A Brief Look At Video Games And Violence

By Thomas James Hunt /

I do fully understand that there are some impressionable people out there who will see something on some random title and re-enact whatever they saw. And I also understand that because video games are an interactive experience, they do differ from other forms of media. So, to Jack Thompson, can you at least not cover the floor with your flimsy arguments and broken glass because it€™s cutting the hell out of my feet. Anyone who has researched into video game violence would have seen this man€™s name pop up like an irritating gray haired wackamole. Jack Thompson is an anti-video game activist who, as you would imagine, hates violent video games and all they stand for. He has out spoken about titles like Bully which he said:

"What you are in effect doing is rehearsing your physical revenge and violence against those whom you have been victimized by. And then you, like Klebold and Harris in Columbine, become the ultimate bully."

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When in reality, missions vary from escorting a nerd across campus to a paper round. People, including Jack Thompson, need to realise that in these types of games when you can (admittingly) €˜bully€™ other students, your actions do not go unpunished. It€™s the same with GTA: you can drive through a busy street painting your newly stolen car with red goo, but if you do, the police will give chase until you either die, outrun them, or get arrested which, like in Bully, results in all your items being taken away. Also the actual plot of GTA isn€™t about killing everyone in sight: it€™s about an illegal alien trying to make a new start in America with his incredibly irritating cousin. The fact you can steal, kill and what not is just the added realism of the experience, not the core premise of the game. At the end of the pixelated day, there are a lot of instances where it€™s nothing more than an under aged child tricking their parents into buying them some adult rated game and rather the parents taking the well-deserved blame for what their children see, they fault the developers for poising their children€™s mind with content that was never meant for someone of that age. On the other hand, you have someone who€™s not quite mentally sound and can€™t separate fiction from reality. So is the answer to have some online psychological test before being able to play? No, of course not. In my eyes it€™s just down to personal responsibility; but I know there€™s not a straightforward answer. Just remember take everything you read with a pinch of salt... and that includes this very article. Agree or disagree with this article? Let us know in the comments section below.