The land is laden with bodies. Gore is far and wide. The afflicted lament and plead for compassion. Others cry out for aid.
It might seem to describe a gruesome part of the Littleton, Colorado shooting, but those playing the computer game Postal simply label it entertainment. Through Postal Dude, the players go wild and butcher everybody they see. On the developer’s website, pride is taken in its realism : “Corpses stay where they fall for the duration of the game -- no mysterious disappearing bodies.” And before they go down, “watch them run around on fire.”
Instead of having to slink about looking for unconventional amusement, if you have a morbid captivation with violence, you need merely to check out your local electronics store. On a rack at the Wiz in the Upper East side of Manhattan, the infamous game Grand Theft Auto is displayed right behind the cashier. As either a “gansta” or “psycho bitch,” you’ll be “running over innocent pedestrians, shooting cops, and evading the long arm of the law.”
In Duke Nukem (manufactured by GT Interactive), another game, both sex and violence come together. Doggedly wandering the seamy parts of Los Angeles to rid the city of aliens who are abducting skimpily dressed women, Duke Nukem blasts anyone in his way. Even celebrating by kicking the severed heads of those he has defeated through goalposts.
In Doom, a very well-liked violent video game and a favorite of one of the Littleton, Colorado murderers, the character roams through a labyrinthine mix of rooms, corridors, and halls slaying everything that’s near. Endure and you’ll make it to the next level. Choosing between a pistol, shot gun, rocket launcher, and chainsaw provides destructive force. The aliens and monsters put up a tough fight. Gore showers everything; aliens are left lying in masses of blood with their appendages flailing.
The maker of Doom, id Software, says that you need to “prepare for the most intense