Popular new video game Skyrim has come under fire from parent’s groups who have accused Bethesda of glamorizing the issue of violence against dragons
The fantasy role playing game, released late last month has been criticised for its heavy emphasis on hunting down dragons and slaying them, an aspect of the game that animal rights groups as well as the anti-videogame lobby are trying to have eradicated from further copies of the game and fixed on existing copies through patches that will replace the in-game dragons with ‘irresponsible and bloodthirsty games designers’ that the player can kill instead.
One offending battle with an aggressive endangered species
PETA spokesperson Elric Melnibone commented; “It is unacceptable in this day and age to have a game as irresponsible as this. This game tells children that killing a dragon is as easy as swinging a Daedric greatsword a few times or firing a few arrows into them if you get a decent sneak crit. The truth of the matter is that many of the people who control dragon population in the lands north of Denmark train for years to risk their lives in this very dangerous profession. And they do not do it for fun or loot or to accumulate magick. This is the latest in a long line of anti-dragon propagandas and an abhorrent example of the corrupting violence of these games.”
Prominent anti-gaming MP and noob Keith Vaz joined in the debate, lending his support to PETA and calling for the developers to be fed to the remaining dragon instead of the towns’ virgin maidens, ensuring a brief period of clemency from the aggressively territorial winged reptiles.
The million selling title from Fallout developers Bethesda concerns the story of an adventurer of mysterious background charged with the task of exterminating every single dragon in the land and stealing their essences so that he can use magic shouts to kill more dragons. The game has been met with commercial and critical success but has angered some that believe that setting the constant goal of killing dragons will reinforce negative media depictions of the animal and encourage abuse and illegal poaching
A dragon sighted over Denmark
Animal rights campaigners have taken against the game, citing its cruel depiction of the endangered reptiles as the main cause for offence-Melnibone added; “We have records of these creatures being hunted into near extinction in the past. Look at Britain, their historical records show a thriving dragon population that was callously hunted into extinction. And then the killers have the gall to make up stories depicting these gentle animals as ‘evil’. They can’t even speak, never mind harbour dread machination. It is true they have a propensity to accumulate piles of gold- much like a magpie- but is that why we want to kill them? Greed? This is disgusting.”
Bethesda have released a statement apologizing for any offence caused but refusing to change the content of the game, saying that they are very happy with the end product
Felix Prenderghast
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