Has videogame violence affected you?

[the-kitchen-slayer]

Sometimes, videogame violence can be pretty extreme. But I think even the most extreme videogame violence cannot EVER hold a candle to real life violence. They're not even in the same realm, and I don't think they ever will be.

Even as desensitized as I am, some videogame violence does make me recoil in shock. But it's an enjoyable shock.

I agree. Just look at the new Mortal Kombat. Over the top fatalities, which are more shocking from what is done instead of the reality of it. I mean, sheesh, people literally ripping other people's heads off? "Normal" humans? It's honestly more fun to see the flashy win and go "hah! your gibbed" than it is desensitizing. And the reason it's not desensitizing (at least, not very) is the fact it's fake, and we can tell between reality and fantasy. THAT is why real life violence is so much more shocking, because it's real. Not avatar's being torn apart, or blown to pieces, or hacked and mangled, but real people getting hurt, killed, maimed, etc.

But I am only one gamer and I'm sure others have some things to add about this. So I ask you dear reader, to think critically on your history playing videogames. Have you played them for a long time? Many violent ones? If you have, think really hard on how (if any) this kind of computer generated, albeit interactive, violence has affected you? Has this kind of violence done anything to you at all?

And is there any kind of valid grounds to these claims?

In my loooooooooong history of violent gaming (Diablo 2, Mortal Kombat, Legacy of Kain, etc, etc...) I've found all it's really done has removed the ability for horror movies to scare me (I still jump, but that's a startle, trust me, big difference), and that it's easier to accept the violence in the games. Reality and it's violence however, ho boy, those still shock me because it's not fake.

So, to sum it all up, in my experience, no ground to stand on. Reality wins this round. Just wish people would finally realize that.

 

[-Dragmire-]

There's always going to be someone bitching about video games, just be thankful it's not something more stupid, like if PETA were to protest against Mario's treatment of turtles. After all it desensitizes me to the decline of turtles in the real world.

Personally, if someone's going to complain about gaming, there are far better areas to focus on, mostly about proper parenting and moderation.
1.Parents have complained about video game violence quite a bit but on the other side of the spectrum you also have parents who use video games as a babysitter so they don't have to spend time/supervise them.

2. Gaming should not be the only activity/hobby the child has especially during key social development parts of a child's life. Real human interaction is required(online social life doesn't count) to know how act and how to problem solve situations that can't be simulated(conflict resolution). Someone who doesn't know how to deal with people will naturally avoid people, likely to an unhealthy degree.

 

[ToxicOranges]

It hasn't affected me in the past, it isnt affecting me now, and I think I have a strong enough mental capacity to know what IS and ISNT real. Just because I enjoy GTA doenst mean Im going to go psychopath the next time I head into the city.

Also, gore movies (in general) are far, FAR more violent than games. Games at the worst is blood and the occasional limb that flies off into the distance.

 

[Flailing Escapist]

No. But I'm going to kill you if you ask me that question again.

 

[Titan Buttons]

It has. I'm more violent nowadays.

Really, do you mean you go around yelling and swearing at people or beating them up?

No, but I resort to violence a lot quicker after playing video games.

Do you mean if someone is being an ass and making fun of you, your now more likely threaten to hit then or push them over then you once did?

 

[spartandude]

After playing BulletStorm i get the sudden urge to rape people.

 

[the-kitchen-slayer]

Not at all. I dont kill things, not even bugs. And i'm a vegetarian because I dont want anything to die for me to live.

Eheh, sad, sad thing I have to point out here, humans have to kill to live, period. Those plants your eating? They be dead now. They were alive at one point, by all definition, and now that they're not growing, they're essentially dead.

I think the only thing in the world that doesn't kill to live is plants, and even then they obliterate diseases that would kill them off. In most cases anyways.

Anyways, first in the morning "Off topic grim-dark" over. On a bright side though, those plants grew up knowing they'd be eaten, if not by us, then by the wildlife in the area. I suppose that's why plants haven't evolved to eat us yet. (please, please, please don't let this post cause the rise of the triffids >_<)

 

[Xanthious]

Just the other day after a particularly long session of some old school Grand Theft Auto 3 I decided I needed to make a run to the gas station to pick up a Slurpee and a bag o chips. On my walk there it dawned on me I forgot my wallet. Well I was already a few blocks from home and turning back seemed kind of silly so I just beat down some random passer by and got the $4.34 I needed for my Slurpee and chips that way.

However, as luck would have it about half way there the weather took a turn for the worse and dammit all if it didn't start raining. Well walking in the rain just right out sucks so naturally I did the only sensible thing and walked up to a car I saw was stopped at the nearest intersection, opened the driver side door, threw the driver out on his ass and commandeered myself a nice dry ride to the corner mart.

Again, fate intervened as I was just about to the store when I passed by a lovely "working girl". Seeing as I had far more than what I needed after my altercation where I relieved that nice fellow of his wallet I decided I may as well pick her up and enjoy the fruits of her labor. After conducting our business in a nearby alley I thanked her for her service as she left my freshly stolen car. As she was walking away however it dawned on me that if I were to run her over I could retrieve the money I paid her plus any additional money she may have from her lifeless body. Naturally I did just that.

Well as luck would have it a cop witnessed me running down the unfortunate hooker with my stolen car so I had to make a break for it. Doing the only sensible thing I could think of I sped leaving a bloody trail of mowed down pedestrians in my wake. Fortunately a few blocks away I found a shop that specialized in repairing and painting automobiles. Sadly for me it took all my hard earned money to pay for the fresh coat of paint so while I was free from police pursuit I never did get my Slurpee and chips. Dammit!

 

[El Cookio]

It hasn't affected me, It doesn't really bother me too much. However real life violence and scenes you see on the news or in person really do.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

It's desensitized me alright; violence in video-games has desensitized me to violence... in video-games.

It's certainly much easier for me to kill in video-games than it used to be. But in regards to real life... no. Not even slightly.

I don't even like killing large insects in real life.

To an extent, I find this true.

I remember play Manhunt 1 when it first came out and first the gruesome kill scenes really freaked me out. The more I played the less horrified I was by them, though I disturb by my own not caring.

 

[IronStorm9]

No, and if you even suggest that again, I'll tear your face off and shove it up your ass then beat you to death with your own severed arms.

 

[Sansha]

No, I killed people before I played videogames.

Winning post.

If anything, violent videogames have prevented my own real-world murder jamborees, because I have games like Painkiller to blow off steam when I hate people.

 

[nekoali]

I don't know if playing violent video games has made me more sensitive to violence or if it's just something that I've grown older with, or the state of my hormones and very real possibility of being the target of some pretty bad violence. Since all of this is just part of my life, I can't separate what the causes are.

I have never been a violent person. Even as a child I didn't like to get into fights, and when friends would go out hunting I could never go with them. I would never hurt anything larger than a bug unless it was a life or death situation. So I developed these ideas long before video games became violent the way they are now. The worst violence got back then was watching a vaguely human like bunch of pixels exploded into smaller pixels. Certainly not the highly detailed human like models used today...

 

[Nazulu]

Nup. Not even after playing games like Carmaggedon and Painkiller could I kill a fish I caught to eat. I just can't kill anything.

Except mosquitoes, I fucking hate them.

 

[SckizoBoy]

Given that I grew up on war films (the more violent the better, you can blame my old man for that) and then war-themed games (CoD, MoH, Wolfenstein etc.) the most it bleeds into real life is the sadistic grin that grows on my face whenever I see weapon. So, I'd call that a resounding no.

Anyways, the only people we need to worry about are those that can't compartmentalise the two concepts.

My $0.02

 

[ELD3RGoD]

My opinion on this matter is rather hazy so bare with me and try and make something of it.

Firstly, in some ways I AGREE that violence in videogames CAN make people violent. Perhaps not physically or by buying a gun and shooting someone, but verbally. I have always believed that people saying someone killing another person due to playing video games is dumb. Me killing AI computer people in a game does not make me want to do it in real life, but I have been very verbal to my parents when I was younger playing violent and FRUSTRATING games like Call of Duty.

I used to shout, throw my controller, be short tempered and become very blunt and verbally aggressive when I used to play Call of Duty. Not so much CoD1,2,3,4 or W@W, but deffinitly on MW2 and BO. These games made me compete, and as I believe myself to be a very good player, getting killed in some un-fair or unbalanced way whilst trying to use weaker weapons or something new made me become extremely FRUSTRATED. It wasn't the violence in the game, it was the FRUSTRATION and ANGER that came with playing the game ONLINE.

I have since stopped playing Call of Duty. I reached 10th prestige on all but 2 (W@W and BO) and when I hit 7th on BO after playing 4 months, I realised, I can't do with this stress anymore. I quit about 4 months ago and haven't had a single argument with my mum, dad or girlfriend and I have since played exculsively Single player and co-operative with minute amounts of online MP with friends FOR FUN and I have become a new person. I now watch movies, play lots of different games, read, draw and am currently teaching myself everything I need to become part of the Games Industry and I can happily say I am on my way.

So in answer to the topic, no, I don't believe Violent Games make people Violent.

I DO however KNOW that extremely competetive ONLINE games are FRUSTRATING, STRESSFUL and make people ANGRY when they are playing, whether they are casual or hardcore and I am becoming more and more against LEADERBOARDS and STATS and I feel that KILLS AND DEATHS SHOULD BE HIDDEN in games so that people can ENJOY them and not become FRUSTRATED.


Thanks for reading my input, sorry for the wall.

 

[EvilMaggot]

most certainly...not and i keep looking for more violent games, but doesnt get me more violent IRL.

 

[TheRookie8]

In my college class on the 1960's, he showed the class a clip from Apocolypse Now. In the scene, a soldier unloads his machine gun onto a boat filled with civilians, killing them. Everyone in the class watched in silence, perhaps with disgust, or perhaps with no reaction at all.

However...when one of the soldiers pulls a puppy out of the wreckage of the boat, and the puppy whines in fear, nearly EVERYONE in the class reacted in outrage and fear.

We can understand violence among humans because at this point in history, we are exposed to it on virtually every level. Violence in media back then was considered shocking because it wasn't commonplace. However, that small little puppy crying out in fear of violence rejuvenates the true nature of what violence is. The puppy has done nothing, the puppy is innocent. Taking violent action against a puppy is unforgivable. However, taking violent action against a modern-day human is now viewed as acceptable, because humans now understand all the social, emotional, and national reasons for violence.

In short, humanity has blood on its hands, so much so that we have become saturated with it, and now we have become immune to it...for the most part. If you ask any rational person, they'll say that violence is terrible and destructive. It's more like...we've seen so much of it, we don't flinch when we see it, but we sure as hell know it's wrong.

 

[DVS Storm]

I haven't noticed that I would've become more violent or agressive because I play violent games. Quite the opposite in fact. When I play violent videogames, I have a good way of releasing that aggression. Imo videogame violence can make people more violent if they already have a tendency of being violent. Of course it can affect someone who doesn't have tendency for violence too. Still most of the talk about videogames corrupting people, is just BS.