Do you think certain video games can promote real life violence ?

Samer · 01/11/13 17:01

i know there has been studies and research about the subject.
But do you think games can sometimes promote violence too much and have an effect on real life ..
Example ''GTA'' .. You go around shooting civilians, running them over etc ..
''Bully'' (just heard that from Delano) i'm presuming it's a you bully people in school thing ..
Do you think at some level that can have an effect on real life .. Like all the tragic real life school\cinema shootings when someone just snaps ..
Honestly, I do think it has an effect .. When i spent months modding Oni and didn't have a job and finished college .. Eventually i started when i look at things or people for a second there i'd see it as textures and 19 part models too much starring at XSi ... So if we put social isolation, and we have someone playing those more violent games continously where they play a criminal or a bully or whatever don't you think at some point the lines between reality and fantasy would blur and they'll feel shooting people is just like shooting a character on screen, no emotional baggae with it .. They just drop and a few frames later their bodies disappear
given that there's a predesposition in that person to begin with.

Last edited by Samer (01/11/13 18:01)

Lithium · 01/11/13 18:01

Lag makes me violent.

SNK Boss Syndrome makes me violent.

League of Legends turns me into a hateful demon that desires nothing more besides death.

GTA reduces my stress.

Iritscen · 01/11/13 18:01

I do think that they can encourage people with that predisposition to be violent, yes. Although I can't back it up with any psychology, I feel that more violent games encourage a nihilistic attitude, especially in youths because they're more impressionable. Some teenagers are already emotionally volatile as it is, and playing bloody games could just make it worse because they could start fixating on death and negative emotions. I feel that people like Klebold and Harris were drawn to violent games because of their existing tendencies, but that the games they sought out and played (and other media they took in) probably formed a feedback loop that reinforced their mindset.

I don't actually believe that games encourage people to stop seeing the difference between real and virtual people, however. That requires something more serious, like schizophrenia or something else that causes hallucinations. But since I can't understand what makes spree killers tick, I don't really pretend to have the answers as far as what could be a trigger for them. I just think it's more a matter of developing a suicidal outlook on life, and growing anger towards other people, that cause shootings, not a loss of distinction between reality and make-believe.

I also don't consider Oni, as an example, to be especially violent, because it doesn't have blood or gore or realistic rag doll physics. It's more along the lines of playing Street Fighter, admittedly with guns added into the mix. But I do think that people who make entertainment need to think more carefully about the vibe or implicit message in what they put out; it seems to me that they rarely have a sense of social responsibility.

Edit after reading Lithium's post: I think we can all agree, however, that some games really do encourage violence against controllers, TVs, or anything else in the vicinity :-) Excuse me while I go back to playing MM7 and cursing angrily at whoever designed the floating mask boss in Wily's Castle.

Lukas Kreator · 01/11/13 19:01

IMHO, I think what happens is the opposite. I think sometimes these violent games are actually a way of, you know, letting your anger out. TBH, if you start shooting people out there after playing a game about guns and stuff, some kind of mental illness is to be blamed, not the game. You could as well start seeing drawings floating in the air and blame the paper, so I personally think that is a bit nonsense. Okay, maybe the game makes the person more used to violence and death, but hey, look at the news channel! Just my two cents.

Knox · 01/11/13 19:01

I've been playing violent, M-rated games since I was 4, and I have never in my life been tempted to kill anyone.

Samer · 01/12/13 03:01

I'm not saying the game is the only factor but that it might contribute and reinforce that mind set in people who already have the predisposition if it's combined with repetition (locking themselves in their rooms playing it over and over) and social isolation, where the game becomes a big part of their life ...
I don't get games like GTA or Bully for example .. What's the moral behind playing a criminal, like the guy who sat down and thought of the game: you know what might be cool a game where you go steal and kill people, i don't get that mind set. In Oni for example like Iritscen said it's not as realistic and gory and you're still playing the good side, killing griffin for example would give u the hideous mutant muro.
That's just my imo .. Though you can argue same can apply to many tv shows and horror movies and etc .. But in a video game you're playing the character you're making the choices (not totally free will since it's scripted but it feels like it) instead of just being a spectator.
I do get though how it can be a stress reliever, i can't count how many times i loaded the final fight with muro to kick his a** and relieve some stress and we've all occasionally killed that scientist and beat up the receptionist .. Still i don't get why you'd need blood and intestines flying around or playing as a criminal or a bully to have same effect.
When kids are raised they are taught to be nice to others, positive behaviours are rewarded .. These games reward negative behaviors (to progress in the game) and i do think sooner or later it does contribute in shapping someone's personality.
Looking at some computer caffes sometimes, where teenagers\kids are playing some multiplayer shooter and screaming : ''yeah shoot him in the head, haha did you see how his head blew up ..'' .. That makes me cringe
I appreciate games where you get to choose the path you play : Fable, Mass Effect, Witcher for example
And agree with Lithium some games do make us stressed out .. I'm replaying tomb raider anniversary and there are some game stopping bugs that are driving me crazy :@

Last edited by Samer (01/12/13 10:01)

Valkyrur · 01/12/13 03:01

I acknowledge morality, but it is... Irrelevant.

Black and Black morality is the only real morality in my world.

Iritscen · 01/12/13 09:01

Fwiw, I haven't played Bully, but I hear it's not exactly as bad as it sounds. The name, and the fact that it came from Rockstar, led people to some false expectations, but I hear that you actually defend kids against bullying more than anything.

Lukas Kreator · 01/12/13 13:01

Oh, that's right, and you can kinda choose your path too, eg. bully the bullies, show up in the classes, etc.

Dirk Gently · 01/12/13 13:01

The problem isn't video games, it is not being able to draw the distinction between what is real and what is not, and how that is seen by society.

Samer · 01/12/13 17:01

ouh ok then exclude Bully from what I said still applies to GTA though.

Jon God · 01/14/13 19:01

I think it really depends on the mindset.

Someone who is already unhinged doing something that might make them feel in such a way could possibly help. But this applies to any media, you could read Hitler's book and want to kill someone, you could listen to violent music and want to kill someone, you could watch nothing but horror movies and want to kill someone, and you could play a game and want to kill someone...

But you'd need to want to kill someone in the first place. I think the biggest issue is a lack of affordable mental healthcare.

-JG

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Do you think certain video games can promote real life violence ?

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