TV's Frink said:

Warbler said:

TheBoost said:

I in no way believe violent video games cause real violence. I don't support censorship or hysteria. 

On the other hand, I find them really disturbing. I'm not a hardcore gamer, but I feel there's a point where graphics and sound have gotten so good that murdering a simulated human being in a game these days is worlds away from shooting cartoon Nazis in Wolfenstien 3D. 

I recently played a little "Batman- Arkham City." Awesome gameplay, but for whatever reason the violence, sexuality, and language were all maxed out far beyond what you'd expect from any aspect of the Batman franchise. 

Not sure I have a specific point. Thoughts?

 

I don't care how good the sound and graphics get, killing a someone in video game will never ever be the same as killing an actual human being. 

How do you know until you try it?

 

(don't try it)

You are allowed to kill bad people ...right? *twitches*

I think everything influences us. 

• TV
• Movies
• Books
• Games
• Booze
• Food
• Chemicals
• Sunlight
• Talking to other people
• Looking at other people
• Lookin' out the window
• etc

Some of them more than others and some of them to certain people more than other people.  But all of it to some degree or another.  Some people are mean drunks, some people are happy drunks, and other people are just drunk. 

The mean drunks should realize that they need to cut back (hard) or change their attitudes (harder) or suffer the consequences and make people around them suffer as well.

Do violent games influence people?  Yes.  Do they influence people more than other media?  Perhaps some people, but on average probably yes.  Do they turn pure people into homicide driven lunatics?  I'd say 'no'.  Can they desensitize?  Like everything else, yes.  To what degree?  Depends on the person.

Can they have positive influences on people?  Like all other media: YES.  To a greater degree than other media, perhaps yes.

TheBoost said:

I recently played a little "Batman- Arkham City." Awesome gameplay, but for whatever reason the violence, sexuality, and language were all maxed out far beyond what you'd expect from any aspect of the Batman franchise. 

I want to agree with you... but have you seen the Batman comics recently?  Or the Catwoman ones, anyways?  The arkham games really tarted up Harley Quinn, but it seems to be a phase that DC Bat comics are going through right now.

I think part of it is to prove they're not for kids.

Warbler said:

I don't care how good the sound and graphics get,

 I care.

xhonzi said:

Talking to other people

Looking at other people

Lookin' out the window

xhonzi said:

Warbler said: I don't care how good the sound and graphics get,

 I care.

WRONG... *shit!*

     I wonder whether GTA is producing drivers with greater situational awareness and ability to act.

     I don't buy the idea that the games are the problem. There is a miniscule handful of the most extreme nuts who are obsessed with the idea of commiting these acts and wish to participate in them.

     They should be given an opportunity to back away and stop obsessing or, if under 21 or on parole, be placed in a secure environment until they demonstrate it's no longer important to them.

Say there was this manager at work who turned out to have a plan to run off with company secrets and he cruelly intimidated a colleague into acting for his personal purposes by threatening his wife and daughters and in the end caused a large number of deaths, including the nuclear destruction a mid western American City on September 22nd 1998, what would you do? What if you were in charge? 

TV's Frink said:

xhonzi said:

Talking to other people

That's a paddlin'

Looking at other people

That's a paddlin'

Lookin' out the window

Oh, you better believe that's a paddlin'

Oh, you...

CP3S said:

thejediknighthusezni said:

     I wonder whether GTA is producing drivers with greater situational awareness and ability to act.

Oh, I had forgotten about that! GTA has never been my type of game and I've never really had any interest in it, but for some reason I did get into Vice City for a while. It marks one game where I did notice an effect on my behavior, I found it tempting to drive faster and more aggressively. I've always been a really safe driver, and these urges were easy to control, but I did notice them. It did not however, give me any urges to kill hookers, run over pedestrians, run from or shoot cops, or sell drugs from the back of ice cream trucks.