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Students respond to violence in video games
By Paige WilsonThe “clink” as the coin drops into the deep, black depths of the inner workings of the powerhouse, the high-pitched squeal of the machine coming to life, the momentary blindness as the screen’s dazzling lights awaken from their slumber, and the buzzing and vibrations as your hands glide over the controls. It is an unrivaled and inimitable experience: the arcade game. The late 70s marked an exciting new era in the amusement industry. Arcade games started appearing in restaurants, bars, amusement arcades, and even porn shops, and they became an instant hit. Among the first arcade games were Galaxy Game, Pong, Gun Fight, Space Invaders, Street Fighter II, and Mario Kart. While many of the initial arcade games lacked much human violence, game developers quickly discovered that inserting storylines, plots, characters, and mild violence increased the games’ popularities. This trend caught on, and eventually led to the much more intricate games that are commonplace today. An early arcade game that introduced the idea of characters in video games was Pac-Man. This game features a small, yellow circle that must make its way around a maze eating “dots” for points, all while evading ghosts. Pac-Man’s distinguishing feature is his mouth, always clamping down on more dots to feed his insatiable appetite. A simple Google search revealed countless websites where people can play Pac-Man for free. This game’s popularity is still very apparent. While the game does not seem violent upon first glance, there are people who critique it for being too violent for young gamers. One such person is Dr. Kimberly Thompson, an associate Professor of Risk Analysis and Decision Science at Harvard. She has done extensive research on the content in video games, and wants to help people to become more aware of it. In a letter to Engadget, she says “I assure you that coding the arcade games was a challenge, because we had to decide whether the ghost chasing Pac Man (or Ms. Pac Man) had the intent to harm or kill, which we decided is the case because in fact you do die if caught, lives are limited, and hence the need for more quarters (or starting over if you're playing on a console or computer).... So, even if you're good at Pac Man, if the ghost is chasing you with the intent to kill you (and in those rare instances where it kills you) or when you kill the ghosts, we count that (i.e., chasing a character with the intent to kill is violent, eating yummy screen-clearing dots is harmless).” But not everyone is of that same view. Carolyn Meinel, who is a notable hacker and computer security whiz, believes that such games may be a safe release for people, and that they will make players less likely to take out their violence in the real world. She thinks video games are good releases “…so that I don’t have to worry—as a 65-year-old woman walking around in the middle of nowhere on a hike or something—about some crazed guy jumping out of a bush with a chain saw”. One of the first arcade games to introduce (mostly) human violence was Mario Kart Arcade GP. In this game, players choose a character (many of which are not human beings, but portray many human qualities) and race in a vehicle. They also have the option to collect boxes that become items to improve your own driving or to deter other players. An example of this is a banana peel that other vehicles slip on. Another is a time bomb that causes other players to go off course. Of course, it’s nothing like the graphic violence we see in many modern games, but it did help lay the foundation for a house full of bloodier and gorier games today. While arcade games seem mild compared to the blood and guts of today’s games, they were at one time, if not still, considered violent and controversial. They paved the way for popular games such as Mortal Kombat, Doom, and Grand Theft Auto. As arcade games begin to retire and disappear, what will the next generation of video games bring? For a history of arcade games, check out: http://www.mpamusement.com/evolution-of-arcade-games.aspwww.mpamusement.com/evolution-of-arcade-games.asp
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a violent scene from Grand Theft Auto By Reo Nakai
Beating up strangers, killing cops, stealing random cars etc… . Everything is possible in the game called “Grand Theft Auto” even if it’s illegal in a real world. It personally felt great to do crazy things we cannot do in a real life when I played this game for the first time. On the other hand, some people are very concerned that Grand Theft Auto provokes actual violence cases. On this blog, I am going to examine if there is a correlation between Grand Theft Auto and violence based on academical researches and our own surveys. For those, who do not know about the game, “Grand Theft Auto” is an action-adventure video games series published by Rockstar Games. It features very violent actions like killing people, stealing and destroying. Millions of copies has been sold all over the world. First of all, violent juvenile crime in the U.S. has been statistically going down since 1993 according to U.S. Department of Justice. On the other hand, the sales of violent games are going up. In this series, the sales of “Grand Theft Auto” released in 1997 were 3 million. In 2013, "Grand Theft Auto Ⅴ” has sold 70 million units. From these evidences, we can safely conclude that video game popularity and real-world juvenile violence are moving in opposite directions. However, some studies that indicate a correlation between violent games like Grand Theft Auto and aggression were reported. For instance, a study by EYEKA Singapore, they did an experiment with the use of Grand Theft Auto. In their experiment, participants were assigned either to the group where they played Grand Theft Auto Ⅳ over a period of 3 week or the one where they did not play a game. Although the finding from this experiment do not support the idea that playing a violent game increases aggression or reduce empathy, researchers suggest a small increase in pro-violence attitudes. Therefore, violent games like Grand Theft Auto could potentially lead to violence in a real life. In addition, more people believe that there is a correlation between violent video games and violence in a real life based on our survey. Especially, a majority of respondents rated Grand Theft Auto as 4 or 5, which means more than fairly violent, to the question of rating a degree of some violent games to. Consequently, a majority feels that violent games are related to violence in some extent, and Grand Theft Auto could be one of the most influential games in violence. Since this topic still has been debated and no clear consensus has made so far, I would not conclude here on this blog if Grand Theft Auto is linked to real-world violence or not. But at least, it is obvious that we cannot just ignore violent games like Grand Theft Auto when thinking about violence. By Jana ZisetteCall of Duty, a first person shooter video game, has been a success ever since it was released in 2003. The hit video game is a series that includes many different versions of the same type of game, with each new release being more violent than the last. The game is directed to be played for ages 18+, but the controversy is to whether this age restriction is applied, and how the violence in the game is followed into the lives of those that play this game. The Call of Duty website describes one of its versions as “a breathtaking experience that redefines World War II for a new gaming generation. Land in Normandy on D-Day and battle across Europe through iconic locations in history’s most monumental war. Experience class Call of Duty combat, the bonds of camaraderie, and the unforgiving nature of war. “ The research found in our survey shows that 91% of those who were surveyed believed that on a scale of one to five, one being the least violent, and five being the most violent, the violence in Call of Duty was at a three or above. Among those surveyed, Shea Sullivan, sophomore at Gonzaga University, played Call of Duty growing up a lot, and rated it at a 4.5, saying that it is one of the most violent video games around. “Compared to Fortnite and the other video games I play, the graphics in Call of Duty are hard to beat. It’s a realistic video game that can be very violent, especially as a kid,” Shea said. Similarly, Michael Bacich, also a sophomore at Gonzaga University, says that Call of Duty has a competitive aspect that all of his friends loved when they were in middle school. He says the game was definitely violent, but he thinks that as long as the parents are okay with it, having young kids play this game is fine. When asked if they thought the violence from the video game could be transferred to having violent intentions in real life, they said that playing has never affected them personally, but see how it could have the potential to affect others. “In general, I think that it’s just a video game and it’s over dramatisized. But, I do think it’s all about your mental stability, and if kids are playing it who aren’t mentally stable, then it could have an affect on their behavior in real life,” Bacich said. CNN reports that the American Academy of Pediatrics announced that there have been more than 400 studies that show a “significant” link between being exposed to violent media and aggressive behavior, aggressive thoughts and aggressive feelings. According to BBC News, one of the student shooters in the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 used a gun that he called “Arlene”. This is allegedly named from a character in a book inspired by the computer game “Doom”. CNN also reports that an 18-year-old shooter who killed nine people in July 2016 was an avid player of shooter video games. However, a survivor of a high school shooting in February, said that he grew up playing violent first person shooting video games, but would never dream of taking the lives of his peers. While there is data to prove that the relation between violent video games and violence in real life is apparent, this only relates to a select few who actually become violent from playing these games, out of the millions of players that play Call of Duty, and other violent games. Call of Duty is arguably one of the most violent and realistic video games available to play. The debate of how the game affects the real life violence of those that play is likely not something that will end anytime soon. However, as it continues, it is important to stay active in understanding the debate, and be watchful of the ties between violence in real life and video games, movies, and media as a whole. By Ally LegardFortnite Battle Royale is the new, hot video game that everyone seems to be raving about. According to The Guardian, “it’s a mass online brawl where 100 players leap out of a plane on to a small island and then fight each other until only one is left.” The game includes, “weapons and items, including crossbows, rifles and grenade launchers, and players must arm themselves while exploring the landscape and buildings.” The game also has it’s players, “collect resources that allow you to build structures where you can hide or defend yourself. As the match progresses, the playable area of land is continually reduced, so participants are forced closer and closer together. The last survivor is the winner.” Unlike most video games, there are no “lives,” so once you are eliminated, you must start the entire game over again. What’s different about this first-shooter game is that there’s no depiction of blood and gore that often comes with a game of this sort. Parents may prefer their kids to play this game over Call of Duty because it isn’t as “realistic”. Video games always have an age rating. According to David Chapman, a Common Sense Media video game reviewer, the rating for Fortnite is a 13+, also known as Teen. On the same website that I found the rating, I scrolled down to look at the “Parents Say” comments. One parent identified as Taegan Brown B. says that the game should be rated a 8+ and said, “I think that the game is for young kids just because the violence is very cartoony. I'd recommend not getting it if you think guns are bad but that's it.” I wanted more opinions, so I sought out a few Gonzaga students and asked them about the game. Freshman engineering major Alex Walde said, “Fortnite may desensitize it’s players to violence. When someone is killed, they simply disappear.” However, he also said that, “Other games like Call of Duty are more violent.” A lot of the interviews that I had were with people who don’t regularly play video games. I thought it was interesting to get an “outside looking in” viewpoint. Caroline McCarthy, a Gonzaga Business student said, “I don’t think that violence in real life is necessarily linked to video games, but I do think that it may add to the problem.” This was a very common answer overall. Hardly is there ever a concrete reason for people’s unethical actions. When I asked my interviewees if they had any ideas to possibly fix the problem, they all hesitated. I found that no one has the perfect solution. By Dan Cook Studies of aggression as result of violent video game playing have failed to prove that playing violent video games have any implications for the user related to aggressive behavior. Studies conducted by University of York, United Kingdom and St. Petersburg University, Russia looked at violent video game physics and non-player character tactics. The first study tested whether making rag doll physics in the game had any impact on the players aggression. Rag doll physics are the way in which the enemies would respond to being hit, by replicating the physics of the enemy characters to that of reality. The second test looked at non-player characters (automated intelligence enemies) and whether the way they responded to the real player had an impact on the players aggression. There were multiple phases in which the player encountered enemy non-player characters that responded with different levels of intelligence, such as incorporating strategies such as killing team leaders or flanking as means of implementing more aggressive maneuvers. When interviewing Brielle Douglas, Junior Gonzaga University, whether video games should be regulated more strictly she said stated, "I feel as though game ratings such as rated M are great ways to determine whether a game is suitable for someone. You need to have an ID proving you are an adult to purchase some excessively violent games, which I think is good cause it keeps them out of the hands of children. On the other hand, I believe that the increased availability of downloadable content on the App Store and from websites such as Steam make it difficult to enforce age restrictions." Additionally, when asked whether or not video games impact ones aggression Brielle said, "Excessive gaming probably has a negative impact on aggression but not the type of gaming where you are just hanging with the bros. If you are addicted to video games it could probably make aggressive tendencies worse and desensitize children." From surveys we gathered using surveymonkey.com we determined that Gonzaga students and Facebook users that answered the survey believe there is a correlation between video games and violence in real life. A majority of respondents also said they felt there should not be more rules for violent video games. This suggests that although they believe there may be a correlation between violent video games and violence in real life that people believe our currents regulations on violent video games are adequate. Surprisingly, a substantial number of people that took the survey also answered that Grand Auto and Call of Duty were ranked a four on a scale of one to five. One being the least violent and five being the most violent. This is surprising since Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto seem to be talked about as two of the more violent video games that exist. In Grand Theft Auto, the story line consists of the character being a criminal and the the user has the freedom to kill police, use prostitutes, and go on bank heists. If games such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty are only ranked a four there must be more violent games that exist, or people believe they are not as bad as other games. Work Cited: Zendle, David. “Behavioural Realism and the Activation of Aggressive Concepts in Violent Video Games.” Entertainment Computing, Elsevier, 23 Oct. 2017, |
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