With great power comes great responsibility.”

Whilst we’re all very familiar with the quote from Spiderman it brings a few truths home for those who enjoy their gadgets and entertainment systems. One variety of system that has gained more power than most is the Video Games console.

Over the past few years the power of consoles has risen dramatically. They’ve become nothing more than overpowered computers built to process 0’s and 1’s through the medium of in-game graphics and physics in the best way possible. This has pushed the envelope for realism somewhat sharply, what with games like Zelda 64, Goldeneye, Half Life 2, and Crysis taking centre-stage in peoples homes. Regardless of who you support out of Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft, many games companies are utilising their machines to try and create the most realistic (and in some sense enjoyable) gaming experience possible; but what do we really end up with? What do today’s youth get out of playing video games?

A recent video added to ITV Uploaded shows a middle-aged woman claiming that video games do nothing to deter levels of gun crime in the United Kingdom, with a possible link to them being a cause of many crimes. This is a stance that many mainstream news outlets seem to emphasise on an almost weekly basis, somewhat recently with the Virginia Tech Massacre. A recent report notes that Seung Hi Cho was not likely influenced to kill by violent games during the onslaught by many news stations stating that violent games could have driven him to kill. It also seems to be a popular opinion formed by individuals, especially of later generations.

Like with any new mediums, you’ll always have some resistance from the older generations due to a fear of the unknown. Anyone roughly 30 years and younger have grown up with video games around them from birth. They slowly became acclimated to them at a young age and as technology, story lines and even the number of buttons on the controller became more advanced this generation has firmly embraced it. They learned with them and grew. They had a previous reference to compare and analyse the subtle differences and understand that you don’t need to fire your weapon once in a game like Postal 2. Older generations that grew up with only books, radio and television are going to suffer some apprehension when a new form of entertainment becomes mainstream - when their kids decide not to watch TV and decide to sit around online playing World of Warcraft with their friends.

Before we go down this road, this is not an article to trash Jack Thompson. He is entitled to do whatever he wants as far as I’m concerned and I won’t lower myself to the extent of some to attack him. They do nothing but bring social media back another ten years and it sometimes makes me sick to think that some of these users have a following.

Jack Thompson has a history of putting games in the centre of violent crimes, namely GTA: Vice City. This may be the fault of the New Media (Internet) but I sometimes fail to see how these facts are linked up. From every article I found there seemed to be a missing link between video game and murder.

Looking at this from a logical perspective, the link would have to be that the game was played, and the emotions taken from playing the game were directed at another person in a violent manner. I am not licensed to talk about the psychological affects of playing a game past my own experience or from the experiences of those I know. All I know to make this link is what logically happens.

This differs from many other entertainment-tech pastimes, such as watching movies and listening to music due to the fact that these scenes are acted out. How much could this possibly affect the user? Aren’t games designed to be challenging to the user and to apply logic to virtual scenes, regardless of whether you’re jumping over a block, kicking a football or shooting an alien?

Games are very challenging to play. Take Oblivion for example. Semantics aside, there is a storyline to follow and you must carry on your adventures through the world, whilst exploring, battling and collecting. Compare this to FIFA 08, where you are given a goal (take your team and beat the opposition) and must utilise your skills to win the game. What is the real difference between these games? Are you engaging in their world, or are you using brainpower to complete a goal?

Both. It’s no surprise that gaming will bring out certain emotions within people, but there is no moral gain or loss when playing a game. So if you shoot someone in a game, you gain little and lose little. You are simply completing a goal you have been set by the game.

Now, is it possible to convert game violence to real violence? I don’t think so, at least no more than what you can by watching a movie. If these emotions are enough to drive you to take another humans life then there must have originally been something there that was triggered.

I bet you’re thinking “I could have come to that conclusion! Why did it take you that long to come up with that?!”

Simple, because things aren’t so black and white. It took an intense medical report to debunk Cho and learn the previous trauma he had suffered. Whilst video games were not linked to him taking all of those innocent lives there was enough pain in his life for anything to set him off, a lost game on Halo, a movie, or even insults (listed in the report). What is needed is substance, and the Gaming/Violence link is nothing more than an assumption made on a lack of information.

Many feel they are just passing observers of this new medium. They are not aware of gaming as an art form, or the major political and sociological impacts gaming can produce. All many will know of gaming is the bad press that has time-and-time again piqued their interests in the news, and when you observe only the negative, you’re going to be scared and you’re going to be vocal about it.

Gaming in its most basic form is escapist entertainment. Sometimes it is refreshing to immerse yourself in a unique role that isn’t your own. Much like acting, players find themselves totally immersed in their roles. It’s a fantastic twist to the interactive side of gaming argument that is brought up so often; what is gaming other than virtual acting?

I leave you with a quote from the peer-reviewed Journal (The Future of Children)

The impact of home computer use on children’s activities and development.

The increasing amount of time children are spending on computers at home and school has raised questions about how the use of computer technology may make a difference in their lives–from helping with homework to causing depression to encouraging violent behavior. This article provides an overview of the limited research on the effects of home computer use on children’s physical, cognitive, and social development. Initial research suggests, for example, that access to computers increases the total amount of time children spend in front of a television or computer screen at the expense of other activities, thereby putting them at risk for obesity. At the same time, cognitive research suggests that playing computer games can be an important building block to computer literacy because it enhances children’s ability to read and visualize images in three-dimensional space and track multiple images simultaneously. The limited evidence available also indicates that home computer use is linked to slightly better academic performance. The research findings are more mixed, however, regarding the effects on children’s social development. Although little evidence indicates that the moderate use of computers to play games has a negative impact on children’s friendships and family relationships, recent survey data show that increased use of the Internet may be linked to increases in loneliness and depression. Of most concern are the findings that playing violent computer games may increase aggressiveness and desensitize a child to suffering, and that the use of computers may blur a child’s ability to distinguish real life from simulation. The authors conclude that more systematic research is needed in these areas to help parents and policymakers maximize the positive effects and to minimize the negative effects of home computers in children’s lives.

I welcome anyone to challenge me on my views, as that’s all they are, views. Any worthwhile additions from the comments inside and outside of this article may be added in the future