Does Gaming Kill?

S

StevenF50

Legacy Member
Hello,

Do you think that gaming is causing more violence? More and more violent games are been sold now and some like grand theft auto really do advertise violence. Do you think gaming is killing? If you do can you think of a way to stop it? I myself play games like that but I do think that it does encourage violence to some people. They want to be like the game character so they start fighting and so on. One way to stop it a bit would be to make a violent game have a notice at the start telling them to leave the actions in the game, in the game and show what happens if they don't leave it in the game(prison). So what is your verdict?

Thanks.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Gaming doesn't kill; people kill. There may be some truth to the argument that violent games causes desensitization, but consider that 100 years ago we still held public hangings. Public torture and execution has existed for thousands of years. Surely, that was more realistic violence than video games, no?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Yes, I don't blame it on the games. I blame it on those who don't take responsibilities for their actions. There is a parallel between this subject and that Brazilian guy who sued McDonald's for gaining 65 lbs or whatever it was. He did not take responsibility for gaining that weight. He blamed it only on the source.. and did not believe he had anything to do with it. Same for those who act violently and claim they were brainwashed by gaming.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I agree gaming does not kill, if anything maybe killers can take there aggression out with gaming.... I think you have to be pretty messed up to be able to kill. I have never been playing an action game and thought to myself, man I wish I could do this in real life.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
dynastygal said:
Movies are more realistic tbh. Games are just games. If someone can't differentiate between pixels and reality then they needed help to begin with.
Click to expand...

The old discussion is whether consuming violence passively via movies is more or less influencing than actively seek out the violence. Does it make a difference whether you see Platoon or kill human enemies in Modern Warfare? Some say so, others say so. I don't believe there is any real prove.
Do I believe that either can desensitizes people? Yes, because if you teach people that violence is cool or solves problems, it may change their attitude. I don't think it turns people into murderers, but it can make them care less when confronted with violence.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I don't think gaming can cause people to kill, however as with movies I think they have the capability to desensitize people when it comes to violence. Seeing something on screen and then acting it out is something else entirely.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I suspect all of this would depend on the game and the nature of its scripting. Suppose for a moment we do create a game that promotes violence; there are precautions in place to minimize the potential of game-inspired violence, such as rating systems to restrict minors and disclaimers if there is too much violence. FPS games like Modern Warefare 2 will have changes made to the game to make sure the violence isn't over the top (the airport mission in MW2 was thought to be too violent and thus the game designers changed it to be an optional level).

I believe games do not provide a statistically significant rise in crime rates (if at all).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The effect of gaming will reflect on the person at one point of time, how rash, harsh he can be. Also depeneds on what kind of gaming he plays.
Moreover the Gaming has made humans more lazy . Now its difficult to find people play outside. Most of them busy with their GADGETS
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
sometime we cant explain what it happen . we can be in reality and virtual . you want to be in reality then let it be , but when you fall in virtual and you will trap inside it .let be reality so that you know what is lose and win , to feel the reality and fear in life .
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
my brother used to play GTA Vice City very much and at those times, he was very violent. we prohibited him to play it and he was more silent when he doesn't play that violence game. i think it is related with games
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Gaming never kills, people do.

I have used to play GTA very much, like 4 or more hours a day. Liked the game, but more of it, I liked when I rubbed one of the cars in the street and started making nice tricks with it, being chased by the police or even kill some people in the road...

Looking this problem with a more accurate eye, this kind of games are very helpful. They help people to express their anger within the game and not with the real world. After an exhausting day of work/school or a very tense day, this kind of games help to get rid of all your accumulated hatred. Or at least, that's what happens to me.

Let's see a bit of the gaming history: Super Mario, if you look it carefully it is a violent game. You jump onto your enemies head so you can eliminate them. The princess is taken hostage by a big reptile and Mario has to eliminate everyone that gets into his road to get the princes. And it has evolved even more, but no one thinks like that when it comes to this game. Maybe because it is more colorful or more kidlike in the appearance, but the same philosophy. Kill to win!

And we have more and more different titles of games of violence: Prince of Persia (how many innocent guards that lived in the castle has he killed?), Assassins Creed, Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Pac Man, Kingdom Hearts, etc etc.
The only games that does not have violence in it are sport games... and tetris.

The point is, games do not kill, if they would, imagine of what 13 millions of World of Warcraft players could have done till now, maybe killed and massacred the half of the population lol

Humans have been killing each others even before video games exist, just see what has happened in the 50's in America from the Mafia... And don't tell me they all played GTA...

Klajds
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Klajds said:
And we have more and more different titles of games of violence: Prince of Persia (how many innocent guards that lived in the castle has he killed?), Assassins Creed, Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Pac Man, Kingdom Hearts, etc etc.
The only games that does not have violence in it are sport games... and tetris.
Click to expand...

I found this very provoking. The more I think about it, the more I become cognizant of the trend that the opponents in these are either not human, or they are masked and faceless (dehumanized to some degree - such as the Heartless or Nobodies from KH).

Perhaps there is a concern that the more realistic we make these kinds of games, the more people mentally dehumanize the people around them, maybe to the point that they are psychologically predisposed to unleash this nurtured violence on those around them. Of course, I think this is an exaggeration of how typical gaming psychology actually works, but maybe this is how the opposition thinks?

Interesting comment nonetheless.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I think its down to upbringing. If you are brought up to be a good person and play fighting video games you will be a bit rough if you are not kept "under control" and moderated by parents but upbringing is a big part of it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I remember seeing an episode on I think CSI about kids acting out a video game they were involved with (I think it was Grand Theft Auto). They robbed multiple banks, stole cars, killed a few people, and even went as far as harming law enforcement. Everytime they would beat something on the game, they would act out on it in real life.

I would say that games don't kill, but people kill sometimes based on what they see. I do feel that gaming can alter attitudes towards people, but that may be caused by an addiction rather than the actual game. I feel that it would be more of a mental issue of some type rather than a game causing it, bad people do bad things and they don't need a video game to give them permission or reason to do so.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
dan213 said:
I would say that games don't kill, but people kill sometimes based on what they see. I do feel that gaming can alter attitudes towards people, but that may be caused by an addiction rather than the actual game. I feel that it would be more of a mental issue of some type rather than a game causing it, bad people do bad things and they don't need a video game to give them permission or reason to do so.
Click to expand...


I think this is the most effective interpretation of the problem: video games can only catalyze negative behaviour but aren't the cause of it. I believe our judicial system deals with problems as they come along, giving proper care and rehabilitation to the free-radicals in the system.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I don't think they cause violence. It depends on how easily influenced the child is, problems at home, problems at school, etc.
There's a lot of factors, but generally I don't believe gaming does. Movies are more realistic I don't understand why the media always blames video-games. Maybe cause Gaming is one of the most popular things to do now. I don't know.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
DrakenV said:
I don't think they cause violence. It depends on how easily influenced the child is, problems at home, problems at school, etc.
There's a lot of factors, but generally I don't believe gaming does. Movies are more realistic I don't understand why the media always blames video-games. Maybe cause Gaming is one of the most popular things to do now. I don't know.
Click to expand...
It's because games are interactive and movies are passive. There's a difference between watching someone kill someone else and actually commanding someone (or even a VR version of yourself) to kill someone else. In one you watch the action, in the other you make the choice to kill.

Anyway, the notion that violent video games cause or even catalyse violent behaviour isn't supported by evidence, it's just people being over-cautious with new technology. The same thing happened when the R rating came into existence, and the same thing happened when TV was invented. People fear what they don't understand.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top