Instant Carma: The GameSpot Reader Poll

Last week, GameSpot asked its audience whether or not it thought that Interplay's latest game, Carmageddon, stepped too far over the line with its unrelenting gore. In the game, the player participates in a barbaric car race, wherein rewards are granted for mercilessly mowing over innocent pedestrians.

Out of the hundreds who responded to the poll, only 27 percent felt that Carmageddon went too far. Moreover, the reasoning within this group differed greatly. Most thought that other notoriously violent games such as Quake, Doom, and Duke Nukem 3D were acceptable because the victims were either zombies or not human at all.

Others expressed the opinion that it's one thing to kill bad guys, but another thing entirely to encourage and be rewarded for gratuitous mass-slaughter. Still others were very adamant about the fact that portraying a similar level of violence in any video game would be detrimental to the moral values of impressionable teens.

One software store owner even went so far as to say that he would not put Carmageddon on shelves because of its controversial content.

Around 4 percent of those polled were unsure about whether or not Carmageddon has gone overboard in terms of its violent content. Most of these people - some of them parents - thought that censorship of violence in games would be unconstitutional, but that nonetheless, children should not be allowed to play games that include an irresponsible amount of gore.

Not surprisingly, a majority of the voters championed the use of extreme violence in games. Responses of this opinion - about 67 percent - varied from "the violence doesn't bother me" to "the more, the better."

One software designer who is currently working on the mega-controversial title Grand Theft Auto - the game includes, among other things, car-jacking, and has seen attempts from the British police and House of Commons to get it banned - claimed that Carmageddon didn't go far enough.

Most felt that, in general, people should be able to distinguish between fantasy and reality. And that the violence in Carmageddon simply presented an opportunity for gamers to harmlessly release a little stress.

Here are few of the responses GameSpot received:

"I know for me the more blood the better. I enjoy it; it puts more life into the game. I say it depends on your age and if you can handle it."

"Personally I think crashing into the other cars is more fun than the killing of pedestrians. Great physics and gameplay really make the game fun. Killing pedestrians is only icing on the cake. The game is just good fun. Carmageddon is awesome."

"You know when I first heard about this game I thought, now this is really disgusting. I am a mother of two teenage children, one is 17 and the other is 15. And as a parent, even though they are old enough to use their best judgement, I still look out for what is in their best interest. After taking a look at this game I have to say I think it's pretty funny. And I hope others look at it the same way. If you talk to your children and teach them good morals there should be no problem with a game like this."

"I think that games such as Carmageddon, Redneck Rampage, and a few others are completely pointless and stupid. The only goal that they accomplish is promoting violence. I think that the designers of these games should pay more attention to the messages that they send to young children or anyone else who plays the game for that matter. Personally I see no fun in driving around seeing how much blood you can splatter or how many people you can kill. I also think that the people involved in the production of this game and certain others obviously don't have any moral standards and should take part of the responsibility for violence on the streets in this country."

"Granted that some violence to progress a story might be necessary, but gratuitous violence is another thing....The games seem to be going more towards the shoot-them-up category."

"I personally enjoy games where I can go and take out some frustration. I do feel this title goes a little too far. A violent game is merely that, a violent game, but this is an extremely graphic violent game. I have been a Paramedic for five years now and I have to say, there is nothing fun about the human body being ripped apart by a car! The thing that really bothers me, is this: What type of person are they catering to by making this game so graphic and what do they hope to achieve?...money obviously, but come on!"

GameSpot thanks those who responded.