Screen Violence

Bill's lecture this time around was about screen violence. We watched clips from a variety of films, some of which had more graphically violent content than others. As a games artist, I couldn't help but relate this entire topic back to the games industry.

It made me think of all the controversies that have surrounded video games and the way that violence is portrayed in them. There have been instances in the past where violent video games have been blamed for inciting youths that have played them into committing violent acts against one another; most notable was a case where a teenager murdered somebody, and the video game Manhunt was cited as a factor in the youth developing such psychopathic tendencies. The Columbine murderers were also avid fans of the video game Doom, one of them to the point of utter obsession; there has been a lot of speculation that this may have been a contributing factor to their violent behaviour.

This led me on to thinking about whether violence in video games is necessary, or whether it is simply gratuitous and their for effect. In my opinion, violence, particularly graphic violence, is important in video games, providing the reason for it being there is legitimate. For example, I think graphic violence in a war game is a necessity, because it provides an authentic experience for the player, and helps immerse them into the world. Personally, I believe that violence in war games should be increased to realistic levels in war games rated 18+, so that players can get a truly authentic idea of what war is like, rather than believing that headshots simply make a nice ping sound and the enemy falls asleep.