Terrorize Them
The innocent bystander has become a mainstay of today’s video games. These innocent characters have become an added dimension to games, allowing players to interact with these bystanders. The real enjoyment of this added element for some reason comes not from protecting or helping these bystanders, but instead from eliciting as much pain and damage as possible on these poor innocent characters. What drives gamers to unleash such fury on computer-generated characters that mean no harm and would be perfectly content to wander about enjoying their pointless little lives?
Murder! Death! Kill! Actually, the game that comes from shouldn’t be anywhere close to a top 5 list of games featuring mayhem and destruction, but I can’t resist a catchy beginning when I hear one. Where did near lock Grand Theft Auto rank? Why are simulation titles even receiving consideration? Take a look after the jump and see if you agree or disagree with these destructive ramblings!
Have you ever felt inappropriately dressed for your respective gaming endeavors? Ever played God of War in a pair of Garfield slippers and thought, “Hey, that’s just not right?” Maybe you’ve even gone a round of Dance Dance Revolution in those one-size-up pants you vowed to only wear on “fat days,” but wore them anyway because they were your only clean pair. Then they ultimately ended up around your ankles by the time you were finished playing—or worse yet, those “skinny jeans” that were way too tight to begin with that made you pass out before you were even done dancing? It’s okay; we’ve all had those moments. I’m here for you.
Video games are growing up. Well, they’re trying to anyway. We used to be content with traipsing through the carefully groomed grounds of the Mushroom Kingdom, guiding pixelated sprites toward a jaggy princess. Maybe this blind escapism is enough: as Super Mario Galaxy showed, sometimes it’s 
Are mainstream gamers actually gamers? Five simple words that have ignited debate from the moment that gaming evolved from two white sticks throwing a ball between each other to a multi-billion dollar industry with its own rapidly-changing, always-evolving subculture. Elitism is my absolute biggest pet peeve, so I have no problem pointing out the fact that just about all of us started as mainstream gamers and need to get off our high horses. Hate leads to suffering and all that, so let’s treat the younglings with some sympathy.
There are few certainties in gaming: extra lives, “game over” screens, and saving the princess. It’s time to add one more to that short list. The addition of the gun from Portal would drastically alter any game (for the better, of course), so why not help struggling developers who can’t seem to come up with new game play mechanics? Here’s a list of games that would benefit greatly from the inclusion of a portal gun — GLADoS (sadly) not included.
The only thing worse than spending $10 to see a terrible movie adaptation of a great game is to pay $50 to own the terrible game adaptation of a great movie. We all know that movie games are never a good way to spend your birthday money (Did you know that 
When I was in college, I worked at a Japanese toy store. Fan boys would approach me to pay, but somehow decided to first show off the pictures in their wallet. Nope, no photos of pets, family members, or girlfriends; instead, I saw their favorite anime characters scantily clad in bikinis and lingerie. This made me realize a trend amongst hot illustrations and the people that love them.