On the one hand, there is a genre of 'cosy' games such as Stardew Valley which minimse or exclude violence. On another tack, we have the big, slow grand strategy game like Civilisation in which conflict is only one of many tools at the player's disposal to advance and expand his empire.

But many games do involve combat and conflict as core elements, and this is simply because conflict makes for the most excting stories. Especially when the consumer is taking an active part in matters.

Consider, a Demon marries a mortal woman and they have twin sons. That could be either a Munsters style sitcom or a Dark Shadows gothic soap, Perhaps fun to watch, but with little or nothing for a player to do.Banish the father back to Hell, have demons murder the mother and set the twins at each others throats over their fathers' legacy of power, and you get the Devil May Cry series, which are great fun to play (especially after a bad day at school or work.

The acclaimed Mass Effect Trilogy is another prime example. The story of Commander Shepard and thier long struggle to unite the Galaxy against the threat of the Reapers, full of interstellar politics, friendship and enmity between people of different and alien races, moral choices, romance and character development, might have made respectable novels and decent films. But the added element of becoming Shepard, of deciding for yourself their gender, background, character and even sexuality, as well as taking key decision whihc will have measurable effects later on (desicions taken in the first game can have massive ones in the third). All of that tunes what might have been a mediocre read or watch into a compelling gaming experience. Yes, you shoot a lot of people, but this is war!