A picture of the new Mortal Kombat being played on an Albright student's TV
Disclaimer: Some of the images used in this blog post are from video games rated "Mature" by the ESRB.
At this point, most of you have probably formulated your opinion on violence in video games. Should it be abolished? Controlled? Does it really not make that big of a difference? Regardless of what your views on the topic may be, there are actions being made by a few members of the government to put an absurd amount of securities in place to prevent minors from buying violent video games. A couple members have tried already to ban violent video games outright, but it has been declared unconstitutional.
The problem that many gamers, myself included, see with the recent Supreme Court hearings regarding how easily-accessible violent video games in stores are to minors (they aren't) is that many of those weighing in their opinions have very little experience in actually playing the games in which they are deciding the fate of.
Borderlands, an M-rated title, was voted as "Game of the Year" by many video game reviewers
One example of this is the incredibly overused screenshot of the 2003 PC first-person shooter Postal 2. The screenshot depicts a rather bloody scene with the player character holding a shotgun. Repeatedly, the screenshot is shown without context, and is used to lead people to believe that every video game outside of Sesame Street is essentially more of that. The truth is, Postal 2 was a game that nobody - even gamers - particularly enjoyed in any large number, and to this day has a small cult following and little else. The screenshot (pictured below) was taken from GameSpot's review in which it was given a 4.8 out of 10, and remains a 50% average among all review scores.
The often-overused screenshot from Postal 2. (Credit GameSpot.com)
Now, I'm not trying to say there aren't violent video games out there. There are plenty. Games like Gears of War that allow players to wield a chainsaw strapped to a machine gun or Mortal Kombat in which players fight to the bloody death involve an incredible level of violence, and are well deserving of the ESRB's "Mature" rating. However, the target audience for these games are people old enough to have valid driver's licenses, which is what stores like GameStop or WalMart require in order to purchase M-rated titles.
Now, you've heard my opinion. What about other students, both from Albright and other colleges? Stephen Agnic, a senior at Ramapo College, expresses his personal opinion: "I have never experienced any increased violent behaviors, nor do I feel has it ever made me more likely to commit crime or made me feel ready to battle in war," explains Agnic, who has been a gamer since he was little. "I have never known anyone that ever tried to replicate something out of a video game, with the intention of hurting others or committing crimes. It is my belief that if a person is willing to do such a thing, they would do so with the aide of any material they have available to them as enticement."
Siobhan O'Hara, a Freshman at Albright College, does not consider herself a gamer, but is familiar with the growing popularity (or infamy) of violence in video games. O'Hara describes the rise of violence in video games as "overwhelming," she goes on to explain that "I myself do not play as much as say, the average male college student, but anyone could see that these games have become more and more malicious over the years," now, does this mean they should be banned entirely? "I wouldn't go as far as to say that," explains O'Hara. "People know what they're getting themselves into when they play these games. People should be able to censor themselves rather than have someone do it for them. Don't get me wrong, I believe in the rating system of video games, especially for younger children, but adults can make decisions on their own."
I was also able to interview Matt Donino, a game designer who worked for Z-Axis Games and Stormfront Studios, as well as worked as a contractor for a few other studios. Donino's opinions were similar to that of Agnic's: "People that have more serious mental issues are always going to have those issues and there is no way that a game, or even the ever-present violence on TV and in the movies is going to change that. The problems are already there - ANYTHING could fan the flames, real or imaginary. You can't censor life to make it more palatable for people outside the norm, they need to be helped."
Donino offered to ask for the opinions of developers from companies like Valve or Id Software, however interestingly enough they declined, but as Donino explained to me "Not because they didn't want to, but because the legal departments at the big companies apparently don't allow, or at least sincerely frown upon, their employees commenting on violence in video games as individuals. That was actually kind of eye-opening to me."
Now, I'm not trying to say there aren't violent video games out there. There are plenty. Games like Gears of War that allow players to wield a chainsaw strapped to a machine gun or Mortal Kombat in which players fight to the bloody death involve an incredible level of violence, and are well deserving of the ESRB's "Mature" rating. However, the target audience for these games are people old enough to have valid driver's licenses, which is what stores like GameStop or WalMart require in order to purchase M-rated titles.
Now, you've heard my opinion. What about other students, both from Albright and other colleges? Stephen Agnic, a senior at Ramapo College, expresses his personal opinion: "I have never experienced any increased violent behaviors, nor do I feel has it ever made me more likely to commit crime or made me feel ready to battle in war," explains Agnic, who has been a gamer since he was little. "I have never known anyone that ever tried to replicate something out of a video game, with the intention of hurting others or committing crimes. It is my belief that if a person is willing to do such a thing, they would do so with the aide of any material they have available to them as enticement."
Siobhan O'Hara, a Freshman at Albright College, does not consider herself a gamer, but is familiar with the growing popularity (or infamy) of violence in video games. O'Hara describes the rise of violence in video games as "overwhelming," she goes on to explain that "I myself do not play as much as say, the average male college student, but anyone could see that these games have become more and more malicious over the years," now, does this mean they should be banned entirely? "I wouldn't go as far as to say that," explains O'Hara. "People know what they're getting themselves into when they play these games. People should be able to censor themselves rather than have someone do it for them. Don't get me wrong, I believe in the rating system of video games, especially for younger children, but adults can make decisions on their own."
I was also able to interview Matt Donino, a game designer who worked for Z-Axis Games and Stormfront Studios, as well as worked as a contractor for a few other studios. Donino's opinions were similar to that of Agnic's: "People that have more serious mental issues are always going to have those issues and there is no way that a game, or even the ever-present violence on TV and in the movies is going to change that. The problems are already there - ANYTHING could fan the flames, real or imaginary. You can't censor life to make it more palatable for people outside the norm, they need to be helped."
Donino offered to ask for the opinions of developers from companies like Valve or Id Software, however interestingly enough they declined, but as Donino explained to me "Not because they didn't want to, but because the legal departments at the big companies apparently don't allow, or at least sincerely frown upon, their employees commenting on violence in video games as individuals. That was actually kind of eye-opening to me."
In conclusion, the persecution of video games as a whole is really unfair in my own opinion and the opinions of others. Some attribute this to the fact that video games are the "newest thing" in terms of media, and will go through the same problems that rap music, television and even radio had before it. Personally, I just want to have fun playing video games.
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