Stage 1 - Part 4 - "Jack Thompson, your ears will burn!"

So I have moved! Huzzah! I now live with a family of two (mother and son) and it just so happens that the son is an avid gamer. A positive arrives at first, but just because we both share interests it does not mean we will get on. I have a serious sour point about teenagers... like a grumpy old man.

It does look good though...

So I was having a coffee in the kitchen listening to the mother talk for hours as usual, while keeping one eye on the 16 year old player (lets call him 'Neil') the new Crysis 2 Beta. It did look good, and a lot of fun.

After some time, the mother addressed the son and asked about what he was playing, only to go on in disgust about the violence in games he had been playing, including Infamous, a game that isn't explicitly violent, but does have some sensitive material in it. She explained how she did not like him playing these games, to which he protested that you "can play as the good guy" which it turned out he did not, and that "he was fine, and there was nothing wrong with him". My only interjection was to say,"I think you're a little too young to decide that yet buddy", and left it at that.

Mortal Kombat-esque violence, but it was contextual

Why am I telling you this? Well, violence in games is to me like violence in a lot of media. If executed appropriately (which I know is on a different scale for everyone), then it can be excused. Once it goes to extremes, however, without clear justification or artistic substance then I see it as mindless and derrogatory to society. That's just me. For example, I do listen to a lot of Wu-Tang Clan, who are hands down the greatest hip hop group yet to roam the earth, and indeed their lyrics pose a lot of violence. But it is not the be all and end all of the substance in which they perform. Now then look to the song Dance With the Devil by Immortal Technique. Without doubt, this song made me uncomfortable. Perhaps I am too far removed from that lifestyle, and therefore cannot begin to understand it.

So, back to 'Neil'. Moving on a couple of days, we are walking together back from bowling, and it turns out that he had been in a little scuffle at school some time ago, that got him in a lot of trouble. He strangled some kid. I was not too put aside by this, as school growing up can be volatile at times, it is just nature! But what I was not so keen on was how he defended himself saying,"No mum, I did not strangle him with rope, I did it with my bare hands!" and laughing about it. Now again, mind he is a teenager, so maybe this might be natural for him, but I remember when I was 16, and the only thing I had my hands on was either parts of girls or parts of myself! And believe me, I was always 'bareback' (with my hands...).

Am I taking a high ground? I don't think so. I see elements of myself that I believe would be different if I had not been putting myself infront of certain things as I grew up. I cannot have a conversation with anyone now, without going through the motions of physically harming that person in my head. Rest assured, I have only laid one bad hand on someone and deeply regretted it!! I am and always will be a lover not a fighter!

Now before you get all concerned about where I am going with this, do not think I am going to say that games are unhealthy and create monsters, blah blah blah. I do not believe that. What I do believe, and I shall give credits to Little Brother for this quote, is as follows:


They say that violent games change you, but violent games don't change you, they just make you more of what you already are.


Cheesy, but true. If there is anything locked in there that has been or is being repressed, then the constant exposure to sensitive content nullifies morals and ultimately breaks down the line between acceptable and outright wrong.


In the past, I have been thinking that there needs to be a severe ruling towards the distribution of graphic violence, and where it ends up, not only to protect the children who know no better but also the industry that still has stigmas surrounding it in regards to content. Nowadays, I realise that there is nothing that can be done. I do not want developers to stop making games like Bulletstorm, Dead Space, and Twisted Metal. They are fun! Violent, yes, but so much fun! At least Twisted Metal will be anyway. Jumping the gun a bit there.

I guess all I would suggest, if anyone read this and was not sure about where they sit on violence in video games, just stay on the fence. Eventually, your butt will grow around it and you will get really cosy. Picking sides has not brought us any further forward, so why do it? And I am sure the way the industry is progressing, we will have another wave of ultraviolence coming to the fray in the next couple of decades. No one will care because there will be some other new form of entertainment taking over, and video games will no longer be the newbie of the entertainment industry. Can't wait.


NEXT WEEK: "First week in games"

If you have anything you wish to share with me or indeed the readers, feel free to comment or e-mail me at twentyfiveand0@hotmail.co.uk - Don't forget to check out the What Have I Been Playing pages found on the right! OR Check out my channel at www.youtube.com/ike1luv