Well, here's my take on the whole violent games and violent behavior issue.. Everytime a story like this is posted, hordes of people post "no, stupid! It doesn't! I play violent games all the time and I've never killed anyone!" or something similar.. Well, I was thinking about who reads slashdot and thus who comments.
Frequenters of/. are generally more acquainted with computers and technology.. they are more likely to understand how the game works.. Not neccessarily the programming, but rather that, for example, that man with the Uzi is actually a bunch of organized colored dots on the screen. The computer or game console isn't a magical little box that opens up a gateway to a new world exactly like ours. Tech people will inherently have a better understanding that the game is A GAME and not reality.. Even if they don't consciously think about all the workings of the game/computer when they blow someone's head off.
Little Jimmy, however, only knows how to turn on his Nintendo and how to boot up the computer and start a game; he doesn't know anything about the machines or software themselves. These games open up new worlds for him to explore and interacte with.. To him, they are actually NEW WORLDS.. Not a bunch of textured brushes put together and AI routines he has to outsmart.
Personally, I love video games.. Because I know that that's what they are: games. You all realize that too. An average person playing a first-person shooter may not realize it, however, deep down. He _knows_ it's a game, but he doesn't _realize_ it and subconsciously see it as nothing more than a game.
I can believe that in some people violent video games (or literature or television or movies or cartoons) could lead a person to violent actions. But it all depends on the person. I still remember downloading the shareware v1.1 of Wolfenstein 3D on my 2400 baud modem from a local BBS. Throughout these years, however, I understood that it (and others) were computer games only.
It all depends on the percepetion of what is being fed to the brain. People on/. making fun of violent(games + behavior) surely have a different perception of the games than an average person.. Computer people can see the games for what they really are, not what they attempt to resemble.
OK, those were just my thoughts on the whole issue.. Hope I wasn't just repeating what someone else has already said before.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, here's my take on the whole violent games and violent behavior issue.. Everytime a story like this is posted, hordes of people post "no, stupid! It doesn't! I play violent games all the time and I've never killed anyone!" or something similar.. Well, I was thinking about who reads slashdot and thus who comments.
/. are generally more acquainted with computers and technology.. they are more likely to understand how the game works.. Not neccessarily the programming, but rather that, for example, that man with the Uzi is actually a bunch of organized colored dots on the screen. The computer or game console isn't a magical little box that opens up a gateway to a new world exactly like ours. Tech people will inherently have a better understanding that the game is A GAME and not reality.. Even if they don't consciously think about all the workings of the game/computer when they blow someone's head off.
/. making fun of violent(games + behavior) surely have a different perception of the games than an average person.. Computer people can see the games for what they really are, not what they attempt to resemble.
Frequenters of
Little Jimmy, however, only knows how to turn on his Nintendo and how to boot up the computer and start a game; he doesn't know anything about the machines or software themselves. These games open up new worlds for him to explore and interacte with.. To him, they are actually NEW WORLDS.. Not a bunch of textured brushes put together and AI routines he has to outsmart.
Personally, I love video games.. Because I know that that's what they are: games. You all realize that too. An average person playing a first-person shooter may not realize it, however, deep down. He _knows_ it's a game, but he doesn't _realize_ it and subconsciously see it as nothing more than a game.
I can believe that in some people violent video games (or literature or television or movies or cartoons) could lead a person to violent actions. But it all depends on the person. I still remember downloading the shareware v1.1 of Wolfenstein 3D on my 2400 baud modem from a local BBS. Throughout these years, however, I understood that it (and others) were computer games only.
It all depends on the percepetion of what is being fed to the brain. People on
OK, those were just my thoughts on the whole issue.. Hope I wasn't just repeating what someone else has already said before.
Thanks,
Charles Blachly