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Violence in games like GTA/Mafia II
Hello there fellow people,
My favourite game used to be GTA IV and I didn't think much when playing it about the people I was killing, I did not think about much other than how cool it felt to fire guns, make my own stories up and play role, like pretending I was in the mafia or something. I liked the cut scenes with women and the money you got plus driving nice cars etc.
I recently brought Mafia II and started playing that as I wanted to see a city from the period of 40/50s and for that reason alone the game is brilliant. I however am finding myself feeling completely different about killing people in the game and I am not liking much of the dialogue. Since learning about Buddhism, the way I view people and situations has dramatically changed. I now completely feel for other people and understand that when people do crazy things and maybe angry toward you, it is more of a tell on something not going right in their life and they must feel pain. I feel the oneness and the things we all share in common. Due to this I can't enjoy FPS games anymore.
I was wondering if anyone else had this happen to them? and to a few people who I already told this to in person about; 'It's only a game' I thought to myself, would you play a game where you molester a child? as of course, it's only a game too. Klling someone is clearly wrong in almost all circumstance other than TRUE self defence which itself can be used as an excuse. I don't think games cause violence but surly it cant help with people values?
What are your thoughts on this?
Final thought; I appreciate GTA IV and Mafia II for their beauty in a graphical sense and attention to detail in the cities.
My favourite game used to be GTA IV and I didn't think much when playing it about the people I was killing, I did not think about much other than how cool it felt to fire guns, make my own stories up and play role, like pretending I was in the mafia or something. I liked the cut scenes with women and the money you got plus driving nice cars etc.
I recently brought Mafia II and started playing that as I wanted to see a city from the period of 40/50s and for that reason alone the game is brilliant. I however am finding myself feeling completely different about killing people in the game and I am not liking much of the dialogue. Since learning about Buddhism, the way I view people and situations has dramatically changed. I now completely feel for other people and understand that when people do crazy things and maybe angry toward you, it is more of a tell on something not going right in their life and they must feel pain. I feel the oneness and the things we all share in common. Due to this I can't enjoy FPS games anymore.
I was wondering if anyone else had this happen to them? and to a few people who I already told this to in person about; 'It's only a game' I thought to myself, would you play a game where you molester a child? as of course, it's only a game too. Klling someone is clearly wrong in almost all circumstance other than TRUE self defence which itself can be used as an excuse. I don't think games cause violence but surly it cant help with people values?
What are your thoughts on this?
Final thought; I appreciate GTA IV and Mafia II for their beauty in a graphical sense and attention to detail in the cities.
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Comments
When one is engrossed in one of these games, I see very little difference between what goes on in the mind and what goes on in the mind otherwise. It just can't be healthy.
Just my little $.02
I am looking forward to seeing how I respond to playing Fallout New Vegas later this month when it releases. I have also lost my interest in FPS, but I think that was happening prior to my taking up the Buddha's path. I suspect it was just old age and slowing of twitch reflexes in my case;)
However, I know what you speak of when you say even though it is 'imaginary' people, it's still bothersome to kill and derive enjoyment from it.
With New Vegas it is a RPG so I have the option of how I wish to conduct myself and I look forward to being harmless in so far as it is possible. Of course this isn't a game that makes it possible to be 100% harmless so in those cases I am interested to observe the way my mind responds.
You're merging fantasy and reality. Next you'll be crying for the families of the pawns you take in chess, or working out a reparations package for the guy you beat at Monopoly.
I think all people need is a healthy appreciation for the difference between a game and real life. I've played games all my life, I'm quite happy to shoot a game character in the head with a shotgun, but struggle to put a fatally wounded slug out of it's misery.
I agree, i am insane
I was and am one of those bad parents that allowed my 3 year old to play Halo and when GTA whatever came out I allowed him to play it when he was around 6 or 7. I do understand the difference between reality and fantasy and I am very comfortable than even very young kids do too. I do not believe that playing violent video games leads to real life violence.
Even so, the mind doesn't really know it's fantasy when one is immersed in the experience. It's like when we dream and we are not aware that we are dreaming it is the same experience as if it were real. I am not suggesting there is anything morally wrong with shooting at pixels on a screen with virtual bullets. I am not even suggesting there is anything wrong with using a virtual chainsaw to virtually dismember virtual women and children.
I am suggesting that for some of us, we lose our taste for this form of entertainment and we have associated this loss of taste with dharma practice.
And I see nothing wrong with that
Basically, Gerbner conducted a study that found that people who watched TV heavily (4+ hrs a day) tended to agree with viewpoints found on the TV than those who watched in smaller amounts.
I can imagine that heavy video game players may also feel the same way, but it really varies depending on the individual's psychology.
There have also been studies that show that people who enjoy playing violent video games tend to do so because of other aspects of the game: the reward factor, the adventure factor, game physics, exploration, etc, not the bloodlust.
But yeah, I think that it's sort of silly to get all worked up about killing in a video game. The characters aren't real, they're data, they have no families or anything like that. No offense, but if you're a mature adult and cannot grasp this, I think you may need to really chill out.
You are assuming that those of us who have lost our interest in killing virtual things don't grasp that they are virtual things
When you say that we 'need to really chill out' I would challenge you to explain, step by step, how one would 'chill out'. good luck with that
But if one recognizes they are nothing more than data, then what is the problem?
Would punching the air be "bad" because the air could at some level represent a person?
You got me there.
I surmise it would involve not getting one's colon in a knot over something that is obviously not real.
Will you stop watching old cartoons (e.g. Bugs Bunny) because it depicts violence? Super Mario promotes violence against turtles and mushrooms
What I hear in your post is that you're in tune to the kind of experiences you're having. This is great news! The disconnect you feel from the violence sounds like an indication of healthy discernment. I feel a healthy heart naturally shies away from glorified violence. It is more troubling to find those who revel in violence, whether it is virtual or physical.
There are many, many, psychological studies on the effects of violence on the mind, with significant positive correlation between aggression in children who have watched violent TV. Also, as mentioned in Lightfoot's "The Development of Children" is the observation that about 75% of the violent actions in cartoons and video games goes unpunished. I personally think that violence without showing a realistic cause/effect is the most concerning. It certainly impacts us (as you've recently been consciously noting) when we watch and commit violent acts... in life or games. I don't think it necessary to become an alarmist, and say that it causes violence...
However, because we tend to reflect the types of energies and situations we surround ourselves with... as we become mindful, we tend to first notice, then shed, behavior that is disruptive to our long term goals, such as a still mind or compassionate view.
In this way, do you think you could find better nourishment elsewhere? Is the mafia world so much more beautiful than an actual mountain, forest, or even a real city, that it makes it worth experiencing all of the rest of the troubled behavior? When I have tried to play a game like Mafia or GTA, I found myself feeling more numb afterward than anything else.
With such an array of possible meals before you... why eat things that taste spoiled?
With warmth,
Matt
Once you lose the urge to dominate, you are left with a partially attractive amalgamation of colourful shapes, and if you have the representation of a rifle more like a strangely shaped penis extension, which just so happens to make a repetitive and annoying 'dum dum dum' sound.
As many have noted there's no violence in a video game. Even in movies it's pretty far removed from reality, but that is the source of my biggest objection... the idea that we're desensitised to real violence.
Easy to pull the trigger hard to account for the aftermath. Of course there are no casualties in the virtual world. The aftermath usually consists or a glowing white box with a red cross on it.
U R Fixed Whoopee. (sorry to be a killjoy, I hope it's what you're looking for)
Do I make a connection that I'm killing someone? no. Is it like watching a cartoon and seeing a character ragdoll down a hill? yes very much so. it's all "slapstick" comedy to me. And I find it very, very hard to kill a mosquito that is biting me while outdoors.
I make no connection whatsoever between the video game and real life.
When you play a game you don't link it to real life in any way shape or form. I can say that because I was a hardcore gamer a couple of years ago.
Anyway, that's the for argument. The against argument would be that it's a waste of time for the most part. I enjoy learning, so I try to stay away from time draining games like WoW. Also, they can cause a bit of a social detachment which can lead to social anxiety later on.
As for values... I don't think killing hookers, conquering cities for the hell of it, being a terrorist, overthrowing governments, leading an army to loot villagers or killing fluffy things for XP is ethical. I don't know anybody that does.
Also, TV is propaganda by design. Millions are spent on advertising, selling agendas, paying off reporters, manipulating the news, polarizing the public and overall mind control. People who don't know this and can't see through it all may be fooled. Currently there isn't much political involvement in games. Yes, there are heaps of US Army games which do indeed make the army seem 'cool' and are a very good recruiting tool. I don't like those... that's one type of game though. Then there are other political games like Just Cause 2 where you destabilize a government and that game has bad reviews regarding that issue. Again, that's one game.
No point generalizing, each game is different. GTA is notorious for violence, but it has not affected any sane individual. Also, there's a thing called PARENTING, which a lot of parents don't think is their responsibility nowadays.
I didn't make any argument that it is a problem
I didn't make any argument that playing violent video games is bad.
I did make the opposite claims: and here too: The only claim I made is this:
What's really going to blow your mind is when you start thinking of how many NPCs you've killed in the past. I remember playing the original SimCity for hours triggering disaster after disaster...I've wiped out countries in countless FPS games and I've destroyed countless civilizations and entire planets in Spore.
If I were you, I'd try not to think too much into it...it's just a game, afterall.
When you watch a dramatic movie and a character that you like dies, do you feel anything for that character? What about characters in books?
One of the main reasons why we are able to enjoy movies/books/theater is because our mind is able to "suspend the disbelief" and make us feel for/identify with the characters. Fantasy and reality start mixing.
And if that's the case, plus given the plasticity of our brains, I wouldn't dismiss the effect of violent video games so easily.
Which is one reason I stopped watching in back in about 2001, and haven't done so since. I enjoy some very limited things that appear on TV, but the other 99.99999999% of it is pure garbage. It's amazing how your perspective changes when you're not glued to the tube. People think I'm odd because I don't watch TV, but life is far less stressful, and I don't feel my brain being turned into pudding..
Mtns
Depending on the book and the author, sometimes the answer is yes. Can you watch "Old Yeller" and no cry at the end?
Also, watching a character in a book or a movie die is quite different in my mind from pulling the trigger with the intent of blowing someone's head off, even if "only" in a video game. One is passive, the other is active.
If something "passive" can have an effect on a person, wouldn't something "active" have even more effect?
Whoever is playing a violent video game assumes the role of a killer, acting out killings. Can you really say that such activity has no effect whatsoever on the brain, on person's perception of the act of killing, their comfort level with violence in general?
If US military can boast their success in using "America's Army" to recruit and a game called "Ambush" to train people, can you really say that games like that have no effect on young supple brains of teenagers?
Really? Nothing wrong with that at all? Not even a teeny tiny bit? (Or did I miss sarcasm in there somewhere?)
But if I am fighting my badass evil nemesis, and I end up cutting him in half that was a good death for him. (Usually when they're that evil they don't get cut in half, but you get the point.) Violence in video games has nothing to do with Buddhism. I will happily throw grenades from building tops in GTA just to see what it does to traffic, but I would never want to hurt an innocent person in real life.
It is all polygons, part of the game where you lose nothing to do these things. And if it phases you to play games like this, I think that means you take things too seriously. As there is violence in all of our media. I do like fighting, and violence, but *only when it is controlled, and that is a BIG difference.
It is controlled in a video game. It is controlled in an organized fighting match. See the difference? When you fight in an organized fighting match you sign a form that makes it OK. This is the difference, and when you play the video game, it is also ok, because no one is getting hurt who doesn't want to be hurt.
I don't know if there is or isn't really. I have glanced at some studies that failed to show even a weak correlation between fantasy violence (TV, movies and video games) and real life violence, but the mind is a mysterious thing.
To me that isn't the interesting point. What I find interesting is to watch my mind as I play. I haven't played any video games in the few months since I took up dharma practice and haven't missed it, but there is an upcoming release of a new version of the last game I really enjoyed so I intend to play it and watch my mind.
Playing video games absolutely affects how your brain views real life. Here is a study of just one aspect of such effects: http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100926/auto/auto1.html
A small quote from that article:
Movies and video games are close and getting closer. Players connect and identify with their in-game characters all the time. World of Warcraft and countless other games (The Sims included) wouldn't exist otherwise. Various game companies wouldn't be making a profit from selling non-real in-game items such as clothes, amulets etc etc otherwise. A whole scientific field has been organized around the topic of how to make people immerse themselves more deeply into games (it directly translates into profit for the video games industry): http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/29910/Analysis_The_Psychology_of_Immersion_in_Video_Games.php
There's even research on whether or not in-game characters act as role models for adolescent boys (answer is: yes, they do). http://vgresearcher.wordpress.com/2007/06/22/role-models-in-videogames-and-the-effect-on-aggression-among-adolescents-konijn-bijvank-bushman-in-press/
So, I beg to differ on "people don't identify with in-game characters".
In metta,
Raven
What you are referring to is called "desensitization". People who slaughter animals for living also get desensitized to violence, but researchers still found a very strong link between how many people of a particular town work in slaughterhouses and number of brutal crimes in the area:
http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/809521--probing-the-link-between-slaughterhouses-and-violent-crime
So, the argument about "developing immunity" doesn't seem to work.
So do you like controlled violence because it's all over our media, or is it all over our media because people like controlled violence (which means it sells well)? Can you even separate the two effects from one another? What is there to like in controlled violence, what's the point? What would Buddha say on this topic?
Ah, Fallout - many a day of my life was lost to this awesomely immersive piece of interactive goodness. Me and my friend would call in sick to play this thing. Tried Fallout 3, was pretty good, but didn't get into it much. Let us know how your new Fallout experience goes.
Very flawed. Everyone knows "correlation does not mean causation". Perhaps people who are more competitive about driving enjoy racing games more.
Study 2:
Show people who played burnout were more excited that people who play crash bandicoot. I could've told you that for free. They also didn't take into account risk behavior, they simple looked at the language used. They asked people to define words. The word has several meanings... one competitive/aggressive/risky and another neutral. Of course if you get someone to play a racing game and ask them what they think the word race means they aren't going to say "well, it's a human classification system based on...". This study didn't look into driving at all, just word association.
Study 3:
This actually looks promising. They have shown that a MALE who has played a racing game would take half a second longer to pull out of a dangerous situation (in a simulation).
No real world driving was observed in any of the studies.
'course I am pointing out all the flaws of the article. It was actually interesting to read, but it definitely doesn't mean much. Yeah, if you play a game for 20 minutes then watch a video of a risky traffic situation and be asked when you would pull out of the situation your judgment may be temporarily affected by half a second. I could even argue that they were judging the situation more accurately. Perhaps the others decided the situation was risky before it was actually risky, but the people who played the racing game judged the situation more accurately, ey? Also, they could've just measure reaction times and found that gamers react more quickly in traffic and are therefore better drivers. 'course I am presenting silly arguments, I know that
So yeah, interesting, but not convincing. Also, it's irrelevant to violence. Apple and oranges here.
http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/papers/2001-video-games/freedman.html
"It may well be that further research will indicate that playing violent video games is harmful. For the moment, however, there is no such work and no scientific reason to believe that violent video games have bad effects on children or on adults, and certainly none to indicate that such games constitute a public health risk."
I see where all of you are coming from, so it comes down to WHY we're arguing our cases rather than the evidence and logic we present.
In Australia, we have no R18+ for video games. Instead, these games get 'Refused Clasiffication' and are not allowed to be sold anywhere. In effect, the government treats adults like children. I personally couldn't care less about R18+ games, but I do care a lot about government banning LEGAL material. In fact, they tried to push the refused classification thing onto internet material as well. That means a lot of legal material could be denied access to.
Basically, leave parenting to parents and stop treating adults like children.
I've said all I have to say, so I'll stop arguing now.
I live in Los Angeles, a gang capital. I know what crime is. And I know both hardcore gamers and gang members personally. The gamers tend to be some of the least violent people I know. And out of my friends that have been to jail, those are the ones that play games the least.
The reason people actually get violent in real life is because of the society around them, that has conditioned them to be that way. There are usually several factors as to why someone becomes violent and breaks the law. Whether it's due to their parents, or other conditions, it's very rarely the fault of a video game.
I have always loved violence in good taste. And yes it can be in great taste. What makes a good, thrilling story? Have you ever read fictional books or watched fictional movies? Even as a 6 year old kid my favorite program to watch was Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball z a Japanese animated series that was very violent, but the violence was appropriate and it was a kids show in Japan.
I liked it because it took itself seriously. The characters were all well developed, and the fights were even better. It is the godfather of all anime and action animation. Controlled violence like that is great. Anyone who doesn't like it just has completely different tastes and doesn't know how to properly critique a good story.
To me the Buddha was a realistic person, that was no nonsense. And I really believe if he was still around he would see that like everything else in life violent video games can cause both harm and good. It is all in the way one looks at the games.
Kids should not be playing very violent video games that are not meant for their age. But there are some violent games that are perfectly fine for them, like Pokemon for example. So I do believe the Buddha would be fine with violence in games in the overall picture, because they're not doing harm to anyone. It is other factors that cause people to become violent.
The thing that one should really be worried about from video games is how addicting they can be. But what can't be addicting now days? That isn't the problem of the video game, it is the problem of the person.
That's a bit of a strange presumption, Of course I know they are not real, I don't exactly hold funerals for them and look at the pictures with sad regret before they died in a swimming pool because they were hungry; The Sims reference when I was like 12 :P. I know they are not real but it's all about motivation, I don't see the motivation or need to kill in games for fun anymore, that's all.
I said originally that I am not saying there is a link for game violence and real violence as I myself, long before Buddhism would never get into a fight or hurt people for my own pleasure either, and my gamer friends would most definatly not.
I guess the main point I am thinking and making here is, despite them not being real people and only code and artwork, the enjoyment in killing someone with a chainsaw or sniping someone in the head surly logically cannot go with Buddhist principles at all, Like I said in the first post, why not rape children in pixel form also? it's clearly not real life so it's fine, what stops you from doing that? Knowing that it's wrong? Well surly in that case then killing is wrong too, especially how it's done in many games, simply rushing at an enemy killing them without a thought for their side of things etc. It's like well I am into Buddhism in the real world but boy do I love killing people randomly in a game, no real harm? but why?
You are causing no harm to real people, that is for sure however playing games where you do things totally against buddhism to me seems obviously wrong, I can't see Buddha or the Dalai Lama enjoying killing enemies on Mafia 2 with a tommy gun, I just cant see it. It is not the exact same argument but, if you think about killing someone or getting revenge in your head but don't go through with it and the thoughts give you pleasure; this would not hurt anyone but those thoughts are against Buddhist philosphy. Killing in games for fun to me is not really fun. I think it's like practising potting the white in the corner pocket on a game to help in your real snooker game, it does no real harm but really, what's the point?
I admire games for their story and just technical greatness in some games, I hope the Mafia 2 story ends with them realising what being in the Mafia brings you. I like films that show crime but show the effects of crime also, these are good films/games.
Finally, Games themselves are not truly bad as obviously we simply project those thoughts onto it, one such example is you could play Call Of Duty WAW and think everyone soldier your shooting is becoming released from afflictive emotions but still, a Game like SAW even though I have not played it or seen it, seems from the very outset to be about causing pain and suffering to pixels sure but the mere act of doing that is wrong and not simply an objective. It all depends on motivation and what you reap from the actions
Just some other thoughts
I thought this video would be relevant. Please note there is foul language in this video.
By the way, I used to put loads of big tables in the houses on The Sims and then got a guy to launch fireworks outside and just wait for one to land on the table to set it a light, then as I removed the doors from the rooms, they could not leave. I just question now, WHY? lol. The things I used to do amuse me.
However, I listen to and watch all kinds of violent shit. I like to be mindful while I'm doing it and insure that I am distinguishing reality from fantasy, but also respect that what I take in can have more power than my mind and rationing. So I just try to balance it out with plenty of non-violent and positive stuff, too. I wouldn't want to watch my zombie flicks 24/7, but I wouldn't want to listen to my happy music 24/7 either. Just relax and try to stay in The Middle!
I've had different reptiles since I was a kid. They eat live bugs and live rodents. These are captive bred reptiles that can't live in the wild. It's just their food, so I have no remorse about feeding them these animals. Same when I cook, I chop and cook remains of once live animals to feed people. Even the vegetables I use sacrificed many bugs in order to be picked.
Violent video games are effectively trying to tell a story with not much being sacrificed except your time and a bit of money. Whether you kill humans or not, usually in my experience you rarely kill someone that is innocent, and they were game data to begin with.
One who lives by a weapon dies by a weapon. It's the same for the dudes you kill. And in a lot of the good violent games I play lately, the main character dies at the end. This is like perfect example of karma. And even though the game had a questionable ending, it played fantastic.
So it's all on how you view it. Video games are just stories being told with you playing through them. Some are better than others. But truly there are some great ones out there violent or not.
Studies have shown that playing video games can increase heart rate and blood pressure, as well as decrease prefrontal lobe activity while the person is playing the game.
And remember, meditation increases the activity of the prefrontal lobe. I just googled virtual reality games and the brain. The article above is really a good article.
Another great source of this is neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Newberg's studies on brain waves and meditation, and how certain thoughts cause you to have negative brainwaves, even certain words, like kill, hate, etc. His books are really great. He does studies on Buddhist monks. This information is especially in his book "How God Changes Your Brain." But don't let the word "God" keep you from reading it.
Here is an excerpt from it: "When you listen to angry speech--in a congregation or politcal forum--specific parts of your brain begin to mirror the angry content of the speaker. All you have to do is see a harsh, angry, or contemptuous face in a picture, and the same neural reaction will be triggered, because the circuits involving the human amygdala are particularly responsive to the emotional expression in other people's faces...Even watching violence on the news, or taking in a violent movie, will make you feel more angry, aggressive, negative, and powerless."
Accidently killing some creature when picking up veg to eat it is simply how things happen and is not done deliberatly, you are completely right about going over the top, for example killing flies when you drive; so you stop driving cars. Animals that need to eat meat to survive should obviously eat meat and I personally think humans naturally ate small rodents and insects but not cows/pigs. That is still debatable for sure but even if we naturally ate bigger meat, that does not mean it is right now, given the effects due to a large population. I am sure we naturally had many wives and also killed without thinking much about it; does not mean that it is right.
and
The point though is that you should take no pleasure from killing other humans regardless if they have weapons, you should have compassion for them realising that there are many reasons why they are in that situation and if I were brought up in their body and conditioned the same way they were, then I would probably turn out the same.
Saying that you rarely kill someone who is innocent is being very biased and projecting alot of hatred on the person in order to justify your actions. You kill without even thinking about their life or their situation and simply sterotype people. When I was playing Mafia 2 for instance, I was definatly engrossed in the story and when for example - SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
Someone close to you is butchered likie crazy, I felt genuine anger for that action and wanted revenge at first, but then I realised many different things and that further violence would only result in a cycle of violence etc, and I felt compassion for the individual. It was as it the game was a virtual training environment. Despite it being a game, it certainly brought out emotions in me that were very real, just like in a good movie.
To exhibit the pleasure and anger when killing people in games because you are engrossed in the story and want revenge is simply going against the practises and to me is obviously wrong. Playing GMOD and building something that fires someone into the sky is clearly different however as there is no real feelings/story behind it and it is a bit like slapstic comedy, However in gmod if I were to playrole a situation where I was pretending to kill those people who were not talking, one by one in a line, how can this be good? It is the same reason why I do not watch films like Saw, it seems so totally pointless whereas a movie/game that includes violence and shows the consequences correctly and accuratly can be brilliant.
Chris
Appreciate your input Mr Serenity
I think if people can't step back and enjoy games for what they are, then perhaps you are right and they shouldn't be playing them.
I for one never get pleasure from killing people in games. For the simple fact that I've never killed a person in a game, as there are no people in games, only animations. The pleasure I get from games comes from completing a goal, beating the clock or progressing the story.
If some people play games because they like to pretend that they are actually killing real people, then their problems run so deep that whether they enjoy video games or not is the least of concerns.
Imagine you're in a karate class breaking a stack of bricks. The bricks break, they get crushed. Can you imagine what would happen if you struck someone with that same force to the face? Or to the ribs? When you're learning martial arts it is effectively teaching you how to harm, or hurt. Does that mean the martial artist is getting ready to do that? Not at all.
Most martial artists never get in a real street fight. I've heard the statistic is 5 percent of martial artists that get into unplanned fights. The way this compares with video games, is because even if you're cutting or shooting an animated character on a video game you're not actually doing it. It is an escape, a temporary place where you can do these things that you should never do in real life.
You can be a ninja, a spy, a solider, a mafia, etc, all that is entertainment when no one actually gets hurt you see, even with the violence added. Everyone is brought up in different cultures, so people have different views on it. But one of my best teachers a Kendo 5th dan, used to say that he truly believes that the urge to fight or compete is something that a lot of people naturally crave. The urge for competition is a natural craving among many.
Notice I said many, not all. When you suppress this strong urge to fight, it is like suppressing the urge to have sex. But you know what happens when natural urges are suppressed? Unnatural, twisted things can happen, like a priest molesting a child.
This is why people need escapes, and outlets, even with organized violence added in. It is part of that natural entertainment that our human race has always had in our culture. At the end of the day though people have different views, different cultures. It comes down to what feels completely right for *you. Not what you think other people should think is right or wrong.
If you are simply playing just to get to the next phase and are not engrossed in the story and show some emotions to certain situations, then keep doing it. But in the back of my head, I think thats its so pointless when the games are about violence. Adventure games and other games are different. Last reasoning; when you are playing call of duty world at war or the new ones, you can completely have no regard for the enemy and only see our sides viewpoint and the others is never shown. Upon talking to a friend who loves call of duty modern warfare, I asked about don't you ever consider their side of things? the fact their home has been taken over? And they simply stated that we do what our country tells as and never question it, if that were so then why the hell was slavery abolished when it was considered normal for ages? The call of duty games have also glamourised warfare and failed to show much of the truth, I watched a programme recently that followed new recruits and one actually used call of duty as a reason for joining as it seems cool with all those guns etc.
Like you said Chrysalid, it's all about the motivation and reason for doing it and how it then affects you.
Loving the open debate, as it should be
I'm an old school gamer, I prefer playing multiplayer with my friends in the same room, splitscreen. Maybe I'm out of touch with more modern gamers.
I had so so much fun playing Goldeneye on the N64 with friends split screen, prob spent more hours on that than anything else.