Video games are used as a tool to escape into different worlds, with games becoming more immersive and detailed. This makes it easy to lose yourself in those worlds and it’s natural for games to be influential. Are they becoming to violent though?Games are designed to be fantasy, understandably they can take inspiration from real-life and be insanely close to reality. Is that enough to place blame completely at the door of the games and their creators? Or are games being used as a scapegoat for a bigger issue at hand?The touchy subject of video games causing violence is one that is still happening today, and no doubt will continue to be a hot topic of discussion. Admittedly there have been some cases of violent acts appearing to have been influenced by violent depictions in gaming. When you consider to the number of people playing these games and not acting out a violent rampage … it’s hardly even a drop in the ocean.But who will think of the children I hear you cry? Maybe the developers that restricted the sale of their games to aforementioned children by slapping an 18+ sticker on it?

The Science-y stuff

The hypothesis is that playing violent video games increases hostility and violence in young people. Exposure to horrifying scenes within video games makes them become desensitised and replicate or be complicit in violence.Studies as far back as 1998 have been contradicting each other. In 2001 the Surgeon General of the United States David Satcher was quoted to say that “we clearly associate media violence to aggressive behaviour, But the impact was very small compared to other things. Some may not be happy with that, but that’s where the science is.”Even the meta-analyses cannot agree on whether violent video games have an effect on individuals with their own aggressive or violent behaviour. Two conducted in the same year came to different conclusions, one clearly claiming that high video game violence does lead to greater aggression among teenagers. With the other saying violence in video games has less of an impact than violence in other media.

Steps gaming developers have taken

The gaming community have taken steps in order to reduce the likelihood of children being exposed to inappropriate topics. Similarly with other media games that are of an extreme nature can only be purchased by someone over 18. This however doesn’t stop parents, is this the fault of the creators or the fault of the parents?Some games have even opted to make some scenes skippable if the player so chooses. The most notable example of this is from Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Scenes described as being “designed to evoke the atrocities of terrorism” could be skipped out completely.

Games which heavily rely on violence to develop the storyline have tricks up their sleeves to discourage being too violent. Games such as Red Dead Redemption 2, Infamous and Fable all allow you to play as “good” or “evil". Which will then have a major impact on the story. These ripple effects vary from small such as the dialogue by NPCs, or changing the game by influencing the storyline. Therefore the player discovering different endings just based on their “honour” level. Games having this option are able to create the narrative that being “evil” and acting out in a violent way have a real life impact and the consequences can follow you and have a major influence on the players experience.

That scene from GTA 5

A particularly hard scene for some gamers to play was that torture scene in GTA 5 when you’re Trevor. By taking control of the scene as Trevor and being the one to inflict pain on the character makes the scene feel more real, especially being faced with a table of devices that you use to extract information. This is the argument that violence in gaming is worse than violence in other media as you are just watching it, but with gaming it is your actions of pressing those combinations of buttons which performs the violence.

Manhunt

Some games depict such graphic violence that some countries banned it. Manhunt hit the scene in 2003 and even the developers were uncomfortable by the amount violent acts in the game. This game reached peak controversy in 2004 when it was attributed to the murder of a 14 year old Stefan Pakeerah by his 17 year old friend Warren Leblanc. The nature of the murder was said to be inspired by the gameplay where various weapons are used such as hammers and knives.The accusation was rejected by Rockstar Games and Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers' Association (ELSPA). The game had an 18 rating so it being in the possession of a minor was against their protocols. This did not stop the game from being pulled form shelves and banned in various countries. Rockstar were not deterred though with Manhunt 2 hitting the shelves in 2007.

Maybe Manhunt 2 should have been a Game Sequel That Shouldn't Exist

Is Gaming the "Bad Guy"

Living in the 21st Century and seeing these atrocities in everyday life, with them thrust into our faces in the news and media, it would not be surprising to lead to some kind of desensitisation. Making the claim that gaming is to blame is essentially a biased view and cannot be seen as the sole reason for any potential increase in violence.

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