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Do You Think That Violent Video Games/ Movies Are An Issue

Do You Think That Violent Video Games/ Movies Are An Issue

  • No

    Votes: 64 72.7%
  • Yes

    Votes: 18 20.5%
  • Other

    Votes: 6 6.8%

  • Total voters
    88
There's largely the perception among gamers that "casual gaming" (ie stuff not involving violence or at least sport) is not respectable once you reach a certain age or experience level with video games. While true that many developers need to improve said games that are seen as casual, I think "hardcore" gamers largely limit themselves to relying upon certain "genres" of games and perpetuate the myth.

A couple of things about this:

1) If the problem with gaming marketing (the way you're talking about it) is that it perpetuates an interest in violent video games, but violent games by themselves aren't actually a problem, how is the marketing a problem?

2) You're using the term "causal gaming" in a somewhat unorthodox way. In my experience, it has less to do with genre than it does with either a) the depth and complexity necessary to play a game (e.g. getting good at something like Fallout or Skyrim takes a lot of time and practice, whereas anyone can get decent at Angry Birds or Wii Bowling in about five minutes) or b) the amount of time and effort someone is willing to put into gaming. This second use of the term frequently can and does involve the degree to which a casual vs a hardcore gamer will play the same game. For example, I know some WoW players (I am not one, I hate MMO's) who will refer dsimissively to people who only occasionally log in to WoW as "casuals." So the issue isn't the type of game, but the frequency of play.

Part of the reason I think this distinction is important in this context is that while you're probably right that as gamers get older, they'll want to play "respectable" games, but that doesn't necessarily mean violent games (although personally I'm not sure that would be a problem even if it did mean that). Some of the most inovlved and hardcore games in existence aren't really violent at all (Civilization comes to mind) or are violent in highly abstract ways, not unlike chess. Obviously that's not true across the board, and people who habitually play FPS games are in a completely different world.
 
There's largely the perception among gamers that "casual gaming" (ie stuff not involving violence or at least sport) is not respectable once you reach a certain age or experience level with video games. While true that many developers need to improve said games that are seen as casual, I think "hardcore" gamers largely limit themselves to relying upon certain "genres" of games and perpetuate the myth.

I don't really see it this way, what I consider "casual" games are mainly on the iPhone, Android, Wii, etc generally have no to little story, and simple game-play mechanics, just because it isn't violent doesn't mean it's not a "hardcore" game. Now there's nothing wrong with casual games, but as someone who plays a lot of games I wouldn't be satisfied with just that.
 
I don't really see it this way, what I consider "casual" games are mainly on the iPhone, Android, Wii, etc generally have no to little story, and simple game-play mechanics, just because it isn't violent doesn't mean it's not a "hardcore" game. Now there's nothing wrong with casual games, but as someone who plays a lot of games I wouldn't be satisfied with just that.

You mean cow clickers. Those are what I count as causal games, things that require zero mental ability or strategy.
 
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You cant ignore factual reality and NOT see that media has an impact on SOME people. Goshin pointed it out earlier...normal, happy, healthy, well adjusted individuals that have positive self esteem and support systems are unlikely to be impacted. Those lacking...more likely to see the violence perpetrated as desirable and in some cases, actionable. The violent media does not CAUSE the problem...it certainly exacerbates the problem.

Only for individuals prone to anger, fantasy, delusion or some type of neurological disorder that has trouble controlling emotional responses (severe)
 
Only for individuals prone to anger, fantasy, delusion or some type of neurological disorder that has trouble controlling emotional responses (severe)
Pretty much what I said, right?
 
Lots of other countries have the same video games, music and movies that the US does, yet they are somehow less violent than us. These forms of media are not the issue. The violent American attitude is the issue.
 
Lots of other countries have the same video games, music and movies that the US does, yet they are somehow less violent than us. These forms of media are not the issue. The violent American attitude is the issue.

Such things are not rules which apply universally or not at all.

I remember being in Tokyo in 1994 and seeing liquor, beer and wine machines all over the place. All you had to do was put in the money and you got what you wanted. I asked a Japanese friend how they could do such a thing and not have rampant teen abuse leading to worse problems. He looked at me with a weird expression on his face like I was asking where babies came from and explained that you had to be of adult age to use the machine. I asked him what prevented the teens from ignoring that and he looked even more puzzled and simply stated that they know they cannot do such things.

Every culture is different. What flies in one may not in a different one.

The fact that people can play violent video games in other cultures an have no ill effect upon society means nothing to its effects in other cultures.
 
Pretty much what I said, right?

Not exactly. You post seemed more general and may have been targeted at other types of "normal" people, mine was targeted more towards people with mental problems ranging from DD to MI. There of course would be some crossover but not that much me thinks.
 
Not exactly. You post seemed more general and may have been targeted at other types of "normal" people, mine was targeted more towards people with mental problems ranging from DD to MI. There of course would be some crossover but not that much me thinks.
Lets put it this way...for those that might be predisposed to commit acts of violence...exposure to violent media doesn't exactly help.
 
Lets put it this way...for those that might be predisposed to commit acts of violence...exposure to violent media doesn't exactly help.

Yeppper not a argument there cause their ain't any. Gottcha now.
 
og fuys? You mean 'of guys' right?

Anyway, whoever is influenced by video games needs to suffer the wrath of the death penalty. Lms

Yeah... that. What about those that are influenced into becoming race car drivers after playing Grand Tourismo? Death? :lol:
 
Lots of other countries have the same video games, music and movies that the US does, yet they are somehow less violent than us. These forms of media are not the issue. The violent American attitude is the issue.

I would say that the violence is just in cmaller proportions... they have shootings at schools in other countries too.

ENGLAND

The Dunblane school massacre occurred at Dunblane Primary School in the Scottish town of Dunblane on 13 March 1996. The gunman, 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton (b. 10 May 1952), entered the school armed with four handguns, shooting and killing sixteen children and one adult before committing suicide.

The Hungerford massacre occurred in Hungerford, Berkshire, England, on 19 August 1987. The gunman, 27-year-old Michael Robert Ryan (b. 18 May 1960), armed with two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun, shot and killed sixteen people including his mother, and wounded fifteen others, then fatally shot himself.

The Cumbria shootings was a killing spree that occurred on 2 June 2010 when a lone gunman, Derrick Bird, killed 12 people and injured 11 others before killing himself in Cumbria, England.

FRANCE

Three schoolchildren and a teacher were murdered in an anti-Jewish terror attack

GERMANY

The Winnenden school shooting occurred on the morning of 11 March 2009 at a secondary school in Winnenden, Baden-Württemberg, in southwestern Germany, followed by a shootout at a car dealership in nearby Wendlingen. The shooting spree resulted in 16 deaths, including the suicide of the perpetrator, 17-year-old Tim Kretschmer, who had graduated from the school one year earlier. Another 11 persons were injured during the incident

Bastian Bosse, an 18-year-old male and former student had fired shots with a front loader and a sawed-off shotgun on campus, threw a molotov cocktail outside the school and lit a pipe bomb upon arrival of the police before committing suicide. The incident ended with no fatalities and 37 people injured, including 19 students (three girls and one boy of which suffered gunshot wounds), one teacher, 16 police officers (all from smoke inhalation), and the custodian who was shot in the abdomen inside the school.

The Erfurt massacre was a school shooting that occurred on April 26, 2002, at the Johann Gutenberg Gymnasium in Erfurt, Germany. Sixteen people were killed before the perpetrator committed suicide. The victims comprised 13 school staff (12 teachers and one administrator), two students and one police officer. Only one other person was injured


SWEDEN

This was the first reported School shooting in Sweden and one of the earliest in Europe. Seven youngsters were wounded by 15 bullets fired by the perpetrator and one died from his wounds.

GREECE

The OAED Vocational College shooting was a school shooting that occurred on April 10, 2009, at the Manpower Employment Organisation of Greece (OAED) vocational college in Agios Ioannis Rentis, Athens, Greece, during which a gunman shot one student and two civilians before fatally shooting himself in a nearby park.

FINLAND

Two students were fatally shot by a 14-year-old student at the Raumanmeri secondary school. The shooter had claimed to be a victim of bullying

The incident resulted in the deaths of nine people: five male students (ages 16–18) and one female adult student (age 25) the school principal, Helena Kalmi (age 61); the school nurse (age 43); and the gunman, Auvinen, himself, who was also one of the school's students. One other person suffered gunshot wounds, and eleven people were injured by shattering glass while escaping from the school building.

The Kauhajoki school shooting occurred on September 23, 2008, at Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences in Western Finland. The gunman, 22-year-old hospitality management student Matti Juhani Saari (May 20, 1986 - September 23, 2008) shot and fatally injured ten people with a semi-automatic pistol, before shooting himself in the head. He died a few hours later in Tampere University Hospital. One woman was injured but was in a stable condition


DENMARK

On Tuesday, 5 April 1994 35-year-old Flemming Nielsen of Silkeborg shot four people, two of them fatally, at Aarhus University in Denmark. Nielsen had been a student at the university since 1986. He opened fire with a sawed-off shotgun in a university cafeteria where he killed his first victim, 24-year-old Birgit Bohn Wolfsen. The remaining students in the room managed to escape. Nielsen proceeded into another cafeteria and opened fire again, killing his second victim, 27-year-old Randi Thode Kristensen. Another two people were wounded but survived

AUSTRALIA

The La Trobe University shooting was a shooting that took place in the Eagle Bar at La Trobe University Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 3 August 1999 in which one man was killed and a woman was seriously injured.

The Monash University shooting refers to a shooting in which a student shot his classmates and teacher, killing two and injuring five. It took place at Monash University in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 21 October 2002.

INDIA

The Euro International school shooting occurred on December 12, 2007 at Euro International, a private secondary school in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. The gunmen were 14-year-old Akash Yadav and 13-year-old Vikas Yadav, who were both students at the school, shot and killed a 14-year-old student

ARGENTINA

Four students killed and five wounded by a 15-year-old student in a town 620 miles south of Buenos Aires

THAILAND

The Pak Phanang school shooting was a school shooting that occurred on June 6, 2003 at the Pak Phanang school in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. The gunman, then 17-year-old Anatcha Boonkwan (a.k.a "Nung") fatally shot two and injured four of his fellow students using a semi-automatic pistol. This was apparently due to him having argued with classmate Sicharat Kumsuk, who was his actual target.

CANADA

The Dawson College shooting occurred on September 13, 2006, at Dawson College, a CEGEP in Westmount near downtown Montreal, Quebec. The perpetrator, Kimveer Gill, began shooting outside the de Maisonneuve Boulevard entrance to the school, and moved towards the atrium by the cafeteria on the main floor.[15][16]
One victim died at the scene, while another 19 were injured, eight of whom were listed in critical condition with six requiring surgery

The W. R. Myers High School shooting occurred on April 28, 1999, at W. R. Myers High School in Taber, Alberta, when a 14-year-old walked into his school and randomly shot at three students, killing Jason Lang and injuring another

The Concordia University massacre was a school shooting on August 24, 1992, that resulted in the deaths of four people at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. The shooter was Dr. Valery Fabrikant, a former Associate Professor of mechanical engineering at Concordia and a colleague of the slain men

The École Polytechnique Massacre, also known as the Montreal Massacre, occurred on December 6, 1989, at the École Polytechnique in Montreal, Quebec. Twenty-five-year-old Marc Lépine, armed with a legally obtained semi-automatic rifle and a hunting knife, shot 28 people, killing 14 (all of them women) and injuring the other 14 before killing himself

The Brampton Centennial Secondary School massacre was a school shooting, which occurred at Brampton Centennial Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario. 16-year-old gunman Michael Slobodian shot and killed a fellow student, a teacher and injured 13 other students before turning the gun on himself and committing suicide in a school hallway. It was the first school shooting in Canada.

The St. Pius X High School shooting was a school shooting that occurred on October 27, 1975, at St. Pius X High School in Ottawa, Ontario. Robert Poulin, an 18-year-old St. Pius student, opened fire on his classmates with a shotgun killing one and wounding five before turning the gun on himself and committing suicide. Poulin had raped and stabbed his 17-year-old friend Kim Rabot to death prior to the incident. A book entitled Rape of a Normal Mind was written about the incident


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shooting#Europe
 
No, not at all. There are other countries that play the same games and watch the same shows that don't have nearly as high of a homicide rate as us. Someone who's mentally abnormal, like Goshin said, can become fixated on anything.
 
Lots of other countries have the same video games, music and movies that the US does, yet they are somehow less violent than us. These forms of media are not the issue. The violent American attitude is the issue.

I think the "all violence is evil" crowd is responsible for some of that attitude. The schools and that crowd try to teach children that even defending yourself is wrong. If children are not taught when and where violence should be used and when it shouldn't, how are they supposed to learn it?
 
Lately the media, especially the liberal media has been scapegoating video games as a possible factor in the Connecticut shooting. Do you believe that violence in video games and movies are an issue and they can cause things like the tragedy we have seen recently. If you do believe they are an issue what do you think should be done? I personally believe that video games/movies cannot cause violence and blaming them is just a stupid reaction to a horrible tragedy. Video games and movies should not be censored or have enforced ratings like minors can't buy M rated video games. Please explain your opinion.

Minor issue. Anything done to excess is usual an issue. Just as you are what you eat, you are what you feed your head. Most people have some balanced. But a troubled soul who feeds him or herself an excessive edit of violence has an issue.
 
I think the "all violence is evil" crowd is responsible for some of that attitude. The schools and that crowd try to teach children that even defending yourself is wrong. If children are not taught when and where violence should be used and when it shouldn't, how are they supposed to learn it?

Both of my daughters have been in jui jitsu for two years now... starting ages 6 and 7. The all violence is evil and everybody is a winner attitude is patheticly naive and is only a dis-service to people... .
 
Moderator's Warning:
This thread is SPECIFIC to voilent video games and movies and their possible connections to violence. Take the generalized assault weapon talk to another thread or you'll soon find an exit
 
There's largely the perception among gamers that "casual gaming" (ie stuff not involving violence or at least sport) is not respectable once you reach a certain age or experience level with video games. While true that many developers need to improve said games that are seen as casual, I think "hardcore" gamers largely limit themselves to relying upon certain "genres" of games and perpetuate the myth.

Waaaah? This makes no sense. Actually, it makes me think of someone whose had little experience with video games trying to speak on it like some kind of academic. Casual games are not defined by ones without "violence or at least sport". This is one of the most ridiculous comments I've seen stated with regards to gaming in some time.

First, when trying to determine your genre's as a definition for "casual" and not casual, you don't mention racing. Does this mean yo'ure suggesting racing games are considered casual games? Need for Speed, for example, is definitely not considered a "casual game". Yet at the same time, something like Tiny Wings, which is essentially a twist of a racing game, is.

Second, one of the most popular game amongst gamers over the past few years has been minecraft....a game hardly focused around sport or violence and definitely not considered a "casual" game. Portal is another critically acclaimed, largely non-violent, game that was unquestionably not a "casual" game. On the portal side, Squibblenauts was a rather popular non-casual puzzler. If we're going to consider say...Mario...a "violent" game to fit the definition because he's jumping on turtles then we'd need to consider the casual King "Angry Birds" as violent as well as we have exremely upset birds willing ot be flung into hard objects just for a chance to batter a pig.

Casual games are defined largely based on a variety of things going towards a very basic premise: A game that almost anyone can pick up, quickly learn to play, and is relatively lacking depth in complexity. Typically, it's referring to a game with some combination of basic/static graphics, minimal variations on game play, little to no story, extremely simple controls or mechanics, and easily able to played for short spans of time.

Whether it's a violent or sports game is somewhat irrelevant to its definition as a "casual game".
 
Regardless, there are enough studies and statistics out there for us to know that violent video games or movies do not cause violent behavior. This is essentially a measured system.
 
Lately the media, especially the liberal media has been scapegoating video games as a possible factor in the Connecticut shooting. Do you believe that violence in video games and movies are an issue and they can cause things like the tragedy we have seen recently. If you do believe they are an issue what do you think should be done? I personally believe that video games/movies cannot cause violence and blaming them is just a stupid reaction to a horrible tragedy. Video games and movies should not be censored or have enforced ratings like minors can't buy M rated video games. Please explain your opinion.

 
Regardless, there are enough studies and statistics out there for us to know that violent video games or movies do not cause violent behavior. This is essentially a measured system.

Some people want to put the blame on media, some on guns. They are looking for a magic cure without having to take the time to learn and analyze all factors involved. Especially when some of those factors might be caused by political policies that they support. They are quick to attack one or two things that they disagree with without taking in the whole picture.

This issue at least attempts to address the question of "what causes a mind to become obsessed with violence?" However, I think it is too narrow of an approach to actually have any real affect or give us any useful real answers.
 
Some people want to put the blame on media, some on guns. They are looking for a magic cure without having to take the time to learn and analyze all factors involved. Especially when some of those factors might be caused by political policies that they support. They are quick to attack one or two things that they disagree with without taking in the whole picture.

This issue at least attempts to address the question of "what causes a mind to become obsessed with violence?" However, I think it is too narrow of an approach to actually have any real affect or give us any useful real answers.

There is no magic answer though. Turns out, humans are ****ed up animals. Some of us go crazy, some of us are assholes, etc. Nothing more than statistics.
 
There is no magic answer though. Turns out, humans are ****ed up animals. Some of us go crazy, some of us are assholes, etc. Nothing more than statistics.

I think you found one of the problems, humans are animals. A lot of us tend to forget that fact. Just like any animal, we have instincts that we are born with. How much of our "civilizing" of that base animal goes against instinct and tries to change it or actually suppress instincts?

Do we allow the development of those instincts and then teach control and redirection of those instincts or do we attempt to suppress them? I personally think we do too much to attempt to suppress them and this is one of (not all) causes of some of our problems.
 
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