Yannick LeJacq

Title: Games Should Be More Violent, Not Less

Abstract: A question that always seems to surface in games criticism is: what do video games need to do to “get better?” The answer that’s often given, in so many words, is that they need to become less violent. Games should become more civil, or more humane, to achieve a level of artistry and grace people appreciate in music, film, literature. LeJacq believes that this is misguided and that there is a good reason that violence seems intrinsic to many video games. LeJacq will discuss some of the biggest games in recent memory such as The Sims 4, GTA V, Shadow of Mordor, even Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. to demonstrate his point.

Yannick LeJacq is a writer for Kotaku, Gawker’s video game site. His work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Vice, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Salon, and NBCNews.com, among other publications. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 2011, and currently lives in Brooklyn.