The Influence of Games - TEK9 Networks

Games have always enjoyed quite some attention, both positive and negative. However, the negative attention got a lot of games into the crossfire of society. People and organizations, claiming that certain games should be banned. Saying that those games are offensive and teach people, especially children, wrong ways of living. Are games really that bad? Are games partially responsible for some criminal activities?

There are numerous different genres of games ranging from educational to mindless shooting. The positive effect of games, especially when trying to teach people something, is that it doesn’t get boring or at least not that fast. Take Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training for example: thousands of people practice daily to train their brains. Not only do you practice, but most people also enjoy doing this. There are numerous other games that have the same goal or effect as Brain Training. Applications for children that teach them languages like English, maths or biology. Too many to summarize here, but in the end all of them have a positive effect.

However, educative games are the minority of games. Most games have the sole purpose to entertain the gamer, let him/her forget his stress, fear, anger or other emotions that make the daily life less pleasant. People have different ways to open up their gates and let go of their emotions. For example, anger. There are some people who like to play violent games to satisfy their anger like Call of Duty or Counterstrike. Others tend to play calming games like Myst or The Settlers. Everyone has an own way to satisfy his or her needs, and game makers focus on certain groups.

There are other reasons to play a game. Gaming has become bigger and bigger throughout the years and has acknowledged the name “sport”, at least some games are seen as (team)sports. Like football or tennis games can be played for fun, but also to challenge yourself and others. People get sucked up into games and spend a lot of time playing certain games. These players see games from a different point of view and process the things they see and do differently than others. This does not particularly mean that they lose their grip to reality, but it’s sometimes the case that the border between game and reality becomes a blur. When playing certain games, it can lead to exceptional creativity or interesting skills like better hand/eye coordination. However, some games have content that could be processed as so realistic, that it could become a problem.

A recent example is Grand Theft Auto IV. The GTA series always had the lovers/haters situation. The game crossed ethic borders, according to some people. Things that weren’t allowed in the daily life could be done in-game, like beating someone up or shooting him/her. Combine these games with people that have trouble differing reality with a game or are excessive gamers, and troubles would arise. At least that’s what certain groups claim. When a young man ran amok in his school, killing numerous fellow students and teachers, games were blamed. “Games infect people’s brains”. Things happen, people look for answers to the question “how?” and “why?”, it’s in our nature. However, looking for someone or something to blame isn’t in our nature (or shouldn’t be) and that’s exactly what happens when such topics arise.

“Claiming that games teach us how to kill people or treat women badly. Games make criminals and should be banned.” Honestly, this claim is generalizing not only most violent games but also the people who blame them. Gaming became something bad. Not only for your health or social life but it also for the safety of society. Another good example: the night of the release of GTAIV there was a robbery. A man got arrested for robbing and assaulting another person. This was hugely hyped by media, it was almost as if you threw a piece of meat in front of a lion. “You see, this game makes people violent!” – No, the game doesn’t make people violent. It makes psycho’s that already have problems with their saneness even more crazy. And honestly, if I see women running into a warehouse where a wedding dress sale is you won’t see me shouting: “see, sales make people violent!” I’ve seen people getting carried away with bruises and some even lost consciousness. You see, everything can be blown up and be made into something bad. In the end it’s not the game that makes people do things.

In the end it’s the responsibility of people themselves. If you think you can handle that kind of games, play them. If you have trouble keeping games and reality apart, please proceed with care. Also, if games really change people into criminals, then the change should be visible. You don’t become a criminal from one moment to the other, it will happen gradually. People should notice that, especially teachers, supervisors or family. Maybe it would be better to start there, maybe even yourself, instead of pointing your finger onto others.