Games News

If the Devil had his own bible, it would probably take the form of a computer game. It would be sly and witty, enjoyable and slick. It would start with small, almost funny misdeeds.

It would offer the player the joys of money, successful violence and easy, responsibility-free sex. There would be drugs which didn't fry your brain or burn holes in your nose.

You would be made to feel brave, while not actually needing to be. None of your pleasures would be paid for in coin, pain or grief. Hell hound: An image from the heavily hyped and violence-filled new computer game Grand Theft Auto V

Everyone else in the game would be disposable and forgettable. And it would contain one big lie. You would come out at the end happy and unharmed, and wanting more.

As I understand it, this is roughly what happens in the new, much-praised Grand Theft Auto V.

...Read the full rant

Comment: Good Publicity

23rd September 2013.  See  comment from  mediasnoops2.wordpress.com

Hitchens panders to the American pro gun lobby by linking the US navy shooting to violent video games...

...Read the full comment

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg believes games like Grand Theft Auto can have a corrosive effect on player behaviour, the politician said on his LBC Radio show. He said:

Clearly these games can have an incredibly powerful, and I suspect in some cases corrosive effect, on someone's behaviour, someone's outlook; they get shut off, they don't talk to other people, they just stay in their living room, their bedroom hunkered down in front of their computer. They occupy a hermetically sealed world of their own and that can have a very detrimental effect.

In a free country, what do you do? Do you start saying to people you can't use it for more than X number of hours? No you can't do that. There are, of course, restrictions around content. But we cannot limit people's use of [video games], certainly not the amount of time they devote to this by law or by edict.

Clegg did not say which research his comments were based on.

Clegg added that parents bear a heavy responsibility to make sure the games their children spend time with are age and content appropriate. He also said that parents should try to ration their children's time spent playing games because overuse can be problematic.

Children are being exposed to sex and violence in video games which should carry adult classifications, outraging Attorney-General John Rau.

Rau said 13 video games released this year were rated MA15+ but carried a higher age rating in Europe and the US. [Perhaps he is referring to the equivalent 16 rating in Europe and 17 (M) rating in the US]

These particular games have been assessed as having intense violence, blood and gore, nudity and suggestive themes.

I am asking the new Commonwealth Attorney-General to have a look at the way the Australian Classification Board is assessing these games and assure the community that the rules are being applied appropriately.

Rau said he would prefer not to use the South Australian Classification Council to review the games and up their classification in the state even though he has the power:

The preferable position is to do it nationally because ... if other states had a completely different regime to ours not only would it be confusing for retailers but it would also mean there's an opportunity for people to buy online and interstate and have things posted to here.

No study has ever shown that violent video games result directly in actual violence, let alone mass shootings. That doesn't mean it isn't possible, though the numbers suggest it's very unlikely.

Analysts estimate 18 to 20 million copies of Rockstar's GTA V will be sold worldwide by the end of March, 2014.

It's possible that someone who buys and plays the game will later go on to carry out a horrible shooting. Should that happen, it will almost certainly occur in America, which boasts far and away the highest number of mass shootings (and shootings in general) while boasting no higher rate of video game consumption.

See the chart from the Washington Post's Max Fisher , which illustrates this fact starkly enough

The article also has a knock at tabloid reporting in the Daily Telegraph and notes:

The Telegraph's Nick Allen described the [Washington] shooter's darker side which saw him playing violent zombie video games in his room, sometimes from 12.30pm until 4.30am. Is it odd to describe a mass murderer's darker side not as his killings or other unstable interactions with people, but as an activity he shares with millions of other people?

...Read the full article .

The Daily Mirror has a bit of fun with the new Grand Theft Auto V and spouts:

In the 18-rated violent crime game's most shocking scene yet, the player is instructed to pull out his victim's teeth with a pair of pliers

A brutal scene in a new computer game where players carry out gruesome torture techniques has been condemned by teachers.

Today sees the official release of Grand Theft Auto 5, one of the most highly-anticipated games of all time.

In a torture scene in the PEGI 18-rated crime game, the player is instructed to pull out a victim's teeth with a pair of pliers. Gamers then pour a flammable liquid over a victim tied to a chair. Players then smash the victim's kneecap with a monkey wrench and give him electric shocks using spark plugs as he pleads for mercy.

Alison Sherratt, president of the Lecturers and Teachers Association was suitable 'outraged':

Up until now we've been warning of the dangers of children seeing these games but saying it's the parents responsibility to keep children away from these video games. But this scene takes things a step too far and the games makers need to consider what they are producing.

Children in our playgrounds are displaying more violence and we have conducted polls and found they are viewing games like GTA. My concern is that little brother or sister walk in to the room and start watching something like this because an older brother is playing it. They don't understand the difference between reality and fiction because it's so awfully graphic and real. and they do copy it. They imitate what they see and this scene is taking it way too far.

Labour MP Keith Vaz says he is astonished by the torture scene in GTA 5 and contributed a sound bite:.

I am astonished at the level of violence depicted in this game.

It is worrying that this type of content could be accessed by young people, particularly considering the previous links to real-life violence. It is important that the video game industry takes steps to fully inform the public about the level of extreme content. Responsibility also lies with parents to ensure that their children do not access these types of games until it is appropriate.

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number developer Dennaton Games is currently reviewing a scene that sets up a sexual assault, but doesn't actually show it happening. Some early players voiced concerns about its place in the top-down shooter.

Dennaton Games' Dennis Wedin explained that the scene has been removed from the newest version of the Hotline Miami 2 demo while the developer works out a way to potentially alter its content.

We're going to work with it, see if we can fix it. You get a bigger picture when you play the whole game, which is lost in the demo of course.

The controversial scene appears during a level transition. You play as the Pig Butcher and smash your way through hordes of bad guys, leaving a bloody mess in your wake.

Following the formula of the previous Hotline Miami game, once you reached the end of the level, the character would either rescue a target or kill them. Your target in the controversial scene is a blonde who appears to fight just as well as any of the men in the room. However, once you defeat her the game prompts you to FINISH HER. But instead of a needlessly violent kill, Pig Butcher pins her down and drops his trousers. At that moment a voice yells CUT........Pig Man, well done, but don't be afraid to be rougher. And you there, blondie. You need to work on your femininity. Act more helpless and scared. You know, more girly.

Whore of the Orient , a new computer game from the developer of L A Noire , is being harangued for not having a politically correct title.

A prominent member of the Australian-Chinese community is whingeing that the game is supposedly an attempt to disgrace Chinese culture, history and traditions .

Jieh-Yung Lo has vowed to take his complaint to the Human Rights Commission on grounds of supposed racial vilification:

Australian institutions should be encouraged to fund projects and initiatives that cultivate mutual understanding and prosperity in the Australia-China relationship. We need to build greater trust and cultural understanding rather than promote division and negativity.

It seems that Whore of the Orient is an historical nickname for the city of Shanghai. The game is set in 1936 in a city described in promotional material as the most corrupt and decadent city on the planet, where anything can be had or done for the right price .

Lo explained:

It's the use of the word 'Orient', more even than the word 'whore', that is the issue. The O-word is very similar to the N-word for African-American communities. It's a 19th century racial-colonial conception and it's especially painful for older people in the communities. That was a very bad time in China, and people don't want or need to have that dragged up.

Abstract

Background

Past research has found that playing a classic prosocial video game resulted in heightened prosocial behavior when compared to a control group, whereas playing a classic violent video game had no effect. Given purported links between violent video games and poor social behavior, this result is surprising. Here our aim was to assess whether this finding may be due to the specific games used. That is, modern games are experienced differently from classic games (more immersion in virtual environments, more connection with characters, etc.) and it may be that playing violent video games impacts prosocial behavior only when contemporary versions are used.

Methods and Findings

Experiments 1 and 2 explored the effects of playing contemporary violent, non-violent, and prosocial video games on prosocial behavior, as measured by the pen-drop task. We found that slight contextual changes in the delivery of the pen-drop task led to different rates of helping but that the type of game played had little effect. Experiment 3 explored this further by using classic games. Again, we found no effect.

Conclusions

We failed to find evidence that playing video games affects prosocial behavior. Research on the effects of video game play is of significant public interest. It is therefore important that speculation be rigorously tested and findings replicated. Here we fail to substantiate conjecture that playing contemporary violent video games will lead to diminished prosocial behavior.