Should you take 'Torture' seriously?

I agreed with the article up until the conspiracies with the government. I think the game is pretty strange and will never play it but who am I to say if it is sick if people do. I just felt it was ridiculous and unnecessary to say anything about it being right to torture in a game because our government "secretly" tortures terrorists in real life.

As a gamer myself, I don't see anything wrong for adults to play violent video games and they have the choice to do whatever they want. If I don't agree with a game then I don't play it. In that respect, I agree with Xoxiss, don't dwell over it and think it's the end times because of a silly web game.

The author was spot on about linking our executive branch's masturbatory pleasure with torture. Of course Cheney and Bush would never be satisfied with a helpless mannequin that goes "uhhh" when you finally dismember him. For version 3 to be played by government creepos dress him as a muslim and have him do ear-piercing screams with each implement used.

This author just made this game extremely popular by writing about it here. She might think it's gross but she just told the world about it so now everyone knows it exists. Way to go Winda!!!

And of course here another reason to bash our government about torture again...I don't condone what our gov. has done at all but no one in these news articles seems to mention all the torturing done by the Muslim extremists on our own solders in Iraq. Also what about the torturing being done in Africa where the creator of this game comes from?

Garbage in, garbage out: studies (and experiences) confirm that what we see and do makes an indelible difference in how we think and who we become. I don't want to "practice" torture -- certainly not for the sake of ... what? Idle curiosity? If we practice impersonality, it certainly would become easier to be impersonal. The disgust is indeed a good gut-check that basic human decency are still intact.

Thank you for this article. I'm just sorry that the topic was available and popular enough for you to write about.

This game doesn't just stretch the boundries of good taste. It has gone miles beyond. I am not a fan of censorship, but I do believe in responsibility on the part of the artist (or game creator). If this game had a context or a storyline, I may feel differently. Torture, just as a stimulation or stress relief, seems to go into a dangerous territory whether gamers want to admit it or not.

I agree with the article except when the author had to throw in her commentary about the government. I actually tried it and it is strange that you start to try different things to it just out of morbid curiosity even when you kind of feel guilty doing it. The time we live in is pretty, sick where life doesn't have much value. It will only get worse and games will get worse as technology gets better.

Human nature is violent. This behavior is in our genes, regardless of what people would have us believe. Violent games like this one offer a safe, harmless outlet for those who need it. While I am not into this sort of gratuitous violence, I would much rather someone get this behavior out of his/her system in a virtual world then in reality.

The whole thing is disgusting. the game is pointless, cruel and disgusting, and the author is also pointless and disgusting. No wonder I do gaming on the internet. Stupid and shallow people rule there.

What's interesting to me is how the author used this "game" to make political comments. I think it was probably her motivation to write the article in the first place.

The issue is that we become desensitized. If you keep doing something over and over, eventually you have to come up with something else to give you a stronger hit. I tried out the game since this article made me aware of it, and I'm glad that it made me disgusted. Saying, "It's just a game," is an excuse for persons to do whatever they want wherever, thinking there will be no repercussions. Stop and think about what you are doing. Torture happens in 'real life'. Eventually people become numb. If we had played a game where we had images of gasing our victims, raping their emaciated bodies, or dunking them in freezing water and then forcing their bodies to warm up, etc... would the Holocaust have had as much an impact?
Stop thinking that some actions have consequences, and some do not.

Yes, it's just a game and you can always turn it off or not play it. But the last time I checked nobody our government "tortured" was dismembered or even killed. Some people try to use anything they can to discredit our government.

Wow. Not surprisingly the same organization that employs the self-congratulatory blowhard Keith Olbermann would link the U.S. war on terror with a video game designed by a teen-ager in South Africa.

More left wing media- way to go MSNBC. I thought this article was about a sick game that pre teens and teenagers are playing. Comparing these "games" (I don't know how this torture waste of time is a game) to our leaders dealing with terrorists? Are you serious lady? The first 75% of the article was great. Stick to the story, not your personal political agenda.

Duuude... Muslim extremists cut Daniel Pearl's head off with a dull blade... Members of the religion of peace ca[ture Blackwater employees then flay them alive and hang them like sides of beef from a bridge in full view of little children who are seen dancing in front of the macabre sight... Army reservists not acting under orders humiliate some prisoners and scare them with dogs (gasp!)... and CIA operatives make some terrorist slime ball give up operational plans to attack America by making them "think" they are drowning (the horror!)...

Which of these examples did the author choose to compare to Torture 2?

Any guesses as to whether the author has ever in her entire adult life ever been proud of her country?

Duuude... Muslim extremists cut Daniel Pearl's head off with a dull blade... Members of the religion of peace ca[ture Blackwater employees then flay them alive and hang them like sides of beef from a bridge in full view of little children who are seen dancing in front of the macabre sight... Army reservists not acting under orders humiliate some prisoners and scare them with dogs (gasp!)... and CIA operatives make some terrorist slime ball give up operational plans to attack America by making them "think" they are drowning (the horror!)...

Which of these examples did the author choose to compare to Torture 2?

Any guesses as to whether the author has ever in her entire adult life ever been proud of her country?

What I'm most concerned about is how many sick people are out there who will play this game and then think "Wow! That was fun... I bet it would be even better on a real person!" Then it's Jeffery Dahmer all over again. Whether you want to admit it or not, "entertainment" has always and will always continue to influence what people (especially young people) do at times during their lives. I know, because I still have the scar... from landing on the fence... after trying to float to the ground with an open umbrella from a second story porch... because Mary Poppins could fly with one and I figured I could too.

Great comments everyone, I'm glad that I wasn't the only one that felt the government bashing was ridiculous. As a soldier serving in Afghanistan, those are the comments that really bother me. People can say what they want, compare who we are to whatever they want to compare us to and I'm just happy they are still able to do those things.

The bashing just seemed to be completely out of context for what the article was trying to say. Especially some completely false alegations that mean absolutetly nothing. I love my country and while the people running our government are fallible I wouldn't want to live or serve anywhere else.

Thanks again!

Right, Americans are "extra sensitive" about torture because of our government. The author needs to look at the rest of the world. There are far worse tortures occurring on a daily basis. And I don't think the victims would find this game to be meaningless. I'm sure the government of the US isn't the reason people enjoy playing the game. The author sounds brainwashed. So incredibly TYPICAL! to make a connection between something like this game and how horrible Bush is. I don't even know what else to say. As for the game, I could see Dahmer playing it in the early stages of his mental illness. To say something like this is harmless is naive. Especially for children. The children of our nation are already becoming robotic and desensitized in the nature of their crimes. This type of thing pulls them further from empathy and reality. So sad.