Violence in games

Admin Joined : 06 Jun 2007 Posts : 30

Many computer games are criticised for the amount of violence they include. I shall very briefly state my point of view.

All through the ages, and in different cultures, fighting evil for the sake of what is good, and to protect the innocent, has been considered a virtue. And the very nature of evil has made it necessary to use harsh means. In legends and folk tales from all over the world we find heroes who do this. They are regarded as heroes first of all because they protect all that is good, but also because doing this require intelligence, strength, dexterity and courage.

Computer games are in many instances modern equivalents to traditional tales. In my opinion the question is not how much violence one finds in games, but why it is there and how it is depicted. Traditional tales can be very violent when dragons and trolls are killed. Both in computer games and in traditional tales one will find both physical and spiritual enemies, the last types presented allegorically.

Modern psychologists do in general not recognise evil nor do they recognise goodness. This is an attitude I disapprove of, and I don’t find it difficult to argue it in depth. Here however I will limit myself to state that I believe in good and evil and that the individual is free to choose between them.

As long as a computer game has the right attitude it can not, no more than a traditional tale about a hero fighting evil, work as a catalyst that makes evil persons do evil deeds. To state that it does is a lie. However having the right attitude is not quite enough, it is important also that the game's presentation of violence, how it is depicted, as well as other graphical depictions do not appeal to the criminally minded.

In my opinion a computer game is basically entertainment, although it can also have educational values. But it can hardly reach the level of seriousness and gravity that a book or a film can do. Therefore to use real life tragedies and crimes as game elements, no matter how long ago they took place, is un-ethical.

Wolfenstein 3-D is an example of a game that I do approve of. Those you fight are symbols of evil. The bloodshed is only depicted in a way to create tension and a sense of realism. At the same time the game is so un-realistic that the graphical images that are there to emphasise the horror of the Nazis are just like similar images from other games and have no resemblance to any real crime committed by the Nazis.

Lastly I will say that there are games that I strongly disapprove of and even condemn. But I shall not discuss that any further here.

Poet.