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Games cannot cause violence, but what if....
Author
A while ago Geoff wrote an article about violence in games. Games cannot cause violence, and I utterly agree with that.
But It gave me to think a lot...
What if, like in Spain a week ago, someone commits a murder after playing your game, and everybody''s pointing fingers at your game?
How do game developers deal with this? I mean, would you still be able to continue what you''re doing, and even if you and your company are juridically safe from penalties,
and even if you yourself are sure that you''ve done nothing wrong, wouldn''t you
Be more careful when putting violence in the game?
Have sleepless nights over it?
"I Can''t change the world, but you''ll hear my voice!"
This comes down to responsibility. If you make a game that''s about breaking into houses and killing families, then you have to be prepared to deal with the result. You can''t hide behind a "games don''t cause violence" banner.
quote: Original post by Anonymous Poster
This comes down to responsibility. If you make a game that''s about breaking into houses and killing families, then you have to be prepared to deal with the result. You can''t hide behind a "games don''t cause violence" banner.
I normally don''t get involved in these kinds of discussions, but I just couldn''t stop myself from remarking on this... I really, really, really, and I mean I *really* hope you''re joking Anonymous... Just in case you''re not, let me introduce you to reality.
It seems to me that what you are trying to say is that the developers have to take responsibility for their own actions. However, what you are in fact saying is that developers have to take responsibilty for somebody else''s actions.
Bottom line. Is it possible for somebody to go out and commit a criminal act that they wouldn''t have commited without playing a certain game, reading a certain book, watching a certain movie, ...etc.? Probably. Does the responsibilty for that act fall on the creator of said game/book/movie and not on the perpetrator of the crime? I won''t even justify that with an answer...
Have a great day! Play a game! Commit a crime! Watch the developer take your place in jail!
I think the programmer is somewhat morally responsible for what he makes. that is the trouble with games, is that there are no bad consiquences for bad actions. in real life you would get in jail for life if you killed a family but in a game...
i think i am just trying to say think about what you are doing before you do it, and think about the consequences.
i think i am just trying to say think about what you are doing before you do it, and think about the consequences.
imho,
people are responsible for their own actions. i like violent movies, heavy metal, violent games, etc. (of course, i also like happy games and comedy movies. i''m only crazy, not psychotic).
but just because i like to score 100 frags every day in unreal tourney, doesn''t mean i''m going to grab my plasma rifle and shoot from the bell tower. and i think that applies to most people.
if people start to control the media to eliminate all violence, then what will they blame when people still kill each other for their wallet or car?
that''s just my 3 cents.
crazy166
some people think i'm crazy, some people know it
people are responsible for their own actions. i like violent movies, heavy metal, violent games, etc. (of course, i also like happy games and comedy movies. i''m only crazy, not psychotic).
but just because i like to score 100 frags every day in unreal tourney, doesn''t mean i''m going to grab my plasma rifle and shoot from the bell tower. and i think that applies to most people.
if people start to control the media to eliminate all violence, then what will they blame when people still kill each other for their wallet or car?
that''s just my 3 cents.
crazy166
some people think i'm crazy, some people know it
In the wonderfull United States of America, you can take anyone to court for any reason. And the sad part is, you can win.
If I were to write a game, lets say I had written Lemmings, then someone went out and walked off a cliff, and then the relatives took me to court saying it was my fault, we all know that it isn''t, but unfortunatly they could still win.
It''s not that we, as game developers, are responsible for others actions, because we are not. But we still need to be carefull because in the world that we live in, you can blame anyone for anything, and not only is it okay for you to do that, but you can get large sums of money for it!!!
So remember, we all know games don''t cause violence, and we are not resposible for others actions, but we still need to be carefull.
Shoot pixels not people!
If I were to write a game, lets say I had written Lemmings, then someone went out and walked off a cliff, and then the relatives took me to court saying it was my fault, we all know that it isn''t, but unfortunatly they could still win.
It''s not that we, as game developers, are responsible for others actions, because we are not. But we still need to be carefull because in the world that we live in, you can blame anyone for anything, and not only is it okay for you to do that, but you can get large sums of money for it!!!
So remember, we all know games don''t cause violence, and we are not resposible for others actions, but we still need to be carefull.
Shoot pixels not people!
People are gullible, people are stupid, people are easily led. With that in mind, although you may never -cause- violence or any other adverse reaction, you may have -inspired- it, or made it appear more socially acceptable, or more interesting, or more fun, or a rational method of settling disputes, etc etc. It''s ok saying that an adult who buys your game has to take responsibility for their own actions, but then you''re just trying to pass the problem onto someone else. Violence is -everyone''s- problem - don''t blame the parents, or the police, or the gun makers, or the teachers, or the movie directors, or the game developers, or even the poor fool that ended up doing what somehow he believed was ok in being violent. Blame everyone. Blame society. And take some responsibility yourselves for fixing the problem. Lecture ends. 
BAH!
In the USA, your responsibility ends when you get your rating back from the ESRB. (responsibility as a game developer, that is)
Then, it''s the retailers responsibility to see to it that someone of inappropriate age doesn''t get their hands on it in your establishment.
After that, it''s the parent''s responsibility to see to it that their children don''t get their hands on inappropriate games in their houses.
It''s everyone''s responsibility to be able to differentiate between fantasy/fiction and the real world. If you can''t handle that, get institutionalized.
$0.02
In the USA, your responsibility ends when you get your rating back from the ESRB. (responsibility as a game developer, that is)
Then, it''s the retailers responsibility to see to it that someone of inappropriate age doesn''t get their hands on it in your establishment.
After that, it''s the parent''s responsibility to see to it that their children don''t get their hands on inappropriate games in their houses.
It''s everyone''s responsibility to be able to differentiate between fantasy/fiction and the real world. If you can''t handle that, get institutionalized.
$0.02
After columbine, some people pointed at ID software. But look at how they''re doing now!
"Remember, I'm the monkey, and you're the cheese grater. So no messing around."
-Grand Theft Auto, London
"It's not whether I win or lose, as long as I piss you off"
-Morrigan, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
"Remember, I'm the monkey, and you're the cheese grater. So no messing around."
-Grand Theft Auto, London
"It's not whether I win or lose, as long as I piss you off"
-Morrigan, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
There have been bad seeds doing evil deeds all the time. Do you think the cowboys went around shooting up people because they read some story about it?? Or do you think those gunslingin cowboy stories were made because of what happened for real? I think Drew Carey said something along these lines when asked about the relation between computer violence and real violence. not an exact quote but you''ll get the idear ( it was in a Maxim magazine ):
Boy, I wonder how much axis & allies Hitler played before he decided to do what he did.
back to me now:
Violent entertainment or nothing, people do bad shit.
Another thing is we seem to be hearing alot more about this stuff going on around the world nowadays... well, that would be true because there are way more people than there were many years ago so this stuff will happen more often. Plus with all these fancy ways of communicating we get tons more information from around the world.
anyways...
Boy, I wonder how much axis & allies Hitler played before he decided to do what he did.
back to me now:
Violent entertainment or nothing, people do bad shit.
Another thing is we seem to be hearing alot more about this stuff going on around the world nowadays... well, that would be true because there are way more people than there were many years ago so this stuff will happen more often. Plus with all these fancy ways of communicating we get tons more information from around the world.
anyways...
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