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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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