History Main / VideoGameCrueltyPotential

Contrast VideoGameCaringPotential -- [[NotSoDifferent though sometimes helping your little drones means doing horrible things to their enemies...]] See also WhatTheHellPlayer and VideoGamePerversityPotential. If the game or genre usually does not permit cruelty even though there's no particular in-game reason for that, but this time they do, you have SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome.

Contrast VideoGameCaringPotential -- [[NotSoDifferent though sometimes helping your little drones means doing horrible things to their enemies...]] See also WhatTheHellPlayer and VideoGamePerversityPotential. If the game or genre usually does not permit cruelty even though there's no particular in-game reason for that, but this time they do, you have RealityEnsues.

[[foldercontrol]]

!!Aversions

!!Straight Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

!!In Fiction

* In all three of the ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' games, you are not only capable, but ''encouraged'' by ''{{Creator/Bungie}}'' to kill [=BOBs=], which, in the first game, are unarmed civilians who have no hope of survival without the Player's help. In ''Marathon 2: Durandal'', they are volunteers risking their lives and listening to the batshit Durandal to help the player, however, like in ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', killing two of them will cause them to shoot at you. In ''Marathon Infinity'', it's actually the player character's mission to kill them in more levels than they help him in, and for some reason they're a ''lot'' [[TookALevelInBadass better at killing you than they are at killing aliens.]] The aliens that so easily killed them before, while working at your side, get mercilessly mowed down by the [=BOBs=].

* Despite the appearance of its sequel above, the original ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' game went so far as to make ''all the [=NPCs=] invulnerable'' to avoid this. Of course, this was before ''[[VideoGame/JakIIRenegade Renegade]]'' sent it DarkerAndEdgier.

* This happened again in ''Anime/DigimonXrosWars.'' This time, [[spoiler: Yuu Amano was manipulated by the villains into thinking the digital world was just a game world where he could play however he wished. All he wanted was a way to play to the best of his abilities without the risk of anyone getting hurt, and when he finds out this isn't the case -- and that a lot of death and destruction has come from it -- he also has a major breakdown. Fortunately, the heroes, one of whom is his loving sister, are more than willing to forgive him and help him come to terms with things.]]

* ''Digital Deli'', a mid-80s collection of computer articles, includes the "Crunchy Computer" comics. When hippie Crunchy tries to steer his son away from violent video game fair by giving him the "Save the Whales" game, Crunchy Jr. finds it far more fun to shoot the whales.

* In the Canadian comic strip ''Betty'', there is an arc in which Betty buys a new life simulation game called "The Mods" which is obviously inspired by ''Videogame/TheSims'' and/or ''Videogame/SimCity''. Betty's son, who also knows about the game, sees her playing and comments that the funny thing about such games is to make your characters stupid and ugly, to tear down hospitals and build casinos instead, and to build highways to nowhere. Betty dryly comments that she would rather make her Mods world different than the real world.

* ''WebComic/TowerOfGod'': The "Hidden Floor" story parodies this with Chung, although it's not very light-hearted about it. And then again, it's downplayed compared to many actual game examples. Basically, it's a parody but PlayedForDrama and more realistically so the story's tone doesn't become too silly, unlike much of the rest of the video game parody in this story. Chung has been contracted to manage a part of the virtual world of the Hidden Floor; he can't even leave his apartment in his real body, but he can use a VR headset to enter the Hidden Floor as an all-powerful avatar and ruler.[[note]]This sounds a bit like CruelPlayerCharacterGod, but he interacts with the world through an avatar, not by manipulating things unseen.[[/note]] There, he might have the virtual humans beaten up by his soldiers before wiping their memories and making them literally sing his praises again, or device a sadistic punishment for someone gaining enough self-awareness to stand up to him. After all, as he almost says in the comic, they're just {{Non Player Character}}s.

** However, interestingly, he refused to do a genocide run of ''Videogame/{{Undertale}}.''

* In ''TheSimpsons'' episode "The Regina Monologues", Bart and Milhouse are playing a video game called ''Hockey Dad'', which, as the name implies, is a fighting game that involves two dads at their kids' hockey match. Bart manages to win essentially by ignoring the child of his character pleading for him to stop, as he didn't want the dad to resort to murdering Milhouse's character (note that when the kid was begging him not to, the dad in question was literally stomping the snot out of his opponent's face [well, blood, but still], and his final blow involved strangling his opponent with the opponent's own tie). The winning screen has the winning dad doing a victorious pose and is implied to be arrested by the police, although whether this was supposed to be VideoGameCrueltyPunishment was debatable, given the fact that there was a winner sign, the dad smiling while being carted away by the police, and the announcer saying "You're a big man! BIG MAN!!"

* The [=YouTuber=] [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEy7pi3B7TIS9cn_sdKK9A/videos GrayStillPlays]] practically ''thrives'' on this trope, no matter what game he's playing. His OnceAnEpisode intro says it all:

* In the brief set of scenes where you get to play as Joker in ''BatmanArkhamKnigh''t, you can murder anyone and everyone. Except Harley Quinn. The targeting reticle will not stay on her and the trigger will not work. There is one line the developers would not let even the Joker cross.

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1300885115015848300
%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.

* The society in ''[[Literature/GreenSkyTrilogy Below the Root]]'' is so [[ActualPacifist peaceful]] that you can't even be a KleptomaniacHero -- unless it's out in the open, you have to find the owner and ask nicely. Better is if you find the [[CallARabbitASmeerp Wand of Befal]] (machete). Use it on a living creature, and you've just made the game {{Unwinnable}}.
* In ''[[Franchise/TombRaider Tomb Raider 3]]'' it's impossible to shoot Lara's butler, as he always shields himself with the dinner tray. (However, you can lock him up in the walk-in fridge.)
* The Insane Children in ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'' can't harm Alice (except maybe to get in the way) and she cannot hurt them even if the player wants to; if she tries, it just doesn't work.

* In the brief set of scenes where you get to play as Joker in BatmanArkhamKnight, you can murder anyone and everyone. Except Harley Quinn. The targeting reticle will not stay on her and the trigger will not work. There is one line the developers would not let even the Joker cross.

* The same applies to the Grand Canyon track in ''VideoGame/GranTurismo 4'', which features tourists standing in the middle of the road to take photographs and jumping out of the way ''just'' before you'd end up hitting them. If you actually do, you'll just clip through them.

* ''VideoGame/ScarfaceTheWorldIsYours'':
** The game doesn't let you shoot or run over civilians. They jump out of the way of your car, and if you point your weapon at them, you can't fire it. While Tony is a ruthless killer, he won't murder innocents. However, you do have a couple weapons like the bazooka and the missile launcher that do splash damage, so it is possible to get around this.
** It ''is'' possible to kill cops, but it's a bad idea because it immediately earns you heat, and if you don't hightail it out of there (while dodging blockades and tire shredders), a helicopter will show up to turn you into a [[NonStandardGameOver fine red mist]].

* In all three of the ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' games, you are not only capable, but ''encouraged'' by ''{{Creator/Bungie}}'' to kill [=BOBs=], which, in the first game, are unarmed civillians who have no hope of survival without the Player's help. In ''Marathon 2: Durandal'', they are volunteers risking their lives and listening to the batshit Durandal to help the player, however, like in ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', killing two of them will cause them to shoot at you. In ''Marathon Infinity'', it's actually the player character's mission to kill them in more levels than they help him in, and for some reason they're a ''lot'' [[TookALevelInBadass better at killing you than they are at killing aliens.]] The aliens that so easily killed them before, while working at your side, get mercilessly mowed down by the [=BOBs=].

* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', in Coruscant there is a child quest giver that is inordinately higher level (maxed at 50) than all the other quest-related [=NPCs=] in the area. Almost as if the devs are protecting her in case PVP ever makes it way to that area.

* The ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' example above is averted in the ninth and tenth games. If Jill Talks to her father (which is something her father will be happy to initiate, even if you are not), she will [[FaceHeelTurn opt to side with him instead]], [[VideoGameCrueltyPunishment fighting you]]- and unless you came prepared with an A Support with Mist or a B Support with Lethe, you won't be getting her back. In the tenth game, you have playable units on both sides, often also related in some way. Some of them simply will not have the Attack command appear if you put them next to that enemy. Of course, [[PapaWolf Brom]] would never raise his weapon against his own daughter and so on...

* This happened again in ''Anime/DigimonXrosWars.'' This time, [[spoiler: Yuu Amano was manipulated by the villains into thinking the digital world was just a game world where he could play however he wished. All he wanted was a way to play to the best of his abilities without the risk of anyone getting hurt, and when he finds out this isn't the case- and that a lot of death and destruction has come from it- he also has a major breakdown. Fortunately, the heroes, one of whom is his loving sister, are more than willing to forgive him and help him come to terms with things.]]

* Invoked in chapter 8 of ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun'', where the DatingSim they're playing gives options to be cruel to others, like insulting them or attacking them. {{Mangaka}} Nozaki, who was role-playing as his manga's male protagonist Suzuki, picks the cruel option every time, his reason being that Suzuki [[OfficialCouple already has eyes for Mamiko]], the female protagonist of his manga.
* In chapter 4 of "LightNovel/GoblinSlayer", Goblin Slayer demonstrates that a protective barrier can also be used to trap goblins inside of a burning fortress.

* In ''Film/{{Tron}}'' and ''Film/TronLegacy'' (and the TV series ''WesternAnimation/TronUprising''), there is [[BloodSport a gladiatorial arena called "The Games"]] where programs fight to the death at the crowd's encouragement, in a parody of ancient Rome. Many sentient lifeforms are regularly murdered in a way utterly contrary to anything else Disney has created in the modern era (approached only by ''Motor City'') which they get away with since they are mere computer programs and not real people. Ignoring that unlike a setting such as ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'', real people have entered the Grid on multiple occasions and a program has exited it and been able to exist in the real world.

* In ''Literature/{{Daemon}}'', Loki sees humans who are not part of the Darknet as {{NPC}}s. The Daemon does not allow him to outright kill them for no reason, but he can torment them in various ways (like destroying their bank accounts). When he is able to kill them (as part of a mission or in self-defense), he does so happily and in the most gruesome way available to him.
* ''Digital Deli'', a mid-80s collection of computer articles, includes the "Crunchy Computer" comics. When hippie Crunchy tries to steer his son away from violent video game fair by giving him the "Save the Whales" game, Crunchy Jr. finds it far more fun to shoot the whales.

* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'': The concept is explored in "The Game", where Sheppard and [=McKay=] discover and play what they think is a ''Civilizations''-type strategy game, and they engage in some friendly and not-so-friendly competition with each other. Only to learn later that what they thought was just a game was really a Lantean social engineering experiment, and that there are ''real people'' on the other end. People who'd been getting along with each other just fine for centuries, before their long-absent "Oracles" returned and showed them the error of their peaceful, tolerant ways. Oops.
* ''Series/{{Community}}'':
** One episode includes Troy and Abed playing a war game that turns out to award points for killing innocent civilians, as they learn when they start playing with a guy who is (unbeknownst to them) an actual war criminal.
** Another has a ''Legend of Zelda''-esque shopping trip turn into the brutal murder of the shopkeep and his wife, the shop being burned down, and their daughter now forced to marry or live in the woods.
--->'''Troy:'''...What kind of game ''is'' this?

* Invoked and deconstructed in the Video Game Violence episode of ''Series/PennAndTellerBullshit''. In particular, at one point in the episode, viewers are asked to imagine a world where videogames are the sport of choice, and then people try to introduce UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball -- a sport that involves ''real'' violent physical contact and where people ''actually'' get broken bones, cuts, bruises, concussions, and even have been known to '''die'''.

* In the Canadian comic strip ''Betty'', there is an arc in which Betty buys a new life simulation game called "The Mods" which is obviously inspired by ''Videogame/TheSims'' and/or ''Videogame/SimCity''. Betty's son, who also knows about the game, sees her playing and comments that the funny thing about such games is to make your characters stupid and ugly, to tear down hospitals and build casinos instead, and to build highways to nowhere. Betty dryly comments that she would rather make her Mods world different than the real world.

* Leo, of ''Webcomic/VGCats'', is a CruelPlayerCharacterGod, as seen [[http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=122 here]].
-->'''Leo:''' Do you think Sims feel pain?\\
'''Aeris:''' You’re a '''monster''' and you’re going straight to Hell.

* ''Webcomic/BrawlInTheFamily'' points out just how cruel standard gameplay is to the hordes of hapless {{Mooks}} you cut down, explode, burn and stomp underfoot in any given playthrough in its [[http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/comic/200-odetominions/ "Ode to Minions"]].
* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'': [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=201 In a bonus comic for]], Kat introduces Annie to ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto''. Annie, who apparently hasn't played computer games before, has trouble sleeping that night...
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'''s Sburb has a lot of potential for this. [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004250 Case in point.]] The entire reason why that situation exists is because of their version of live action role-playing -- Vriska (the girl he's talking to) used her powers as a KillerDM to force Tavros (the guy in the wheelchair) to ''jump off a cliff'' when he was indecisive about fighting two powerful enemies.
* ''Webcomic/EverSoSlightly'': Eliana Harrison enjoys letting her "[[BuffySpeak asshole-ery]]'' shine while playing games with multiple endings, implying that she invokes this trope by seeking out the bad endings.
* ''Webcomic/DarwinCarmichaelIsGoingToHell'' has a [[http://dcisgoingtohell.com/228-into-the-woods-partxv/ strip]] where Skittles the manticore is upset when Patrick shows him how to play VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto.

* Joe's character in Literature/StatlessAndTactless loves this. He'll viciously attack innocent people and kill non-innocent people in excessive ways purely because he can.

* Yahtzee of ''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation'' is a big fan of this, and believes firmly that it's a normal part of gaming to take the most damaging possible action. He credits it simply to subversiveness -- if a game is trying to make the character out to be TheMessiah or a ReluctantHero, then having them instead [[ForTheEvulz shoot their friends and run over old women]] is inherently hilarious. Examples he's given include drowning VideoGame/TheSims, [[WreakingHavok shoving physics objects into faces]] during scripted cutscenes in ''VideoGame/HalfLife'', and eating people's spouses before murdering them in ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}''. Ironically, he's usually bored by games that try to ''encourage'' this, such as ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}'', simply because it's not fun to do it when the game demands you do it.
** However, interestingly, he refused to do a genocide run of ''Videogame/{{Undertale}}.''
* A major BerserkButton for [=PksparxxDathotneSS=] is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjOmdsTm0N8 having to leave Yoshi behind]] in any installment of ''Francise/SuperMarioBrothers'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACYtR6DI5Mg especially if you need to use him as a springboard]] for a DoubleJump by throwing him away (which has become MemeticMutation in of itself). He has gone as far as to start a campaign called "No Yoshi Left Behind" [[SeriousBusiness protesting this injustice]] and even designed and sold a t-shirt over it. And one thing that is ''sure'' to get PK pissed in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'' is to force him to abandon a Yoshi with a level you present him with just to get his goat. He will actually abort the level if it comes to that. And the one time he didn't, [[FromBadToWorse he lived to regret it...]] because winning the level by abandoning a Yoshi led to him finishing the level in a manner [[VideoGameCrueltyPunishment that forced a Yoshi to be dropped into LAVA.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_brDHcSPwo Take a gander.]] Mario Maker sadism at its worst!

* The [=YouTuber=] [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzEy7pi3B7TIS9cn_sdKK9A/videos GrayStillPlays]] practically ''thrives'' on this trope, no matter what game he's playing. His OnceAnEpisode intro says it all:
-->''"Alright, so we're checking out the only game where you get to (insert morally dubious act here)...it's (name of the game)."''
* Josh from [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCto7D1LMiRoOziCXK9uT5Q/videos Let's Game It Out]] loves to indulge in video game cruelty. No game, however innocuous or lighthearted, is safe from him. The methods he comes up with to torture the [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]] in the games he plays are as inventive as they are cruel. Some highlights include: forcing his character to work at being the number one [=YouTuber=] and not allowing him to eat or sleep for ''six years''; creating so much nuclear waste that he essentially destroyed the world and automatically died upon respawn; making a prison system that would put the worst gulag to shame; and burned down his own city to make money. The real kicker is that he often gets rewarded exponentially more than if he tried to play the games correctly. He [[RunningGag also has a thing]] for tormenting characters named [[SitcomArchnemesis Grace]]. Woe to any NPC with that name.

[[caption-width-right:240:And last time I checked, we are the hero...]]

* PlayedForLaughs in Chapter 4/Episode 2 of ''LightNovel/BokuWaTomodachiGaSukunai''. While playing "Tokimeite Memorial Days", Yozora and Sena agreed -- [[SitcomArchnemesis for once]] -- to court shy Yukiko Nagata, while they keep shooting down overtures by Akari Fujibayashi, whom they deem a BitchInSheepsClothing just because she's proactive, with the most cruel options. [[GenreSavvy Kodaka]] is none too amused. Their choices come back to [[LaserGuidedKarma bite them in the ass]] when VideoGameCrueltyPunishment kicks in and rumors that their protagonist, "Semoponume Kashiwazaki", was a HeManWomanHater became so widespread -- whose spread [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Yozora and Sena directly attribute to Akari]] -- Yukiko eventually shot him down. They ultimately got a DownerEnding so depressing [[SeriousBusiness Sena breaks down crying, while Yozora storms out of the clubroom threatening to kill Akari]].

** In later editions of the game, the Propulsion & Repulsion Cannons became capable of killing things with "crash" damage, either by using the Propulsion Cannon to lob objects at other creatures (or bash smaller creatures against walls) or by using the Repulsion Cannon to smash creatures against the environment until they die. The Drill Arm became a powerful melee attack weapon capable of repulsing even Reaper Leviathans. Prawn Suits were upgraded with the ability to punch enemies in melee. And, finally, Torpedoes became an unlockable weapon for certain submersibles. The result was that players could now more aggressively defend themselves - or brutally stalk down and massacre aggressive creatures.

** Hell, this is essentially how the plot is resolved: [[spoiler:Ender is tired of playing games for the military, and does what he thinks is the most despicable and cruel thing he can possibly do in order to get out of it - slams the device into the alien planet and destroys the whole thing, including all of the ships in orbit from both sides.]] [[MagnificentBastard Turns out that's exactly the response they wanted.]]
*** It was also his only choice for victory when faced with overwhelming odds. "The enemy's gate is down" indeed.
** And this also comes into play even earlier with "The Fantasy Game", the recreational computer game that the students play. Ender not only [[spoiler: discovers he can kill the Giant that commands the unbeatable "Giant's Drink" minigame, but also has to kill the "wolf-children" that he finds, and then repeatedly kills the snake he finds in the tower.]] However, it's inverted in that final level. [[spoiler:The way around the snake in the tower challenge is not to kill the snake, but to love it.]]

* The mid-80s collection of computer articles '''Digital Deli''' includes the "Crunchy Computer" comics. When hippie Crunchy tries to steer his son away from violent video game fair by giving him the "Save the Whales" game, Crunchy Jr. finds it far more fun to shoot the whales.
* Literature/StoryThieves: In the fourth book, where you can do numerous things to screw Owen over and you're not penalized at all (though, Nobody does mildly scold you about it you can do it anyways, over and over.)

* ''Series/{{Spaced}}'' mentioned this in an episode where Tim is playing ''VideoGame/TombRaider''. When Brian notes that Lara Croft is drowning and asks if that's the point, Tim replies that it "Depends what kind of mood you're in."
* The ''Franchise/StarTrek'' holodeck gives the characters to plenty of chances to do horrible things to their in-universe fictional worlds.

** In an episode of ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'', Nog invites Jake Sisko to spend their day looting and pillaging a city in the holodeck.
** Another episode centered around a HolodeckMalfunction with a ''Film/JamesBond'' theme. In order to buy time so they could rescue the crew, Bashir pushes the "submerge the world" button, drowning all but the highest mountaintops. Everyone is just shocked at this, including the villain who was planning on doing it.
** In ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration The Next Generation]]'', after Data inexplicably experiences anger during a fight with a Borg drone, he creates a Holodeck program where he kills the drone repeatedly in an attempt to replicate the emotion.
** In a very intentional case, Seska sabotaged the Holodeck into a death trap that reprogrammed itself to torture its occupants.
* The concept is explored in "The Game" episode of ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', where Sheppard and [=McKay=] discover and play what they think is a ''Civilizations''-type strategy game, and they engage in some friendly and not-so-friendly competition with each other. Only to learn later that what they thought was just a game was really a Lantean social engineering experiment, and that there are ''real people'' on the other end. People who'd been getting along with each other just fine for centuries, before their long-absent "Oracles" returned and showed them the error of their peaceful, tolerant ways. Oops.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** Surprisingly enough, it's ''Grace'' who will unleash seven kinds of overly violent hell on video game enemies, despite being a FriendToAllLivingThings and one of the nicest people you would ever meet in the real world, to the point that Tedd once described her as "possibly a hippie".
*** Susan does argue with the game's mentor figure that the rules of what the game ''Parable'' considers to be evil behavior are highly subjective, vaguely explained and completely arbitrary.
* And now [[Webcomic/PennyArcade Gabe]] [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/05/25 joins the fun]] with ''VideoGame/InFAMOUS''.
* ''Webcomic/BrawlInTheFamily'' points out just how cruel standard gameplay is in its [[http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/comic/200-odetominions/ "Ode to Minions"]].
* [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=201 In a bonus comic for]] ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'', [[GadgeteerGenius Kat]] introduces [[DefrostingIceQueen Annie]] to ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto''. Annie, who apparently hasn't played computer games before, has trouble sleeping that night...
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'''s Sburb has a lot of potential for this. [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004250 Case in point.]] The entire reason why that situation exists is because of their version of live action role-playing - Vriska (the girl he's talking to) used her powers as a KillerDM to force Tavros (the guy in the wheelchair) to ''jump off a cliff'' when he was indecisive about fighting two powerful enemies.
* Eliana Harrison of ''Webcomic/{{EverSoSlightly}}'' enjoys letting her "[[BuffySpeak asshole-ery]]'' shine while playing games with multiple endings, implying that she invokes this trope by seeking out the bad endings.

* The "Hidden Floor" story of ''WebComic/TowerOfGod'' sort of parodies this with Chung, although it's not very light-hearted about it. And then again, it's downplayed compared to many actual game examples. Basically, it's a parody but PlayedForDrama and more realistically so the story's tone doesn't become too silly, unlike much of the rest of the video game parody in this story. Chung has been contracted to manage a part of the virtual world of the Hidden Floor; he can't even leave his apartment in his real body, but he can use a VR headset to enter the Hidden Floor as an all-powerful avatar and ruler.[[note]]This sounds a bit like CruelPlayerCharacterGod, but he interacts with the world through an avatar, not by manipulating things unseen.[[/note]] There, he might have the virtual humans beaten up by his soldiers before wiping their memories and making them literally sing his praises again, or device a sadistic punishment for someone gaining enough self-awareness to stand up to him. After all, as he almost says in the comic, they're just {{Non Player Character}}s.

* Yahtzee of ''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation'' is a big fan of this, and believes firmly that it's a normal part of gaming to take the most damaging possible action. He credits it simply to subversiveness - if a game is trying to make the character out to be TheMessiah or a ReluctantHero, then having them instead [[ForTheEvulz shoot their friends and run over old women]] is inherently hilarious. Examples he's given include drowning VideoGame/TheSims, [[WreakingHavok shoving physics objects into faces]] during scripted cutscenes in ''VideoGame/HalfLife'', and eating people's spouses before murdering them in ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}''. Ironically, he's usually bored by games that try to ''encourage'' this, such as ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}'', simply because it's not fun to do it when the game demands you do it.

* Josh from [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCto7D1LMiRoOziCXK9uT5Q/videos Let's Game It Out]] loves to indulge in video game cruelty. No game, however innocuous or lighthearted, is safe from him. The methods he comes up with to torture the [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]] in the games he plays are as inventive as they are cruel. Some highlights include: forcing his character to work at being the number one [=YouTuber=] and not allowing him to eat or sleep for ''six years''; creating so much nuclear waste that he essentially destroyed the world; making a prison system that would put the worst gulag to shame; and burned down his own city to make money. The real kicker is that he often gets rewarded exponentially more than if he tried to play the games correctly. He also has a thing for tormenting characters named Grace. Woe to any NPC with that name.

* This happens in ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' a lot when Jason plays games. For example, he giggles excitedly when he plays one that sounds a lot like ''VideoGame/{{Carmageddon}}''. And in another strip, Paige complains to her dad that Jason and Marcus are playing a bloody and violent fighting game called ''[[VideoGame/PrimalRage Primal]] [[VideoGame/KillerInstinct Instinct]]'', and is upset because they won't let ''her'' play too.

* The King of video game cruelty is undoubtedly Josh from [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCto7D1LMiRoOziCXK9uT5Q/videos Let's Game It Out]]. No game, however innocuous or lighthearted, is safe from him. The methods he comes up with to torture the NPCs in the games he plays are as inventive as they are cruel. Some highlights include: forcing his character to work at being the number one [=YouTuber=]and not allowing him to eat or sleep for ''six years''; creating so much nuclear waste that the essentially destroyed the world; making a prison system that would put the worst gulag to shame; and burned down his own city to make money. The real kicker is that he often gets rewarded exponentially more than if he tried to play the games correctly. He also has a thing for tormenting characters named Grace. Woe to any NPC with that name.

* In the Canadian comic strip ''Betty'', there is an arc in which Betty buys a new life simulation game called "The Mods" which is obviously inspired by ''Videogame/TheSims'' and/or ''Videogame/SimCity''. Betty's son, who also knows about the game, sees her playing and comments that the funny thing about such games is to make your characters stupid and ugly, to tear down hospitals and build casinos instead, and to build highways to nowhere. Betty dryly comments that she would rather make her Mods world different that the real world.

* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' has [[spoiler:Ken Ichijouji]], the Digimon Emperor/Kaiser, who takes this to the extreme; it's quite clearly implied that he treats Digimon absolutely ''horribly''... however, we then learn that he was under the impression that the Digital World was a video game all along. When confronted to the fact that it's real with no more possibility of escape or denial, [[spoiler: he completely breaks down and later [[HeelFaceTurn joins the good guys]], after he's revealed to have been the [[SixthRanger ninth Digidestined]], who couldn't join the original 8 because his brother tried to usurp him and died in the Digital World.]].

* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' has [[spoiler:Ken Ichimonji]], the Digimon Kaiser, who takes this to the extreme; it's quite clearly implied that he treats Digimon absolutely ''horribly''... however, we then learn that he was under the impression that the Digital World was a video game all along. When confronted to the fact that it's real with no more possibility of escape or denial, [[spoiler: he completely breaks down and later [[HeelFaceTurn joins the good guys]], after he's revealed to have been the [[SixthRanger ninth Digidestined]], who couldn't join the original 8 because his brother tried to usurp him and died in the Digital World.]].

* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' has a villain who takes this to the extreme; it's quite clearly implied that he treats Digimon absolutely ''horribly''... however, we then learn that he was under the impression that the Digital World was a video game all along. When confronted to the fact that it's real with no more possibility of escape or denial, [[spoiler: he completely breaks down and later [[HeelFaceTurn joins the good guys]]]].

* The King of video game cruelty is undoubtedly Josh from [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCto7D1LMiRoOziCXK9uT5Q/videos Lets Game It Out]]. No game, however innocuous or lighthearted, is safe from him. The methods he comes up with to torture the NPCs in the games he plays are as inventive as they are cruel. Some highlights include: forcing his character to work at being the number one [=YouTuber=]and not allowing him to eat or sleep for ''six years''; creating so much nuclear waste that the essentially destroyed the world; making a prison system that would put the worst gulag to shame; and burned down his own city to make money. The real kicker is that he often gets rewarded exponentially more than if he tried to play the games correctly. He also has a thing for tormenting characters named Grace. Woe to any NPC with that name.

* The King of video game cruelty is undoubtedly Josh from [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCto7D1LMiRoOziCXK9uT5Q/videos LetsGameItOut]]. No game, however innocuous or lighthearted, is safe from him. The methods he comes up with to torture the NPCs in the games he plays are as inventive as they are cruel. Some highlights include: forcing his character to work at being the number one [=YouTuber=]and not allowing him to eat or sleep for ''six years''; creating so much nuclear waste that the essentially destroyed the world; making a prison system that would put the worst gulag to shame; and burned down his own city to make money. The real kicker is that he often gets rewarded exponentially more than if he tried to play the games correctly. He also has a thing for tormenting characters named Grace. Woe to any NPC with that name.

* The King of video game cruelty is undoubtedly Josh from [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCto7D1LMiRoOziCXK9uT5Q/videos LetsGameItOut]]. No game, however innocuous or lighthearted, is safe from him. The methods he comes up with to torture the NPCs in the games he plays are as inventive as they are cruel. Some highlights include: forcing his character to work at being the number one YoutTuber and not allowing him to eat or sleep for ''six years''; creating so much nuclear waste that the essentially destroyed the world; making a prison system that would put the worst gulag to shame; and burned down his own city to make money. The real kicker is that he often gets rewarded exponentially more than if he tried to play the games correctly. He also has a thing for tormenting characters named Grace. Woe to any NPC with that name.

* The King of video game cruelty is undoubtedly Josh from[=YouTuber=] [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCto7D1LMiRoOziCXK9uT5Q/videos LetsGameItOut]]. No game, however innocuous or lighthearted, is safe from him. The methods he comes up with to torture the NPCs in the games he plays are as inventive as they are cruel. Some highlights include: forcing his character to work at being the number one YoutTuber and not allowing him to eat or sleep for ''six years''; creating so much nuclear waste that the essentially destroyed the world; making a prison system that would put the worst gulag to shame; and burned down his own city to make money. The real kicker is that he often gets rewarded exponentially more than if he tried to play the games correctly. He also has a thing for tormenting characters named Grace. Woe to any NPC with that name.

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential/{{Pinballs}}

* ''WesternAnimation/TheHollow'': {{Deconstructed}}. Her knowing that it was all a game made her nasty, manipulative and backstabbing towards the other team because she knew they wouldn't suffer physical injuries for real. Hurting Kai was the worst part of it since he saved her from being a permanent block of ice. Unfortunately, you're more likely to get an edge in the edge if you're kind; Adam gets healed by the mutant spider when Kai repairs the king's legs, and the Benjamin brothers help Kai discover his powers when they stay to have fun rather than rushing through the theme park. It's implied that the real Adam, Mira and Kai are scarred from the experience and Vanessa's duplicate regrets her past behavior when she realizes her cheating created digital clones of the teams.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheHollow'': {Deconstructed}}. Her knowing that it was all a game made her nasty, manipulative and backstabbing towards the other team because she knew they wouldn't suffer physical injuries for real. Hurting Kai was the worst part of it since he saved her from being a permanent block of ice. Unfortunately, you're more likely to get an edge in the edge if you're kind; Adam gets healed by the mutant spider when Kai repairs the king's legs, and the Benjamin brothers help Kai discover his powers when they stay to have fun rather than rushing through the theme park. It's implied that the real Adam, Mira and Kai are scarred from the experience and Vanessa's duplicate regrets her past behavior when she realizes her cheating created digital clones of the teams.

* Mentioned in ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' where 21 and 24 are discussing Tomb Raider and how Lara could drown, which a horrified 21 described as grisly.
* In ''TheSimpsons'' episode "The Regina Monologues", Bart and Milhouse are playing a video game called ''Hockey Dad'', which, as the name implies, is a fighting game that involves two dads at their kids' hockey match. Bart manages to win essentially by ignoring the child of his character pleading for him to stop, as he didn't want the dad to resort to murdering Milhouse's character (note that when the kid was begging him not to, the dad in question was literally stomping the snot out of his opponent's face [well, blood, but still], and his final blow involved strangling his opponent with the opponent's own tie). The winning screen has the winning dad doing a victorious pose and is implied to be arrested by the police, although whether this was supposed to be VideoGameCrueltyPunishment was debatable, given the fact that there was a winner sign, the dad smiling while being carted away by the police, and the announcer saying "You're a big man! BIG MAN!!"

** However, interestingly, he refused to do a genocide run of ''Videogame/{{Undertale}}''