Any gamers out there? I'd like suggestions for really good non-violent games. Can you recommend any?

I always loved racing games, the popular ones are Project Gotham and Gran Turismo.

LA Noire and FIFA ‘11 are my most recent non-violent obsessions.

Try King’s Bounty.

LA Noire is non-violent? < – - – This is a serious question. I haven’t played it yet as I can’t shake Red Dead Redemption.

@mrrich724 It’s not THAT bad.

Uhhh

To those who answered: could you also give a brief description of the game please. Some are obvious from the title but many are not.

Thanks.

@Buttonstc Gran Turismo and Project Gotham are very precise and accurate in making the games realistic. You can’t turn any corner any way you want, you have to brake enough and go in at the right angle. In some modes, your tires wear out and you have to change them at the pit. It’s still a typical racing game: making mods on the car, winning races for credits to buy more cars and mods etc.

LA Noire is terrific, but it can be a little graphic. It’s not gratuitous by any means, but the realistic approach to violence was a little unnerving.
Batman: Arkham Asylum was one of the best games I ever played, and it wasn’t very violent. No blood or gore, or anything like that, but it was totally engrossing and one of the most atmospheric games I played since BioShock. Plus, the story and voice acting are killer.
I think the Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition is still out there, and that was great, so long as you like point-and-click adventures. Best of luck!

Portal 2, of course.

Depends on what you mean by non-violent, though. Some of my favorite games right now have a smidgen of violence (Bastion, Minecraft), but don’t have the blood or gore of some of my other favorites (Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Borderlands). I just wonder if you want non violent or just non-FPS-shootin waves of dudes in the face.

Also, the new Deus Ex game, while not non-violent by any stretch of the word is fairly compelling, plus it’s a definite challenge to make it through the entire game without killing someone. It can be done, though.

It depends upon what type of games that you like. Mystery? Game-solving? Hidden objects?

For non-violent video games, I tend towards racing games.

I loved the first four Gran Turismo games, but I don’t think the fifth is worth spending $300 on a new console for, especially not since my actual car only cost $300. @Blackberry gave a good description of the GT series, and there is a reason why it gets the accolades it does.

TOCA 3, which has less flexibility but far better physics and a damage model that will encourage you to drive like a race car driver instead of a jackass on meth (as GT allows you to do), is a racing game that has you start a career and work your way up the ladder through various racing series. Depending on the series, you may be racing Australian V8 Supercars (their version of NASCAR), monster trucks, German sedans, ‘70s GT race cars, lawnmowers, and more. I have ripped doors off, exploded engines, done donuts until my tires blew, and often finish a race missing at least one body panel unless I am in an open-wheel car where such driving will rip the suspension clean off and force you to try again. The thing is that, unlike the Gran Turismo series, you can’t take just any car on just any track.

Another vote for Portal 2. Also Portal 1. The 2 player co-op in portal 2 is worth checking out as well.

1. Audiosurf (I just copied this off the store page on Steam.) Audiosurf is a music-adapting puzzle racer where you use your own music to create your own experience. The shape, the speed, and the mood of each ride is determined by the song you choose. You earn points for clustering together blocks of the same color on the highway, and compete with others on the internet for the high score on your favorite songs.
This game is addictive, and it’s great to see your username on the world scoreboard for your favorite songs.

2. Any of the three Animal Crossing games. One is for Gamecube, the second is for the Nintendo DS, and the third is for the Wii. You move to a town where every person is an animal except you. You are given a small house to make your own (But not for free). You have to work off the loan for the house to get your house upgraded, and do favors for neighbors to get various wallpapers, flooring/carpets and furniture to make it personalized. If it’s your type of game, it’ll suck you in really fast. If you already have a Gamecube or Wii, pickup the first one. It’s cheap, and definitely worth a try.

3. Trine (Another copy/paste from the store page.) Trine is a fantasy action game where the player can create and use physics-based objects to beat hazardous puzzles and threatening enemies. Set in a world of great castles and strange machinery, three heroes are bound to a mysterious device called the Trine in a quest to save the kingdom from evil.
I think out of the three of these games, this one will appeal to most teenage boys the most. It has the thinking behind it of a puzzle game, but still some action to mix things up, although there is no gore, and no blood to be seen.

(The Portal games are also very popular, and I highly reccomend them as well. I just didn’t mention them because I wanted to offer games no one had suggested yet, and that I have personally have greatly enjoyed.)

My favourites are sports simulations like Tiger Woods golf.

@ Pied Pfeffer

For myself personally, I would like games in any of the 3 categories you describe so if you know of any good ones, let me know. I have yet to get through Myst.

Yes, I know I’m a little late to the game :) But better late than never, right?

To everybody. My initial reason for this Q was prompted from another Q over in General following an unfortunate incident posted by Cruiser involving a 12 yr. old child.

It was stated that this problem was definitely connected to shooter type Xbox games.

Further along, I stated that deprivation of FPS games (as a consequence) would be one approach. Someone in the thread spoke of benefits from video gaming (and I agree) but there are plenty of other excellent creative and engrossing video games. Any child could live a long happy life without violent, especially FPS-type, games even tho those are so hugely popular and dominate the market.

Someone else asked if there even were any games other than violent ones.

I knew there were but didn’t have specific titles.

So, I figured why not ask the gamer experts in the collective. And you didn’t disappoint.

Thanks everybody. Lurve to everybody. I knew I could count on Flutherites to come through.

The Harry Potter computer games are good. I’ve also played several of the Nancy Drew Mystery games. MSN Games is a good site if you want cheap, downloadable games. Plus, you can try them out for a limited period for free. Myst and Riven were tough, but very interesting.

@Buttonstc FYI, those studies areisproven and therefore irrelevant. They got the laws of cause and effect mixed up; many of the kids that do the sort of things that they claim that FPS games make kids do are the type of kids that tortured cats before video games existed. Violent games don’t create murderers; murderers are attracted to violent games.

That said, I agree that it is quite possible to have a good game without violence. For the most part, I am not a fan of FPS games in general as most care more about being gratuitously violent than in actually being a decent game. I like Deus Ex, for instance, as it is a rare FPS with a great storyline, decent world design, some RPG elements, and what violence there is is realistic in that you really don’t want to get into the sort of fight that you would in, say, Halo or Call of Duty as that is a quick way to end your game.

Postal 2, on the other hand… jeez! While there is a way to beat the game without firing a shot, it actually goes out of it’s way to be objectionable. Whether it be decapitating policemen (or gary Coleman) with a shovel and urinating on their corpse, or using a cat as a silencer for a shotgun, or just going through the mall trying to get a Krotchy doll for Christmas, Postal 2 is really not appropriate for children period. In fact, it’s just inappropriate. And rather proud of that too!

And are RPGs considered violent? I mean, yes, there are swords, spells, and attacks, but often stylized so that they look nothing like the sort of violence you see in FPS games. Amongst that genre, _ prefer the Disgaea series and have >400 hours in on Disgaea 2. There are puzzle elements, a lot of depth, and the violence is pretty tame. There are some that consider even that too violent though; I don’t know where you fit in there.

There is actually very strong research that has shown the most violent behaviour is caused by playing sports games. The monkey see monkey do argument is so weak it is insulting to children. They are much more inteligent than they are given credit for (often more so than the adults that are trying to ban the games).

@jerv Played the new Deus Ex yet? It’s fucking fantastic.

@Lightlyseared Well said. As a gamer, I am biased, but I’ve honestly never understood why violent video games get tied so often to actual violence.

@jerv

Where on earth did I ever say anything about STUDIES about the negative influence of violent video games?

As a matter of fact, I said the EXACT OPPOSITE. I said that someone cited studies about the BENEFICIAL effects of gaming and that I AGREE.

I’ve also stated in previous posts that there was a study done on the success results for surgeons in relation to the amount of video game experience they had in their youth. This was focused primarily on the followups done on those done with the use of robotic surgery assist.

So if one is contemplating a choice between robotic surgery vs. convential, a key Q to ask is about how much of a gamer the surgeon was in his youth as there is a definite carryover of skillsets used.

The only thing I did mention was from the original thread which prompted me to ask this Q. (Im on iPhone so can’t post a link but it’s easy to find for anyone is interested.)

It was posted by Cruiser in the General section. As the father of the child, HE IS THE ONE who stated specifically about the influence of the FPS games routinely played by his son and his friends. Nobody in that thread even mentioned any STUDIES on negative effects.

This was his personal observation on the behavior of this particular group of kids. He was there (none of the rest of us were) so he should know. I’m certainly willing to take his word for it.

Perhaps you’re a bit overly defensive about all the erroneous assumptions made and studies done about the connections between gaming violence and RL violence but I never even tangentially referred to any of those either in this thread or the original one.

Please refrain from putting words in my mouth or thoughts in my head which clearly are not there. You are also making unwarrented assumptions in the same manner as those you object to.

Thank you.