Warren Spector speaks out against the ‘ultraviolence’ in games

Epic Mickey designer Warren Spector believes we're too focused on violence in video games.

"The ultraviolence has to stop," he told GI.biz. "We have to stop loving it. I just don't believe in the effects argument at all, but I do believe that we are fetishizing violence, and now in some cases actually combining it with an adolescent approach to sexuality. I just think it's in bad taste. Ultimately I think it will cause us trouble."

Spector said he left Eidos in 2004 because of the overwhelming theme of violence he noticed in the company's line-up.

"We've gone too far," he said. "You know, Deus Ex had its moments of violence, but they were designed — whether they succeeded or not I can't say — but they were designed to make you uncomfortable, and I don't see that happening now. I think we're just appealing to an adolescent mindset and calling it mature."

The industry veteran also noticed an emphasis on Netflix and other non-gaming interfaces at E3 this year.

"When the games are the least interesting part, there's a problem," he said.

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