Another rant
What constitutes violence in video games?
Graphic depiction of violence. But you could say that even just jumping on goombas is violence, its just that, graphic violence is the only kind that really has the potential to make an impression on people, hitting little fuzzballs with a mallet then having them turn into a coin isn't going to leave a mark on a anyone who can separate reality and fiction.
What percentage of all games made would you say are violent, based upon your previous definition of violence in video games?
Few games have graphic violence, but there are many games have little fuzzballs to hit with a mallet and turn them into a coin.
How many hate or violent crimes would you say are linked to or directly related to violence in video games?
Not many, if any at all, especially if the ones who committed the crime say "GTA made me do it", if it had, then they would have not known it was wrong, and they wouldn't feel the need to pin the blame on something else, or justify it. Because the only ways I could see video games really causing crimes, if the players were so desensitized to the act, that they stopped knowing it was wrong, which still requires that they were heavily influenced by it at a young age, or if they wanted to reenact it in their everyday life, which has more to do with them not separating reality and fiction than the game's direct influence.
Does age or sex play a factor in violent, aggressive behavior?
yes, age most of all, and sex not as much, If you're younger then you are more prone to violent outbursts because you lack the inhibitions that stop them, though they can occur at any time, due to violence's place in human nature, as the instinct to hunt or defend oneself or others. As for sex, I think men are more prone to violence because of testosterone or whatever other reason, but women can be violent, I've personally met some women who are pretty violent.
Is there a correlation between playing violent video games and acting in a violent manner?
That depends, If at a young age, then I think so, but as I said in my previous rant,this really only applies to the "realistic" games, that suck you in as inGTA, yes I know, it doesn't really look so much like a real place, but its more so than Shrek 2 or any kids game. Though after the ages of 8-9-10 or so, then if the parents have done their jobs right, than the kid should have a well enough developed sense of right and wrong to know that they can't do this in real life. Or if they can't separate reality from fiction, then they need to seek psychiatric help.
Is gaming escapism?
Yes, well the good games are, if a game is crappy and hard to use or get into, then its not very involving in my experience. I personally do play GTA when I'm feeling angry and want to punch someone, it's an acceptable outlet for anger and it helps calm me down, instead of hurting someone, I hurt a few lines of code.
Do you think the interactivity of game violence makes it different than violence on television, which is passive?
yes and no, if the game is involving, then it is, because when you're involved in it then you're more affected by it. But, conversely your brain is more active when playing a game than watching television, and when your brain is flatlining, then you don't consciously process the things your seeing much like hypnotic suggestion, in which you're on the brink of sleep and being told things, you accept things more easily and dont filter out some of the things that you know you should take in.
Different mediums, as they've come along, have had their share of controversy. From pulp horror and graphic novels, to movies, music and television; is this part of a cycle?
Yes, undeniably, there was a time when this same thing affected the movies and television programs that we see every day, nowadays, as long as there is no sex or cursing, then graphic violence is okay with most parents and there are as few protest groups about it as there are lawyers who use it as a defense in criminal trials, practically none, because it almost never works.
Is the self-imposed rating system for video games enough? Is the ESRB working? What is the relevance of a rating system for video games if the powers that be will black-list certain games because of their graphic content?
No it's not working, but that's not the fault of the game industry. Quiz for parents: If a box for a game your eight year old child wants says on it 'Rated "M" for mature' on it, is it entertainment meant for your child's age group? If you answered yes, then call child services and have them take your child away RIGHT NOW, because if that is your answer in real life, then it's YOUR FAULT THAT THE CHILD IS PLAYING A GAME THAT THEY SHOULDN'T BE, it's in many ways similar to renting pornography for children under the age of ten, do you do it? NO. It should be enough.
How does free speech factor in?
Quite heavily, some museums have introduced exhibits about games (as crazy as that sounds, it's true, there is a story about it somewhere in the techtv archives) which makes the argument of it being an art form, I mean, there are graphics designers who work on every project to make it look nice, and the gameplay could be considered a message, based on what you do in the game. So yes, if you consider the plot of a game as trying to tell a story, then censoring that is no different form censoring a book or movie.
Are parents paying attention to what their kids play?
If they did, the ESRB ratings would work.
Do you think that video games are similar to sports? There are much-touted statistics that link aggression levels to video game playing, but isn't that precisely what happens in any kind of competition?
First of all, those same statistics thay you refer to are repeated often for a reason, there arn't many others to use, there are plenty of studies that tried to link video games and violence, but failed. I'm sure the statistics have truth to them, because after my friends kill me enough times in Halo or beat me enough times in Gran Turismo 3, yeah, I get frustrated, but I don't hurt them. But back to the question, yes, this happens in any type of competition, it's the competitive nature of the contestants that causes the aggression between them, not the game itself. Also that only really applies to games with multiplayer, single player games don't cause this.
Where does the accountability lie? Are parents responsible for their children's behavior? Society?
Well, I personally beleive that if parents stopped these kids from playing these games, by not allowing them, and by making it clear that they arn't allowed to play them, then much of this issue wouldn't exist, I know that it can't be stopped all the time, but if parents just make it clear that that behaviour is not acceptable in real life, then it will almost certainly be okay, and if they behave this way any longer then punish them, instead of telling them that it isn't their fault and that the video games made them do it, THEY DIDN'T, the child has a brain the think with. Although, much of this problem will probably be fixed when the people who grew up with games become the parents, because they will be more aware of exactly how adult oriented many of these games that parents are getting mad at are, and then ignorance will become more rare, this same thing happened with movies.
Graphic depiction of violence. But you could say that even just jumping on goombas is violence, its just that, graphic violence is the only kind that really has the potential to make an impression on people, hitting little fuzzballs with a mallet then having them turn into a coin isn't going to leave a mark on a anyone who can separate reality and fiction.
What percentage of all games made would you say are violent, based upon your previous definition of violence in video games?
Few games have graphic violence, but there are many games have little fuzzballs to hit with a mallet and turn them into a coin.
How many hate or violent crimes would you say are linked to or directly related to violence in video games?
Not many, if any at all, especially if the ones who committed the crime say "GTA made me do it", if it had, then they would have not known it was wrong, and they wouldn't feel the need to pin the blame on something else, or justify it. Because the only ways I could see video games really causing crimes, if the players were so desensitized to the act, that they stopped knowing it was wrong, which still requires that they were heavily influenced by it at a young age, or if they wanted to reenact it in their everyday life, which has more to do with them not separating reality and fiction than the game's direct influence.
Does age or sex play a factor in violent, aggressive behavior?
yes, age most of all, and sex not as much, If you're younger then you are more prone to violent outbursts because you lack the inhibitions that stop them, though they can occur at any time, due to violence's place in human nature, as the instinct to hunt or defend oneself or others. As for sex, I think men are more prone to violence because of testosterone or whatever other reason, but women can be violent, I've personally met some women who are pretty violent.
Is there a correlation between playing violent video games and acting in a violent manner?
That depends, If at a young age, then I think so, but as I said in my previous rant,this really only applies to the "realistic" games, that suck you in as inGTA, yes I know, it doesn't really look so much like a real place, but its more so than Shrek 2 or any kids game. Though after the ages of 8-9-10 or so, then if the parents have done their jobs right, than the kid should have a well enough developed sense of right and wrong to know that they can't do this in real life. Or if they can't separate reality from fiction, then they need to seek psychiatric help.
Is gaming escapism?
Yes, well the good games are, if a game is crappy and hard to use or get into, then its not very involving in my experience. I personally do play GTA when I'm feeling angry and want to punch someone, it's an acceptable outlet for anger and it helps calm me down, instead of hurting someone, I hurt a few lines of code.
Do you think the interactivity of game violence makes it different than violence on television, which is passive?
yes and no, if the game is involving, then it is, because when you're involved in it then you're more affected by it. But, conversely your brain is more active when playing a game than watching television, and when your brain is flatlining, then you don't consciously process the things your seeing much like hypnotic suggestion, in which you're on the brink of sleep and being told things, you accept things more easily and dont filter out some of the things that you know you should take in.
Different mediums, as they've come along, have had their share of controversy. From pulp horror and graphic novels, to movies, music and television; is this part of a cycle?
Yes, undeniably, there was a time when this same thing affected the movies and television programs that we see every day, nowadays, as long as there is no sex or cursing, then graphic violence is okay with most parents and there are as few protest groups about it as there are lawyers who use it as a defense in criminal trials, practically none, because it almost never works.
Is the self-imposed rating system for video games enough? Is the ESRB working? What is the relevance of a rating system for video games if the powers that be will black-list certain games because of their graphic content?
No it's not working, but that's not the fault of the game industry. Quiz for parents: If a box for a game your eight year old child wants says on it 'Rated "M" for mature' on it, is it entertainment meant for your child's age group? If you answered yes, then call child services and have them take your child away RIGHT NOW, because if that is your answer in real life, then it's YOUR FAULT THAT THE CHILD IS PLAYING A GAME THAT THEY SHOULDN'T BE, it's in many ways similar to renting pornography for children under the age of ten, do you do it? NO. It should be enough.
How does free speech factor in?
Quite heavily, some museums have introduced exhibits about games (as crazy as that sounds, it's true, there is a story about it somewhere in the techtv archives) which makes the argument of it being an art form, I mean, there are graphics designers who work on every project to make it look nice, and the gameplay could be considered a message, based on what you do in the game. So yes, if you consider the plot of a game as trying to tell a story, then censoring that is no different form censoring a book or movie.
Are parents paying attention to what their kids play?
If they did, the ESRB ratings would work.
Do you think that video games are similar to sports? There are much-touted statistics that link aggression levels to video game playing, but isn't that precisely what happens in any kind of competition?
First of all, those same statistics thay you refer to are repeated often for a reason, there arn't many others to use, there are plenty of studies that tried to link video games and violence, but failed. I'm sure the statistics have truth to them, because after my friends kill me enough times in Halo or beat me enough times in Gran Turismo 3, yeah, I get frustrated, but I don't hurt them. But back to the question, yes, this happens in any type of competition, it's the competitive nature of the contestants that causes the aggression between them, not the game itself. Also that only really applies to games with multiplayer, single player games don't cause this.
Where does the accountability lie? Are parents responsible for their children's behavior? Society?
Well, I personally beleive that if parents stopped these kids from playing these games, by not allowing them, and by making it clear that they arn't allowed to play them, then much of this issue wouldn't exist, I know that it can't be stopped all the time, but if parents just make it clear that that behaviour is not acceptable in real life, then it will almost certainly be okay, and if they behave this way any longer then punish them, instead of telling them that it isn't their fault and that the video games made them do it, THEY DIDN'T, the child has a brain the think with. Although, much of this problem will probably be fixed when the people who grew up with games become the parents, because they will be more aware of exactly how adult oriented many of these games that parents are getting mad at are, and then ignorance will become more rare, this same thing happened with movies.
