There has been a lot of media coverage of video games over years, most of it less than favorable. The conventional wisdom that has evolved is that video games are ultra-violent and only appeal to males. While there are certainly plenty of examples to support both of these points, the issues are much more complex than such generalizations imply and, like most things controversial, the facts don’t always support the assumptions. One thing is for sure on both of these topics; the arguments show no signs of abating anytime soon.
Watch the clip from the documentary Game Over – Gender, Race & Violence in Video Games (press the Play Video button beneath the box cover image). Makes things seem pretty bad, doesn’t it? Sounds like video games are sending kids down a path of violence and destruction. But if you can look past the fear mongering, there are two very big things to take issue with. The first is that they make it seem as if ALL video games are violent. While it’s true that there are some extremely violent games on the market, some that are certainly not appropriate for even the teen audience, 63 % of all games are rated “E” for everyone and 70% of the top 20 best selling games in 2003 were rated “E” for everyone or “T” for teen.
Condemning all games as violent is like saying all cars are dangerous because Pintos used to catch fire. Two genres, FPS and fighting games, are the most violent, but there are many others that have little or no violence. And in even in the most violent games, some researchers contend that graphicness is so over-the-top that kids look upon them as cartoons, much like earlier generations viewed The Three Stooges and Roadrunner. While this is not an attempt to excuse or defend the games that are too graphic, the media tends to paint things with a very broad, black or white brush and sometimes those labels are hard to shake.
The second issue is that the pundits in the clip claim that video games are teaching teenagers how to be killers. If this was true, there should have been a rampant increase in number of teenage murders, which there has not (it has actually declined over the last several years). There have been many studies of how video games affect aggression and the results have come down on both sides of the argument. While there have been a few violent incidents attributed to games, the numbers are far surpassed by kids who say they were influenced by music, TV or the movies. This idea is summed up in the article Video Game Violence by seventeen year old gamer Patrick Masell.
While there’s no question some games are much too violent, the recent trend by game developers has been towards adding richer gameplay elements (stealth, strategy, etc.) instead of more gratuitous violence, not because they care about the violence issue, but because it’s what game players are demanding. You must remember that video games are a business, a big business, and as much lip service as publishers might pay to the issue, their first priority is to add value to their shareholders. They make what sells, just like TV, movies and music. The only way to change this, other than depending on parental responsibility or constitutionally questionable legislation, is to change our culture to one that values the pen over the sword and inverts the salaries of teachers and rock stars.
So, how does the violence issue effect video games in the classroom. Not much, really. While even the mother of all violent games, Grand Theft Auto, could probably be an effective tool in a university level sociology, psychology or criminology class, any games used an educational setting need to be carefully previewed to make sure they are age and curriculum appropriate. Using non-violent games in class might actually even increase the playing of less violent games at home because kids will discover that games can be fun and challenging without the blood and guts. Either way, this issue will continue to incite rancor and debate on both sides. As the article Research on the Effects of Media Violence by the Media Awareness Network puts it, there are many studies and many conclusions.
Read the following articles to explore the subject more deeply:
"Video games are poised to advance in ways that could make them to the present century what films were to the last: emotionally engrossing, visually stunning, socially influential expressions that capture and inform the spirit of the times."
- Zev Borow
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