Videogame VIOLENCE, Is There Too Much Violence in Games? (1 Viewer)

[Mike LS]

Welcome to my world. Now maybe you understand just a liiiiiiiitle bit of what I'm trying to say.
So let's get this straight, I said, as an example, that if you're crossing the line, why not make a videogame about 9/11? Now that there IS one, it's "tasteless"? Talk about your double-standard.
What happened to "let me play what I want! I'm an adult"?
Mike

Mike....dude....settle down a liiiiiiiittle bit
I never said "let me play what I want! I'm an adult"
If you'll read through the very few posts I've had on these two threads, I think you'll see that I'm more on your side of things than most. I differ with actions you imply should be taken, but I'm firm in believing that there are some games that cross my personal line of good taste or excessive violence and sexual situations.
I think what you've gotta get ahold of is that is exactly what it is....a personal line.
Just like the folks who say "Leave my games alone and let me play what I want", you need to say "Let me draw my personal limits the way I see fit." Then live by them, but don't expect everybody else to adopt the same standards.
I think pretty much every reasonable point that can be brought up has been brought up in this post. Pretty much everything else is just back and forth trying to prove somebody else wrong.
It's not gonna happen.

 

[Joe Szott]

Just to weigh in with another 2c here: GTA3 or ANY other videogame should not be banned. I have 4 points to make here:
1st Admendent rights allow everyone to express themselves as they see fit and the right to *intrepret* that expression as they like. Just as two people can look at a piece of art (questionable art, like men humping or something) and have totally different reactions to it, two people can play a game and have a completely different experience. As soon as you admit that *any* part of a game is is open to intrepretation of the player, it is an expression of the designers and subject to 1st Admendment protection.
Parents have an obligation to be nosey about their kids affairs, but they cannot force kids to live as they see fit. I have kids and if you think you can keep them from seeing pornography, playing violent games, or never sampling drugs (alcohol and tobaccoo included), think again. And you wouldn't want to keep them from all these things as that would involve isolating them from modern culture for 18 years and socially retarding them for life. The real issue with parenting is to be involved enough with your kids to know if/how much they are being exposed to and if it is unusual. I think of the parents at Columbine saying that they heard the boys breaking glass in the garage for a few nights and I think: "Why the heck didn't you go see what they were doing?" If anything, videogames are great warning indicators for concerned parents. If Johnny likes to only sit over the overpass with the sniper rifle in GTA3 for 6 hours a night, maybe that needs to be talked about.
The point about escapism and the movie Quills is a great one above. For as many people that play these games for unhealthy habits, 10 times as many play to 'blow steam' or 'be bad' so they can better cope in real life. Another interesting point is that exposure to violent medium (in any context) tends to lower a person's tendency towards violence. If you doubt this, just look up the stats on people involved in these terror-shooting who then do it themselves, I'm pretty positive it's around 0%.
And finally, GTA3 and other violent games sell. As long as they do, there will and must be more of them made for a healthy capitalist economy. If you want to live in a restrictive culture that doesn't allow it's citizens to choose the things they want, just talk to your average Russian or Afghanistani citizen; it sucks! Also, without the GTA3s and the Mortal Kombats, the gaming industry would have never expanded to the point where it could afford to take chances on games like Myst. So it's really an all-or-nothing deal, without the violent games you wouldn't have barely any games at all.
Just IMHO, do as y'all see fit with your OWN lives

 

[Bjoern Roy]

I fully agree, there just isn't enough violence in todays games. Oh wait, what was the question? :b

 

[Chris_Anders]

Good stuff guys, though I would like to hear a bit more about the history of violent games. In other words, how does a game like GTA3 get to be so popular? What are the roots of GTA3 and other games like it?

 

[Ike]

Violent videogames are accepted because we're used to violence as entertainment-it's human nature. If we didn't find a hunter getting shot by a duck in a cartoon hilarious when we were children, I don't think we'd find an old woman getting gunned down with a truck equally funny now. It's dark humour, and it ultimately doesn't hurt anyone other than those that take it too seriously.

 

[BrianB]

In other words, how does a game like GTA3 get to be so popular?

Because it's /fun/?

 

[Joe michaels]

Did GTA3 NEED to be made? Sounds like a bunch of sociopathic misfits thought it did. I'm all for a game from the bad guy's point of view, but I think the violence went WAY too far. Anyone who designs a game like this for adults and doesn't think it's going to get into the hands of children has rocks in their head. I played GTA3 for about 20 minutes before I was utterly disgusted by it. I don't think any of us really know what kind of repurcussions a game like this will have on both children and adults alike.

So are you saying R rated movies shouldn't be made because ultimately children will see them? Will R rated movies ultimately affect people negatively?

 

[Joe michaels]

people play these games because deep inside they want to do these things themselves, and since they can't

Yeah, like people want to really be a little yellow mouth eating dots and running from ghosts. Puhlease. It's about a fantasy story that you interact in. you don't HAVE to beat little old ladies or kill the police in GTA3. The fact is, it's a free roaming game in which you happen to be a guy that works in the underworld. You don't HAVE to run people over or steal from old ladies. The fact is, you can and have a choice JUST like in the real world.

I play GTA3 without so much as tiny speck of a criminal record and I consistently get safe driving awards in real life. Just becuase I want to see what it's like to drive down a video game street at 110 miles per hour doesn't mean I'm going to in real life. Why does holding a controller as opposed to sitting back and watching a movie suddenly make the game more influential?

Playing these games is no more going to make me a criminal or a murderer than Madden 2002 is soing to make me a better football player.

 

[Chris_Anders]

"Ah Ah AH AH Stayin Alive, Stayin Alive, Stayin ALIIIIIIVVVVVEEEEEEE!"

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

I know this is the video game software forum but there is going to be a major study linking violence and watching TV for more than 3 hrs a day published in Science today. Here is the link to an article in the Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2002Mar28.html

"People think the correlation is trivial," said Brad Bushman, a professor of psychology at Iowa State University at Ames. But "the correlation between violent media and aggression is larger than the effect that wearing a condom has on decreasing the risk of HIV. It's larger than the correlation between exposure to lead and decreased IQ levels in kids. It's larger than the effects of exposure to asbestos. It's larger than the effect of second-hand smoke on cancer."

Is a RPG game where the player is a member of the KKK whose mission is to kill as many Jews and non-whites as possible crossing the limits?

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Is a RPG game where the player is a member of the KKK whose mission is to kill as many Jews and non-whites as possible crossing the limits?

More importantly, is a parent stupid enough to let their kids play that game? Even if games have an effect on kids (which, IMO, should be thought of more as a case by case basis) the parents have a bigger effect.

 

[Joe michaels]

Why is a violent videogame less acceptable than a violent movie? Because you are a willing participant? It isn't REAL. Should you not write a book if you are an author or make a movie as a filmmaker because you PARTICIPATE?

Life isn't like the Brady bunch. Adults can play twister or they can play video games if they so choose. The question should be, are PEOPLE becoming too violent, instead of blaming games as the source, let's blame people for their REAL actions. Did Charles Manson, Jesse James, or John Wayne Gacey become violent because of video games? They couldn't have because they didn't exist.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Actually, people will become more violent, do drugs, kill eachother, and do pretty much every single violent act out there WITHOUT videogame influence, so I don't see the big deal. If a kid grew up in a Brady Bunch-like house, then there is no chance of the kid playing violent games in their house or they will not become violent because of how they were raised. If a kid already lives in a bad household, videogames won't do damage that wasn't already done. If a kid grows up in a middle class household with parents who brought them up well but aren't there all the time, then violent games will either be an escape (much like TV shows, toys, movies, etc.) or will be for fun.

So I think that violent videogames mean diddly. If the parents raise their kids right, then violent games/movies/TV shows/other media shouldn't affect them negatively. If the parents don't raise the kids right, then those negative influences will only be a small part of a larger set of negative influences.