I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want to
communicate through my comics and games, about the experiences I hope that a
reader has or the ways in which players interact with the games I design. I
don’t spend a lot of time thinking about unintended consequences, because these
are (by nature) things that you probably didn’t consider, and would have done
differently if you had…
Cases in point: tattoos, guns and the Second Amendment.
I don’t think that I necessarily support anyone’s argument
(on either side) when it comes to the Second Amendment. I played with GI Joes
when I was a kid, I played ‘war in the fields’ with my friends throughout
middle school and into high school (wielding replica weapons and wearing
surplus store uniforms and carrying surplus store gear). I have spent a large
chunk of my adult life drawing guns and imagining how an explosive device can
blow something up.
However, I don’t own a gun, and never intend to. I would never
consider joining the NRA. I’m not a fan of hunting, although I have nothing
ethically/morally/socially/philosophically against it. I generally think that
killing is bad if you can avoid it, and peace is better whenever and wherever
it presents itself as an option. War is an invariable aspect of the human
condition; when we are done with war, we will probably also be done with life
on earth and be ready for the next thing. Until then, war is going to happen.
It occurred to me this week in sending in my tattoo order
that 3 of the 4 images that I am encouraging people to affix to their skin show
insects wielding guns. I’m promoting body art (a thing I actually don’t really
like) and guns (something I don’t know where I stand on) by default.
In the end, you respond how you are going to respond to any
creative work. On some level, the creator has a responsibility to make sure
that the story ends up reflecting the beliefs that he or she truly wishes to
espouse. For me, those issues are bigger than guns or tattoos (or Sarge’s
smoking while I’m at it – I don’t particularly like the smell of cigars, and I
think smoking in general = 0 benefit with substantial costs all the way around).
I don’t suppose that Tolkien lost much sleep in thinking
about the implications of including war, violence and weapons at the center of
his narratives, so I probably don’t have to lose much sleep over it either.
Still and all, I wanted to at least mention it…
Conflict is easiest when done with combat.
ReplyDeleteSure, the implications of war, violence, and weapons may be bad in ways, but without said combat, the story has much more restrictions. We get to see the characters reactions, if not thoughts, on some of the... less talked-about subjects, rather than if they were in a peace-filled-all-knowing-everyone's-happy world.
As for the game: it's an RPG. PLENTY of ways to work around it, even if you've made most of the content for that purpose.
... ... ...this is of course, if anyone cares...