Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-108.66.77.108-20130703033838/@comment-25564625-20170511222429

TLDR, but I don't care. If you think I use too many words or syllables, you can skip my post entirely. I know this thread is very, very old (if that bothers you, you're likely under 30) and is a side point, but I'm here to make a legitimate comment in response to some of the things said now quite some time ago. If you don't like what I have to say or it upsets you, that says more about you than it does about me. You might want to take some time in reflection and consider why that may be.

When I played through Skyrim the first time, I completed all the Dark Brotherhood quests, more or less, because I didn't want to miss something major in the game. In retrospect, in more than 40 years of video gaming (yeah, I'm that old), I have no greater GAMING regret than doing so. In fact, I have a bad taste in my mouth to this day from some of the things I did in pursuit of the DB end-game content, and that was over, gosh, well more than 3 years ago... maybe even much longer than that. To. This. Day. It still bothers me. And that's speaks to the heart of real roleplaying vs. simply gaming the game, as a distraction or odd amusement. It also speaks to the level of desensitization regarding violence that the younger generations have endured in recent decades.

When I play FPS against AI, I think of the enemies as robots. They aren't real, and it doesn't bother me to kill them. When I play against human opponents, well, that's what competitive play is all about. We could be playing paintball for all I care. It's just a game like tag, only instead of using a vague metaphor for hunting down other human beings and in turn being hunted, you're hunting each other at the same time.

When I play a roleplaying game, however, I do not engage with the content in the same way. When I roleplay, I live the story of my character while playing whatever storyline I'm playing. That being said, I'm not the sort of person who would torture others for kicks--AI or not. Those who find it distasteful even without claiming the roleplaying angle, however, are also justified because torture is distasteful. It's not a laughing matter, and it isn't fitting subject matter for entertainment. You can say, "Don't judge me." But I'm not judging you. I'm judging the game content. If that upsets you, you've judged yourself. If you're offended by that, you played yourself.

After seeing some of the responses to earlier comments regarding the DB torture room, I felt like I needed to speak up and let others know that they aren't alone in being disturbed by those things. Now, if that makes you mad, that's on you.