Do games make you wanna kill???

Sir Ibi · Post by **Sir Ibi** » 09 Jan 2005, 04:25

Do violent games encourage people to kill one another???

I read about this guy, who killed several of his classmates in a school, kinda SAS military style, it was later confirmed that he was an avid player of Rainbow Six. Another situation occured when a guy was sniping at random civilians near a highway - he said that GTA Vice City made him do this.

There have been many cases similar to these, but is it because they play violent games, or is it becuase thier parents can't raise their kids properly.

I was shopping at a gamestore once and i heard a kid, no more than 13, 14 years old, who was asking his mum to buy him GTA: San Andres - which has an 18 certificate here in Britain. His mum replied... "sure". I mean if parents aren't responsible enough to make sure thier kids don't play games that thier too young for, or watch movies which their not old enough to see.

Does this mean that Game Designers have to limit thier creativity in order to please parents, who say violent games are ruining our kids' lives.

After playing San Andres, do you feel like going out on the streets and just machine gunning everyone, or beating up prostitues? Would you even have the balls to commit such crimes, or pull the trigger knowing that you're going to kill that person in front of you? If the answer is yes, then please talk to a profesional psychiatrist.

What do you guys think? I would really like to hear both sides of the argument.

PSZeTa · Post by **PSZeTa** » 09 Jan 2005, 05:13

No.

Those idiots who claim it's the games fault, those have no lives. Everyone can understand nobody is going to kill because of games, it's just those people that want to spoil ''entertainment'' and want to remove the violent games.

Post by **TheStig** » 09 Jan 2005, 06:34

for me it works the other way around... I have to say I don't play shooting games anymore lately but when I was angry or simply pissed at something... starting Unreal tournament or Rainbox Six 3 and playing a single player game on easy and blasting everything to pieces... was a great relieve to me (on easy cause you can be more wreckless and don't get killed...getting killed makes me even more pissed and I don't want that.. so it was or on easy or GOD mode turned on

)
after the game I was often in a good/better mood!

so does it make me want to shoot people... No!

those who feel that way are seriously mentally handicapt!
and I do think parents should be more carefull... and better look after their kiddies

Sir Ibi · Post by **Sir Ibi** » 09 Jan 2005, 06:54

Just writing to say that i agree with TheStig (name shamelessly stolen from Top Gear; hit BBC1 car program

). I find FPS are a great way of relieving stress and fustration otherwise known as the "catharsis hypothesis".

Post by **TheStig** » 09 Jan 2005, 06:59

Sir Ibi wrote:Just writing to say that i agree with TheStig (name shamelessly stolen from Top Gear; hit BBC1 car program )

and I'm damn proud of it...

GioDeR · Post by **GioDeR** » 09 Jan 2005, 09:36

Does games make me wanna kill? NO! Ceirtainly not!!! I'm believing that is one of the worlds lamest excuses for killing someone, nxt to something that has to do with religious belives!!!

Post by **Bojan** » 09 Jan 2005, 13:53

This whole ratings system is just passing on the blame to someone else.
Come on, when I was at that age I played all the games even those rated 18+ (fortunatly we don't have ratings here). Did it affect me in a bad way? Well I don't remember going out on a killing spree.

If a kid is raised correctly then he knows what's good and what's bad and it doesn't matter how violent games he plays. If he isn't, well then when he goes on a killing spree, it's the games' fault.
How come nobody ever mentions news? Come on, tune in on cnn or sky news or something and you'll see scenes just as violent as in games, except they're 100% true.

wowirace · Post by **wowirace** » 09 Jan 2005, 18:10

do violent games make me want to kill....hmm, NO! not a CHANCE! and, personally, i dont think any1 else would either..cuz ppl dont go out and kill jus cuz they see it in a game..

and, game designers SHOULD NOT limit game design to please parents...cuz its the parents responsibility to see wat their children r getting. and in the US (where i live), games have ratings (e for everyone, t for teen, m for mature, etc) and its up to parents to see wat the games contain and make sure their kids arent exposed to things they dont want them exposed to.

and kids will be pissed if they dont get the game they want. so, eventually, they'll get it. also, it depends on wat kind of parent you're dealing wit. if he/she is easygoing, then the kid will probably get a teen or mature game event hough he's only 13 or 14.

and wat bojan said is true, VERY TRUE: a lot of thingz happen on the news where ppl r being killed by famine, weather, murder, suicide, bombings, and a lot of other things. when is it that u see a person being killed by game fanaticism? i mean, those stories r probably lies or scams. if there was a story like that, I BET U THE NEWS STATIONS WOULD SHOW IT. but they havent, have they?? and if they did, it was probably once in a year or two years.

^Sparco^ · Post by **^Sparco^** » 09 Jan 2005, 19:28

Do games make you wanna kill?

No, they don't.

I remember shooting loads of monsters playing Doom 2 (1993) I was about 10years old and the game was rated 18+ ....
Cmon kids are not little stupids with no brain. A very common adults mistake is thinking that they are!

Unless you are mentally disabled, you can play freely that kind of games.

Stereo · Post by **Stereo** » 09 Jan 2005, 19:33

I know, I play and watch games and movies with swears in them... lol. But I dont wanna go out and shoot someone with a shotgun or some crap like that... I play Halo, Used to play Vice City. Play Half-Life. lolz. I know a person that thinks if their kid sees blood then the kid will go out and start killin everyone and even unrealistic blood, cartoonized.....

Sir Ibi · Post by **Sir Ibi** » 09 Jan 2005, 19:56

Ok, ok, ok. So i think we've established that games don't make u wanna kill (it was a rhetorical qeustion anyway).

Here in Britain quite a few games have been taken of the shelves, like the Sufferning,
ManHunt, Hitman 2, etc due to the amount of violence, which is probably quite tame compared to Tarintoino movies.

These stories that i have mentioned are true, they're wern't just hear say or off some stupid site, i read them in journals, like MVC, and others.

If a young kid was playing GTA: San Andreas, and he was going round picking up prostitutes (in the game), is that OK?

I just think that too many parents are using computer games as "baby sitters". Just leaving their kids in front of the Playstation to keep 'em quite for a while. Many parents still think of games as for kids.

I think age certificates are important, 'casue kids simply shudn't be playing games that are for adults. Kids can be easily influenced as thier brains are still developing and learning.

In britain movies and a few games (such as GTA, max payne, Half Life, etc) are certified by the BBFC. Those certificated make it illigal for anyone to buy game underaged. The rest of the games are certified by Pegi ( http://www.pegi.info/home.jsp ), which is just a recommendation for parents, nothing more. I think greater restriciton need to apply to games, so that matture adults can enjoy the full flavour of sex, violence, drugs, and whatever else game desginers can throw at us.

jemc · Post by **jemc** » 09 Jan 2005, 20:04

nope, certantly not. the killing inspiration comes from a persons childhood. the way he grow up is very important. i'm kinda affraid for myself cause i'm young and my father moved away from away from another women. but shooting games helps you to get loose of that anger. that's my opinion

DodoBobo · Post by **DodoBobo** » 10 Jan 2005, 17:05

that sucks that they would take those games off the shelves. If you are going to take games off the shelves for depicting so much violence, then why not take movies off the screens which depict so much violence? I guess England is a country of more set values then any of us fvckers here in the US.

People should remember that its not only visual things that can cause someone to get violent (which usually doesnt happen), but also reading. I have read a good amount of books that have some rather graphic stuff in it, no one seems to mind about those or put a rating on them....

In conclusion, the system is fvcked up

flatblacksleeper · Post by **flatblacksleeper** » 11 Jan 2005, 02:13

a big counter to the whole argument.....desensetizatin to violence. We as a people dont feel regret when we kill somone in a video game...i know i dont......the goes for all.....especially in the us....a peron today was shot in a mall....who really stops and thinks about that...you get why im saying. We here about a murder and think nouthing about it.....I feel the media is kind or responcible for this....i am not saying that games make me want to kill someone but......i sure as hell dont feel guilty for doing it. For people who use games or movies for there reasons, that is a mental thing....should creators limit the violence in movies or video games....hell no. It is a free society......i dont want any right wing taking that away....better gun conrol needed.

DJ_Zephyr · Post by **DJ_Zephyr** » 12 Jan 2005, 02:52

OK, I got mixed feelings about this subject. On one hand, no mature, sane, intelligent person is gonna let a video game (even GTA or SOF2) influence his real-life decisions.

On the other hand, some little kids may not know better and should be sheltered. Once, at my local EB Games, I saw a kid not a day over 9 years of age trading in GTA: San Andreas (recieved as a GIFT from his PARENTS) for a copy of True Crime: Streets of L.A. The guy behind the counter didn't seem to care that these were rated M gun games. My mom and I almost wanted to say something to the mother, but we kept our traps shut and looked on in shock.

I'm 18. I could put a bullet in the head of every NPC in GTA and not even think seriously about doing it in real life. I know that in the game I am not killing REAL people, and that the worst consequence I could face doing it in the game is a virtual police chase. But young minds like the child above's are much more easily influenced. It's a matter of the responsibility of the gamer and his/her parents.

nfsu2master · Post by **nfsu2master** » 17 Jan 2005, 01:15

pepole say that cause when it happens i bet the people are drunk

^StephaNOS^ · Post by **^StephaNOS^** » 18 Jan 2005, 12:15

of course no.

thunderbolt · Post by **thunderbolt** » 18 Jan 2005, 12:29

its just a lame excuse for those people who do get violent of their own accord.
just like the kid who almost killed his family blamed all his problems on eminem.