Blaming Gaming

Blaming Gaming

Videogames have always been a break from reality. A chance to escape what’s going on, and just have fun. Games have developed over the years; they’ve become more complex, and have varied more in themes and genres.

Over the years, there have also been games that have caused controversy and that have given gamers the wrong idea.

Take for example the Mario game series, an easy, innocent game that was geared towards all ages.

Starting off as a 2-D adventure with an extremely simple plot, the first Mario game, Donkey Kong, involved Mario and his brother having to jump into boxes, over enemies, to safety, and eventually saving the Princess. The games consoles these games could be played on were low colour systems called Nintendo Entertainment Systems. 5 years later, the game went 3-D, and morphed into a more varied adventure game, with not just the simple collecting of coins, but the unlocking of different virtual worlds, and different moves. The latest Mario game, Super Mario Galaxy on the Nintendo Wii, sees Mario blasting off into space, exploring different galaxies, to save different planets, using his jumping abilities, and stars that he collects. The series has come a long way.

This is just one example. Many games have made a similar journey into the 21st century, evolving from something simple to something more complex and challenging. But with the good, there’s always the bad.

Games that are violent, contain nudity, drug use or excessive profanity have always been frowned upon. But then there are extreme cases of games influencing children or teens to do unlawful things, or see things that their parents or guardians do not want them to see.

An example of this is the infamous game, Manhunt. The character you play as in the game is an escaped convict on death row, who receives orders to kill others in ridiculously violent and graphic ways. These murder methods include shocking an inmate to death, severing an enemies testicles (yes, I know) and prising an enemy’s head from their body using a crowbar. In the game, the players are rewarded for the brutality of their murders.

After the murder of Stefan Pakeerah, who was murdered by a friend who was supposedly obsessed with the game, many shops stopped selling Manhunt, and the game Manhunt 2 was banned from the UK. Though later, the murderer was found not to even have a copy of Manhunt in his house and the murder was cited by police to be drug-related.

Many other violent games have been blamed as causing crimes in society.

But isn’t it the criminal’s fault, and not the game? Is it not also the parent’s fault for allowing their children to see this kind of thing? Personally, I believe that it is all up to the person. If a child is under 18, and buys an over 18 game, but is wise enough to know that the game is not real, then there should be no problem. But games are given a certificate for a reason. If a child is under 18 but isn’t mature enough to know what is in the game should not be replicated in real life, then should the child really have the game? Is it the game developer’s fault? Isn’t it also the shopkeeper’s fault for selling a game to someone underage?

I agree, that too much gaming is bad for you, and the obsessive playing of violent games can desensitise you, but isn’t being obsessive in itself bad for you?

So in conclusion, I feel that if parents do not teach their children to be media smart, then when they see the horrors of real life depicted in a game, then something bad will happen. Instead, people need to use their own initiative, and be responsible for themselves and their children, not just blame other people to stop themselves from feeling guilty. Don’t blame games.