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Violence in games...; ... in a very confusing way.
Topic Started: May 1 2013, 09:41 AM (409 Views)
Buttface McBoob
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I'm an ass man.
OK...

We all know the argument.

'Games are too violent.'

Agree or disagree, this is failry interesting (if a little flashy and confusing)...

Pro-tip - hovering over words makes explanations happen.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2013/apr/30/violence-guns-best-selling-video-games

Ooh Yeah!



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HeavensDemise
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Violence in games is fine hell it's fine in all types of media. I was exposed to violent media at a pretty young age I saw New Jack City when I was 8 and was playing the original MK on Genesis when it launched at age 9. Even at that young of an age I knew the things I was watching and playing were not real and that's because I had parents that actually did their job right.

Being now 30 and watching violent tv and movies and playing violent games pretty much my entire life I can say they have had zero effect on my mental stability.
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Buttface McBoob
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Your sig has my approval.

And I do agree that violence is fine - I love it, personally.

But, when you look at it broadly, you can see it as damning to the industry... Perhaps we need a few more non-violent games to balance it out... Non-violence can also be fun!
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Deleted User
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I hunger for violence.

The more. The better.

There is no "too violent" when it comes to video games in my world.
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Jukain
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R.I.P. Monty Oum 1981-2015
I haven't played all those games but I'm highly skeptical of all 50 of them, only Batman has Use of Tobacco.

Also, oh god, Heaven's gone full Banana.
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Calsetes
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JOHN #^*&$#% ZOIDBERG!!!
Honestly, the only time I think violence has ever gone "too far" in a video game is with Manhunt, where the entire point of the game is to kill people in the most gruesome manner you can for some guy's amusement (admittedly while you're trying to escape from him, but your "rankings" are based entirely off that "gore factor.") And they have some pretty... unsettling ways to kill people in that, including using plastic shopping bags.

Now, as for the whole "violence being the issue" bit, I don't agree with it. Even in a game as violent as Manhunt, they have these ESRB ratings for a reason. It's not a simple "physical age check" - if someone is as mentally mature as a 12-year-old child, then I wouldn't let them play something like God of War or Dante's Inferno, simply because they mentally do not have whatever coping mechanisms they need to process what they're seeing and if it's acceptable or not. Additionally, even if someone was mentally mature enough to handle something like that, you also have to factor in whether or not their brain can actually distinguish the difference between a real situation and a fake one, and that's another issue entirely that plays in with the whole "mental health" side of things.

And then, you have the plain old "parents don't look at this stuff" examples, which happen a hell of a lot more often than people would think. It's not a simple matter of educating parents on this sort of thing, since there's ample material there to inform them how to read a rating, how to see what's in the game to warrant that rating, and all that sort of stuff. The problem is getting them to actually care about it enough that they can make an informed decision beyond "Well, it's what he wants to play, and it's a game, so I'm sure it's alright for him to play it!"

True story here - my brother and I were buying a game at Wal-Mart one day, it was around the time Assassin's Creed 2 came out or so. Some 8-year-old kid and his dad were buying AC2, we were buying Metro 2033 or something. The lady tried to explain to the parent that it was a mature-rated game for violence and language, and all the dad did was ask the kid to make sure it was "the one he wanted." At that point, my brother and I started talking about something random, and threw out words like "cocksucker," "bastard," "bitch," among other things that 8-year-olds should probably not hear real often. The dad got upset with us and asked us to watch our language. We explained that the game he just gave the OK to have his kid play has that language in it. The same exact words and everything, because we actually played it. And he's mad at us for swearing. I think he missed where we did that exclusively because he looked like he didn't know what he was getting into and blew off the sales lady who tried to inform him about it.



Anyway, sorry to go off on a rant there. Short version - it's not the violence in the games that's the issue, it's how people process it. Some people can't, due to whatever reason - mental health issues, mental maturity, lack of social skills, whatever. They use these games as a scapegoat then, as opposed to the problem being the person. Everyone's always willing to find fault with something other than themselves.
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Buttface McBoob
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The Guardian is pretty pro-gaming and has printed a few articles recently discussing game ratings and why people ignore them. It's interesting - why people seem to really care about TV / movie ratings, but not bother about game ratings.

I do agree that it is all about maturity. Some folk are less mature than others and perhaps they shouldn't be allowed to play certain games / watch certain movies until they are at a level of maturity to accept them for what they are.

Still though, it makes for interesting reading that violence is a huge aspect of gaming... It's difficult to think of games that don't have some element of violence.
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MrMikeNC
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The only problem with violence in today's day and age is that as graphics become more and more close to real life, people get thier panties in a bunch.

Violence has been the staple of video games since almost day 1. But we've come a long way from shooting space invaders or eating blue ghosts.

People claim violent games will create violent kids, or get them interested in the gun culture, but we all know this is bullshit. The only urges I get from playing games, does not even have to be violent ones, is when I lose, or a game is kicking my ass. I get get pissed. But, this is just our competitive nature, and this happenes with anything where we compete, such as sports, etc. Has nothing to do with with whatever violence porn I just so happen to be indulging in.

As you all know, my 7 (my god my son will be 7 years old tomorrow) year old plays M rated games. BUT - he ONLY plays them with me, and I go completely out of my way to tell him about the violent nature of the games, how they exaggerate real life, and how under ANY circumstances, anything he does in these games are just not acceptable in real life. It's always just a matter of parental guidance, plain and simple. my son also takes Tae Kwon Do - where he is learning to defend himself. And they make it clear that someone might be trying to hurt or kill you, and you WILL beat the shit out of them to defend yourself if and only if they do not stop, and nobody is around to help.

My ONLY concern about violent games is what I have touched on before. You guys cannot have your cake and eat it, too. We cannot try to do what the NRA does and deflect the blame. I'm not saying a game will make a kid violent, but it CAN very well give him something to emulate. It's just like anything else in that regard.

Just like the kid who killed his brother playing out moves from a wrestling game (or TV show), or the kid who jumped off a building think he could fly like superman, to now the people who claim they are acting out Call Of Duty, kids emulate crap they see on the tube. And you cannot deny how the Grand Theft Auto games do in fact make it "cool" to be the bad guy.
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Buttface McBoob
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MrMikeMA
May 2 2013, 08:55 AM
I'm not saying a game will make a kid violent, but it CAN very well give him something to emulate. It's just like anything else in that regard.

This is an excellent point!

What you do with your son is great... I think playing these games with a trusted adult (who explains things) is the way to do it - my dad was with me when I was very young, and playing...

What worries me is the time people spend doing it, 10 - 15 hours a day in front of CoD is going to mess with anyone's head, and younger kids all the worse. Some will emulate it - like wrestling or kung-fu... And it could have consequences.

The more parents willing to sit down with their kids and play, or explain violent or sexual themes the better!

Sad to say that it will be mostly gamer parents who do this.
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Calsetes
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JOHN #^*&$#% ZOIDBERG!!!
Oh, I agree that they give kids someone to emulate, and that's where I think the whole "mental maturity" thing comes into play - some people just need to grow up a bit before they can handle something, and mentally that can vary between people a lot at times. That's why parents need to get involved and assess both what they're looking at and their child to come to a conclusion if a kid can handle it or not, and not just use the ESRB ratings strictly as "law." If I had kids, I'd let them play Parasite Eve if they proved mature enough, regardless of their age. Same thing with Mass Effect (maybe with a disclaimer to "not use this language, ever, not even if you hear daddy saying these things on a regular basis.")

Sometimes, I honestly, really think people just try to use it as a scapegoat, period. Remember... I'm going to guess it was maybe a good 7 years ago or so, where some 16-18 year old kid shot his parents and ran from his house after doing it? His defense was "I had to get away before they respawned, like in Halo." Someone that old should be able to distinguish between reality and a video game, and where rules apply or don't apply. The only possible exception would be if he was mentally ill and greatly delusional at the time - which itself presents other issues, such as the parents having some sort of a clue that something was going on.
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MrMikeNC
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Sometimes, I honestly, really think people just try to use it as a scapegoat, period. Remember... I'm going to guess it was maybe a good 7 years ago or so, where some 16-18 year old kid shot his parents and ran from his house after doing it? His defense was "I had to get away before they respawned, like in Halo." Someone that old should be able to distinguish between reality and a video game, and where rules apply or don't apply.

EXACTLY.

This is the entire slippery slope of the argument, and why the media needs to STFU when they use the game to place the blame, and exactly where parenting comes into play.

My son very well knows that in real life, death is real and there is no coming back. He was well aware of this from playing games, and was hammered home when his beloved pet bearded dragon (R.I.P Googles) died a few months ago when we had a power outage.

Games and TV = do not translate into real life was the first and foremost thing I taught my kids, and it is a point I constantly hammer into their brains.
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Buttface McBoob
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You have my respect Mike!!!

You're doing it right! :)
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MrMikeNC
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Thanks.

What's sad it, this is common sense....watch your kids.

But so many kids have either only one parent due to divorce, or parents who had them too young and do a piss poor job, or parents too busy to watch them closely, and they just LOVE using the TV and Games to plug them in. It's sad.

Was just discussing this last night with the parents of one of my son's baseball teammates after we bumped into each other after practice at McD (getting my kids a post practive ice cream cone). It's so hard for 2 working parents to keep up with everything else. I left work yesterday, dropped both kids off at separate places, hustled over to T station, worked, got back on train, picked up daughter, picked up wife and son, drove over to baseball field, ate dinner sitting there watching practice, got home, got stuff ready for next day, put kids to bed and then I rushed out to ther gym. I didn't sit down until almost 10pm last night to game. Just no time.

When I bring my kid to the pool, I see so many parents who just sit by the side and look at their phones instead of getting in the pool. I don't trust my kids yet, and certainly dont trust the people around me to be paying attention. My kids and MY responsibility, and you can bet your ass I am keeping my eyes open and on them.
Edited by MrMikeNC, May 2 2013, 09:52 AM.
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