Tom HappVerified account

For what it's worth I tend to think our fascination with violence is what drives us to play violent games and not vice versa.

Still, I can't help but think, isn't it messed up that our favorite games are often violent ones? Even many supposedly nonviolent games like Mario are still at their root about removing opponents from the playing field.

Not all, but many games that remove that element end up feeling too flat and noninteractive. Or else the mechanic is very specific to a certain game.