Violent Video Games aren’t about the Violence
Its the story and gameplay behind the violence
Many old farts debate that violence in video games somehow translates to the real world. I think it’s easy to try to give a scapegoat for the horrors of mass shootings to something like video games instead of addressing the actual cause. Mental Health. Studies repeatedly have shown there is little to no correlation to such claims. (although I guess you can find evidence of the opposite if you look for enough confirmation bias) When the average nongamer looks at a game about shooting, they might be scared at face value. I mean, if you are trying to be fair, of course, it might seem to be worrying. HOWEVER, I think most people don’t understand the most critical thing about violence in games.
Violent video games aren’t about violence. There is meaning behind it. And by the end of this article, I’ll try my best to explain why.
Why are shooting games fun?
Why is soccer fun? Is it fast-paced movement mixed with the athletic skill it takes to get the ball around an opponent and score a goal? Take other sports into account as well. What makes that fun. Most competitive shooter games are fun in the same way. It’s not the fact that shooting someone is fun when we take a game like CS: GO (Counter Strike Global Offensive) or Valorant and say why the game is fun. These games take not just fast movement and hand-eye coordination to play at a high skill level. But also strategy and teamwork. The games are fun because of these reasons. Not because a deadly weapon is simulated.
Doom is an example of a single-player game with the same idea. Doom isn’t really fun because of excessive gore. (although it can be a bit funny.) It is more about fast-paced gameplay that takes skill to play on greater difficulties. The sequel to Doom 2016 also takes it a step further and makes killing certain demons more of a puzzle to make them easier to kill.
An example is one of the enemies will eat a grenade if you shoot it at them. Making them easier to take down. You are also forced to kill enemies if you want health back. Forcing players to always be aggressive and not play safe.
What about other Violent games?
What about GTA (Grand Theft Auto), a game where you steal cars and pay for hookers? Well, if you ever played the story mode for these games, you’ll know that that’s not the primary point of the game. Let me give you a different comparison that most people can relate to.
The TV show Breaking Bad. What is the show about? Is it just about a Drug Dealer doing horrible things and making meth all day? Or is there a troubled man trying to make money for his family before he dies from cancer? I’ve never really watched the show, but I think I know the basic premise.
GTA 4 isn’t about killing hookers and stealing cars. It’s about an immigrant named Niko Bellic, an Eastern European ex-soldier trying to start a new life in the fictional equivalent of New York in America. During this time in his new life, he gets wrapped up in crime despite wanting to leave that behind. He is also looking for the man who betrayed his unit in a prior war.
Most people who talk about GTA 4 in the media don’t mention the story is nuanced like this. They just reported that you can pay for a hooker and then kill her to steal the money back.
Summary
Besides the need to blame shootings in America on something or someone, I feel like video games are not fair to blame. And if you need more proof violence isn’t the point of video games, do you remember the game Hatred? It was a game about shooting random civilians. The media made a huge buzz around it. And when the game finally came out… no one liked it because it wasn’t fun. There was no substance. The buzz around the violence was the point. It was to sell copies. But it turned out to be a lousy game that no one cares about or remembers anymore. If video games were about senseless violence, that game would have been a masterpiece. But I could barely remember the name of it now.
I hope you learned more about why violent video games are fun. And hopefully, you can point this article to other people who are lost or confused about violent video games.
