Tonight "World News With Charles Gibson" reports on the controversy surrounding the release of "Manhunt 2."

 

Please reply to this post with your opinions on violence in video games.

 

Thanks,

ABCNEWS.com Producer

I am apalled by these games. I work with teens and young adults regularly and see the influences from violence in games first hand. I have never allowed games like this in my home and I applaud ABC News for bringing Manhunt 2 to the attention of parents and helping educate them as to the horrible violence that is passing for entertainment.

I'm probably not the typical audience for such an article as I am not a father and furthermore also an occasional player.

However there are some things that I think parents should be aware of and I hope you do not perceive it as kids talk:

Be aware that ratings, and even pictures or movies that you've seen may not tell the whole story (I'm not talking about Manhunt, I haven't played the game so I won't pretend that I know about this game in particular). The problem is that it's very hard to say when a game has any affect on a person. For example, mulitplayer first person shooters are perceived to be very damaging for a child, because after all, your child would be playing a murderer who gets a reward for each person that he kills.

However, one thing that people tend to forget is that the player has to identify with the character he's playing for the game to have any effect on him and that is usually not given in a game where there's no story, no development of  the virtual character traits and no motivation beyond getting a lot of points. It becomes a game that's simply about reaction time and nothing more. There might be  a lot of red dots (how anyone can perceive this as blood is beyond what I'm able to comprehend, but then again, there are people who associate the Ketchup you see in movies with blood) but that doesn't matter as the player doesn't think he's killing a person.... he's just trying to click on a moving target as quickly as possible.

On the other hand, there are games  which have little graphical violence, but which involve the character in a way that makes him react to event in the game almost as much as if it was happening for real.  Horror themed games are a typical  example for this kind of game, but there are others. Some role playing games can have this affect on certain people (not just kids) as well, but that really depends on the nature of the person in question.

I'm not saying that you should let your kids play anything, but just try to realize that blood=bad is not the whole story. Try to think it through and you might very well end up with conclusions like a seemingly mild role playing game being much more dangerous to your childs psyche than a apparently violent strategy game.

Another thing to remember about game ratings in the US is that sexual content leads to a higher rating much quicker than excessive violence, so be sure to read the fineprint because sexual humor (like the Leisure Suit Larry series) usually gets a higher rating than violent content.

And  try to understand that kids always want a "forbidden fruit", so chose carefully, as you can't deny them everything or they'll find ways to play the games that you REALLY don't want them to play.

Hans Schmucker
Germany

I may just be a "kid" to some, but I believe I have just enough of an opinion as anyone else.

I play video games. I have played violent games, and non-violent games. Although I have not played the original Manhunt, or show interest in owning Manhunt 2, I do not condemn them for being "too violent." With much violence as we see on the nightly news, it's a wonder that someone hasn't stepped in to criticize the media for their "If it bleeds, it reads" emphasis.

Even shows like CSI, Bones, and Prisonbreak show violence, graphic images, guns, and the sort. Kids are attracted to the action or the "gross" factor of things, yet not all of them will become mindless killers. Believe it or not, the crime rate among minors has actually dropped with the release of these M-Rated games. Perhaps the children know better? Or is it playing the game, plotting the next school shooting, thinking it to be "just like the game?"

Look on the news. "3 more U.S. soldiers were killed today in Iraq, bringing the death toll to 37 this month." Yes, more death. Killing. It sounds so casual, but garners so much attention, much like these games.

Movies, even. Saw IV was just released last weekend, and I know many "kids" who went to see it. Oh, they must love the traps, and want to construct their own for human torture, right?

Besides, look at the "violence" in games small children enjoy on the playground. Did you ever play "Cops and Robbers" as a child? Weren't you supposed to "shoot" the robber and "kill" him? What about "Tag?" You were supposed to "get" whoever you could, regardless of the circumstances, so you could stop being "it." How about dodgeball? Beating the stuffing out of kids with a rubber ball that can certainly cause bodily harm is more justified than playing a fighting game, I'm guessing?

Video games may be interactive. They may be filled with blood, and you might just get "points for killing cops." The point I'm trying to make is we shouldn't just give the attention to these violent video games. We should pay more attention to the other "harmful influences" on the minds of children.

Or, we could ignore it, and pay more attention to finding out what is up-to-date with Britney Spears, or the "baby daddy" of another Hollywood starlet...

If this is the type of games parents want their children to view, then be prepared for what may come next. I do not have any answers as to how the mind works when exposed to certain things, I do believe that if you expose it to certain violent things it will in some way begin to act out on what it has viewed. This is a personal opinion based on myself and what I chose as a child to be exposed to. Though what I exposed myself to as a child is a small part of human nature, I should have waited until I was much older and had more understanding of what I was getting myself into. Children of today find various different things appealing most not so good things, this is where good solid parenting skills come into play. I am not knocking the parenting skills of the consenting adults of America, I am saying more care should be given in certain instances concerning these violen video games that are on the market today.Now for the meat and potatoes of this reply. Our Government does not do nearly enough on on all the issues concerning the health and well being of the American people. If our Government promotes war as a good business tool, how can we tell a video game maker his product is bad. Cigarettes are bad for us and we as American people know this still we and I continue to smoke cigarettes. Fosil fuels are killing the earth, yet the very people "trained" to tell us of these thing are ignored. Our Government has a part in that process as well, they tell the scientists not to tell the public about such things as to not upset the people. Hey now there is a good example for you. The very people elected to guide you are part of the deception, keep vital information from the people. Keep people ignorant to information that has the potiential to save their lives. If we want to keep kids at young ages safe, I am sorry kids of all ages safe from the dangers that may exist by viewing these videos, the education must start at home with the parents, the roll of Government is to govern what is excepitable by video makers before they release such videos to the gen. public. Please none of my words are cut in stone, these are just my opinions, again based on my on early experiences as a child and again what I allowed myself to be exposed to.

There is circumstantial evidence that serious problems from video game play are actually caused by Subliminal Distraction exposure.

SD was discovered when it caused mental breaks for office workers. The cubicle solved that problem by 1968.

No one has recognized that this problem is not limited to crowded, incorrectly designed, business offices.

The Virginia Tech shooter had created the "special circumstances" for this exposure when he studied and used his laptop in the suite common room while others walked by him. Interviews of roommates said he increased that activity in the month before the shooting. Schools in U.S. do not warn students. A very few use cubicle study areas.

This page has a short explanation. http://visionandpsychosis.net/Virginia_Tech_Shooting.htm

VisionAndPsychosis.Net is a five-year psychology project to define and investigate Subliminal Distraction.

Perform the psychology demonstration of subliminal sight and habituation in peripheral vision to understand how exposure happens. http://visionandpsychosis.net/a_demonstration_you_can_do.htm

L K Tucker

kc4iai with the domain of Hotmail dot com  (The site contact information is inactive because of health problems.)

This is terrible. You people are complaining about stupid Video games. There Video games. If theres Gore in them that teaches kids not to shoot anyone because youll end up having the cops on your tail!

I don't think the game will be the cause of problem anyway. So we should spend time to do something else will better. Bird