Video game rifles

[Kinzer]

Originally Posted by S&Wshooter

There is such a thing as a left handed rifle

Yeah, I know. And I'm pretty sure on those the brass ejects on the left side. So a left-handed player uses a left handed rifle and you don't see the brass ejecting, which is exactly what the developers don't want.

[S&Wshooter]

Whoops! I meant Left handed with a right handed rifle

[ManiacallyChallenged]

I believe that at least half the reason is copyright related.
Guns "based on" the real deal are probably more okay than exact replicas.
STALKER, Battlefield, and others do it for that reason(and the case ejection) but Counter Strike did it to be left handed and cool('cause the designer was left handed).

[AdAstra2009]

Originally Posted by ManiacallyChallenged

I believe that at least half the reason is copyright related.
Guns "based on" the real deal are probably more okay than exact replicas.
STALKER, Battlefield, and others do it for that reason(and the case ejection) but Counter Strike did it to be left handed and cool('cause the designer was left handed).

I highly doubt that.

The reason is simply because they developers think it looks cool.

[Excalibur]

Pretty much, some people just love the effect of brass flying in front of your face.

[FrankDaTank1218]

Yeah STALKER is my fav game series because of its gun play bullet physics, but the left handed ejection port just makes me think of my S.T.A.L.K.E.R. getting hit in the face by brass repeatedly.

[HashiriyaR32]

Nobody played Firearms mod for Half Life? You can reload your weapon without cocking it if you have one bullet in the chamber, and also, it´s not like Counter-Strike that you keep all your ammo and you can reload all the time, in this game you have 2 or 4 mags for your rifle, and, if you left ammo in an almost-empty one, you can merge the magazines to save space.

*Raises hand*

Former Firearms 3.0 player here. Also, since you mentioned tracking ammo in different mags, I got a pet peeve. Don't exactly like games that don't allow you to consolidate ammo between mags. Take OPERATION7 for example. As I'm a somewhat compulsive reloader, I more often than not find myself with all half-empty mags.

[MT2008]

Originally Posted by ManiacallyChallenged

I believe that at least half the reason is copyright related.
Guns "based on" the real deal are probably more okay than exact replicas.
STALKER, Battlefield, and others do it for that reason(and the case ejection) but Counter Strike did it to be left handed and cool('cause the designer was left handed).

I'm not aware of any digital IP law which regulates the appearance of weapons in visual media (with PEOPLE, it's another story). The only thing that's regulated are the names, which is why game developers often have to make up fictional names for the guns.

Excalibur and AdAstra are right - the left-hand ejection ports are there because everyone thinks it looks cool to see the action of the gun working and the brass flying out.

[Bugabear]

I know in Counter strike you can change what hand you are.

[MattyDienhoff]

Far Cry 2 does this as well, it even has a Springfield with a left-handed bolt.

The reasons I've seen cited for this trend are:

* Brass flying across the screen is regarded by some as cool.

* Mirroring the guns emphasizes the moving parts as the weapon cycles and is reloaded. Apparently, this is considered to be more aesthetically pleasing.

Neither of those seem like compelling reasons to contradict reality to me, but oh well.