Why We Game - Part IV: Violence

Why We Game IV - Violence

Sooner or later, whether it be by the dictates of modern media, or by ourselves, we will have to face the issue (or non-issue, depending on who you talk to) of violence in games. For several years now, we as gamers have voiced concern, anger, and outrage at what we see as the misrepresentation of games as being sources and causes of the violence we see in the modern world. School shootings are caused by Quake, sniper shootings the result of too much Counterstrike. Even flight simulators give rise to terrorist attacks. Every game that has some form of violent content or some similarity to violent events in our society, has to date been used by the media to help explain or give justification to the acts of those we simply cannot understand.

Part of the justification for this arises not just from the concept and play of a violent video game, but from the vast improvement that the industry has made in the area of graphics and modeling. Characters in games today look almost real, with real facial expression and real movements. Of course what this also means is that there is real blood and real damage when those characters inevitably get blown away. In the 80s, it was difficult to build cases that games caused violent behavior, because after all, who would believe that a certain array of pixels could show enough to encourage a kid to kill someone? Now though, pundits and critics can point to games like Grand Theft Auto III and Counterstrike that feature characters that look human, act human, and can be killed off without consequence. Parents seeing this suddenly get much more concerned.

The mass media and critics of violence in video games, take these items, and then use them relentlessly to help prove their case. That people play games where they kill virtual people, which of course prepares them to kill people in real life. It encourages violence, desensitizes kids so that they don't feel bad about killing, gives them the experience they need to do it. At some point during their tirade, listeners suddenly lose grip of reality and common sense for a second and follow along. They follow the noise and make some of their own without ever truly taking the time out of their lives to sit down and think about what it is they are saying. Even less likely is the person that sits down and asks why kids play violent video games in the first place.

We fancy ourselves a civilized society, above and beyond random violence and the visceral thrill of causing pain. The truth is, we haven't progressed very far. Even though we have surrounded ourselves with the trappings of civilization, deep down inside, the primal instincts remain. We explain it away, a "moment of weakness," an "act of passion," but the truth remains that we have not eliminated those feelings from ourselves yet, and perhaps never will. But because we never encounter and face down those feelings in public, for doing so would cross some societal taboo, we suppress them. Eventually, we may even forget that they exist. Or, more commonly, we find some way to vent this anger, to release suppressed urges. Boxing, hockey, football, all these sports are examples of such vents, where people are suddenly justified to hit someone in the head or beat the living crap out of them. These are established societal events, and so everybody takes them for granted, as just being "games." True to an extent, because as much as one can release pent up emotions in a boxing match, there are still set rules. There is still a ring. There are still gloves. These games remove themselves sufficiently from society that people can watch it with a certain level of detachment. It's all OK, because all you have to do is walk away if it gets too much.

Video games, however, are a different story. Rather than create a rule set and abide by these rules with each game, developers are encouraged to push boundaries, break rules, and create original games. As a result, games become more and more realistic, less detached from the real model of society. It becomes the difference between watching a boxing match and a street brawl. It becomes something that hits too close to home, that raises in people instincts they would rather keep down if possible. Games today have become complex enough that they can approximate society's own model, and by doing that, they create something that is both impressive and unnerving.

Unfortunately, people who advocate that violence in video games cease fail to understand this point. They see video games, and see a game where someone receives points for killing someone or something. They immediately attribute that to violence they see in society, be it Columbine, or D.C. or the WTC. What they fail to see is that they have it exactly the opposite way around. Video game violence is the model of society, so therefore, society causes video game violence. For anyone who sits down and thinks about it, it makes perfect sense. After all, video game developers need inspiration, just as anybody who does creative work needs inspiration. In fact, the use of violence in video games is not only non-detrimental to people, but helpful. Otherwise, people would find more violent ways to vent their pent up emotions. The problem is that people refuse to believe that their society is inherently violent, and so put on blinders. Video games take these blinders off, and the reaction is similar to walking out into the sun. The truth is too bright for them to stand, and so they immediately jump to a conclusion that feels more "comfortable" for them. We all want to imitate what we want to do in real life, but can't or won't. That doesn't cause us to be violent; in fact, the release through virtual means would make us less violent.

Why do we hunt, or fish, or shoot guns or find release in the relentless pummeling of another human being? We do it because when we're done, we feel innately satisfied. Sometimes we try to explain it away, but the truth is we all enjoy the visceral thrill of destruction, no matter how much we try to deny it. It's not our fault, it's just simple truth. And that reason applies to video games. When we play a game like Quake or Grand Theft Auto III, we are guaranteed destruction without consequences. We can't explain why. Perhaps we really don't want to explain why. So we say that we play it because it's fun. It's those statements that worry the media and creates the sound bytes we hear every night. It's those statements that hurt us, because we lack the ability to tell society the truth, to tell them that in fact, they create the psychopaths for us, not the other way around. And so we have to figure out why it really is fun, and why we really play these games. Once we understand, then we can start making the rest of the world understand too.