Well, it's almost 1 in the morning and I'm done a rough of my English essay.  Exciting!  It's about video games.  I'm tired and my judgement might not be the best but I feel like posting it.  If you guys could comment it'd be appreciated I gotta get the final thing in by Friday (wow, it took me 4 tries to spell that right... I need sleep), so and critisim cna help.  Muchos gracias seniors.

Video Games: The Media’s Favourite Scapegoat
Marnix Domingo

Scapegoat.  By definition it means “a person or group made to bear the blame for others” .  However, person or group can also incorporate objects, such as video games.  Ever since the game “Death Race” came out back in 1976, video games have been targeted by the media for desensitizing our youth and have been referred to using harsh terms such as “murder simulators” , despite an almost complete lack of any real evidence tying them to violent behavior.  This unjust treatment has only gotten worse in recent years due to better graphics as well as games such as Grand Theft Auto or Doom.  However, video games are quite the contrary to what the media and other naysayers would have the public believe.  Video games are creative story worlds with many potential positives, but in order to understand what’s true, we need to first determine what is false.

Perhaps the most controversial game on the market today – although technically it is a series – is Grand Theft Auto or GTA.  In the past it has been described as “a murder simulator for violence against women, cops, and innocent bystanders” .  And yes, while you can choose to do this, that’s what it comes down to, choice.  The GTA games fall under a category known as “Sandbox Games”, meaning it allows the players to do whatever they want, with little or no restrictions or directions given.  GTA was actually among the first games that used this method, and in doing so revolutionized the game industry, but at a price.  GTA’s open-ended gameplay, while allowing players to explore all sorts of possibilities, also allowed them to go on killing sprees in the game.  This leads many people to attribute violent behaviour and actions on the game, say that gamers lose distinction between fiction and reality and, in the case of Devin Moore , even use it as an excuse for murder.  Of course, the game has sold more than 65 million copies, so if their argument that “murder simulators” such as these train and condition us to go on mass killing sprees, then why is it that all the other millions of people who have played the game not had their minds melded into perfect killing machines, grabbed the Ak-47 they all keep stashed under their desks for such an occasion and gone out for a quick massacre?  The answer is simple; video games do not cause violence.  As of yet there is no more concrete evidence linking violent behaviour with violent video games than there is for violent movies, music or books.  Video games are the new kids on the block in the media arena and therefore are the easiest to pick on.  But despite this glaring double-standard that has been taken up by anti-gaming enthusiasts, with video games receiving the brunt of their ire and other issue flying under the radar, the general public still allows themselves to be manipulated into believing these stereotypes and false accusations.

By far the most outspoken anti-gaming lobbyist is one Jack Thompson.  Infamous throughout the gaming community, this Floridian lawyer is well known for popping up like a jack-in-the-box at any high profile crime, spurting forth accusations against video games.  It is actually he who spawned the term “murder simulator”.  His common argument is that video games are used to train teenagers to go on rampages, stating that they are “dangerous physical appliances that teach a kid how to kill efficiently and to love it” .  Perhaps what has most gained him the ire of the video game community is his uncanny ability to try and pin crimes on video games.  For example, in 1997 14 year old Michael Carneal shot and killed 3 students at his school.  Jack Thompson leapt on this and attempted to pin much of the blame on some of the video games Carneal had played, such as Doom.  Of course, Carneal also owned a copy of a video depicting actions disturbingly similar to his own, which played second fiddle in Thompson’s case, not to mention that fact that nobody seemed to question the fact that Carneal’s father had a pair of shotguns just lying around the house where his son could get at them .  Clearly video games are the main cause of this tragedy.  Along with his constant attempts to sue the makers of video games, as in the aforementioned case, he also enjoys making attempts to bar the sales of games, such as Grand Theft Auto.  The makers of the game have argued against him stating such games are protected under freedom of expression.  In one such case – as Thompson has attempted this more than once – Thompson stated that “Murder simulators are not constitutionally protected speech. They’re not even speech.” , yet some how books, movies and music do fall under such categories.  Jack Thompson truly represents the worst of anti-gaming.  He is outspoken, he is ignorant and he is persistent.  To date he hasn’t won any of his anti-gaming cases, but his vendetta rages on.

A more recent example of an attack on video games is that of Mass Effect, a recently released game with many awards to its name, and Fox News.  The host accused the game of being little more than a sex simulator  and then brought up a pair of experts to argue both sides of the issue.  On one side was psychologist Cooper Lawrence and on the other, Geoff Keighley, a game expert from Spike TV.  The debate got off to a roaring start with Cooper announcing that “these sort of games are made for adults but if you look at the statistics, who is playing video games but adolescent males”.  Given that the average gamer is 33 years old and that 38% are female , it can already be seen that Cooper might not be as reliable a source of information as she seems.  She then continues to spurt false truths about the game, at which point Geoff steps up to correct her on a number of points.  He takes a moment to ask Cooper, who seems to think she knows everything there is to know about the game, if she has, in fact, ever played it.  To this she answers, with a chuckle, “No”.  Despite this, the host and Cooper continue to attempt to criticize it, with every argument made pointed out as incorrect by Geoff.  Ending the debate abruptly after this, the host turns to her panel of co-hosts, who then continue to discuss the game as though the points made by Geoff had never occurred.  It would seem even in the news, the place from which we expect to gain insightful knowledge of real issues, ignorance runs rampant and even in cases where one tries to fill this void of knowledge, they are disregarded.  This is not a solitary event.  We see this again in the constant slandering of the gaming industry with false statistics and made up research.  Perhaps they are all too willing to give in to the stereotype that video games are evil and fear that allowing outside knowledge to pierce their cocoon of ignorance would somehow harm them.  But perhaps a little more research done before accusations such as this are made can do a world of good.  Cooper herself watched someone play Mass Effect 4 days after her now infamous debate.  After which she stated “I recognize that I misspoke” as well as saying that “[she’d] seen episodes of ‘Lost’ that are more sexually explicit.”    But the fact remains that no matter how sorry she is, the damage is done.  As one of the co-hosts stated after the debate, “I’m definitely not going to let Mass Effect in my house” , and there is no doubt that the parents of many gamers who may have otherwise gotten the game thought likewise.  Ignorance like this is perhaps the greatest factor working against the video game industry.  If perhaps people were better informed of the beneficial aspects of video games, they would be less inclined to judge it so harshly until the day when it finally reaches the level of acceptance that mainstream media has.

There are many different beneficial aspects of gaming that could be looked at.  There are psychological aspects such as improved visual skills or hand eye coordination  as well as social benefits.  Online games often feature complex player associations that you can start and run, through which you can learn many important leadership skills and in fact, some employers already look for things like if you play online games .  Along with this, you get the opportunity to interact with hundreds of people from all over the world and gain teamwork and goal achieving experience.  Video games can also provoke creativity, deep thought and a curiosity of many aspects of the world .

The benefits of gaming are obvious to those who take the time to look for them.  While it cannot be said that there are no detrimental effects to gaming, for most people, the good far outweighs the bad.  Unfortunately due to undeserved and overly harsh criticism, rampant stereotypes and false accusations, general ignorance of basic facts and of course, the persistent bigots who insist on spreading the above, the gaming industry has to constantly fight to remain available to all and for the rights that all other media have already been given.  It’s a slow and arduous, but it is happening.  Gaming is constantly gaining new ground as it makes great strides in storytelling, visual presentation and creative gameplay.  People are gradually learning more about the industry and are seeing it for what it really is.  Given a few more years, there is no doubt in my mind that the media will have to find a new scapegoat to vent their frustrations on.


Citations

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Chalk, Andy. "Jack Thompson Releases Grand Theft Auto IV Statement." The Escapist. 28 Jan. 2008. 26 Feb. 2008 http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/80969-Jack-Thompson-Releases-Grand-Theft-Auto-IV-Statement

"Game Player Data." Facts & Research. Entertainment Software Association. 26 Feb. 2008 http://www.theesa.com/facts/gamer_data.php

"Grand Theft Auto (Series)." Wikipedia. 26 Feb. 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_%28series%29

"Heath High School Shooting." Wikipedia. 26 Feb. 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_High_School_shooting

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"Jack Thompson (Attorney)." Wikipedia. 26 Feb. 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Thompson_(attorney)

Majendie, Paul. Violent Video Games 'Exhilarating Escapism,' Survey Finds. Globe and Mail. 2007. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070418.wgtgames0418/BNstory

"Mass Effect." Wikipedia. 26 Feb. 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Effect

"Scapegoat." Dictionary.Com. 25 Feb. 2008 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/scapegoat

Schiesel, Seth. Author Faults a Game, and Gamers Flame Back. New York Times. 2008. 26 Feb. 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/26/arts/television/26mass.html?_r=4&ref=arts&oref=slogin

"SE"Xbox? Fox News. 21 Jan. 2008. 26 Feb. 2008 http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=PKzF173GqTU

Shin, Grace. "Video Games: a Cause of Violence and Aggression." Serendip. 4 Jan. 2008. 26 Feb. 2008 http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1723

"The Many Benefits of Video Games." 26 Feb. 2008 http://sandradodd.com/videogames

"Video Game Controversy." Wikipedia. 25 Feb. 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_controversy.

Video Games Boost Visual Skills, Study Finds. National Geographic. 2003. 26 Feb. 2008 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0528_030528_videogames_2.html

ya, it's good. I couldn't find any errors when i read it, nice essay marn.

Nice marn. Good topic