In January of this year, YouTuber Jeremy Mattheis, who goes by the name “goldvision” on his channel, embarked on a journey to play Rockstar Game’s open-world crime epic, GTA 5, entirely as a pacifist.
Google defines “pacifism” as “the belief that any violence, including war, is unjustifiable under any circumstances, and that all disputes should be settled by peaceful means.”
In Mattheis’ own words, his project aptly titled, Grand Theft Auto Pacifist, is an attempt to play the notoriously controversial and violent game “in a manner independent of pain and suffering.”
Read more about Jeremy Mattheis’ GTA 5 project after the break.
GTA 5: Pacifist?
Jeremy Mattheis’ Grand Theft Auto Pacifist video series is only 4 episodes in, and he has already had to do some fairly non-pacifistic things, including robbing a liquor store. He has, however, done some normal day-to-day things as well, such as shoe-shopping…and drag racing.
As for what inspired him to attempt a pacifist run of GTA 5, Mattheis stated the following:
“I think non-gamers have a bad view of the gaming community. Grand Theft Auto depicts violence, and therefore people make the assumption that it promotes and causes violence.”
“I don’t think this is true and wanted to show that, even in Grand Theft Auto, it’s possible to inflict and receive no negativity, to survive and engage peacefully with all other sentient beings. Also, irony.”
“I like the idea of a video game as an opportunity to explore and experience something from a different perspective. If you define art as self-expression through a medium, then video games are my medium, and the path I take through that virtual world is my art.”
In regards to fighting the temptation to gun down the nearest civilian or carjack a slick, high-end sports car in GTA 5, Mattheis said:
“Sometimes the game forces me to carry a weapon. Even if I throw my gun away before I log out, I have two new guns when I log back in. “
Obviously it benefits average players to be helped out like this, but for me it means I’m only an accidental menu switch away from being perceived as an opponent. Also, I’ve played seven different iterations of Grand Theft Auto and the habit of automatically stealing a car when you want to go somewhere comes naturally.”
“I have to fight my kneejerk reaction to survive by conquering, and that’s surprisingly difficult.”
Unexpectedly, in Mattheis’ journey to play GTA 5 devoid of violence (to the best of his ability), he claims that he does indeed die a lot in his videos.
You can watch one of his pacifistic GTA 5 videos below:
GTA 5 – Grand Theft Auto Pacifist: Intro
If you’re interested in watching the rest of his interesting GTA 5 series, you can view them here
What are your thoughts on Jeremy Mattheis’ unorthodox manner of playing GTA 5? Do you feel that he is taking things a bit too far, or do you appreciate his attempt at injecting social/psychological commentary into an undoubtedly violent game series?
Let us know in the comments section below! As always, stay tuned to GamerHeadlines.com for the latest in video game and technology news.
Source: VICE’s interview with Jeremy Mattheis
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