Week 4: Response to Content

Cyberspace: Video Game Violence

Gaming technology has increased exponentially parallel with Moore's Law since the early past times of Pong or Space Invaders. Compared to these games of the 70's and all progressions till now, the growth in graphics and effects has also escalated, creating an interactive space of reality. Game players are becoming obsessessed with these games, living in alternative worlds between reality and imagination. This life-like relationship between reality and cyberspace bring certain issues to the forefront. Violence is a key ingredient in the journey to the destination or goal to many video games, could the danger of confusing the real from unreal pose risks to society?

Jeffery Goldstein, a professor in psychology at Utrecht University wrote a paper on violent video games. In 'Violent Video Games' he has the following to say:

“violent images on TV were often simply referred to as ‘television violence,’ as if television representations were violence in the same way that, say, a kick in the head is violence. This is wishful thinking…. Unfortunately, excising bad images will not necessarily fix problems outside the world of television.” Regardless of the degree of violence in a video game, players tend to focus on the game’s mechanics and its object, rather than its violence." He believes that the context of these games is imperitive when relating violence in games to reality; it varies with elements of "realism, involvement, excitement, how violence/conflict begin and end." (Goldstein 2005, p.1)

In his research from American Medical Association, The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Institute of Mental Health based on health sciences: “There is no direct, causal link between exposure to mock violence in the media and sub-sequent violent behaviour has ever been demonstrated and the few claims of modest correlation have been contradicted by other findings, sometimes in the same studies……. If we want to reduce (violence) even further, protecting children from real violence in their lives-not the pale shadow of mock violence-is the place to begin. (Goldstein 2005, p.3)

So all the great graphics and effects in these games are merely there to make the journey more enjoyable, to increase the aesthetics and therefore increase your senses reactions to the game. People are simply smarter; the relationship between reality and imagination with video games is no different to the same relationship received from watching horrors, thrillers, or action movies, from plays and dances, or from art pieces produces centuries ago.

Sources:

Goldstein. J 2005. Violent Video Games, viewed 18^th August 2011.

<http://theunshaven.rooms.cwal.net/Storage/Readings/Reading%2005%20-%20Violent%20Videogames%20%5BJeffrey%20Goldstein%5D.pdf>

The Geek Spot, image, viewed 18^th August 2011,

< http://the-geek-spot.blogspot.com/2011/05/another-study-about-violent-video-games.html>