Knife City – It’s Not A Game

The London (U.K.) Metro Police recently released this video implying that violent gaming can cause violent behavior. Interestingly, the website doesn’t actually make this claim – but the video can certainly be taken as an indictment of gaming. Is this fair?
It’s an issue that seems to come up again and again. The question is always a variation of “do the ways people act out online cause them to act out in the ‘real’ world?” The main concern seems to be that of violent games (which is nearly all of them) causing violent behavior.

Of course, we cannot single out gaming. The media in general is saturated with violence, of which gaming is only a part. Certainly, the kinds of violent images that have become so common in our society during the last 30 or so years have had a desensitizing effect (which is a whole other rant). But is there a direct correlation?

There are many problems, both logistical and ethical, in conducting a valid scientific study of this issue. According to Canadian psychologist Jonathan L. Freedman, there have been few studies of this phenomenon, and a scientifically rigorous study would require years, assigning test subjects to play certain games, then determining how to measure the effects – if any.

Dr. Freedman makes one interesting statement, however. He suggests that perhaps it is not the violence of games that cause people to act in aggressive ways, but rather that people already predisposed to violence find these games particularly attractive.

In my personal experience, I have found a moderate amount of “acting out” in a virtual world to be quite therapeutic, allowing me to “blow off steam” at certain prominent political figures, whom I have modeled in Sims 2. (I’ll leave the “who” and “what” to your imagination).

The one issue that remains a mystery is why, if society is so concerned about violence in the media, does it allow violence to be taken for granted while holding a rigidly Puritanical neurosis about media sexuality (as happened during E3 2006)?

Is it not better to make love than war?

In any event, check out this video clip and decide for yourself.

Download: [Knife City]

Via UC Center For Cultural Policy

The London (U.K.) Metro Police recently released this video implying that violent gaming can cause violent behavior. Interestingly, the website doesn’t actually make this claim – but the video can certainly be taken as an indictment of gaming. Is this fair?
It’s an issue that seems to come up again and again. The question is always a variation of “do the ways people act out online cause them to act out in the ‘real’ world?” The main concern seems to be that of violent games (which is nearly all of them) causing violent behavior.

Of course, we cannot single out gaming. The media in general is saturated with violence, of which gaming is only a part. Certainly, the kinds of violent images that have become so common in our society during the last 30 or so years have had a desensitizing effect (which is a whole other rant). But is there a direct correlation?

There are many problems, both logistical and ethical, in conducting a valid scientific study of this issue. According to Canadian psychologist Jonathan L. Freedman, there have been few studies of this phenomenon, and a scientifically rigorous study would require years, assigning test subjects to play certain games, then determining how to measure the effects – if any.

Dr. Freedman makes one interesting statement, however. He suggests that perhaps it is not the violence of games that cause people to act in aggressive ways, but rather that people already predisposed to violence find these games particularly attractive.

In my personal experience, I have found a moderate amount of “acting out” in a virtual world to be quite therapeutic, allowing me to “blow off steam” at certain prominent political figures, whom I have modeled in Sims 2. (I’ll leave the “who” and “what” to your imagination).

The one issue that remains a mystery is why, if society is so concerned about violence in the media, does it allow violence to be taken for granted while holding a rigidly Puritanical neurosis about media sexuality (as happened during E3 2006)?

Is it not better to make love than war?

In any event, check out this video clip and decide for yourself.

Download: [Knife City]

Via UC Center For Cultural Policy