Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Mon, Jul 05 2004
Masters Of The Game
Do violent video games incite young people to commit actual violent crimes? Some say yes. I believe there is a lot more than video games going on when a person turns violent. Still, as manufacturers churn out games with more action, more kill features and more gore, some folks would like to see the law itself step in and keep kids from buying these games. Some lawmakers are very eager to oblige, and are even leading the pack. The article I've linked to below mentions some game manufacturers doing things like changing the color of blood in games. As I recall, some filmmakers have also been pushed to use green blood, rather than red, in their work. But when the article mentions The Sims games as being set up with no violence, it doesn't account for the fact that people who want to play on the darkside of life aren't going to let a little thing like the color of blood or technically nonviolent game moves stop them. Remember the whole story of the mafia-like underworldthat grew out of the Sims Online game? Alphaville (like other cyber-regions not sanctioned by the original game makers) opened the gate into a back alley full of prostitution, drug trafficking and other cyber-exploitation.
Lawmakers never seem to learn their lesson about these things. They pass a law, and if that law isn't reinforced all down the line, they never realize that something else could be wrong in the system. They just pass another law. The more laws there are, the more difficult it is to reinforce them all. If legislators can't control the game makers, the distributors, the retailers, or the parents, they think one more law just might do it. The lawmakers perceive themselves as doing good. Instead, just like a kid addicted to some game, the lawmakers are hooked on passing just one more law, to get one more little bit of control over their world, and ours. Now, that's a scary game.
posted at: 17:09 | category: /Politics | link to this entry
Do violent video games incite young people to commit actual violent crimes? Some say yes. I believe there is a lot more than video games going on when a person turns violent. Still, as manufacturers churn out games with more action, more kill features and more gore, some folks would like to see the law itself step in and keep kids from buying these games. Some lawmakers are very eager to oblige, and are even leading the pack. The article I've linked to below mentions some game manufacturers doing things like changing the color of blood in games. As I recall, some filmmakers have also been pushed to use green blood, rather than red, in their work. But when the article mentions The Sims games as being set up with no violence, it doesn't account for the fact that people who want to play on the darkside of life aren't going to let a little thing like the color of blood or technically nonviolent game moves stop them. Remember the whole story of the mafia-like underworldthat grew out of the Sims Online game? Alphaville (like other cyber-regions not sanctioned by the original game makers) opened the gate into a back alley full of prostitution, drug trafficking and other cyber-exploitation.
Lawmakers never seem to learn their lesson about these things. They pass a law, and if that law isn't reinforced all down the line, they never realize that something else could be wrong in the system. They just pass another law. The more laws there are, the more difficult it is to reinforce them all. If legislators can't control the game makers, the distributors, the retailers, or the parents, they think one more law just might do it. The lawmakers perceive themselves as doing good. Instead, just like a kid addicted to some game, the lawmakers are hooked on passing just one more law, to get one more little bit of control over their world, and ours. Now, that's a scary game.
posted at: 17:09 | category: /Politics | link to this entry
