When it comes to videogame violence, how far is to far?
I think is a very good question, because it seems like more and more graphic forms of violent behavior are being incorporated into videogames these days.
And it begs the question, when do videogame designers cross the line, in the form of violent content?
Everything we see and hear has an affect on us, as it enters into our thinking, and our thoughts in turn effect our actions.
If a person feeds their mind on violence, or depravity, how long before it starts influencing their actions, and their attitude?
Same thing goes for people who are stuck in a violent situation, like war, it has an affect on them.
With that being said, look at how many veterans return with deep psychological problems, because of things they witnessed and the things they were forced to do just to stay alive.
So when does violence in videogames become to much?
Personally, I feel that the media industry needs to be held to a higher standard, and have stricter guidelines as to what they can feature in videogames and movies.
And that people, particularly parents, need to use greater discernment when it comes to what they will allow their children to watch or play.
What are your thoughts.
EDIT: I'll add more later, so stay tuned.
Comments
I think when a game uses violence just for the sake of being... ya know violent, that's when it goes too far. Like that stupid game from a few months ago, "Hatred" I think is the name?
Though seriously, I think as long as children are old and mature enough to truly appreciate the difference between fantasy and reality, it's really not much of a problem. I don't know how much more violent things can get. People are going to point to 'Hatred,' but there have been far worse movies (in both senses of the term) for a long time. Hostel, House of 1000 Corpses, Rampage, etc. Mortal Kombat is extremely violent, but now it's touch in cheek self-parody. Not to mention, sure violence in movies and games has gone way up, but crime has been going down. I'm not saying these things are outlets, I'm saying the one has little to do with the other. I want to say the part that might be scary is if we ever attain a high level or realism, but even there, movies has been far more graphic and far more realistic for a long time.
If it's an M rated game, I think they can add as much violence as they want. We still have unspoken boundaries that we won't cross- no game is going to let you decapitate a baby in full HD graphics. I personally like blood and guts.
I believe parents should teach their children right and wrong from an early age, and maybe even use violent games as an example of what NOT to do. It's also the job of parents to research the game's content before buying it, which makes it the responsibility of the ESRB and other classification boards to inform people of exactly the type of stuff that's in the game. And if mature people know what they're in for when the play these games, and can tell the difference between reality and fiction, then they have every right to play it.
The whole point of the rating system is to make sure its appropriate for certain audiences. Theres been no link seen in research between aggression,crime and video games. So no their shouldnt be a limit.
It won't. If you play Mortal Kombat you don't feel the need to kill someone brutally, if you do, you're disturbed, the game had nothing to do with it.
As long as you can handle the violence or it's being used to tell a story, it's fine.
I do believe that kids shouldn't be playing violent video games, but I don't think there's a point where violence in a game would become "too much". As long as the person playing the game is mature enough to handle it, I don't see why they can't play it.
Something tells me you don't like Mortal kombat lol
Violence has no limits, especially in video games.
It's only defined by how much damage it does in a scene.
There is no limit, it's a video game. Although kids shouldn't play it if they're not ready for it.
i don't see why there should be a limit it's a game grow up if it's out of context of the game and is just there for the sake of being there then maybe you could complain but at the end of the day it makes no difference unless you are mentally unstable
I don't like boundaries in games on mature games even though rape would disturb me I like freedom of speech and I don't like the way media, governments want to always control what we see and view taking away artist expression hiding behind our fear of being offended implementing rules or guidelines which will restrict ideas to get ever more control over the people
If you don't like a game don't play it people are to easily offended nowadays I don't want to open a blackhole for more directorship of games as some people are offended by just their shadow nowadays so I see it being a never ending cycle of oh that offends me to stuff get rid of it.
I'm a bit twisted tho I don't want boundaries in games playing a game where anything is possible like life at anytime adds an extra edge of tension to me I love horror films tho and being shocked
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St8iEpkcDJc
Tarantino understands
I say push up the violence till it is real life worthy. , give these kids PTSD so i can have someone to relate with.
Don't forget television shows like TWD, that just use shock value violence for cheap laughs/thrills. NOT AGAIN.
Hey man, I don't think you realize just how impressionable kids are. My parents got me a super nintendo in the early 90s, and next thing I knew, I was out by the pond, jumping on turtles.
No violence is too violent.
If it's very violent, rate it as such. If you want a game that scares the crap out of you through mortal terror then have at it BooBoo. Games don't hurt people. As far as I know there is still no legitimately tested link between violence in video games and individuals that are violent.
Playing war and being in war aren't the same thing. If that were the case then all the times I shot my friends with my figures and they acted like they had been shot I was damaging them and myself, which I don't think is particularly true. My God, my black friend and I used to played slave owner....
It's the parents responsibility to establish right/wrong and real vs. fiction. If you don't want your kids to be exposed to violent content, don't expose them to violent content.
There is definitely a double standard between real and fictional violence though. You can shoot as many brown people as you like in call of duty, but war footage has to be carefully screened and censored by the government before it can be aired on the news.
Poor turtles
Never played, but if you're talking about the gore, nah it doesn't bother me at all actually :P
Something about that game I just found really stupid, like there would be violence for no reason other than for the guy to just be killing people, Mortal Kombat is a fighting game, violence is more of a necessary thing in fighting games these days.
Video games shouldn't really have a limit to their violence. Labeling/grading the violence is a good system (at least in theory) to know what to expect when purchasing a game and sticking it in plain sight for everyone to see. It should be the consumer's responsibility to at least read the ESRB or whatever rating system they have in other countries to find out if the video game is appropriate to them. From adults to children we have a system in place and plenty of information for them all, but it's up to the people or their guardians to decide what's right for them.
To echo what others have said, I don't think there is a "too far." If a video game is rated M, it should be allowed to show as much violence as the creators want. That's what the rating system is for - to let parents of underage gamers know just what they're about to buy. Games like Grand Theft Auto, for example, come off as nothing more than chaotic fantasy to me. I doubt the majority of people who play them actually want to commit murder and such, but it can be morbidly fun to see the violence actually happen. I think a lot of it has to do with the "what if?" factor. Kinda along the lines of how people enjoy horror movies.
As for kids being influenced by violent video games, there's always going to be a risk, but more often than not I'd say it's nothing to worry about. It does depend on the mental state of the individual in question, though.
Either all depictions of violence in video games are okay, or none of them are.
I'm going to actually disagree with most people on here and say that I do think there is a limit to how far violence in games should go. Now that's not to say that I would necessarily want to have that limit enforced by laws and government, but I do think that such a limit exists.
For instance, I'd say that a baby rape-and-torture simulator should probably never be a thing, regardless of what rating you want to give it. Or a game in which you play as a KKK member and go around lynching black people. Or, for a more concrete example, a game like Hatred.
These games are built around malice and while you can argue that they're just fantasy, it seems clear to me that they would be troubling fantasies to have. If a friend told me that he or she enjoys Mortal Kombat or Grand Theft Auto, I wouldn't think twice of it. But if they told me that they enjoy one of the examples I listed above, I would probably reconsider my friendship with them. And I'm betting that most people agree with that sentiment. So clearly, there is a line...right?
Not sure if you're playing along, but by the upvotes I'm guessing people took me seriously... I never actually jumped on turtles, it was just a mario joke.
Art shouldn't be censored.
This is such an old question have you ever heard of the maquis de sade?
If there's a game where your in the KKK and your missions are to go around killing Blacks, Asians, Mexicans and ect that would be to far.
Why? Your allowed to go around shooting brown people just because they were born onto a side america is at war with. But I guess muslims aren't realy people in US media
Yes there are ways it could go too far as in what Green said with being violent to just be violent. That Hatred game was a good example of it.
However like others have said it doesn't effect people if they're mature enough to handle it. That's why there's something called ratings. Yes, parents usually avoid these when their kid asks but then it isn't the game companies problem but the parents. I play a lot of video games, most of them insanely violent and its not made me violent but rather less violent. If I can get out my stress on a virtual fake things then why would I ever harm real people.
I WAS WATCHING SOMEONE PLAY MORTAL KOMBAT X YESTERDAY AND THAT STUFF IS CRAZY.
Just because of how gross it is to watch, you literally get goosebumps. Also, it's impossible to survive like, most of those moves. That being said, I really don't think there is a "too far", since it's all fake in the end anyway. People can argue that point about "how gamers are more sadistic or sociopathic than regular people" or whatever, but you can talk to any gamer and 85% of them will reply that they feel guilty when killing an NPC in Skyrim or Fallout.
As long as we know it's fake, then I'd say go all out. Of course, this doesn't always apply to young children who don't exactly understand morals, but that's up for their parents to either follow the rating system or explain it to their kids themselves. As for unstable people, they're going to unstable regardless if video games exist or not. I hate to say it and I really hate to say it, but people will always commit despicable acts such as murder and assault. It's simply in our nature, whether we like it or not.
We'll just find something else to blame it on in the end, anyway.
Lol at my school we would play police and yardies, I would usually be a yardy (im white btw)
I agree that video games shouldn't be censored anymore than movies or TV shows are. It is the parents' responsibility to make sure their five year olds aren't playing GTA V. If your kids are exhibiting mental health problems is response to violent video games, then it's time for them to stop playing video games.
However, I can't morally purchase games that condone things like sexual, racial, and xenophobic violence. Nothing should be censored, but if game developers can't deal with topics like those respectfully, then I will boycott them. I feel like the makers of Hatred are trying to profit off the shock value of recent school shootings and mass killings. Game developers have every right to make games like Hatred, and players have every right to choose not to play them.
Seriously, people complaining about games, even Hatred, without the comparison to other media. Watch a movie like Hostel or Rampage, or even some of the Romero films from the 80s, and then tell me violence in games is too much...
Not for the light hearted - and this was 1985.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjikkKdnyck
it is because of this movie and this scene that i have been mainly desensitized to violence on movies. shit fucked me up.
POSTAL 2 ISNT ENOUGH! I need more! MORE!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9qE65Bql24
What game were you playing that your intention was to kill all Muslims?
I don't think that any amount of violence in video games or other media could be enough to cause someone to start committing violent acts in real life unless they were already mentally unsuited for playing those games in the first place, but I do think that there's a line where violence in games becomes distatseful.
I don't know, but I think my favorite quote that I can use against people who say violence in video games changes children's behavior is this:
"85 percent of juvenile crime which has been investigated has been found traceable either directly or indirectly to... motion pictures"
-Circa 1910
Seems like video games weren't the only things blamed for bad behavior.
No limits for animated blood lol. Mortal Kombat is pretty gruesome though
Well, I do think there are examples of "too much violence" in movies just as there are in games. I wouldn't count any of the movies you listed, but something like A Serbian Film or Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom would certainly count (I would strongly advise the faint of heart against clicking on either of those links).
I also think there are important differences we should take note of between movies and video games as forms of media. A video game is a far more perspective-driven medium than a film. When you play a game, you are often, by its very structure, inserted into the game as the protagonist. Your actions become the actions of the protagonist and vice versa. It's this taking of perspective that makes games like Telltale's The Walking Dead so effective, but it's also what makes a game like Hatred or the theoretical KKK game I talked about more concerning than their movie counterparts.
You can watch a movie about a mass murderer or a marauding KKK member without inserting yourself into their shoes. Indeed, the point of most horror movies is to have you insert yourself into the shoes of the victim to vicariously experience their terror. But when you play a game, you're forced to identify with and act through the main character of your game. And if the main character of your game is someone who cackles as they shoot pregnant NPCs in the stomach and chase down terrified black youth with a noose, I do think your enjoyment of that might say something about you.
Sounds familiar.
Exactly my point.
Even with games that are rated M, there has to be a moral guideline behind it.
Just because a game is rated M, that doesn't mean it has to feature violence that is incredibly gory.
For example, the amount of violence that was featured in: The Last Of Us, was in my opinion was really pushing the envelope.