Rob's Log - Violence In Games
This is an ongoing discussion and will likely never end, but I'd like
to give my thoughts on the matter.
Let's first address the people that blame our entertainment for all crime. Well, this is just silly and I don't think I have to explain why.
Now, for all you people that think our entertainment doesn't incite violent behavior, don't get all happy because I don't agree with you either. This is honestly the attitude that I hear the most from other game designers and players, and it simply doesn't make sense to me (sounds more like rationalization than logic). I believe that everything we come in contact with affects us, or has the potential to affect us. To say that games or movies don't simply because they're entertainment, well, that's just silly.
The biggest problem with this argument is that people take the extreme when talking about it. People aren't going to play Doom for 5 minutes and run out and kill people. However, someone who played Doom 12 hours a day since birth would likely have a pretty warped sense of reality. Neither of these scenarios are realistic but it seems that the argument boils down to one or the other viewpoint.
Let's take TV as an example, how much of our social attitudes are affected by it? Interracial attitudes are likely affected more by what we see on TV than our actual contact with other races. If that's true, then TV, just one form of entertainment, has awesome power.
Now, one of most stated problems with violence in entertainment is desensitization. I do believe that we have been desensitized by our media. If you showed people fifty years ago film of children being carried out of schools in body bags I think you'd get a far different reaction than you would today. Is it because we don't care as much? To a certain degree I think so. I'm not suggesting we're monsters, but we've been shown extras in TV shows killed like crazy and I think we've made a bit of a connection in our minds that people on TV aren't quite real. So, the violence inflicted on these people isn't quite as disturbing. The logic is a little strange, but I think it's true to a small extent.
Is this desensitization effect also present with video games? Of course it is. In my opinion video games have more potential to cause this effect than other forms of entertainment. In video games you are often put in the shoes of someone who violently kills others. Now surely this effects people more than simply watching an event take place. As time goes on and video games become more realistic, this will become more of a problem.
So, who's responsible for this, we all are, but I do place more responsibility on the seller. Often times people defend products they sell by saying they wouldn't sell them if people didn't want them. This statement is designed to shift blame from the seller to the buyer, but do we give drug dealers a break simply because the buyers want drugs? I should hope not! I know this is a harsh comparison, but only because society as a whole has determined drugs are an intolerable influence and should be illegal. It's not ridiculous to think that violent games could eventually be similarly categorized. Anyway, I think entertainment has power and the producers of which wield that power, and they should take some responsibility for it.
The biggest issue is what violent entertainment does to children. This is what everyone has a problem with and rightfully so, children are the most easily influenced. I've read some things lately from players and a common defense for video games is that it's mostly the parent's responsibility to shield their children from these negative influences, and they're correct. The only problem is that parents cannot watch their child 24 hours a day and are far from the only influence on them. Parents and society raise a child. As a side note, if you agree with this then you must also look at parents that crusade against violent games with some respect. Even if you don't agree with their methods, they are trying to change their environment, which they feel is a bad influence, and that is good parenting.
I've also heard people say "I grew up on violent entertainment and it didn't effect me!". Ok, they know this how? Did they have clones of themselves that were raised without it? Assuming that you know precisely how something has affected the course of your life is almost as bad as assuming you know how it affects everyone else. I consider myself an intelligent man, and not incredibly easy to influence, but I'm not so presumptuous and egotistical to think I'm impervious to any outside forces.
Well, what should be done about it? One thing that we need is a ratings system. Many developers oppose this, but it is for the greater good, I think. I like the fact that movies and now TV shows come with ratings. If I had children I'd like to know as much as possible about what they're putting in their mind just like I'd want to know the content of the food they eat. I bet many food companies would love not to have to display nutritional information, and I look at video game developers that oppose ratings similarly. I do recognize that a good ratings system for games is hard to implement, but even if imperfect it'd be better than nothing.
So now I'd like to turn some of this judgment on myself. I produce fighting games (at least for now), arguably the most violent genre of games around. We use robots so this helps a great deal, but it's still a confrontational game. So, I've made a personal decision that I'm willing to accept whatever harm may come from this. I don't think it'd affect players nearly as much as violently killing people, but it'd be foolish to think it doesn't have some effect. I wouldn't even mind having a rating put on my game that restricted it to 16 or 18 year olds. It would hurt us financially, but we'd make enough money.
What we need to decide is are we willing to accept a certain amount of social erosion for violent entertainment, and how much? Does realistic violence enhance our gaming experience enough to accept the possible damage? Will we be able to evolve past this violence obsession or will it help erode society to it's breaking point? Only time will tell, but keep in mind that a glass of water looks harmless enough but history shows that water has been a major factor in shaping the world.
Let's first address the people that blame our entertainment for all crime. Well, this is just silly and I don't think I have to explain why.
Now, for all you people that think our entertainment doesn't incite violent behavior, don't get all happy because I don't agree with you either. This is honestly the attitude that I hear the most from other game designers and players, and it simply doesn't make sense to me (sounds more like rationalization than logic). I believe that everything we come in contact with affects us, or has the potential to affect us. To say that games or movies don't simply because they're entertainment, well, that's just silly.
The biggest problem with this argument is that people take the extreme when talking about it. People aren't going to play Doom for 5 minutes and run out and kill people. However, someone who played Doom 12 hours a day since birth would likely have a pretty warped sense of reality. Neither of these scenarios are realistic but it seems that the argument boils down to one or the other viewpoint.
Let's take TV as an example, how much of our social attitudes are affected by it? Interracial attitudes are likely affected more by what we see on TV than our actual contact with other races. If that's true, then TV, just one form of entertainment, has awesome power.
Now, one of most stated problems with violence in entertainment is desensitization. I do believe that we have been desensitized by our media. If you showed people fifty years ago film of children being carried out of schools in body bags I think you'd get a far different reaction than you would today. Is it because we don't care as much? To a certain degree I think so. I'm not suggesting we're monsters, but we've been shown extras in TV shows killed like crazy and I think we've made a bit of a connection in our minds that people on TV aren't quite real. So, the violence inflicted on these people isn't quite as disturbing. The logic is a little strange, but I think it's true to a small extent.
Is this desensitization effect also present with video games? Of course it is. In my opinion video games have more potential to cause this effect than other forms of entertainment. In video games you are often put in the shoes of someone who violently kills others. Now surely this effects people more than simply watching an event take place. As time goes on and video games become more realistic, this will become more of a problem.
So, who's responsible for this, we all are, but I do place more responsibility on the seller. Often times people defend products they sell by saying they wouldn't sell them if people didn't want them. This statement is designed to shift blame from the seller to the buyer, but do we give drug dealers a break simply because the buyers want drugs? I should hope not! I know this is a harsh comparison, but only because society as a whole has determined drugs are an intolerable influence and should be illegal. It's not ridiculous to think that violent games could eventually be similarly categorized. Anyway, I think entertainment has power and the producers of which wield that power, and they should take some responsibility for it.
The biggest issue is what violent entertainment does to children. This is what everyone has a problem with and rightfully so, children are the most easily influenced. I've read some things lately from players and a common defense for video games is that it's mostly the parent's responsibility to shield their children from these negative influences, and they're correct. The only problem is that parents cannot watch their child 24 hours a day and are far from the only influence on them. Parents and society raise a child. As a side note, if you agree with this then you must also look at parents that crusade against violent games with some respect. Even if you don't agree with their methods, they are trying to change their environment, which they feel is a bad influence, and that is good parenting.
I've also heard people say "I grew up on violent entertainment and it didn't effect me!". Ok, they know this how? Did they have clones of themselves that were raised without it? Assuming that you know precisely how something has affected the course of your life is almost as bad as assuming you know how it affects everyone else. I consider myself an intelligent man, and not incredibly easy to influence, but I'm not so presumptuous and egotistical to think I'm impervious to any outside forces.
Well, what should be done about it? One thing that we need is a ratings system. Many developers oppose this, but it is for the greater good, I think. I like the fact that movies and now TV shows come with ratings. If I had children I'd like to know as much as possible about what they're putting in their mind just like I'd want to know the content of the food they eat. I bet many food companies would love not to have to display nutritional information, and I look at video game developers that oppose ratings similarly. I do recognize that a good ratings system for games is hard to implement, but even if imperfect it'd be better than nothing.
So now I'd like to turn some of this judgment on myself. I produce fighting games (at least for now), arguably the most violent genre of games around. We use robots so this helps a great deal, but it's still a confrontational game. So, I've made a personal decision that I'm willing to accept whatever harm may come from this. I don't think it'd affect players nearly as much as violently killing people, but it'd be foolish to think it doesn't have some effect. I wouldn't even mind having a rating put on my game that restricted it to 16 or 18 year olds. It would hurt us financially, but we'd make enough money.
What we need to decide is are we willing to accept a certain amount of social erosion for violent entertainment, and how much? Does realistic violence enhance our gaming experience enough to accept the possible damage? Will we be able to evolve past this violence obsession or will it help erode society to it's breaking point? Only time will tell, but keep in mind that a glass of water looks harmless enough but history shows that water has been a major factor in shaping the world.