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Reading 11: Gaming in Society

Whenever a tragedy occurs, there will be people who are quick to deflect blame away from the obvious. In the case of mass shootings, the punching bag appears to be video games. Time and again we hear how the people committing these terrible acts play Call of Duty or Counter Strike. As far back as the Columbine massacre, people have accused video games of inciting these acts. To me this just seems like blatant ignorance. Instead of pointing out how a mass shooter owned GTA V, wouldn't it be better to examine his mental state? I guess what I'm trying to say is that even the demographic that most often commits these crimes also happens to buy video games does not mean the two events are at all related.


It's disappointing that the media has chosen to demonize video games over non-existent problems when more serious issues do exist. For example, addiction is a very real problem in modern gaming. In reading 8, I discussed how mobile games often included blatant slot machine-like mechanics to get players hooked. I want to call attention again to this practice of hooking "whales" because these players can easily become addicted and burn tens of thousands of dollars on these games. Paul talked about CS:GO and how addicted people can become to skin gambling there and I can speak from experience, having had a friend be addicted. It's scary stuff to see happen in person. A more recent issue that has become quite prevalent in games is loot boxes. More and more, game developers are realizing that they can monetize their games by locking parts of the game, be they purely cosmetic or affecting gameplay. I think that normalizing what is effectively gambling like this will end up being detrimental for children.

loot boxes certainly aren't helping things
I guess in that regard I am all for additional regulation. Personally I think lootboxes are a scourge on modern gaming and need to go asap. As far as the issue of violence goes, I think people need to sit down and actually play these games before they go making sweeping condemnations of a hobby millions of people peacefully enjoy. We should be examining why people are retreating into gaming more rather than shaming them for it. There are obvious benefits and drawbacks to playing video games, and like most hobbies, it is possible to over indulge. I think we should be devoting more resources to making sure people do not slip through the cracks and not get the help that they need.

Going forward gaming will have to face some tough questions and figure out how it wants to answer them. Is the model of making games as addictive as possible sustainable forever? Should we be ok with games operating as virtual casinos with no oversight to speak of? Is self-regulation sufficient or is government intervention needed? I dont have the answers to any of these questions, just my own opinions. But personally, I think that something is going to have to give one of these days, and if the games industry wants to retain the independence it currently has it will have to take action soon to curb some of its worse habits.

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