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and that we are nearing the heel of the year 2005. Here in America, we have
reached a point where being liberal is more common than rebellious. Still, though
debate. Video gaming is one of the newest entertainment mediums in the world
Early on the position of the opposition was that video games would cause
gamers minds to rot. Luckily it is now common knowledge by any who are away
of the relation between brain activity and stimuli that the intensity and immersive
the position is that video games are overly violent and that they influence people,
particularly youth, to exhibit violent conduct. This debate actually started in the
early 90s when popular concerns of youth were the newest episode of Beavis
and Butthead. As for gamers Mortal Kombat was a hot topic in these days. Both
children and teens. A specific argument was that Beavis and Butthead lead to
one child starting fires. Mortal Kombat was attacked due to its use of blood in
video games. The attacks on Mortal Kombat led to the implementation of a blood
Grand Theft Auto. The series remained under the radar from the release of its
first installment in 1997 until the third version in the series was released in 2001.
GTA3 featured a 3 dimensional environment and was the first in the series to
status, the game also gained the attention of concerned parents who felt that the
There is usually a leader in the midst of battles that rage across the terrain
opposition. It is not GTA3 that has triggered the response of congress but, GTA:
San Andreas, the 5th installment. Hillary Clinton has spoken on the topic of
use of a game mod available on the internet). The feature is not an integral
product and often voids the manufacturer’s warranty on the product. The reason
for acknowledging this point is that there is often mention of Mrs. Clinton
opposing X-BOX. If you want to argue that the X-BOX is to blame for the mod,
then you need to not use a computer, ever. The measures taken in customizing
the X-BOX are the same measures used in providing “new” uses for your
computer.
The actual issue is with the modder of the GTA. Yet again, placing blame on a
developer or modder is not the point of this discussion. The question that should
be asked is who should be associated as being responsible for the content that is
received by gamers?
Many gamers will agree that parents ought to take responsibility for the
games that their children play. I will join them in this notion. I feel that as a gamer
entertainment? Call this a low blow if you want but, I believe that many parents
have become too engrossed in their own lives to monitor the involvements of
their children.
A study by, Douglas Gentile, PhD, and Craig Anderson, PhD, has shown
that the interaction between parents and children is a powerful tool when dealing
with suggestions of violent depictions in media. The boils down to the concept
that a parent should take an interest in the suggestions that are found in games
played by their children. Another idea that should be available in the minds of
parents is that they are parental figures; parents have the ability to control which
games are available to their children. Government should be used as a last
resort to solve a gripe. In the event of Parent A’s child encountering a game that
is not on the list of acceptable games designated by their parent, the parent
should realistically assess the method in which their child gained access to the
game. This does not mean that because the game was created, the creator is at
fault. With that logic, it is the fault of gun makers that the murder rate is as high
as it is.
The guns used in murder are being used in murders are used outside of
their intended purpose just as the X-BOX is being used outside of the purposed
content are being played outside of the people in their intended audience. I have
heard people say in conversation that the game makers enjoy the benefits of the
course they do. One of the major benefits of making games is reaping a profit. I
guess that means that the finances of a developer precede the well-being of our
children.
You’ll forgive my cynical stance as I don’t quite understand how this issue
has been in existence for such a long time. I’d figure that with the increase of
college graduates people could come to arrange a system to protect parties from
harmful material. Then again, there is the ESRB. The Entertainment Software
Rating Board is who I was told was responsible for rating games according to
content and would suggest minimum ages of gamers based on that content.
sits before them. Remember the MPAA, those are the people responsible for
rating film media. I understand the like the ESRB, the rating system is voluntary.
So what makes people pay attention to the ratings of movies and not of games?
I am assuming that the presence of real people and very realistic violence
in films is the culprit. The fact the every aspect of a game is created by a person
returned, depending on your point of view) to the developer. Films critics have
access to many critics to associate fault, actors, producers, directors, editors and
so on.
On censorship, would you rather a child (your child) see a fight with no
blood and the person who is beaten bounce back to full health or, see a more
realistic example where a person loses blood and eventual is knocked out or
dies? There is always the option of completely secluding children from real world
events in hope that without knowledge of violence, violence will vanish. The first
situation is the effect that was common in Power Ranger episodes and movies, in
which when the Rangers are attacked, their suits are merely bruised. In the
the child will come to learn that people actually feel pain when they are injured. I
suppose that we bought into the rules of pessimism and optimism and completely
disregarded realism.
On another note, I find it odd that neither games nor movies are entirely
real. Movies have visual attributes that match or at least come close to reality
but, lack the interaction of the real world. Games have intricate levels of
evaluate only the games that are presented to them by the concerned.
What would happen if they chose to evaluate a game such as Ico or better
yet, Katamari Damacy? If they posses any ability to discern matters for
themselves they should see that there are some games that are not focused on
violence. Perhaps they could come to allow a degree of violence in the event that
some cases greater than that which is common to high school. In fact the
view or an optimistic view for that matter. Attempt to examine the games as a
Commentary. July 27, 2005. Los Angeles Times. Dec. 14, 2005
<http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-johnson27jul27,0,1432940.story?coll=la-
news-comment-opinions>.
<http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/literacy/kestrel.htm>.
Unknown Author. “Violent Video Games - Psychologists Help Protect Children from Harmful Effects.”
<http://www.psychologymatters.org/videogames.html>.
Unknown Author. “Hillary Clinton and the Legislation Regarding Video Games.”
<http://news.softpedia.com/news/Hillary-Clinton-and-the-Legislation-Regarding-Video-Games-
4898.shtml>.