Haphazard Records

This is getting ANNOYING

Guess what I am gonna talk about?
One of the hottest debates and controversial topics now: Gaming and Violence.

Over and over, articles on the Straits Times or whatsoever newspaper, over the years have been constantly reporting that violent video-games lead to real-life violence and they back it up with a few major examples like the Virginia Tech Massacre of 2007 or closer to the heart cases such as the NTU professor stabbing incident, SAF officer goes MIA and a rape of a 10 year old.
So quickly and seemingly without any further thought and evaluation, the media immediately shoves the blame onto Video Games.
Why am I not surprised? I mean, doing something like that would definitely cause an uproar in the realm of the controversial and boom readership, no?

So yeah according to them it goes like this:

1. The MMORPG World of Warcraft makes youth stab their professors. (NTU)
2. WoW causes a person to leave the military and run off to self-exile. (SAF)
3. AuditionSEA turns you into a paedophile.

Yeah... IF that's the case, shouldn't there be more of such cases? I mean WoW is one of the most played online game across the globe. It holds 62% of shares on the MMORPG market. Then shouldn't we have more dead professors and military leavers?
Audition Online has currently has 300 million players worldwide(source from wiki). Then paedophilia should be more rampant.
Am I missing something? Cause apparently that's what newspapers are saying.

Violence has existed before the creation of the First video Game. Or are you meaning to tell me the Nazis played Castle Wolfenstein which caused the annihilation of 6 million jews? Was the 100 year war between France and England a result of playing too much Age of Empires?
Why then when the violence which happens now, blamed so quickly on video games?

Before video games, violence was blamed on music, movies and television shows. Why?
Is it because we need to blame something? The human spirit can't shoulder the blame of the problem that we have created ourselves?
Isn't a human's most basic natural instinct: Fight to survive? What, are you telling me that was the result of playing video games?

Okay, there has been research shown that violent video games can lead to aggressive behaviour. But isn't that a normal human, unconcious/sub-conscious, reaction? For example, watching Barney and Friends would invoke a more peaceful, harmonious feeling which leaves the audience feeling pleasant after the show while watching Hannibal would lead to aggressive thoughts.
Or a more primitive example is getting scolded and getting praised. Which would result in a more positive reaction?
If you're saying that because violent video games can lead to aggressive tendencies which may result in something detrimental, then we should prevent it by not allowing those games to be played. Then I ask you, means if getting scolded leads to a more negtive reaction which could possibly lead to unwanted reactions, and to prevent it, scolding should be stopped?

And since violent video games could lead to aggressive behaviour and should not be allowed, then what about real-like games like Laser Tag or Paintball?

And if we ban video games, how about the other games like "Guitar Hero" or "The Sims"?

Then some would say that video games even though might not lead to the violence, but are a WASTE OF TIME. I wince everytime I see that.
I wonder if people who declared that have ever played any games past windows Solitaire? Games now are not that simple anymore. It is no more the "run, shoot, kill, survive" type of gameplay but now more and more games have the "effect of your actions" element. Games now have a more emotional storyline. It reaches further into a gamers inner self, probing at our moral values and emotions. It is not because we are obsessed geeks with no life, it's because games have managed to draw our very being into it.

I have been playing video games since 5. My first game ever played was on a windows 95 called "mother goose". I'd sneak to use the computer to finish the game over and over, faster each time. My parents then got for me a NES console. I've played the very old Contra, Motocross and Starship battles. I then went on and got a gameboy. Which I played fighting games such as Real About Special. By 10, I was addicted to video games on gameboys and computers.
Fastforward to now, at 18 years I am still playing video games, both violent and not. My whole life since young till now has mostly revolved around video games.
If what the controvery about violent video games = real life violence, I should be already either imprisoned or dead.

I do like violent video games. Even though I've played so much, I still cringe at blood and massive gore. IMHO, I think violent video games allow me to see what the World could have been if we were violent, an experience which I would not wish to live through in reality.

WILL VIDEOGAMES BECOME BETTER THAN REAL LIFE?

posted by Cineja @ 11:43 PM