Gun obsession in video games

[Heathrow]

Let me answer the OP's question directly. The gun you see on your screen in a game is not a gun, the meaning is vacant. Instead the shape of a gun is imbued with the essence of an outlet for our inhumanity.

It is the purpose of an object that defines its meaning not the reverse. A gun is stubbornly purposed to destroy, however this property is not unique: Nuclear ordinance, tanks, missiles, canon, musket, sword, crossbow, spade, bow, knife, rock. All different shapes of meaning for one unified purpose, the essence of gun.

It is simple to see that a gun shape in a game does not come from the same stock as the previous list. Though the repercussions of having a psychology which demands a simulacrum for this purpose may be unclear it should be blindingly obvious that the purpose of today's games are rooted in the stock of play and recreation; not violence and destruction.

 

[darkrat666]

a kitchen knife is also a tool that can be used to kill just like a gun since we all know(thanks NRA) that guns are not made to kill people but are only there to defend yourself

And why do you need a gun to defend yourself? Because people with guns want to kill you. That's why we need more and bigger guns. Honestly, I live a place with pretty high crime rates and the worst thing I've experienced is being offered to buy drugs at many occasions. I don't fear getting shot, because hand guns are very hard to get by here, if it can't be used for hunting you can't normally get it.

A gun is not just used for self defense against other people with guns. It can be used to protect someone from wildlife, it can be used to protect yourself from intruders (gun wielding or not), it can be used to hunt, it can be used for recreation, it can be used as deterrence.

Now to the original question. FPS are very easy to get into, they don't take the time other games do to know what you are doing, they tend to bring a person into the action very quickly, and they are easily played for short periods of time. Also, I don't feel that when holding a gun you need to fear it but rather respect it.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Not too sure why you were so afraid.

I've never shot a gun in real life, but I would love to go to a firing range and give it a shot (pun intended).

 

[Something Amyss]

I wanted to pose a question to some folks on the forum. What, exactly, is so appealing about shooter games? And by that, I mean the shooting in general. I enjoy a good shooter as much as the next person but Ive sort of realized something since christmas. My dad bought a sidearm for christmas (its going to be his new hobby) and it was the first time I ever held a firearm. It terrified me. The clip was empty but the knowledge that I held something in my hand that could end a life really terrified me more than I thought it would. Probably a good percentage of people who play shooters are like me, in that they have never even held a real gun before, and yet there is a huge obsession with them.

So basically, why do you think there is such a love of guns in video games.

It's fake, though. What does it matter? I bet the numbers of shooter fans who haven't held guns are similar to Terminator fans who have never held guns.

While I've handled weapons before, I'm a pacifist. Guns don't scare me, but I'm not going t ogo shoot someone. Give me a video game, a piece of fantasy, and I'll run around slaughtering enough people to count me for fake war crimes.

As to why? I don't know, action is fun. It's hard to top action, and shooting/war games are sort of the easiest ways to create action. That's my guess.

 

[Electrogecko]

I don't think this post was meant to be about fear of weapons, but for some reason everyone seems to be running with that.

Guns are popular in video games because people are ignorant, insecure, immature, egotystical, and hostile. A large % of 360 owners have nothing in their library but sports games and shooters. They may think that owning such games makes them appear mature, but the reality is it makes them look like a narrow-minded and insecure brute.

I understand the appeal of shooters and sports games, I own a few myself, and I have nothing against the people who soley play these games, but I don't believe that they're the type of people that are on this site- the type of people who are passionate about gaming. I think that they're the equivalent to people who only watch action flicks or only read Harry Potter or Twilight.

I'd bet that the majority of those who purchased BLOPS have never played Super Metroid, Super Mario World, Ocarina of Time, Banjo Tooie, Metroid Prime, Portal, Mario Galaxy, Arkham Asylum, Braid, or any of YOUR favorite games. I have a hard time believing that you (as the reader of this post) consider CoD (or even Halo) to be anywhere near the same level as the games that you hold dearest.

 

[EmperorSubcutaneous]

I like flintlock pistols because they make me feel like a pirate.

I don't like any other type of gun. But I love flintlock pistols and will use them exclusively if they're available to me in a game.

Nothing to do with symbolism or stress relief or insecurity or headshots for me, just pure style.

 

[Heathrow]

That question implies that the fault of having enemies always lies solely on the shoulders of the person with enemies. This is not reality.

Not at all, humanity as a whole bears the responsibility for its own actions. We can not extricate ourselves from the tangled web of events that lead to violence any more than we can untangle our enemies.

If the whole of humanity is to blame then isn't it possible that perhaps there is a better course of action. Perhaps all that is needed is for the first person to step forward and put their arm into the lion's mouth and the whole structure of violence which we have built up around ourselves will crumble to the ground.

 

[radioactive lemur]

I wasn't even a little bit scared my first time with a gun. I dry fired to see how the mechanism felt as soon as I got my hands on it and my uncle showed me it wasn't loaded. I dunno, it was weird. I wouldn't think twice about pointing a gun at anything and pulling the trigger if it wasn't loaded. Never understood the whole "treat an unloaded gun as if it was loaded thing."

 

[pletschee]

I play shooters cause I like being able to shoot things without consequense. Also I just find them fun

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

...it was the first time I ever held a firearm. It terrified me... the knowledge that I held something in my hand that could end a life really terrified me more than I thought it would...

A hammer can end a life. I think you need to conquer your unfounded fear of firearms. It's a lifeless hunk of metal, it's the wielder you only need ever worry about.

A hammer can fix things, build things or destroy things. A firearm is designed to place a hunk of metal into a target at high speed; a function that by and large will not do anything other than maim or kill.

Guns were designed to kill things, thinking anything less is delusional.

However, this does not make anyone who owns one, or wants to own one, stupid or any other negative word you can think of: quite the opposite in my opinion.

I think owning a firearm and being trained in its use is the highest martial discipline one can engage in. The care required to safely operate a firearm is enormous and to the layman, it can be daunting. I am also of the opinion that everyone should fire a gun at least once in their life: it removes the mystical veil they seem to have for those who are unfamiliar with them.

You pick up a loaded pistol, and every bullet in the magazine represents a possible life you could take (context not withstanding), including your own. Power like that must be respected.

A gun is a tool, I agree, however it has a singular purpose.

 

[Pyode]

Regardless of whether or not it's currently being called on to perform the task of killing the whole essence of a gun is focused on its ability to snuff out life. That is the length and breadth of its purpose. You can talk about how cool it is to fire them on a range or out on the farm but that doesn't change their nature. This is a tool we humans have made to kill each other with.

The exact same thing could be said of a katana or broadsword yet I never see people on this site applying this logic to these items. This strikes me as rather hypocritical.

The fact is that the fear the OP felt by simply holding an unloaded gun was irrational. There is absolutely no logical reason to fear a hunk of harmless metal. If the gun where loaded it wouldn't be much better. Handled properly, a loaded gun is no more dangerous than a car being handled properly and it is no more dangerous than a car being handled improperly, yet we would say a fear of cars is irrational (not to mention the fact that it's much more difficult to handle a car than a gun).

Anyway, as to the main point of the OP.

I wouldn't say people who play shooters necessarily have any more of a love of guns in video games than players of racing games necessarily have a love of cars. They may have a knowledge and love of specific guns in a specific game, but this is simply a natural progression of mastering a game. In any game, as you play it you learn to use different tools and eventually narrow it down to the ones that are the most fun and effective for your play-style. This applies cars in racing games, special moves in fighting games, guns in shooters, equipment in RPG's, etc.

 

[Palademon]

I believe the "obession" would come from violence being an easy way of incorporating interactivity and problems within a game's story.

Also, that guns are probably the most used weapon for violence now and can be fairly diverse which adds to it's use in games.

 

[EmperorSubcutaneous]

Never understood the whole "treat an unloaded gun as if it was loaded thing."

That one makes sense to me, because there's always an off chance that it actually is loaded. If you always treat guns as though they were loaded, you're less likely to have a terrible accident.

 

[Kadoodle]

I wanted to pose a question to some folks on the forum. What, exactly, is so appealing about shooter games? And by that, I mean the shooting in general. I enjoy a good shooter as much as the next person but Ive sort of realized something since christmas. My dad bought a sidearm for christmas (its going to be his new hobby) and it was the first time I ever held a firearm. It terrified me. The clip was empty but the knowledge that I held something in my hand that could end a life really terrified me more than I thought it would. Probably a good percentage of people who play shooters are like me, in that they have never even held a real gun before, and yet there is a huge obsession with them.

So basically, why do you think there is such a love of guns in video games.

When I was a kid, I received an archery set for my 11th birthday. It wasn't a gun or a knife, but it still terrified me to know that I owned a weapon that could kill. Such power will do that to people. I don't like to use knives, I don't have the balls to use a firearm, and as for bow and arrow...still sorta gets to me. But videogames are different. When you play one, there are no real life consequences. Nothing you do has meaning, and thus the emotional punch from a tool with which you can decide life or death with is lost.

Now, to answer your question, one must ask why videogames focus on fighting and combat in general. The answer is quite simple: Excitement. Adrenaline. Many people (male in particular) really enjoy those things. It's not just guns. Swords, knives, you name it. The reason we feature guns so much is because thats simply what we fight with in the real world. Unless its a fantasy game, you will likely be using guns. Period.

 

[Vrach]

I wanted to pose a question to some folks on the forum. What, exactly, is so appealing about shooter games? And by that, I mean the shooting in general. I enjoy a good shooter as much as the next person but Ive sort of realized something since christmas. My dad bought a sidearm for christmas (its going to be his new hobby) and it was the first time I ever held a firearm. It terrified me. The clip was empty but the knowledge that I held something in my hand that could end a life really terrified me more than I thought it would. Probably a good percentage of people who play shooters are like me, in that they have never even held a real gun before, and yet there is a huge obsession with them.

So basically, why do you think there is such a love of guns in video games.

Because you get a lot (not all, probably not even most) of the "cool" effect of the gun without that exact responsibility of being able to end someone's life with it.

 

[Nomanslander]

In video games we try to achieve what we can't in real life.

In real life if I try fragging my friends and strangers with live ammunition. There won't be any replay value, and after words I might be looking at death sentence or life imprisonment.

Guns are cool, shooting people is cool, real death is not. Since there is no real death in video games, everything ends up working out perfectly...=D

Oh and I like to add I've held a real M-16 before, all I can say is it's lighter and smaller than what I expected...=/

 

[Random berk]

Guns are not the only weapons (or even the first) that were made from the ground up to kill humans,

Swords were the first.

Is that including, or not including clubs, spears and bows?

 

[Bre2nan]

If the whole of humanity is to blame then isn't it possible that perhaps there is a better course of action. Perhaps all that is needed is for the first person to step forward and put their arm into the lion's mouth and the whole structure of violence which we have built up around ourselves will crumble to the ground.

Not to be defeatist or pessimist or anything, but it's a simple fact that suspicion of people who are different and the desire to frame being different as being a threat are basic aspects of human nature. They are aspects of all animals that help them survive in their environments, and they have been translated into every realm of culture and politics.

The way we've been conditioned through evolution to deal with people who we perceive as being a threat is to act with violence against them, lethally if we can, and all of the weapons we've developed throughout history have been for the purpose of making this process more efficient.

What I'm getting at here is that the whole structure of violence that many people seem to perceive as a quirk of human society or a globally-reinforced lie is in fact a very real, biologically reinforced truth. Sure, removing weapons from the equation or changing how we deal with things like crime or wars will ease the symptoms, but the underlying "disease" still remains. Only by changing biology can the "disease" be cured.