Violence, Games & Art - Part 1

Technos: Quarterly for Education and Technology, Spring, 2000 by Thom Gillespie

Yes, we have no violence in any of our products. I'll give you an example. We have a product line called Thinkin' Things, which takes place in a jungle and has a monkey who plays musical instruments. The monkey uses found objects or other animals. One of the potential things the monkey could do was to drum, and we considered a turtle as a drum but chose not to use even a turtle as a drum, because it would mean hitting the turtle. That was too violent. We want to design a nurturing, guiding, warm, friendly environment for children recognizing their capabilities. Violence doesn't fit in at all.

What is your perspective on the issue of games and violence reported in the media these days?

I think it is too simple to point the finger at any media being responsible for the ills of the world. I think it comes down to parents making sure they explain to their children that what happens on the computer screen, the movie screen, or on television isn't real and :isn't okay in real life.

Do you think there is a difference between computer-game violence and violence in other media, such as books, film, or TV?

I think the trouble with computer-game violence is that you actually cause it to happen, as opposed to watching a passive screen, so you make choices in computer games. Still, the onus is on parents to make sure that the kids understand the choices in violence on and off the screens in their lives.

Do you think it is possible for media violence to move someone to do violence in the real world?

I think there are people, children in all walks of life, who don't get the moral issues -- either they don't get it taught to them or it didn't sink in, it didn't click. I think for those kinds of kids, games can instill in them certain images, but I think they would go there anyway.

Bill Dugan, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. [www.wizards.com]

Do you think computer games are too violent?

As a group, no. That said, a well-understood rating system to assist parents is a necessity. Computer games are probably receiving more than their share of attention on this topic not because the violence is novel, but because (a) people notice that very violent games seem to be more popular than very violent entertainment in other media, and (b) some people are concerned by the implications of the player acting out violence instead of watching it, as they do when watching a movie or TV show.

Part (a) is plain to see. Looking at the top 50 computer games in January 2000, about 20 of them depend on the player killing someone (Quake III Arena, Unreal Tournament), ordering someone to kill someone (Command & Conquer 2), or in two cases shooting a deer, which is a special case. That's about 40 percent. Nine of the games are first-person shooters in which you play by killing person after person after person. That's the game mechanic: you get points, or advance in the game, by killing. There are various reasons for violent games' popularity. Game mechanics based on shooting things have a deep history in video and computer games (Space Invaders, Asteroids), and as technology has improved, game designers have simply extended the culture to include 3D-rendered soldiers running around with rocket launchers.