If there has to be a debate over something like torture (which in my mind only has to consist of "torture is bad" and "I agree, lets never do it... ever") then lets make it a really good one.  The more graphic, the better.  The more disturbing, the better.  The more people who get angry over this, the better.  The sooner torture becomes a thing of the past, like the Inquisition, the better.

There are a lot of things in American History that should be taught in our schools but are not.  Not saying that we should train the kids that our country is bad, but that we are not always right, and learn from those mistakes.

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I would love to see a torture scene in a game, where you employ the most heinous tools, the most horrible practices, blood everywhere, with the victim begging for it all to stop, while you beg him to confess to his crimes and release the names of his cohorts.

Then, once you've nearly destroyed him, he collapses, near death. It's only then that your superior walks into the room and tells you that while you've been in the torture room, the real culprit has been found. The man you've been torturing was 100% innocent.....

This is the way many real life torture scenes end.

I keep track of some of the more prominent WoW blogs, and that torture quest provoked a lot of intelligent discussion. From a community that much more frequently is just discussing the ways to max their damage, there was a lot of discomfort with the idea of torture - a definite slipping into the skin of the character that isn't all that common even in a roleplaying game. It was really thought provoking and I was highly impressed at the time. I'm not at all in favor of stifling discussion about unpleasant realities, and the discussion I've seen has been both realistic and meaningful. I'm inclined to agree with Thompson, don't push it under the rug, people respond in surprising ways.

@ E. Zachary Knight (the reply system screwed up)

While I certanly wouldn't say we should be pointing at Manhunt 2 as an example to show the press about, originally the game had moral conflicts, before they were stripped away by the esrb/bbfc. Because apparently having a bad ending counts as an unlockable and therefore a good thing to achieve, thus prompting you to use more violence to get said bad ending. I mean yes, you get a different final level, but the bad one is naff. I would have loved to see the morals play into the final build, but sadly it was not meant to be.

I sort of a agree with Thompson here, I think ? (I'm torn here, I find) - especially if there is consequence for the player who decides to torture the (innocent?) man in the game.

On the other hand the tv-series ROOTS did show how 'evil' some plantations owners were to their slaves; waterboarding has also been shown on the news. In a Danish tv-documentary 'your neighbour's son' Danish tv proved that almost anyone could become a torturer or a tormentor/executioner. In the Harry Potter books nasty stuff also happens to Harry and his friends....

From a design point I find the torture quest in WoW lacking; you do not have the option to say 'no', or to kill the questgiver, or to liberate the prisoner.... In BG1, in the mines of Cloakwood? you could choose to flood the mines or not. In Icewind Dale 1, signs of horrible acts were all around. And in Mass Effect you have to make a choice concerning someone; you also get to decide whether a species will survive or not.

Given this information, I can sort of understand why some feel that people's reactions to this quest (art of persuasion) is that 'it is no big deal' and 'it is only virtual pixels that are being tortured'. And yes it is. And apparently the torture of the pixels have sparked a good discussion and debate over this at several WoW blogs and forums. And that is definetely a good thing...