Let it be known that I am a man. I can enjoy violence and explosions in my fiction. I have watched plenty of films and T.V shows and played even more video games that revolve entirely around the concept of macho guys who exist with the sole purpose of ending the existence of other guys. I recognise the appeal of all that business; ‘bitches and guns’ if you will. And I certainly have acted out my power fantasies of being a bad-arse of some kind – in my bedroom whilst wearing pyjamas – at various points in my life, even since legally becoming an adult.

So with my manliness forever safe from question, I hereby proclaim that I’m sick of all the killing in games! And more importantly, I believe it is essential for the evolution of the medium that we all agree to call a truce.

Allow me to philosophise here. What is our medium trying to say to the world? And how do we, as the players, relate to our games and the roles we embody within them?