Genre-Specific Violence: Occasionally OK?

I've talked about the social potential of violence in games as well as the social controversy. Now with both a positive and negative perspective covered, I'd like to take the chance to discuss where violence and graphic imagery can be used effectively in establishing atmosphere and tone. Seeing as some video games are pushing for their medium to be seen as an art form, developers seek to include elements most commonly associated with what other mediums consider artistic, such as the aforementioned tone and atmosphere. For this case I wish to tackle games' take on the horror genre, seeing as the genre has a distinct notoriety for its inclusion of gore and other violent imagery. To relate atmosphere and tone being represented in video games I use the example of a popular game series known as Silent Hill (Konami, 1999-present).

Silent Hill was developed by Team Silent, a small company working under game publisher Konami. The first game having been released in 1999, the games did not follow a violent agenda, the player was not forced to enact in any form of combat with the enemies and could avoid them altogether save for the few boss battles that occasionally appeared. While the violence mostly takes a backseat during the gameplay, the graphic visuals and sound take the helm in its stead, from the creatures to the environment, Silent Hill is coated with a grotesque aesthetic that sets out to both unnerve and scare the player, enhancing the overall atmosphere and tone.

The first game's goal is simple, find your daughter after she went missing after you crashed your car, ending up in a ghost town by the name of Silent Hill, infested with horrible monsters and creations of unknown origin. The game's intent is to put off players with visuals that go beyond their current understanding as they play though the game, making it all the more unsettling, keeping the players on edge. This is the mandate that each game goes on, and the one that I feel performs the best at this is Silent Hill 3 (Konami, 2003) which entails the events of Heather Mason, the lead character, who encounters horrors of this nature through circumstances later revealed in the game.

This whole presentation of the visuals without explanation invoke a trepidation within the player, gnawing at their fear of the unknown. These designs are only made more effective by the excellent sound direction and "music" (2010) (I use quotations because some of the featured tracks are not composed of traditional instruments) which are equally as disturbing in nature, the noises that emerge from these visual nightmares evoking strange guttural and industrial reverberations. These induce a panic in the player, having them desire escape from whatever peril the music or sounds imply they are about to face. There are brief moments where the noises have a distinct human voice to them, contributing to the disturbing style and keeping players on edge through the constant shift between what they perceive as natural and unnatural. 

These effects are what propel Silent Hill to the forefront of the horror genre, not just in games, but in all mediums as well. It includes several designs that follow the concept of the Uncanny Valley, some figures appearing almost human in external shape, but the physical properties are still vastly different, adding to the uneasiness that Silent Hill employs. And by playing with the general human phobia of the unknown, Silent Hill successfully shocks and disturbs the player without the player having to enact any violent deed themselves. By serving as the game's main source of progression, the player must face these scenarios, in order to complete the game, which is why such emotionally fueled genres like horror are so much more intense in a game format. And that is a truly plausible feat, in my opinion.

This also goes for games that contain violence in general, the impact being felt on a much deeper level than when one would merely watch or read something occurring on a screen or on a page. It is through such input that games can generate such a jarring emotional reaction, and deserve artistic recognition for its efforts.