Killing animals in games

[Wereaibo]

Does it bug you? I prefer not having animals as enemies in games. I can hack up humans and abominations right out of Lovecraft all day long but killing animals in games always makes me feel kind of bad. I know it's basically just lines of code shaped like a wolf or dragon but it's just the idea behind it that bugs me. I'd rather BE the dragon or wolf or have them as allies. Having to kill critters I identify with kind of takes a bit of fun out of it. Of course in most games it's unavoidable so I usually just grit my teeth and bear it.  But if sparing the beasties is an option I always go that route if I can.

[Keitsu]

Yea, it does. Except it's not too bad on mc. I kill animals to survive and then once I can survive through farming I avoid it XD

[Storm Fox]

It's the same for me.
I know it's not real and is just a bunch of pixels, but it does bother me.

[Jackie]

In Far Cry 3, I tend to run away from bears instead of fighting them, I mean, they're black bears they'd normally just run away! ^-^

[Yip]

When I played Oblivion, I purposely went out of my way to never kill any wolves. That makes some areas a -lot- harder. I ended up making a spell specifically for this: Without doing any damage, it would momentarily stun and blind the target (making them lose track of you). Without this, it's nearly impossible to get them to leave you alone once they start chasing you.

Yes, it does usually tend to bother me. I also really dislike how wolves are so common as game enemies.

[Amducious]

I show them no mercy I kill animals in skyrim to get gold (Well not anymore because if have over 70,000+ gold no joke) other than that I just kill them because they get in the way of fights, but other than that I don't got bothered by killing them (I usually don't bother them) like Storm Fox said  they're just pixels not real life, real life is another story.

[Keitsu]

In Far Cry 3, I tend to run away from bears instead of fighting them, I mean, they're black bears they'd normally just run away! ^-^

It does annoy me that animals are programmed to act in ways that they don't act in real life. This annoys me mostly when they make animals unnecessarily aggressive.

[Loc]

Doesn't bother me at all. Killing things in a game is so far removed from killing things in real life to me, it doesn't upset or annoy me in the slightest. It isn't real.

[HazardJackal]

At first i was all like "daw, do i have to?"

And now i'm all like "die you lower lifeform!"

Seriously though, i kill anything that's stupid enough to walk in front of my sword/shotgun.  Yes, even my allies... sometimes...

[GrayWolf448]

for me it kinda depends on the animal. i tend to refrain from killing dogs/wolfs, horses, cats. it still does bother me when i need to kill a pig/cow/chicken in minecraft tho (i tend to stick to plants in mc)

[Wereaibo]

At first i was all like "daw, do i have to?"

And now i'm all like "die you lower lifeform!"

Seriously though, i kill anything that's stupid enough to walk in front of my sword/shotgun.  Yes, even my allies... sometimes...

That was pretty much my reaction to having to kill wolves in the Lord of the ring games for GBA. Particularly in Return Of The King. They're some of the deadliest enemies in the game, particularly on your first play through. They can reduce your life bar to zero in seconds. Avoiding them is rarely an option. If you try to run they will chase you to the ends of the map. Much like a Terminator they don't show remorse, they don't show pity and they absolutely will not stop until you are dead. After dying and being forced to repeat the map a few times I went from "aeww poor things" to "oh crap! a wolf!kill it kill it kill it" One of the rare times a game forced me to feel aggressive toward an animal.

[Old Rabbit]

I play Warcraft with my gf, but I don't go out of my way to kill animal
characters. Especially the odd rabbit kin that hops by. 

The others I generally avoid unless it's part of a quest or in defense.

I never cared for hunting in RL. It's hard for me to kill another living
creature except for survival, or in defense of me or mine.

[Wereaibo]

You're pretty lucky in that rabbits are rarely made enemies in games. In fact I've been playing video games since the very early 80's and I can't think of a single game that had rabbits as villainous characters.
Unfortunately for me some of the animals I identify with most are frequently used as enemies. Dogs, wolves, rats and dragons. Furbys on the other hand are owned by Hasbro and the chances they'd allow them to be used negatively in anything is nil so that's at least one break.

[xracecar]

I kill animals for breakfast. Wait...that doesn't sound right. I eat animals for breakfast after I kill them. Venison FTW

[Shim]

I liked the bits in Okami where you'd be using the fire attack and little animals would get in the way and run around like crazy for a couple seconds, on fire. I thought it was a silly touch.

[Keitsu]

You're pretty lucky in that rabbits are rarely made enemies in games. In fact I've been playing video games since the very early 80's and I can't think of a single game that had rabbits as villainous characters.
Unfortunately for me some of the animals I identify with most are frequently used as enemies. Dogs, wolves, rats and dragons. Furbys on the other hand are owned by Hasbro and the chances they'd allow them to be used negatively in anything is nil so that's at least one break.

In Terraria rabbits die allot The zombies and slimes kill them just by touching them.

[Furenzied]

I don't feel too bad, depends what I kill, and even then it's not much of an issue. I find it strange that some people have no problem murdering thousands of people but lord forbid someone shoots an animal in a game. I understand it but it still seems strange.

In Far Cry 3 I go specifically for what I need and if it's hostile then I either use it to kill people like a creeper or just kill it and sell the skin.

[Wereaibo]

I think it's because in most cases the humans you're killing are legitimately in the wrong. Generally in video games you're up against forces who are aiding in the destruction or enslavement of the population at large. A human mook attacking you is doing so purely out of malice. And, hey, if you work with an evil overlord you forfeit your right to complain when you're carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey. You brought it on yourself.
Animals on  the other hand only usually are attacking out of hunger, defense of territory, or having the misfortune of being enslaved by the bad guys and used as living weapons. They are rarely attacking out of true malice and aren't nearly as deserving of death as the humans who are attacking in order to stop you from thwarting some evil plan that, if they were decent people, they wouldn't be taking part in in the first place.

[Furenzied]

You've never played any GTA games have you?

[Wereaibo]

Vice City is probably one of my all time favorite games. And the designers of the GTA series refuse to add animals and children to the games for a very good reason. People can be monsters. It's one thing to play the villain and slaughter your way through hapless civilians. Adding young children or animals to the mix, beings that are usually innocent and helpless and the fun factor takes a sharp downturn. Adults at least have the capacity to defend themselves. I've been on the receiving end of a few angry mobs in various GTA games. But young children and animals are helpless. Innocent. Pure. Sure they're just lines of program but the concept behind killing an innocent, helpless being is unsettling. We've all had encounters with scummy adults and older teens. It's easy to project these encounters onto the civilians massacred in the GTA games. But doing the same thing to children or animals, particularly those commonly kept as pets such as dogs and cats, is unsettling. These beings depend on us to keep them safe. Killing them, even in a video game, is just unsettling.

[Old Rabbit]

You're pretty lucky in that rabbits are rarely made enemies in games. In fact I've been playing video games since the very early 80's and I can't think of a single game that had rabbits as villainous characters.
Unfortunately for me some of the animals I identify with most are frequently used as enemies. Dogs, wolves, rats and dragons. Furbys on the other hand are owned by Hasbro and the chances they'd allow them to be used negatively in anything is nil so that's at least one break.

Yes many of the enemies in games are the larger carnivore animal types. In warcrafts
Pandara there are long tailed rabbit character types that one is forced to kill or be killed.
I did try to avoid them, but they think all outsiders are out to grab their food. So they
attack and attack and attack. Even their kin. 

Most of the rabbits in the rest of the game are just one of the small animals used for
background effect. Rabbits, Squirrels, Skunks, ect.

[Yip]

You're pretty lucky in that rabbits are rarely made enemies in games. In fact I've been playing video games since the very early 80's and I can't think of a single game that had rabbits as villainous characters.

Quest for glory 4 had evil bunnies that would attack you. (I think it was basically a nod to Monty Python).

[Wooden Skull]

If it moves and has a life bar I try to find new and unique ways to deplenish it.
It's all just pixels, not like there's a real animal being hurt.

[ColonelMustang]

It doesn't bother me to kill animals in game, if it attacks me it's my virtual life or it's and I value mine a lot more (partially because i can never remember when i last saved). However i also don't seek them out unless required by a quest (My one exception to that rule is dears. You have tasty tasty meat i can either sell or cook with.)

[Madam Glitch]

While I love animals, I generally don't mind doing so in games such as Skyrim and Minecraft. Both deal with having to kill animals to survive. You have dragons that attack you if they lay eyes on you, and I'd rather not become flame charred lizard/reptile because I happen to be related to them in a sense. And in Minecraft, you can starve to death if you don't eat. Yes you have grains and such, but meat deals better with your health. Like, it staves off hunger longer than things like bread and baked potatoes. The animals I use as a food source are treated well in minecraft. I have them penned in so the wolves can't get to them easily, and I deal with the wolves that try and attack my critters. Plus I have to tamed wolves that I don't have go into battle because I don't like seeing them get hurt.

In general though, if the critter is an enemy that is trying to kill me or my teammates/pets/critters, I will kill it first/back. If it isn't trying to kill me or any of my teammates/pets/critters, I tend to leave them alone though