GDC 2013: Violent games are creatively "too easy" says Spec Ops writer

Spec Ops: The Line writer Walt Williams stated during a GDC panel (via GameSpot ) that he'd like to see fewer violent games emerge in the future because "creatively they're too easy."

Williams' own example, Spec Ops: The Line, turned heads for contextualizing its violence as a deconstruction of a genre that often uses conflicts as a way to glorify the heroics of a lone soldier protagonist. It's one way of going against the grain, but Williams suggests another possibility lies with creating less-despairing characters.

"Where do you go after doing a game like this?" he asks. "How can you make another shooter that leaves your characters arguably alive? I think we need to get to a point where we can move back to maybe trying to write characters that are a bit more hopeful. I think that might be a good first step."

I can see the point Williams is driving at—that violence should serve a stronger purpose in narrative and plot development beyond inclusion for the sake of satisfying a popular trope. I'd like it if more games used violence creatively to engage players in a deeper story—BioShock and The Walking Dead are a couple examples I can think of. What say you?

Omri Petitte is a former PC Gamer associate editor and long-time freelance writer covering news and reviews. If you spot his name, it probably means you're reading about some kind of first-person shooter. Why yes, he would like to talk to you about Battlefield. Do you have a few days?