Friday, July 17, 2009

Videogame Violence Essay

Despite all of the controversy, videogames do not cause violent behavior in mature players. Many studies have proven that videogames do not directly cause violent behavior. For many years not, psychologists have been studying how videogame violence affects kids. Leave the Pong to Grandma. Research has shown that videogames affect kids more than adults. These violent videogames are not aimed towards kids. The developers of these games make them for mature minded adults. ESRB ratings are used to prevent kids from purchasing mature rated games. If a game is rated mature, a customer must be at least seventeen years of age. Many games like Max Payne, Counter-Strike, and the ever popular game Grand Theft Auto are some of the most violent games on the market right now. List Targets Violent Games. These games may be violent, but they do not teach violence. In all of these games, a player uses weapons of mass destruction, but none of these games teach a player to accurately fire a high caliber sniper rifle. Video games are not bad for mature players, but shouldn’t be played by children.

The ESRB rating system is now required for every game to hit the shelves. The ESRB rating system helps consumers purchase a game for a specific age group. ESRB-FAQ. The rating may be placed to aim for mature players, but it is the parents’ responsibility to judge what game is appropriate for the child. Leave the Pong to Grandma. The staff that rates the games is not a permanent staff. People sign up to rate a set of games then return to their normal jobs. ESRB-FAQ. “The individual reviewers of games are not revealed to the developer.” ESRB-FAQ. Much is done to accurately rate each individual game based on game play and the game material. Each individual game package reveals the contents such as drug use, violence, sexual themes, etc. So if the parents do not approve of violence, they know which games to avoid, and which to buy. When ESRB first started, they were an optional rating for game developers to have. Now, it is required by law. ESRB-FAQ. The government clearly supports the use of the ESRB rating system and does everything possible to keep violent games out of the reach of young kids.

Some games, more than others, receive more media attention due to excessive gore, use of drugs, violence, or in Max Payne’s case, all three. Max Payne received a lot of controversy when it was first released. Max Payne is a very popular game and has been released for Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony’s Playstation 2, and the PC. The developer of Max Payne is Rockstar, who is constantly under suspension for releasing violent videogames and affected the minds of young kids. “Max Payne’s game engine is like no other”. Playing with Firearms. Max Payne uses a system called Bullet-Time. Bullet-Time slows down the game play to enable the player to make the character have faster reflexes. While in Bullet-Time, players can see the bullets actually impact the enemy. Bullet-Time enhances the gore level immensely. Bullet-Time is what is accused of being the game’s magnet to media. The storyline consists of a cop that has been framed for killing his ex-partner. He then comes home to his wife and child brutally murdered. He then goes on a quest to find his family’s killer and the person who framed him. Playing with Firearms. Not only is the storyline interesting, but also everything is done to make the game look real. Rockstar used an incredible graphics engine on the game. They used software that enabled the developers to take digital photographs and use them for textures in the game. So while walking around in the game, the wallpaper, ceiling fans, etc, seems more real. Although the storyline is violent and the graphics are realistic, it does not realistically teach kids to kill people. It does not show where to get guns or how to dive in slow motion. The game is unrealistic and as long as the players know that, children will not believe that they can do these things and will not act violently due to this game. Max Payne is appropriate for any mature action fan.

The popular game Counter-Strike is a mod to the 1998 PC Gaming Magazine game of the year. A mod is a patch of gaming code that gets latched on to a full version game. The game was the first of its kind. The health system is the closet to real life ever made. Playing with Firearms. Although you are supposed to kill enemies, you are punished for killing friendlies. The game consists of two teams, the Terrorists and the Counter-Terrorists. Playing with Firearms. There are separate objectives for each team on all the maps. “Terrorists are encouraged to set bombs, or kill hostages”. Playing with Firearms. The Terrorists may be encouraged to place bombs and kill the hostages, but the Counter-Terrorists are required to save the hostages and stop bombs from blowing up. Many aspects of the game mod are considered realistic, but the most realistic aspect of the game is the guns. Many of the weapons are actually used by SWAT and the Navy SEALS. There are also very popular Terrorists weapons such as the AK-47 and the Desert Eagle. Some examples of Counter-Terrorists weapons are MP5 and the Berretta. Although you can purchase the weapons in the game, you are not instructed how to properly and accurately fire any of them. Media is too fast to blame this game for violent behavior, it only promotes real life action and strategy.

Grand Theft Auto is one of the most controversial games ever made. The city is a real virtual acting city. Violence yields to pacman. Everything that is in real life, exists in the city. Some of these objects are like schools, traffic lights, cops, walking pedestrians, trains, etc. Every single object can be interacted with. “Health can easily be replenished by simply picking up a prostitute and drive into an alley way”. Violence yields to pacman. This is a foolish part of the game that no one takes seriously, health is easier to gain by going to the hospital. There are no sexual animations shown, the car is the only thing that shakes. Killing cops is an inevitable part of the game. Violence yields to pacman. The majority of cop killing is done accidentally by running them down over with a car. Although it is possible to run into the cop station and start shooting, it is suicidal. Breaking any law results in a penalty, the more laws that are broken, the more the cops come after the player. Killing cops is part of the game, but is not done freely without punishment. Every player realizes the seriousness of committing these crimes and would not take it seriously.

Games like Max Payne, Counter-Strike, and Grand Theft Auto are extremely violent and are not meant to be played by all audiences. Each game carries a rating for a purpose. That purpose is to advise the consumer about the product they are considering to purchase. Many studies have proven that violent videogames affect the behavior of young people, but studies have also shown that violent videogames do not affect the behavior of mature players. The clear solution is to try to prevent kids from getting these games.

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