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Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Violence in gaming.
« on: December 18, 2012, 08:16:07 PM »
Hey everyone, was curious about thoughts on violence in gaming given the recent school shooting in CT. Not to downplay the tragedy, which really is unspeakable( I can't imagine what the families involved are going through), but frequently games, as well as other forms entertainment media, are targeted after incidents like this by the news. This is nothing new, going back to the paranoia many people had regarding D&D in the 80s, and earlier with comics and rock'n'roll, etc. Anyone else here old enough to remember Mazes & Monsters? Of course, this sort of scrutiny has also been put on movies and now, video games, as well. But as a life long gamer who remembers the stigma of liking a non-mainstream pastime back in the day, I know the feeling that when something like this happens, you wonder what sort of backlash will occur.
I was wondering about what RPPR 's take on this topic might be. From what I gather, a few of the crew on the podcast such as Caleb and Cody are educators themselves, and Ross is an author( and yes, I did, in fact, buy his book), and they're all creative folks. I imagine they would have a lot of insight on this topic if they wanted to share their thoughts on it.
From my part, when I think about it, my interests in Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Horror are intresets in genres that do obviously, have a lot of violence. And never once, in all my years as a gamer or a geek, have I ever thought of hurting another human being. It was always very clear to me what is make-believe, and what isn't. In fact, I would say games, and movies, comics, etc. helped form my moral compass today. It almost sounds silly, but I feel it is true. There's a lot of positive experiences games can create. Of course, those won't get covered by the news. That being said, criticism leveled at games and other media for contributing to violence may have some merit, and clearly many games would be inappropriate for minors. There have been studies supposedly linking games to increased aggression as well, etc. As gamers, what is our responsibility in addressing these issues? Or are these issues even our responsibility at all?
Sorry if this topic has already been addressed somewhere else on the forum, or if it belongs better in another category, or if people here are just tired of the discussion, but this is something I've been thinking a lot of lately.
Thoughts? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone?
I was wondering about what RPPR 's take on this topic might be. From what I gather, a few of the crew on the podcast such as Caleb and Cody are educators themselves, and Ross is an author( and yes, I did, in fact, buy his book), and they're all creative folks. I imagine they would have a lot of insight on this topic if they wanted to share their thoughts on it.
From my part, when I think about it, my interests in Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Horror are intresets in genres that do obviously, have a lot of violence. And never once, in all my years as a gamer or a geek, have I ever thought of hurting another human being. It was always very clear to me what is make-believe, and what isn't. In fact, I would say games, and movies, comics, etc. helped form my moral compass today. It almost sounds silly, but I feel it is true. There's a lot of positive experiences games can create. Of course, those won't get covered by the news. That being said, criticism leveled at games and other media for contributing to violence may have some merit, and clearly many games would be inappropriate for minors. There have been studies supposedly linking games to increased aggression as well, etc. As gamers, what is our responsibility in addressing these issues? Or are these issues even our responsibility at all?
Sorry if this topic has already been addressed somewhere else on the forum, or if it belongs better in another category, or if people here are just tired of the discussion, but this is something I've been thinking a lot of lately.
Thoughts? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone?