Violence is everywhere. We see it in the news, movies, television shows, social media, listening to music, and playing them in a video game. Violence in video games is especially nothing new because we are used to it. Yet back in the 90s when \u201cMortal Kombat\u201d was released, the parents and government tried to get the game banned for being violent when performing the \u201cFatality\u201d because it was the first time it was shown in a video game format and introduced the ESRB rating system. Soon, we receive many violent games franchise nowadays such as \u201cManhunt\u201d, \u201cGrand Theft Auto\u201d, \u201cNo More Heroes\u201d, \u201cCall Of Duty\u201d, and shockingly \u201cMortal Kombat\u201d as it is still a popular fighting game franchise being released and the new entry came out last month which is even more violent. You may be wondering why am I talking about violence in video games. Am I against it? No of course not, but I find it to be a very interesting topic when discussing video games. But, there is a game I want to talk about that I love to play and focus on our violent tendencies and the consequence, and that is \u201cHotline Miami\u201d. Side note, there is a second game, but I like to focus on the first game alone as it was the introduction to the topic about ourselves, and quite frankly my favourite indie game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
First thing first, What is \u201cHotline Miami\u201d about? The game takes place in Miami, in 1989. You play a silent protagonist named \u201cJacket\u201d, he was a veteran who fought against soviet Russia from invading Hawaii with his best friend, \u201cBeard\u201d in the 80s. In the game, you are tasked to take down the Russian mobster that roams around Miami by a mysterious caller. The caller will give a vague description about the location of the whereabouts as if they are ordering a pizza, and Jacket would have to follow along the plan as if he doesn\u2019t, he will be killed. As he goes to the locations, he will don the Chicken mask named \u201cRichard\u201d, who represents his ego since Jacket is a mentally disturbed person who has the urge to kill after the war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The game has five parts with 4 chapters in each part. As you play the game, you go to the locations you are tasked with and kill the mobsters but each time you finish the job, you keep encountering \u201cBeard\u201d as the store clerk everywhere. But at the start of each part, you run into 3 individuals who are wearing the mask but represent Jacket\u2019s egos. The most important ego and character that plays a big role in the franchise is \u201cRichard\u201d, Jacket’s persona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Richard represents the sociopathic behaviour of Jacket and the player, but I wanna bring up the conversation you have with him at the start of chapter 2. Richard asks Jacket four questions, but the biggest question is the first one asking the protagonist and the players \u201cDo you like hurting other people?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n