The Energon Pub

Everyone has heard and the old excuse. "Video games make children more violent."

Video games(as well as music, Tv/Movies) have been blamed for Columbine and several other school shootings.

The always laughable Jack Thompson has frequently described video games as being "murder simulators" and called video gamers "criminals."

Parents have complained that video games cause their children to misbehave.

Does mistreating an animal in a video game make you an animal abuser in real life?

Does killing someone on a video game make you capable of commiting a murder in real life?

So, where do you stand on the issue?

Personally, as someone who is going into video game design. This is a huge issue for me. I end up hearing the "it's the video game publishers fault" excuse more times than I care to recall.

I firmly believe that people who blame video games, music, television and movies for problems. They really are just looking for a scape goat.

Senor Hugo wrote:Everyone has heard and the old excuse. "Video games make children more violent."

Video games(as well as music, Tv/Movies) have been blamed for Columbine and several other school shootings.

The always laughable Jack Thompson has frequently described video games as being "murder simulators" and called video gamers "criminals."

Parents have complained that video games cause their children to misbehave.

Does mistreating an animal in a video game make you an animal abuser in real life?

Does killing someone on a video game make you capable of commiting a murder in real life?

So, where do you stand on the issue?

Personally, as someone who is going into video game design. This is a huge issue for me. I end up hearing the "it's the video game publishers fault" excuse more times than I care to recall.

I firmly believe that people who blame video games, music, television and movies for problems. They really are just looking for a scape goat.

Meh, i dont care....i just kill crap called Space Pirate everyday in Metroid Prime and im not an insane murderer...

*Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!Kill!*

Here's a conversation I'd like to have:

Crazy PTA Mom: Video Games made my child violent!

Me: Oh? Do you even know what the game was about?

PTA Mom: Murder?

Me: Indeed. And who made the game?

PTA Mom: ...Bill Gates?

Me: Judges...? Yes, that's close enough. And who bought the game for the child?

PTA Mom: It doesn't matter!

Me: Ah, so it doesn't matter who got the game to the child, it only matters who made the game. No one actually bought him the game. It magically appeared under the Christmas tree.

PTA Mom: Well...I bought it...But it doesn't--

Me: And we have a breakthrough! The final link between Creator and Child is you. Did you even read the package?

PTA Mom: No, he said it was a good game.

Me: "Good Game" and "Family Friendly Game" are two extremely different concepts. So you bought the game, and now it caused you're child to misbehave. How much television do you let your child watch?

PTA Mom: Every Saturday morning. And I let him watch it for a couple hours before bed.

Me: What time is that?

PTA Mom: Ten o'clock.

Me: Ah. Did you know several crime shows come on before ten? Not to mention shows where characters willing commit crime. Also, Saturday morning kids shows are ripe with violence.

PTA Mom: I...didn't know that...

Me: Yes, has he gone to see any movies lately?

PTA Mom: Yes, he just went to see 300 with a friend and his friend's dad.

Me: Ma'am, that movie is rated "R." It has countless scenes of violence and sex, and glorifies war unendlessly.

PTA Mom: You must be kidding me!

Me: I kid you not. You willingly let your child see a violent, bloody movie without first knowing what it was about. So do you know who is to blame for your child's violence? YOU. Video games are ONE thing in which parents enable their children to see violence and bloodshed. And it's never the maker's fault, because they intend those things to be for adults. The video game market hasn't been good for children for almost a decade. And yet every parent who starts a picket line due to video games doesn't realize that it was THEIR fault their child played video games. So what do you have to say for yourself?

PTA Mom: ...I...have to go...

Me: I think that would be best. We wouldn't want you to make more children violent, would we? Good day.

Senor Hugo wrote:Everyone has heard and the old excuse. "Video games make children more violent."

Video games(as well as music, Tv/Movies) have been blamed for Columbine and several other school shootings.

The always laughable Jack Thompson has frequently described video games as being "murder simulators" and called video gamers "criminals."

Parents have complained that video games cause their children to misbehave.

Does mistreating an animal in a video game make you an animal abuser in real life?

Does killing someone on a video game make you capable of commiting a murder in real life?

So, where do you stand on the issue?

Personally, as someone who is going into video game design. This is a huge issue for me. I end up hearing the "it's the video game publishers fault" excuse more times than I care to recall.

I firmly believe that people who blame video games, music, television and movies for problems. They really are just looking for a scape goat.

Being a person who's played video games most of his entire life, my opinion is pretty much biased.

From my own subjective and personal viewpoint, it's pure rubbish. The way people perpetually blame fictional violence in television, video games and what have you for inciting individuals to commit real life crimes, you'd think it had never existed beforehand. It's no worse than when comic books in the 50's were being blamed for juvenile deliquency and homosexuality. If anything I believe video games can be used as a vice for a person to relieve stress and used as a means of catharsis (who hasn't played GTA after having a long stressful day to put at ease the tensions of the day?)

As for the subject of Columbine, there were many factors contributing to the events which happened; but none of them had to do with what music the killers had listened to or what video games they played. If anything mental unstability, irresponsible gun ownership and a general lack of parenting are.

I've yet to see any real proof that this is true.

i've played some very violent video games, hell i remember when Mortal Kombat came out and the red pixels cuased a stir(even though you had to use a cheat to make them appear). i played through most of the resident evils, killed millions in the dynasty warriors franchise, my parent's didn't beleive in age restrictions so i got to see Alien(and it's sequels), pretty much every Arnie film (total recall rules), Robocop(verhoeven again), the Mad max trilogy, and gremlins when i was maybe half as old as the age restrictions.

I'm never killed anyone in real life, i've never handled a weapon, the only proper fight(i.e. ones that don't involve me holding people back) i've been in was a mugging where i really wasn't in the mood for a 5ft crackhead to steal my wallet.

i think video games can make people angry and frustrated and that people of a violent dispotion will vent this anger and frustration violently, if someone's been brought up to lash out when angy then of course they are going to lash out when angry.

if a child can't tell the difference between vido games and real life then the pearent has really **** their child

Ah, the age-old debate. I love it.


Speaking of the Colombine killers, I'm currently blasting Rammstein and KMFDM. After that, I think I'll play some "f*cking DOOM".

I don't think I'll kill anyone though....

Nah. Don't really feel like it.


And in other news, I couldn't think of a movie to watch tonight, but now I have a strong suspiscion it will involve a certain guy named Murphy.

If I had kids, I wouldn't let them play the more violent games I have in my collection until they were of appropriate age and maturity. I play video games. I love video games. But I wouldn't let them play the more violent ones until they were older, as I don't want them desensitized to violence.

BUT I would say also a lot of the person's aggressive tendancies lie with the fault of the person. I had played violent video games. I have been in the Army and had been trained to handle weapons and grenades. And I have had a few other things happen to me that could cultivate aggression and violence in a person. But I am not violent or agressive. So video games do not necessarily make a person violent. If it is in that person, or that they were brainwashed from a very young age to be that way, then they will be violent anyway.

Violent video games are a good stress reliever for me.

Load of crap if you ask me. Just idiots who are upset people arent reading the bible.

I can't think of anything more absurd than saying video games make children murderers. Anyone who commits murder obviously has something wrong with them in the first place.

How many people do I know who have played (still play, in fact) video games?

Lots.

How many murderers do I know?

Zero.

Parents shouldn't blame media just because they probably didn't raise their child properly.

Violent videogames are like everything else. Made for an intended target audiance to cater to their needs because their is a demand for it. It is the responsibility of the parents to ensure the children are not exposed to things they are not suppossed to be. And when they can't be bothered to check on this, and they can't be bothered to deal with the fallout because 'Little Jimmy' attacked a friend, they simply pass the buck onto the most convienient place. In this case, games.

Flamemaster Galvatron wrote:(who hasn't played GTA after having a long stressful day to put at ease the tensions of the day?)

Constantly. And I usually try to come up with more twisted ways of getting stuff done in it. Yet I have never started any fights. I may have a slight aggressive streak, but that's due to other reasons. You have no idea how many times going on a mass rampage killing spree in GTA has calmed me down, whereas otherwise, I would be more likely to start fights without it.

Like people have said, the fault lies with the parents for not regulating what their kids are doing.

If it wasn't for video games I wouldn't have the bodies of 12 slain demons laying on my kitchen floor.

What bugs me the most is when some parents get their little kids video games that were INTENDED for ADULTS. And when the little kids start acting up, pressure is put on the video game authors to tone everything down. Now I'm not saying that I like tons of blood and gore, but I don't want video games that are for older players dumbed down just because some parent can't resist the pleas of their pushy kid, and the game makers are afraid of getting sued.

Zombie Starscream wrote:What bugs me the most is when some parents get their little kids video games that were INTENDED for ADULTS. And when the little kids start acting up, pressure is put on the video game authors to tone everything down. Now I'm not saying that I like tons of blood and gore, but I don't want video games that are for older players dumbed down just because some parent can't resist the pleas of their pushy kid, and the game makers are afraid of getting sued.

I agree wholeheartedly. I think that is why they're making the age ratings on the boxes much more prominent.

Leonardo wrote:

Zombie Starscream wrote:What bugs me the most is when some parents get their little kids video games that were INTENDED for ADULTS. And when the little kids start acting up, pressure is put on the video game authors to tone everything down. Now I'm not saying that I like tons of blood and gore, but I don't want video games that are for older players dumbed down just because some parent can't resist the pleas of their pushy kid, and the game makers are afraid of getting sued.

I agree wholeheartedly. I think that is why they're making the age ratings on the boxes much more prominent.

But the question is, will the parent(s) still listen? You can have the age rating in giant bold letters that are neon orange and a big sign over the display case that says "Not recommended for the child under 17" and the parent(s) might still get it because they want to be the child's "friend" and don't want to cause the child "to not like them."

Perhaps not, but if the ratings are printed clearly on the box then the parents should have no recourse.

There has been studies of violence in video games and their influence on aggression in children. I actually did a response to a persuasive article for Year 11 English at school this year.(it wasn't a very persuasive article, just the term it was branded through it's techniques) the article I used to respond to was about 'violent video games and their presumed effect on children'.

For evidence I used this site:http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/conf2001/papers/goldstein.html
Turned out very useful.
So like always all the negative nancys are just blurting out bullshit.

Tammuz wrote:i've played some very violent video games, hell i remember when Mortal Kombat came out and the red pixels cuased a stir(even though you had to use a cheat to make them appear). i played through most of the resident evils, killed millions in the dynasty warriors franchise, my parent's didn't beleive in age restrictions so i got to see Alien(and it's sequels), pretty much every Arnie film (total recall rules), Robocop(verhoeven again), the Mad max trilogy, and gremlins when i was maybe half as old as the age restrictions.

I'm never killed anyone in real life, i've never handled a weapon, the only proper fight(i.e. ones that don't involve me holding people back) i've been in was a mugging where i really wasn't in the mood for a 5ft crackhead to steal my wallet.

i think video games can make people angry and frustrated and that people of a violent dispotion will vent this anger and frustration violently, if someone's been brought up to lash out when angy then of course they are going to lash out when angry.

if a child can't tell the difference between vido games and real life then the pearent has really **** their child

I was raised the same way. I had no age restrictions. I watched violent movies, violent cartoons/anime, read violent books, listened to 'objectionable' music ( GWAR rules! ), played violent games, and played with toy guns that actually looked like guns ( including toy guns without the faggy orange tip ), and guess what folks, I think I came out alright.

No criminal record, not even a traffic ticket. And this was BEFORE they started treating the sales of video games like the sales of booze.

The ones to get hurt, killed or arrested are often the ones that get sheltered and censored all the time. Look at Rodd and Todd Flanders on the Simpsons. Like Lisa said, "Those two will get eaten alive in middle school." In real life, Rodd and Todd will either end up machine gunning their classmates after getting their asses kicked on a daily basis, have a meth lab in the basement, or hang themselves at 17.

*goes to play some Hexen*

Emperor Primacron the 1st wrote:*goes to play some Hexen*

YES

Do you use Zdoom?

Dark Zarak wrote:

Emperor Primacron the 1st wrote:*goes to play some Hexen*

YES

Do you use Zdoom?

I got thw win95 version. Problem is, and I mentioned this on VS almost 3 years ago, that in the end of the 2nd world, I fight in the rooms full of monsters, and once I exit the room full of sentaurs, the game crashes. It happens each time. It's been like this always. Any ideas?

Emperor Primacron the 1st wrote:

Dark Zarak wrote:

Emperor Primacron the 1st wrote:*goes to play some Hexen*

YES

Do you use Zdoom?

I got thw win95 version. Problem is, and I mentioned this on VS almost 3 years ago, that in the end of the 2nd world, I fight in the rooms full of monsters, and once I exit the room full of sentaurs, the game crashes. It happens each time. It's been like this always. Any ideas?

I remember you mentioning that as well, and now I have a real solution.

To hell with that 95 ****. http://www.zdoom.org/ is all you need my friend. Within moments of clicking that link, you'll finally see what lies beyond the Hypostyle.

If it still crashes, go to http://forum.zdoom.org/index.php.

I've played video games, violent ones, my whole life, watched violent cartoons, watched horror and slasher flicks since I was old enough to remember, and to date i have never killed any vertibrate (just bugs and insects), committed any crime (aside from downloading music wich apparently i should go to hel for), or really done anything too violent. I'll admit to getting in fights in highschool, but that's most people in highschool and it was always in self defence.

so yeah, the whole 'Violent media makes people violent!" is a load of complete bull

I played some Mario Sunshine before work today. Last I checked I still haven't turned into a plumber.

I think that blaming videogames is a bit of a cop out. I'm not a big fan of violent games. I dont want to take them away from the people who like them. Besides, there are a lot of worse things out there. Take mainstream hip-hop, You listen to 85% of any rap song made in the last ten years you hear about gang violence, materialism, and how they treat black women, those uncut videos are the worst, its pracically pornography. It also condones a lot of stereotypes about black people. Its just another ugly part of african american culture that we'll have to clean up.