Does Gaming Affect Behaviour... Will we eat each other because we play pacman?

[twitch 0]

I was aiming at delving into whether people will so greatly affected by gaming that their behaviour results in horrific violence, such as the Columbine Masacre or the latest 'Angel of Death' scenario.

[Saint_Michael 3]

Before I start, I want to make something clear. I do not believe that the following is an excuse for the increase in violent crimes and attitudes. I do believe that it is one of the fundamental factors, brought on by the irresponsibility of game creators.

 

For at least the past 10 years, people have taken part in heated discussions over "does gaming make us more violent". That in itself is ambiguous. Gaming doesn't make us more violent. What it does is feed our imaginations.

 

I have fallen into the trap before relasing the situation about gaming affecting behaviour, by saying "don't be stupid, people who blame gaming on behaviour are fools and don't know what they are talking about". However, that's probably because I was confused.

 

If you have seen younger ones playing on games that are child-centered learning (e.g. Dora the Explorer games) you'll see a change in their behaviour, they will become happier and may even go a little hyper. It won't last for a long period (only a couple of hours max), but it is proof that gaming affects behaviour. So, if you change the genre and the child's age - make it graphical violence and a 16 year old. What's the result going to be? Well, not as clear cut as the first example.

 

The child (16) won't necessarily start running around throwing knives at their best friends, or going into the street and start joy riding, but what it will do is fuel their imaginations - especially games that provide a storyline, even more so those that have an ending (because then the child can change the events in the storyline and resultantly change the ending). If they're prone to destructive behaviour, or even violence, then they're more likely to manifest their imaginative creations. I've seen it plenty of times with my mates, their families and even my own.

 

A recent topic in What's New...? forum, the https://9'>https://9 https://9'>https://9 https://9'>https://9'>Montreal Gunman Angel of Death played on a game which mimic-ed the events of the Columbine Masacre (?sp). He ended up recreating that scene, although didn't accomplish it as well (in a negative way).

 

Anyway, that is enough of my psycho-analysis-crap on the matter, what do you guys think?

 

Questions Proposed Throughout Topic:

 

Does gaming affect behaviour, or is it all just a fad to give people an excuse for the increasingly violent crimes?

How much does gaming affect behaviour?

How do we decrease the negative effects on behaviour?

 

The heated debate has been going since Mortal Kombat I was introduced on October 8th, 1992. Due to the fact at that time Mortal Kombat was the most violent game of the gaming industry. Before then the violence was very sub par due to the fact their was no blood in the Nintendo games and of course the sound effects of screaming, bone crunching and blood spatter. Of course it was due to the fact of Mortal Kombat violence that the ESRB be rating system would begin as well.

 

I be a gamer since the Atari days so I have seen the changes, I do agree that a childâs imagination is at itâs most vulnerable stages because of what they see or hear they will mimic it no matter what the situation. Of course the maturity level of understanding whatâs happening in video games is not what happens in real life. So those who truly do get hooked on the violence will in some way try it for real. I remember the age bracket for the Atari-Nintendo you literally had to be a teenager in order to understand and be aware of whatâs going on in that game. But as we have seen video gamers are getting younger and younger. Heck my 4 year old niece can handle a playstation pretty well, of course she only playâs the clean games and when she is around I literally cut down my time of the semi-violent games. Although she has somewhat picked up on the death and the dying stuff. But I know she wonât be a hardcore gamer like my brother and I were and we are somewhat are still true hardcore gamers, of course we donât dump down $10,000 a year on games like some people do.

 

The gaming industry knows that the players are getting younger, but some make sure ot balance it out like Nintendo does. Sony and Microsoft go for the teenagers and the Adults. PC gaming industry is more adult due to the intelligence factor some of these games have, like Myst. So the adults are partial to blame for the increase in violent video gamers and of course not paying attention to what their own kids play. Heck some adults are playing these violent games in front of their kids.

 

But I feel the one gaming company that doesnât do enough for non-violent games is Rockstar, they have become famous for Grand Theft Auto, one of the most violent series since Mortal Kombat.

 

To answer your questions gaming does effect behavior especially when it comes to a violent environment, in which it doubles or triples the itchy trigger finger. I would say itâs times to for the video game industry to produce more non-violent games, of course that wonât became we as humans crave the violence and being able to act it in that game without doing it in real life.

 

Personally I think its just a fad... First, pong (and other games pacman, asteroids ext), great games, spend an hour or so playing it the first time then play it 10 minutes a day after that. Then it was RPG games like Mario and you would play it till you beat the game then probably never play it again. Then they made platform games, Higher speed and fast but not 3D like earlier games. Just fun for some reason? They it was racing game, Very fun 3D fast and addicting. Now its violent games, Lots of violence (steeling, killing ext) Addicting to some, but not to others. Judging from the past violent games should stop soon... Whats next though? Will it really be better? Or will it be a mix of all the games (a 2nd real world type thing) You have to raise up money. Go to places (arcades vacations houses ext). All this fully interactive in some sort of a game suit as a controller. If this is what they do next... is it really better. It will probably save some kids but it will also make kids forget about real life and the problems we face outside the gaming world. Kinda scary isn't it?

Also, If we stop making violent games now kids will probably become MORE violent not being able to take out there (already built up from games) anger on the system and start doing it in real life. That's no good...

Thanks for reading,

~Sparkx~

 

I would have disagree with you statement that kids would become more violent if their were no violent games. There are many factors both environmental and mental that contribute to kids acting out violently. Yeah these games could in a way prevent, but most of the time that is not true. Of course most people are aware of the fantasy of the game and the reality of the real world, if they try to shoot somebody they know they could injure or kill them and of course be sent to jail or put to death themselves. It is a parents responsibility to be aware and teach their children from right or wrong and from fantasy and reality. If parents can teach their children these differences, then as the children grow up they will know it as well.

 

 

I think some of the violent games, in extreme/extreme and young cases can make a bad example/effect. People have copied games IRL, including shooting games with a real gun. It was in CSI once.

 

I might have seen that episode, canât remember off the top of my head, you might have to go into some more detail on that episode then I will remember that/

 

 

Good points guys.

 

sparkx, perhaps the question we should now be asking is how do we decrease the violence in today's society. I have my own anwser, but I'd like to see what others have to say.

 

It is in our human nature to compete and fight, the ancient world showed that to us and some people would agree that the world would be a boring place if everyone is nice of course thatâs arguable. However are answer to decrease violence is to use violence thatâs a way of life for most people. With the help of video games it keeps that little imprint in the back of our minds to crave the violence and the thought of doing it. Of course we try to learn how to defend ourselves from other attacks; some video games that are based on strategy show that by defending yourself you can live a little longer and if you mess up click the reset button or use that continue to go on. But life has no reset so you only get one shot at that. Of course we are reminded of our mortality every time we find out someone we know dies or we see the destructiveness of war and weather.

 

I don't think violent games can change a normal person behaviour, maybe for a person ho tends to take everything to an extreme it could be a problem, but for those people a film of just an idea is so "dangerous" as a game.

 

It's all a problem of the mind, if you can separate the real world from your gaming-fantasy world and asume that it's only a game and that you play for fun (you don't need the game) there's no problem.

 

All the perturbed people that appear on the news because they killed somebody or something like that because they thougth they where inside a videogame or because they take the videogame out of the screen and into their lives, they will have done it with a videogame, a film, a card game or any other ting. They have a mental illness.

PD: Sorry for my english :S

 

But what do you consider normal though? Normal is in the eye of the beholder and that is were stereotypes come into play and how society is ran by those perceptions.

 

I think that exposure to graphic video games/movies/scenes/events, etc. changes people's tolerace to violence and graphic imagery. Each individual naturally has a level of tolerance for that sort of thing, and frequent exposure to it causes them to become less concerned with it and more allowing. Of course this is basically true in any circumstance, but speaking specifically about violence and violent behaviour, I think this is a very problematic result. This is probably a stupid example, but my when my boyfriend got the game Postal, I felt very horrible watching it. I couldn't explain this feeling, because in my head I knew it was just a video game, but still, my tolerance level for that sort of graphic imagery was very low at the time. Therefore, I felt uncomfortable with what was going on in the game. Now though, because I've been more exposed to it, I have no problem at al with that sort of thing. I don't flinch or blink or anything really now when I see him going for head shots. This isn't to say that I'm going to go out on the street and try to shoot real people in the head, but I think it has affected me in a way that if I saw something like that actually happen now, I wouldn't have nearly as emotional of a reaction as I would have previous to being exposed to Postal. I think that constant exposure to violence (wherever it might be) pushes us all to a state of "numbness". If we all continue to become more and more numb to the world, it provides for a very unstable future for us all. With the increase in exposure to graphic material, our sense of things like compassion and empathy begin to slip away. I don't know about all of you, but I know I wouldn't want to live in a society devoid of those two things.

 

It is true that some people can accept the violence they see because they know it happens in real life, but also the fact that punching out someoneâs heart is impossible so they can tolerate it knowing the fact it canât happen. Of course there are people like you who canât even stand the fact that their is media out there that is truly disgusting in every possible way from the hitting to the taking a sword and literally chop off body parts. It all has to do with tolerance, me I can handle most violence I see, of course there is some stuff I canât stand either because they have taken it way to far or making it to real.

 

 

@leafbunk - You've become tolerant towards the content, but what about the form? What are your opinions on the subject on a whole. Does it make you feel disgusted that people actually devise these games? Not what's in the game itself, but the concept of it.

 

I'm glad this has so far been an intelligent topic, maybe there is hope for the professional host

 

I wouldnât say disgusted, but disturb that in order to make money they have to show body parts falling off. We are told that kids need a safe environment of course when those same kids get access to the violence we donât want them to see, they get confused. Which is part of the reason why some kids act like they do because they are confused from the reality to the fantasy that they are in.

 

hi im new to asta host.......this topic grabbed my attention .....

 

this is really considerable one.... young minds are getting cruel with those games......

all gamedesigners should stop this design of evilish games.....

 

It wonât stop the gaming industry makes over $20 billion a year so as long as games are making money they wonât stop producing them

 

true, some people are crazy enough to actually attempt to mimic a game because it just "feels so real". Some people are just that psychotic.

 

It could be other reasons, but a person should never think that life is a game because it's not! You can't respawn after you're dead. Once you're dead, you're dead!

 

Plus, I moved this topic to the proper location.

 

xboxrulz

 

This pretty much sums up what I been saying.

 

 

This topic got very interesting, I think that every normal person should recognise the real world and the gaming world, games are usually addicting, especially for people who recently started to play games, usually that is the youth. Now when going by bus I usually hear kids talking about games, about different ones and different situations, don't know if this is bad or this is just something new. When I was a small kid, usually it was enough for me to grab a plastic gun, gather up with friends and play "war" in our imagination, it was cool, but it wasn't realistic and got boring, now kids can play such games with each other, for example playing counter strike is more realistic than playing the same game with a plastic gun in your yard with friends running around.. Even though I used to play games, a lot of them on spectrum, Amiga computers, but all my childhood I liked strategy and adventure games, so never got addicted very much, more I got a lot of patience out of playing them, you couldn't always save the game or get a password in old games, but still I finished most of them, some with cheating, some by myself and I feel happy about that Today.

 

I think kids should be controlled by parents, they don't need to be led to play 24 hours a day, only sometimes to know what it is, to know that feeling, because of the Internet, there are so much information, that I know one gamer, which got into c++ and directx and now wants to create games himself and if you want to create games you need or needed to play them etc.

 

What I don't like about games, that gamers usually stop reading books, even though I used to say that books sucks, but that isn't true when I grew up a little, if games feed our imagination, books feed them differently and playing with toys not on the computer feed them even more differently, so a kid needs to have everything. Therefore, I feel sorry about people who only are playing games and doesn't do anything more, they can become psychopathic, mad, crazy, it is much harder to find a girl/other side for them, friends and they just usually get reserved and doesn't know what to talk about except games.

 

That is true some kids get so addicted to video games that they forget to get out of the house sometimes. That was me as a teenager but of course once I graduated high school, I literally canât afford to do that anymore. People have to grow up and realize that playing video games isnât what it is cracked up to be.

 

Of course thanks to the video game leagues that are popping out and the fact that people are getting 6 figure paychecks just to be in a league. Of course some people who got the skills can make then more 6 figures just by making a game or even reviewing it. I know people have been seeing those commercials about a degree in video gaming. But guess what thatâs a false hope, unless you have been doing it for the last 30 years the only way to make it big is through connections or the older generation drops dead. This is due to the fact that the behind the scenes of the video game industry get very brutal as well. Right now itâs only franchise games that will eave your mark, anything new will either get tossed aside because it lacks something and is un original or it literally sucks and it shouldnât have been made period (I have a big list of games that fall under that category).

 

 

true games are addicting, I can admit it.

 

These are the games that has been on my "playlist" for years.

 

- Freelancer

- Starcraft

- Generals

- Halo/Halo 2

 

xboxrulz

 

Wish I was like that but Once I finish a game that it and it collects dust, I barely play games for replay value unless there is some replay value worth replaying.

 

I think the question now is how much does gaming affects behavior. To say that gaming does not affects behavior is definitely not true becoz everything affects the mind which ultimately affects our behavior. But I do not think that the effect of gaming on behavior is that great that we should be concerned about. People talk about violence in games but how about movies? Lots of blockbuster movies actually have fight scenes on them. So should we now banned all movies with fight scenes on them? You should think of movies like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings etc. before you answer yes to the above question. And to complicate matters even more, how about our everyday life? If there is someone bullying in the school, should anyone who witnessed it then turn to be a bully? And how do you stop bullying in school, or anyway? And if our behavior can be changed that easily, than i guess our society is doomed already since violence has been with humanity for centuries.

My take on decreasing violence is more on enforcing the law and having laws that act as a deterrent to violence. Unfortunately, that is not the case with modern society nowadays. I cannot understand how the authorities can talk about cost-cutting in the prison system. So now you have criminals given parole after serving just half or maybe even less of their sentence. Heck, then why sentenced them to such a lengthy periods anyway in the first place? You have to remember one thing. One of the functions of the law is to prevent crime in the first place. The deterrent effect of the law is of crucial importance to society. When criminals don't think that they would pay for their crime, heck... why not commit it? Hey, you might not get caught and even if you do, the jury or judge might find you not guilty. If indeed you are found guilty, well, put on your best behavior and you can be out pretty soon. Sounds like a good deal?

 

Movies are different to the sense that they are more real then video games and the fact that they play on the fears of the reality people know about it.

 

 

I would say not really. It could though if the kids are exposed to violent games at a young age (The parents should be watching what they are playing anyway). As the kids get older they would start to understand that they are only playing a game, not something that they should copy.

I'd say after they have been through that they are fine so this shouldn't really be an excuse for crimes.

Then you have the addicting side of it, if they don't get enough and all of a sudden they can then it might lead into an addiction. With games like world of warcraft (which i have recently gotten in to) it is pretty damn easy to get addicted to it so you could only imagine what the kids reactions will be

 

-HellFire

 

Thatâs the thing even if the parents are watching them; they could go to their friendâs house and play those violent video games. However some kids donât realize the difference between reality and fantasy and those are the people who do some of these violent acts we hear about.

 

 

@xboxrulz - thanks for moving it There's too many forums about so I thought I'd put in the 'safe place'. lol.

 

@quatrux - interesting read. I have to say I had more fun as a kid being imaginative and making our own games up with plastic guns and sticks than playing on the nintendo. It just bored me, that all I would do is sit in front of a screen working out stupidly easy puzzles and not having to think.

 

The gaming world and the real world are being combined by developers, just look at our 3rd-Gen consoles (360, Wii, PS3) they're another step closer to making it rediculously real-life.

 

They do become socially inept. I wouldn't say that they are more psychotic though. Some 'gamers' I know aren't psychotic, far from. They're just not socially aware.

 

@yeh - thanks for taking the topic to the next part - how much it affects behaviour.

 

As for the violence in movies. I don't think it has changed over the past 20 years, if anything because of censoring, it's become less. However, the realism of the violence is much greater, with spectacular special effects. Whilst I find all these new horrors boring (they're all just about making the audience jump with strong drum beats). They don't leave anything to the imagination, like the recent Descent and Hostel.

 

We can't stop bullying, and we never will. Bullying is a prejudice orientated effect, not completely behavioural like violence on behaviour.

 

To take on your question of how much does it affect beahviour? Well, I would say it depends on the situation. Just general gaming, I wouldn't say it does a lot. I think it only provides a catalyst to augment in the result of the combined factors. However hardcore gaming on very graphical and real-life experiences, along with damaged childhood or adolescence, I would say a very important factor.

 

***Updated topic start to include the three questions we've come across so far.

 

Pretty much agree whats being said here.

 

If I got my hands on a rocket launcher then game on.

 

Well gaming does affect behaviour, but what actually are you evaluating? Games can make people pleasant, stressed, etc and this will alter their behaviour. I'll play competitively against someone, and they could get angry if losing or smart if winning, so it's affecting their behaviour.

 

So really, what are you delving into?

 

I know most people look at it whether gaming will make them act like the game, it's not the game, it's what they're learning from it. Their brain is accepting things from the game, and comparing it with reality and somewhere along the line, they've had a miscommunication where it adversely seems like a decision was based purely on what they picked up from a game.

 

Cheers,

 

MC

 

agreed

 

I was aiming at delving into whether people will so greatly affected by gaming that their behaviour results in horrific violence, such as the Columbine Masacre or the latest 'Angel of Death' scenario.

 

Columbine was about being bullied and depression that was all environmental and mental, I donât remember video games being part of that high school shooting; although itâs been a while I looked into it and never really got into it.

 

But itâs the violence that you hear about in which video games are directly mentioned as the cause of it. Look at the PS3 when it came out, people got shot, stabbed, robbed just because they needed it, the money was the bonus to it.

 

 

I have to admit that this is literally the longest post in which I had to think about stuff, should be interesting what others say about this topic.

[kgd2006 0]

I believe that gaming has and cant affect your behavior. For example, if there was a group of children in one room playing tetris, and another group of kids playing street fighter games for maybe a good duration of the time. The 2nd group would most likely show some sort of violent behavior.It just something that is engraved into their minds during the duration of play that brings out what games represent. I am most certain that if there was a 15 minute recess and we were to group the 2 groups back together, the 2nd group would show a sense of violence while the first group would just figure out why they are acting like they are.Games today are rather very violent, and it has been seen how extreme the game goes to show its realism and representation of society. I for one am one of the people that would randomly just play fight, because most of the time I grew up I preferred fighting games and action games then those of puzzle games. But I have learned the limit to where I can go with my game mocking personaltiy. Kids these days dont know and just go and react events that they saw in a game, thinking that it wouldnt hurt or be harmless to them. That is why games are not rated and strict on minors not being able to own a Mature rated game. Time will tell when violent games will probably be banned from the market. If it goes, I dont know where I would actually go for entertainment.

[yeh 0]

That is why games are not rated and strict on minors not being able to own a Mature rated game. Time will tell when violent games will probably be banned from the market. If it goes, I dont know where I would actually go for entertainment.

Actually, some of the games already have ratings on them. Not sure about the enforcement, though. In the future, I would say that the ratings would be made mandatory and it would be given out by an independent body. Just like what is going on in the movie industry. And kids would only be able to buy a game not rated for them if it is bought by their parents. Kinda like the enforcement on alcohol buying. I do not believe that violence, in general, would be outlawed in games. Maybe some context specific parts that are offending to people would be censored or deleted. Other than that, violence in games would stay with us. I don't see the reason why there is so much emphasis on violent video games when other stuff in our lives is violent and sometimes, it is real violence. Boxing is legal, and it is telecast live to millions of viewers. Some boxers died on the ring by knockout while there is a case where one boxer got his ear bitten off by his opponent. Some kids, who are less than 10 years old, know more about wrestling and their star/idol wrestlers than me. How about paintball game, where you literally have guns, bullets and grenades and you go around shooting your "enemy"? The list can go on and on...

I think the emphasis now is on adults teaching their kids what is right and wrong. It is not the function of the state to babysit your kids.

[leafbunk 0]

Wow I just realized that I hadn't been tracking this topic and I should have been. To twitch: Anyways, I don't feel negatively toward the game designers, even if they do design some extremely graphic and hostile games. And I'm not disgusted either that they were capable of devising such a graphic concept for a game. It just creative license I suppose, and they've got the right to create whatever type of game they want. After all, it is my choice in whether I choose to participate in playing and involving myself in that game or not. Someone brought up the idea in a previous post that some people develop problems separating reality from fantasy. I personally don't believe this is acually the issue. Going along with the Columbine incident, I think that the problem there was the "numbness" that I've been talking about. They were aware that their bullets could potentially murder people, but they probably didn't care. Because they had become numb to compassion and empathy, they lost important skills such as foresight and thorough evaluation of the consequences of their actions.I must admit I'm becoming a bit more numb to violence because I do surround myself with it so much. I watch violent movies, I play violent games, and because of this I have indeed built up a tolerence to it like I mentioned before. I think gaming does affect our psyche which in turn affects our behaviour. *shrug*

[Chesso 0]

Comparing a 5 year old with dora the explorer, to a 16 year old with an FPS game is not a bright idea.By that age you should be mature and hopefully intelligent enough to know what's on and what isn't and have the capacity to restrain yourself.Do video games effect behaviour, well of course they do, just about everything effects our behaviour, otherwise we wouldn't have moods and such now would we (like our behaviour when reacting to a certain situation).However, when coming into the teen years and beyond, you should be more than capable of handling silly violent or sexual video games and only taking it for what it is.Like alot of people, I watched all the voilent and otherwise movies from the age of 5, and co-incidentally I started with video games back then too.But today, the police don't even know who I am, I have no criminial record in existance.So i'm either really bloody good at not getting caught, or voilent movies and video games and the like, haven't effected me the same way it has others.But if I can restrain myself after such prolonging, why can't anyone else, whats there excuse.

[borlafu 0]

Excellent explanation Cheeso.Of course everything around people affects their behaviour, as spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset said: "I am myself and my circumstances".Anyway everyone has his own criteria to differ between good and evil, and act in concordance. That's why they set a minimal age to play cercain games. It's not just to avoid kids who are not intellectually ready to understand that it's a game, not real life, to play that game. Of course it's an aproaxal, intellect cannot be mesured by age, but that's where parent have to do their job and if they think that game isn't appropiate for their son, don't buy it.PD: Sorry for my english :S

[Chesso 0]

Well yeah, generally all around the world most countries have standards for a good reason.Although everyone will almost always have different experiences, and even see the same events from different views, the atmosphere is very similar, and brings alot of people to similar grounds.Like educational instutions, governments, laws, rules, general parenting techniques etc.That way, no matter how different we live and are raised, we still have alot in common eh.

[Arbitrary 0]

Does gaming affect behaviour, or is it all just a fad to give people an excuse for the increasingly violent crimes?

Most of it, IMO, is just a fad. Sure, there are some people who do end up very angry, secluded, etc because of gaming, but those are probably the same type of people who have problems dealing with any type of addiction and fail to see the difference between fantasy and reality. They're the type of people that would get addicted to gaming the same way they'd get into drugs. But those are very few. The majority of the population will be able to tell the difference between fantasy and reality and make sound decisions for themselves so that they don't end up in sordid situations.

 

Therefore, I do not think playing games makes people choose to kill someone else. That's just a tad too extreme. Most gamers probably can make perfectly sane decisions. On the other hand, I'm inclined to agree with Leafbunk and say that playing too many games changes one's tolerance towards violence. I've noticed this in my younger brother--though this isn't the result of games, more of television. He tends to put little intensity into killing--such violence is often joked about and considered as no big deal. Of course, I'm sure if he actually experienced such violence he probably wouldn't be quite so inclined to take it as a joke.

 

they just usually get reserved and doesn't know what to talk about except games.

That, I think, depends a lot more on the individual. For instance, I am nowhere near an avid gamer but I'm also quite reserved and feel uncomfortable talking to people. This problem, I think, is one that is created by computers in general and not just games. I've also met a number of gamers at my school who are very talkative. And they don't only talk about games--they usually talk about anything that floats their boat. Some of these people naturally enjoy to talk, and even spending 8 hours in front of a screen doesn't change that. On the other hand, the quieter people can find gaming to be an outlet, which can be a problem. They might find it easier to chat with people than to actually speak with them in person. That poses a big problem--after all, in order to be well-rounded and possibly get a job, a person has to have at least okay social skills. So it's these naturally reserved gamers that I'm worried about.

 

I also think that parents should quit complaining about these companies luring their kids in. They can easily take charge and force their kids to quit gaming if they think their kids are addicted to it. Blaming it on someone else does not solve the problem. Also, it might be easier if parents actually talk with their kids about the possible consequences of gaming (aka addiction) before they get addicted. If gamers are looking out for a problem, that problem is less likely to occur than if they're just blindingly scrounging about.

 

I think some education on addiction before they get addicted might help. Then they'd be able to look for possible pitfalls and avoid them.

 

Then again, this debate is one of those, "there really isn't a right answer".

Edited December 22, 2006 by Arbitrary (see edit history)

[Chesso 0]

Telling people about addictions won't help them avoid them, heck tell them what could happen even if it won't and they'll still do it, Iv'e been smoking since I was 13 after all and I'm still a heavy smoker *shrugs*.I can laugh and joke about killing without a problem, but as you said, gamers and what can for the majority tell the difference between reality and otherwise, so even though I joke about death and killing, I may not be relating to real killings and deaths .Modularity and broadening ones horizon isn't so bad a thing as long as you survive. I have a fairly open humour and open mind because of aspects like gaming and such, i'm alot more layed back (perhaps I should be a little less so though).Oh well.

[CaptainRon 0]

May be it sounds stupid but there have been times when I have had that sensation to be in a real life Counter-Strike battle...Yeah, I guess too violent games let you simulate an experience that you otherwise wouldn't have had in real life.If flying a flight simulator gives you that chill of landing a aircraft, similarly a mission flight simulator gives you pleasure in shooting down other aircraft. Going the same lines, violent games like CounterStrike and Half-Life etc, give you the pleasure of bloodshed...But then it has positive effects too... your quench for pleasure is restricted to that game. You play, you shoot, you feel relaxed. It helps you freshen up your mind. Above all it quenches the male thirst for destruction.

[Alegis 0]

Does Gaming Affect Behaviour...

No. Correlation versus Causation.
Long discussions made short.
Edited December 22, 2006 by Alegis (see edit history)

[Rokuso 0]

Too much playing of games could lead to suicidal because of something a person could not achieve;Too much playing could lead to changed behavior, and personality.Such as :-When someone asks you how old you are, you may respond with : Level *your age*-When someone is really mad, you might say that that person is on aggro mode.-When a person asks you for a pencil, you might say, "Press the accept button" and such;-If your mom asks you how you are doing at school, you might respond with your character's stats.----------------------------------------------------------------------------Games are starting to affect the behavior of children by the millions. Like when that kid who couldn't join a certain faction in WoW and commited suicide because he couldn't join.Or when that kid who was trying to reenact a scene from WoW by jumping off a building thinkingthat his colossal parachute in WoW would save him.Gaming is affecting many people. One more example, Counter-Strike.Say, when you're playing dodgeball, and you hit someone in the head. You might outburst saying : "BOOM HEADSHOT!"Or when you get someone in the back and they get knocked over, you might respond with :"HUMILIATION"WoW and Counter-Strike are just one of the many perps out there that are effecting many children.So my answer is yes. Gaming does affect behavior.

[Chesso 0]

Umm I never heard of any of those incidents.And some of that stuff is true, but it is extremely minor and not necessairly bad.You can say the same for standard ordinary life, it influences you to talk in a certain manner, do certain things, if you get too depressed about life not going your way (just like a game) you ay commit suicide.So it's perfectly normal for one to use phrases and teachings on a reasonable level from video games if one plays them so often.What we should be looking at is the differences, not the **** that matches up with other influencial media, life in general and otherwise.

[mvs.en 0]

Just to jump in here and throw my opinion out... I apologize if I step on someone's toes or if I repeat things that have already been said like 10 times <__< I read a few posts from this thread just to try and see if anything I say would be redundant with them, but I'm just going to say what I think now.Like... Literally three days ago my English class was having this very discussion, about whether or not video games can be the main cause of violent acts or if they're going to be a contributing factor at all.And, it basically boils down to every person is going to interpret the game differently.But that is true of ANY story-type-activity.Hell, the people thta go and shoot up their schools "because" of a video game they played would have been just as likely to do it if they watched a violent television show or read a violent book.Has anyone actually blamed a violent or disturbing book for a shooting or related incident though?I haven't ever researched that question, but none that I know of.Video games, are not the central cause as far as I can tell. Because most of the disturbed individuals who are affected so much by playing these games, if the games were absent from their lives, would only find some other form of fuel or inspiration.I know, I, myself was raised on violent video games and Television.And I have always had a very vivid and creative imagination... Morbid 80% of the time too.Half of my teachers asked me if I was going to start shooting people last year when I first started wearing my black trenchcoat to school. I still wear it, haven't shot anyone. (I know that's a little off-topic, but this all kinda ties together in my mind.)So to recap... I've played violent video games my entire life, I have a violent, morbid and creative imagination, I wear all black most of the time, black trenchcoat, I carry a knife in my pocket at all times (Usually for contsructive purposes like openning packages)... And on occasion I am prone to listenning to metal (Though not as often... I'm listenning to Neil Young right now, for example)And I can pretty much say for a fact that I am never going to be getting a small group of people together and going to shoot up my school... Or any other area where there are living people.Why?Because I'm not insane, obviously... My logic and common-sense still prevents me from being quite that stupid.Video games do not remove someone's common sense. And they do not create an illogical mind from a logical, sane one.What is my point?I, in no plausible way, believe that video games are a catalyst for any of these violent acts and shootings.I believe that if someone already has some mental issues (LIke a lack of conscience, logic or common sense) then observing fictional violence and mutilation may not be the best choice for them. That it might do nothing except amplify the negative conditions... But I wouldn't blame that on video games.People who don't feel they can control themselves or can't logically see that shooting up your school "because you thought it wolud be cool like in the video games" is about the stupidest thing that could ever pall throught tehir heads, probably shouldn't be playing those kind of video games, watching those kind of shows, hearing those kind of stories, or reading those kind of books.I tihnk that's all >__>I apologize for the typos, I'm typing kinda fast.And I'm sorry if that's poorly contsructed ond stuff, the original post was only supposed to be like one paragraph but I just kept adding onto it as I thought of more things...And it turned into this.