With a puppy appearing in the opening scene of the Grand Theft Auto V debut trailer, animal-loving commenter Nostrapadamous is worried that a virtual dog might run out in front of his virtual car and virtually die. In the arms of angels goes today's Speak Up on Kotaku.
I am an animal lover. No, I am not into furry lovin', nor do I rush gung ho into the PETA word to protest every insane length they go to. But I love animals and never could really hurt one.
Animals in games have always bothered me. In games where you are hunted down by attack dogs I feel bad, but not enough to stop playing. Red Dead Redemption has a lot of animal killing. But it took place in a time where you were hunted by them, and you did hunt for food. I didn't go out of my way to kill animals, but I did if they attacked me first. It made sense in that world they created. May not like it, but have accepted it.
But I see in the Grand Theft Auto V trailer a dog, and wonder, will there really be animals in this game? Will I be driving along minding my own business and a dog darts out and *thump* hear the squeal and kill the dog? Will I be in a huge fight with the cops, and throwing grenades and see dogs go flying cause it wandered in too close? Yes I understand I am killing thousands of humans, but running over one dog in the game would bother me far more than that. Honestly, if I know I could be running over dogs often by accident I don't know if I could play that game. Strange hypocrisy I know, but it's how I feel.
So, if the accidental running over dogs becomes a possibility in GTAV, would it bother you enough to avoid playing it?
About Speak Up on Kotaku: Our readers have a lot to say, and sometimes what they have to say has nothing to do with the stories we run. That's why we have a forum on Kotaku called Speak Up. That's the place to post anecdotes, photos, game tips and hints, and anything you want to share with Kotaku at large. Every weekday we'll pull one of the best Speak Up posts we can find and highlight it here.