Killing is easy in videogames. So when Daniel Mullins needed a challenge， he gave peace a chance.

Mullins， 19， is the creator of Felix the Peaceful Monk—his character in a videogame called The Elder Scrolls V： Skyrim. The game gives players wide latitude over their on-screen characters’ appearance and actions.

In videogame excerpts Mullins has posted on YouTube， Felix roams an icy fantasy world doing things like soothing angry wolves with magic. And when an assassin tried to gut Felix with a knife while most players have swords and arrows for would-be hit men， Mullins hit his with a calm spell.

“Apparently someone wants me dead. But that doesn’t mean the assassin deserves to die，” Mullins explains.

在電子游戲中，殺戮是件稀松平常的事。因此，當(dāng)?shù)つ釥枴ゑR林斯要給自己一個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)時(shí)，他選擇了給和平一個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)。

19歲的馬林斯是游戲《上古卷軸5：天際》中角色“善僧菲利克斯”的創(chuàng)造者。這款游戲給玩家很大的靈活性來調(diào)整角色容貌和動(dòng)作方式。

在馬林斯發(fā)布于YouTube視頻分享網(wǎng)站的幾個(gè)游戲視頻中，菲利克斯在一片冰天雪地的幻想大陸上游歷，做出各種行善之舉，如用魔法安撫憤怒的狼群等。當(dāng)一名刺客試圖用匕首刺殺菲利克斯時(shí)，馬林斯發(fā)出了一個(gè)平和咒語，而大多數(shù)玩家遇到這種情況會(huì)用角色手中的刀劍或弓箭還擊。

馬林斯解釋道：“很顯然，刺客想殺死菲利克斯，但這并不意味著應(yīng)該以牙還牙，把攻擊者干掉?！?/p>

Videogames have long been assailed for their violent themes and gruesome imagery. But a small slice of players has embraced a new strategy： not killing. They are imparting real-world morals on their virtual-world characters and completing entire games on a “pacifist run”—the term for beating a violent adventure without drawing any blood.

The cool restraint of pacifism can bring bragging rights and even a taste of online fame. Violent videogame enthusiasts routinely post videos of their accomplishments on YouTube. A number of videogames award virtual “trophies” to anyone who can complete the game without killing.

長(zhǎng)期以來，人們批評(píng)一些電子游戲主題暴力，內(nèi)容陰森。不過，有一小群玩家有了個(gè)新玩法：不殺生。他們以現(xiàn)實(shí)世界的道德標(biāo)準(zhǔn)要求游戲角色，以“和平奔跑”的方式通關(guān)，即不傷一人完成一個(gè)暴力的冒險(xiǎn)游戲。

這種和平通關(guān)方式很酷，值得炫耀一番，甚至?xí)诰W(wǎng)上備受玩家追捧。游戲鐵桿玩家經(jīng)常將他們無暴力通關(guān)的視頻發(fā)布在YouTube上。在視頻中，玩家以和平方式通關(guān)，不傷任何一個(gè)游戲中的人物。有不少暴力游戲會(huì)向無暴力通關(guān)的玩家授予虛擬“獎(jiǎng)杯”。

Stephen Totilo， editor in chief of kotaku.com， says videogame pacifism is rather “an urge to break the rules”—and dial up the difficulty of the game. “One of the most interesting challenges is to get through the game without killing，” he says.

In the 1980s， enterprising videogame players used to try to get through Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers without squishing the orb-like enemies encountered along the way—just to see if it could be done.

Today， many videogames involve complex fictional worlds and give players free rein to create and shape characters—including the chance to mold their moral compass. In the Skyrim game， players can slay dragons or plunder tombs， but also get married or do tasks like chop firewood or cook. When an enemy comes along， a player can take the obvious route： Pull out their sword and hack away. But they can also sidestep conflict with peaceful methods such as spells that make enemies friendly （albeit temporarily） or simply run away.

Kotaku網(wǎng)站主編史蒂芬·托蒂羅說，玩家無暴力通關(guān)是“渴望打破常規(guī)”，以此來增加游戲難度。托蒂羅說：“玩游戲最有趣的一個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)方式就是不殺人過關(guān)?！?/p>

20世紀(jì)80年代，不甘平庸的玩家們努力發(fā)起嘗試，希望不踩死路上的球狀敵人就能通關(guān)任天堂游戲《超級(jí)瑪麗》──他們只是想看看這到底能否實(shí)現(xiàn)。

如今，很多情節(jié)豐富的電子游戲都允許玩家自由創(chuàng)造和調(diào)整游戲角色──包括角色的行為方式。在《天際》中，玩家可以去屠龍或盜墓，但也可以選擇結(jié)婚、伐木或烹飪。當(dāng)敵人出現(xiàn)時(shí)，玩家可做出自然反應(yīng)：拔劍迎敵；但也可以用一些和平的方式避免爭(zhēng)端，比如念咒語讓敵人變得友好（暫時(shí)性的），或者簡(jiǎn)單地拔腿就跑，一走了之。

DeeAnna Soicher isn’t all that comforted by the idea that a subset of videogame players are merely choosing to play as pacifists. Her 16-year-old son， Brock， is an avid fan of videogames， despite attempts by Mrs Soicher and her husband， Drew， to keep him away from them.

However， she was pleasantly surprised to learn Brock posted an online video for how to complete a “death match” in the game Uncharted 3： Drake’s Deception — but without actually killing anyone.

Brock was inspired by Mullins’s YouTube videos （the two have never met， online or otherwise）. He doesn’t have a problem with violent games， as videos of his other adventures can attest. Still， he wanted to make the point that games should have more nonviolent options.

“I guess not killing in videogames is rebellious，” Brock says.

然而，一小群游戲玩家以和平方式來玩游戲的做法并不能讓迪安娜·索切感到完全滿意。迪安娜16歲的兒子布洛克沉迷于電子游戲，迪安娜和她丈夫德魯多次勸說，但都徒勞無功。

但，當(dāng)?shù)习材鹊弥悸蹇嗽诰W(wǎng)上發(fā)布一段視頻，教人如何不殺戮就能完成《神秘海域3：德雷克的詭計(jì)》中的“死亡競(jìng)賽”時(shí)，她感到既吃驚，又欣慰。

布洛克的無暴力通關(guān)方式是受到了馬林斯YouTube視頻的啟發(fā)（兩人無論是在網(wǎng)絡(luò)還是現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中都彼此不認(rèn)識(shí)）。布洛克對(duì)暴力游戲并不反感，這可以從他玩的其他一些冒險(xiǎn)游戲看出來。不過，他想指出的一點(diǎn)是，游戲可以擁有更多無暴力的娛樂方式。

“我想，在游戲中不傷人是一種顛覆性的玩法?！辈悸蹇苏f道。