You think it'll just be RPG's ? Would there be way more fighting games , or racing games ? Would games be boring ? Would sports games be the new multiplayer top dog ? etc...
If guns didn’t exist then every war from about the 1500s onwards would have been drastically different. I think we’d probably be better off. Perhaps video games and computers and all that wouldn’t exist though, as Turing probably never would have been doing his work as part of World War 2. Or Von Neumann. Man, this is actually a very interesting thought experiment with more repercussions than I first thought.
FPS would be first person stabbers instead. If there were no knives/blades then it would be clubs and stones. Should never underestimate people's capacity for violence
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
Forget the ramifications in games. If guns didn't exist then the US would still be part of England, France, Spain, Russia, etc. as the Colonials wouldn't have had a snowball's chance in hell of driving away England and declaring independence and Democracy likely would never have existed.
@TowaHerschel7 The roman empire was a republic for a good while. Though it might still only be "roman citizens" that had as many privileges instead of the freedom that everyone enjoys in the US (or not). The roman empire was a not a democracy (nor is the USA - both are republics), but that idea has long predated guns. It predated the Medieval ages. So who knows what the case would.
It's an interesting question. I myself don't often play many games that feature guns. Or if they do, its a side element and not the main focus like Final Fantasy typically has. Given that I mostly play third person fantasy type RPGs and sports or driving games, my own experience would have a minimal effect, I think.
Batman - "No Guns!"
Robin - "How are you going to zip across rooftops?"
Batman - "Using my grapnel gu..."
Robin - "How are you going to mend that crack in your mask?"
Batman - "I use a glue g..."
Robin - "How are we going to play Virtua Cop at SegaWorld, Gotham?!?!"
Batman - "We use light g..."
Robin - "Are you going to turn down millions of dollars to star in Zack Snyder's next movie??"
Batman - "Ok Robin, you got me!"
What's also funny is that I have quite a few GIFs from Arkham Origins, but all the others show Batman using his grapnel gun to yank Deathstroke towards a punch... but still, I made my point! There are guns (of the laser variety) in Sonic and Star Wars as well, but you could easily remove them and still be playing the same game, more or less. They're nowhere near essential.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
Maybe the world would be nicer without guns. But then would Half Life 2 exist? What a horrible thought.
@nessisonett If WW1 & 2 were different, particularly given how technology was advanced throughout the conflicts (medical, weapons, even computing), then the trajectory of the conflicts would have been completely different. WW2 may not have even occurred, in which case I would not even exist. My maternal grandparents met in a military hospital in Egypt, so I owe my existence to a devastating global conflict. It's hard to say just how much would be different in the world, given the massive impact wars have had over the centuries.
@mookysam Yep, I also owe my existence to WW2, my great granddad met my great nana in Germany and snuck her food and stuff until the war was over and she came back with him over here. Without guns, even things like the factors playing into the start of WW1 in Bosnia and Herzegovina would be different. Who knows, maybe we’d be a fully evolved mega-species in space.
There are generally two types of games that have 'enemies' - ones that you have to avoid for the most part, and ones that can be 'killed'. If you look at the history of games, a lot didn't feature 'guns' and the object was to jump and/or avoid being 'touched' by enemies. Some would allow you to 'kill' enemies too - either by jumping on top (Mario), picking up a Hammer and smacking them (Donkey Kong), Eating a certain 'pill' (Pac Man). There have been games using 'Melee' weapons, even the most 'basic' - a wooden 'Club' has been used.
That's without considering projectile weapons. They could use a Bow, a Crossbow, a Slingshot etc or throwable weaponry like Javeline, Darts, Axes, Knives etc to take the place of a 'gun'. There is a LONG history of weaponry long before the 'gun' was invented.
Without guns, I don't think that it would of made to much difference. You could even have FPS games with Bows or even have Magic Spells that do damage/kill enemies. Weapons of some type would be used in place of Guns - or you have a Stealth game, a Platformer where you have to avoid touching enemies etc - if it has 'enemies'. Weapons would exist regardless - either to hunt for food, to prepare food, materials etc for human use etc. An Axe can be used to cut trees down to make shelters, boats etc but an axe can be used as a weapon.
Point is, if Guns hadn't been invented, Games would use whatever the setting dictates to eliminate enemies.
A pessimist is just an optimist with experience!
Why can't life be like gaming? Why can't I restart from an earlier checkpoint??
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@RogerRoger yeah I know what you mean! I was thinking the other day that I find forced, elongated and tedious combat in games to be really boring, whether it's guns or fists, but it's in almost every game these days. Particularly the broader AAA games that come out. There are exceptions, I do love like Doom and fighting games, stuff that has a legacy to it I guess. I find it difficult or rather, I don't even try to show an interest in Generic Shooter with RPG Elements: Always Online Edition type games that are so prevalent these days.
I tolerate these tropes in games I do play but it can quickly stick out like a sore thumb when it's drawn out past enjoyment. Stuff like the earliest Uncharted games come to mind, despite them being one of my favourite game series. Yakuza is one that I think would be a lot better if there was a lot less fighting in it, I'm playing Yakuza 3 at the moment and it's just like constant random encounters as you run around the city. The main story and substories more than make up for it though. I guess they do anyway as I'm still playing it 😅
I’ve actually pondered this before too — why so many games center around Gun fights and just general conflict and death. Not that I’m opposed or some kind of anti-violence lobbyist. I’m spending my day pulverizing alien life forms with all manner of sci-fi weaponry as we speak on Atropos. But I like to see what developers can do to break the mold every now and then. So recently playing games like A Plague Tale, 13 Sentinels (ok the mechs still technically have guns), and Bound is refreshing to see what can be done by using different methods to create gameplay conflict. There are creative ways to do it.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
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Topic: If guns didn't exist , what do you think games would be like ?
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