How are we affected by Violence, Sex, Health, and Censorship in Video Games? There has been much debate about the effects of violence, sex, health concerns, and censorship in video games upon those that play them. By using several different audience response theories, this essay measures the effects each area has had and is currently having upon gamers. The first audience theory this essay will incorporate is the Hypodermic Needle Theory, or sometimes known as the Magic Bullet theory, a method of measuring the effect of media upon the audience that works on the basis that a media body has a direct and unquestionable influence upon an audience. (Lamb, 2013) While this idea has been around since the 1930s, where it was used primarily to spread war time propaganda messages, this method isn’t considered to be relevant anymore. An interesting example of the effect in practice, while not primarily used for the effect, is the War of the Worlds radio drama, that infamously convinced some of the audience that an alien invasion from Mars, was actually taking place. (Lamb, 2013) The second audience theory that is looked at in this essay is Reception Theory. This works on the basis that the audience is ‘active’, and measures the type of response to a given media, which can be split into 3 different categories; Dominant, in which the audience agrees with the message much like the Hypodermic Needle Theory; Negotiated, in which the audience neither agrees or disagrees with the message; and Oppositional, where the audience will disagree with the message. (Abbit, 2014a)
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The third theory that this essay looks at is Gratification Theory. This theory works on the basis that the audience is active, but measures the reasons why audiences watch or participate in the medium rather than the effect that the medium has. (Abbit, (2014b) This can be generalised into 6 different reasons; for education and information such as documentaries; entertainment, such as films and video games; personal identity, such as identifying with a character; integration; social interaction, such as MMOs; and escapism, such playing video games. (Abbit, 2014b) The first case study in this essay debates the use and effects of violence in video games. Video games have often been the target when random acts of violence have occurred. This is due to the presence of violent imagery and acts the player can witness and/or participate in within some games. These games can include such titles as Grand Theft Auto (Figure 1), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Figure 2), and God of War (Figure 3). In each, players have to ‘kill’ other players or game characters, often in violent and gory ways. This type of gameplay is actively encouraged in players, rewarding the use of violent behaviour with violent cut scenes and animations. These are examples of games that can be identified with using the Reception Theory, as not everyone will readily agree or disagree with the violence being portrayed. There are also escapism factors for those who merely play for because they enjoy these types of video games, and perhaps an element of personal identity within some of the levels. However, there have been some cases where the violence in question has been taken too far.
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In the case of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, in the mission titled “No Russian”, players can take part in the massacre of an airport by shooting civilians, seen in Figure 2. There is a participatory factor that allows players to merely watch the events unfold (betterbyyouasking, 2013). These civilians attempt to flee and are screaming and shouting when they are being fired at. This has caused some controversy. Using the Reception Theory model, betterbyyouasking (2013) shows a Negotiated response to the violence, reasoning that while it is a video game, and the violence is not real, the presence of outright murder in such a real life setting in a video game can be questioned. He says; “when I was not firing my weapon but instead watching them the horrors of the level started to really sink in.” (betterbyyouasking, 2013) This raises the question of how much violence in video games is acceptable. Every person has different tolerances for violence, whether it be in film, TV, or video games. In an online article (USgamer Team, 2015), Bailey (2015) writes that; “I can appreciate it when it's deployed artistically, or in the service of a good story. When gore is introduced for its own sake, it becomes boring or just uncomfortable. The best writers, directors, and developers know how to walk that line. Plenty more don't.” (Bailey, 2015)
This is another example of a negotiated response, but one that tends to lean more to the oppositional side of the spectrum. The agreement with violence here is mediated by the constraint that the violence should serve a purpose from a narrative or artistic point of view, rather than violence for its own sake. Another similar expression of the negotiated response is also reflected in Usgamer Team’s (2015) article; “Where I draw the line is when a game revels in the deaths a little too
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long, and shows too much sadistic suffering in the name of entertainment.” (Rignall, 2015). This reflects the opinion that again violence for its own sake is not welcomed, but violence with a purpose can be tolerated. There has also been debate on the effect violence in video games has in the real world The 2013 Sandy Hook Massacre in the United States was a horrific event that saw 26 men, women, and children gunned down in a public school, including the gunman’s mother (BBC News). The gunman, who was noted to suffer from mental illness, was reportedly obsessed with violent video games, and played them religiously, earning some 80,000 ‘kills’ on his favourite video game (Bates & Pow, 2013). His room included violent posters and graphic violence of mutilation and killing (Bates & Pow, 2013). One source actively blames the involvement of video games as a trigger of the massacre. A veteran police officer claims that “Lanza learned some of the techniques he used in his attack from videogames” (Chalk, 2013). However, there have been studies into the effects of video game violence upon people in the real world which cast serious doubt into the link between the two; “Our research lab recently published new prospective results with teens in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence indicating that exposure to video game violence neither increased aggressive behaviors, nor decreased prosocial behaviors.” (Ferguson, 2012)
Ferguson (2012) also says that many young people play video games, and that many of those will inevitably be violent ones, but finds no link towards real world violence being influenced by video games; “In their 2002 evaluation of school shooters, the U.S. Secret
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Servicefound no evidence to suggest that these perpetrators consume more media violence than anyone else.� (Ferguson, 2012)
Therefore, it can be concluded that video games actively take no part in trying to influence people into committing real violence, instead encouraging players to take part in a safe and fantastical environment. However, people may use them inappropriately in one form or another to contribute towards committing violent acts, such as was the case in the Sandy Hook shootings. The next case study follows the use and effects of sexualisation in video games. Video games are often targeted for the portrayal of women, leading to over sexualisation in both character build and clothing, and even explicit sexual content and abuse in some cases. In recent years, however, there has been a recognition of this issue, with developers now having to make decisions between what is artist vision, and what is now socially acceptable. There are some games that exist that openly use over sexualisation as part of the artistic style in which the game has been designed. Such examples of these games include Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 (Figure 4), and Street Fighter V (Figure 5) Recently, the latest Street Fighter game has come under scrutiny for the way female characters are being portrayed. In an article written by Lincoln (2015), EMEA Brand Manager Brian Ayers wrote that; “The ambitions with Street Fighter V were to make the game approachable and accessible again� (Ayers, 2015). The change shows that there is a conflict between the cultural and fan factors, the cultural being the way the West and Japanese cultures differ on key issues regarding the
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portrayal of women, and the fan culture in that fans of the game expect the over sexualisation and revealing nature of the characters to be in line with the previous games. Another example of a cultural and fan clash as well as censorship is the upcoming game Dead or Alive Xtreme 3. A game in which many barely clothed, large chested women play beach volley ball has led to oppositional responses among fans in the west, as developer Team Ninja decide to not release the game outside of Japan. (Klepek, 2015a) The series is known for introducing such systems like breast movement, that helps to reinforce the escapism factor for many players and indulges male players in sexualising the playable characters (Perry, 2006). A recent reboot of previous over sexualised character Lara Croft proves that the games industry can do more to cater to wider audience while still managing to keep good gameplay and narrative, without relying on the need for attractive front characters. In an interview (Warr, 2013), Brian Horton discusses the changes to the main character that show the changes in the way which women are being perceived in video games; “We did a focus test on the final concept and it tested very well, most people were more drawn to her face than they were to her body.� (Horton, 2013) The redesign of the main character sees a more modern take that is likely due to Reception Theory model feedback. Figure 6 shows a comparison between the two different styles of the same character, note how much less over sexualised the newer, 2013 model is compared to the blocky, exaggerated 1996 model. To conclude, the changing attitudes towards the portrayal of women in different cultures is changing the artistic style of female character design. It is supported by Lincoln 6
(2015) that this change is happening already, and that while some games like Tomb Raider are embracing the change, some other games like Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 are starting to suffer from self-imposed censorship, proving that there is a cultural gulf developing in the games industry of this issue. This next case study debates some of the effects of games on players, both physically and mentally. Most video games feature many hours’ worth of content that the player can explore, interact, or watch. Problems with health start to occur when gamers start to play for extended periods, and there have been cases in which gamers have died, simply by playing too much of a video game. Some cases of gamers dying after an extended period of time include a man dying during a 40-hour session of Diablo III of unknown causes (Spragg, 2015a), and a man in the UK who died from a blood clot while playing 12 hours of Halo without breaks (Spragg, 2015b). In both cases, a common factor in both deaths were the extreme amounts of time spent playing, and the lack of any breaks or exercise; “Chuang was crashed out by a terminal in an Internet cafe when he was awoken by an employee. He then managed to stand up, took a few steps around, and then collapsed” (Spragg, 2015a) In the case of Chris’ death; “Chris frequently participated in 12-hour long Halo sessions without breaks and during one fated campaign, a blood clot traveled from his legs into his lungs, killing him instantly” (Spragg, 2015b) Griffiths (2015) writes that while this doesn’t represent the vast majority of gamers, there are clear signs of addiction that can affect a small majority of the gamer population.
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Addiction for video games comes from constant reinforcement from playing the game, either from the game itself or from the player; such as a sense of control, or beating a personal best or other players. Griffiths (2015) also writes that there is an element of unpredictability to the reward system, that keeps players from taking breaks from the game, so players can chase the next reward, whatever that may be. He concludes that moderation and education of the dangers of binge gaming is key to preventing deaths while playing video games. When the Gratification Theory model is applied, both cases showed clear signs of game addiction; playing for entertainment, escapism, and in Chris’s case, social interaction. These needs overrode the need to achieve proper rest and to look after themselves properly, resulting in death. However, there have been studies into the positive effects of video games when played in light sessions. Vidaure (2015) writes that there have been many studies that prove both physical and psychological benefits exist when playing video games. Vidaure (2015) also writes that a study found that gamers that played fast action games had increased learning abilities and the ability to perform better at tasks. This suggests that these games increased the player’s ability to make decisions and learn than others that did not play. Figure 7 shows an infographic that shows that video games actually increased positive results of various condition outcomes, such as a 69% increase of positive psychological therapy outcomes, and a 59% increase of positive physical therapy outcomes.
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This suggests that video games could be a viable treatment method when it comes to improving the health of patients, both physically and mentally. Figure 8 is an infographic that shows the various areas of the brain that are in use when playing video games, and the effect on that area. For example, games like Tetris that require strategy and forward thinking use the prefrontal cortex, which controls the player’s decision making. It can be suggested that this area can be strengthened over time by continuous training. Also, Figure 8 shows that repeated gameplay has the effect of increasing the strength of brain cell connections that focus on learning and memory. In effect, repeatedly game play can be suggested as having a positive impact on the gamers memory and ability to learn. To conclude, it has been proven that video games have the potential to do a lot of good for players, increasing memory, learning, and thinking are just a few examples of the recorded benefits. However, it has also been proven that excessive gaming can have entirely the opposite effect on players, leading to fatal health conditions and cases of addiction. As such, video games in light sessions are beneficial as opposed to long, heavy sessions. This particular case study debates the effect of censorship and shows the effects that it has upon games. Censorship can be seen as an extension of the violence and sexualisation debates, in which case when these and other attributes are taken to extremes, the game can suffer censorship which can hurt the games sales and reputation accordingly. While uncommon, censorship in games does happen. The reasons for this can be varied, Dead or Alive Xtreme 3, seen in Figure 4, has caused anger at the self-imposed
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censorship that will not see a western release of the game, due to issues surrounding the sexualisation of its characters, and representation of women in the West (Klepek, 2015a), leading to a clash between fan culture and oppositional responses. Another form of censorship, rather than not releasing a game in a particular region, is the cultural factor inherent in the game. For example, Klepek (2015b) writes that Japanese game Bravely Default (Figure 9) changed some character costumes and ages in the United States region of the game, in order to fit in to that particular regions cultural localisation. Klepek (2015b) poses the question that: “we’re talking about 13-year-old girls sexualized for an audience who, generally speaking, is much older than 13. It’s not hard to suggest most people find that creepy, but by changing those details, have you altered the art?” (Klepek, 2015b)
This highlights a rising issue with censorship in games; localisation. As Smith (2015) points out, there is a fine line between keeping to the original artistic vision and changing that vision to suit another culture’s views and opinions; “Something intended to be simply humorous or risqué in a Japanese game might come across to an American gamer as creepy or worse, as pedophilia” (Smith, 2015). Using the Reception Theory model, it can be theorised that the dominant response to censorship would be to agree with altering a game to suit that culture. A negotiated response would argue that some changes would be inevitable but shouldn’t detract from the overall game experience. An oppositional response would side with a fan culture factor in that the game should be preserved as it is in order to keep the artistic integrity of the game at all costs. 10
To conclude, the effect of censorship on games is one that is powered by several differing factors; cultural and oppositional. Games may not be published if localisation is deemed to impede upon the original artistic vision, such as was the case with Dead or Alive Xtreme 3. It is a safe assumption to say that gamers are inevitably affected by the effects presented in this essay; some for the better such as health, and some for the worse; like sex and censorship. The degrees in which players are effected however, remains open to debate. It is down to the individual gamer to decide what effect a game will have upon them, if any, and herein lies the real question: What affect do gamers have upon violence, sex, health, and censorship in video games? By James Wills
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Appendices
Figure 1. Grand Theft Auto V (2013) (Gameworldnews, 2014)
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Figure 2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) (betterbyyouasking, 2013)
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Figure 3. God of War (2005) (USgamer Team, 2015)
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Figure 4. Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 (2016) (Nelva, 2015)
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Figure 5. Street Fighter V (2016) (Little, 2016)
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Figure 6. 2013 Lara, 1996 Lara (2014) (Shaw, 2014)
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Figure 7. How Gaming is Affecting Our Culture and Health (2013) (Column Five, 2013)
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Figure 8. The Neurology of Gaming (2012), (Staff Writers, 2012)
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Figure 9. Bravely Default (2012) (Klepek, 2015c)
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