From M/Cyclopedia of New Media
The eighties
- During the eighties, the first credible arguments against videogame violence began to appear in response to with Pacman and Space Invader’s ‘shoot and level-up’ routines. In 1980, Atari releases a fighter simulation, Battlezone, that is so advanced it is used by US military in an experiment to desensitize soldiers to war conditions. In the eighties, children are not yet a demographic majority.
- In 1987, games like Legend Of Zelda mark an increase in depictions of character-slaying violence. Wolf (2002) suggest this increase in violence is due to greater storytelling developments in games.
The nineties
- In the nineties, graphics breakthroughs (i.e. graphics accelerators) allowed depictions of violence to go beyond cartoon-like 32bit images to near cinematic visuals (later in the decade.) The term ‘interactivity’ is a digital catch-phrase of the era - producers strive to move from depictive to participatory states (Herz, 1997). Sellers (2001) writes that in the 90’s producers discovered a goldmine within the market: children’s demographics.
- The nineties see the birth of First-Person shooters and a new generation of fighter games. 1992’s Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat cause extreme moral panic. Herman (1997) suggests that many violent video games are ‘digital action movies’ as they use violence as a selling point - much in the way certain movie market themselves (i.e. Dirty Harry).
- 1993’s Night Trap causes greater disturbance with depictions of sexual violence. An American senate review of violent games follows, threatening to remove all violent games stateside. However, senate demands are softened into 1994’s uniform ESRB ratings scheme.
- In 1994 DOOM becomes a notable first-person shooter for not only gameplay achievements but for receiving the first R-rating in ESRB history. Herman, Horwitz, Kent and Miller (2001) suggest that idSoftware’s unashamed nototriety encouraged other producers to be equally fearless towards ratings. ‘Mature’ ratings become sellings points. DOOM issued provocative ads declaring: “DOOM: The game they tried to ban.� Soon after the creation of the ESRB, Australia’s OFLC classification scheme is created. From the beginning, academics like Kevin Durkin (1995) identify ‘numerous unresolved and problematic issues’ within this film-based scheme.
- In 1995, Sierra releases Phantasmagoria, a game notorious for a rape scene. It is banned almost worldwide. Around this time, PC Gamer (1995) documents the rise of LAN first-person-shooter tournaments. Violent games like Duke Nukem have network capacities.
- Around 1998, Half-Life debuts alongside Carmegeddon. The latter is notorious for senseless violence and glamorizes extreme road-rage.
- In 1999, the Columbine crisis occurs, sparking renewed debate over violent games due to links with DOOM.
2000 onwards
- In 2000, America’s Trade Commission report on games reveals a majority of companies market violent games to children (Caslon.com.au, 1999.) Around this period, Massively Multiplay Online Role-Playing Games begin to burgeon in popularity, spawning a new concept within videogames: p2p violence.
- In 2002, Grand-Theft-Auto 3 makes headlines. While all GTA editions glamorized violence, Andersen and Bushman (2001) suggests that GTA3 stepped over the line by moving from GTA2’s cartoonish animations into 3D realism.
- However, the new millenioum’s gaming world is not populated entirely by GTA-style games. While some games of this era glamorize violence, sophisticated products like Deus Ex arrive on the market. Both games are violent, but the latter uses violence as a key part of realistic, immersive, nonlinear gameplay - something MMORPGs also aspire to. Singer and Singer (2001) suggest that realistic violence is central to complex stories. Perhaps it is not unexpected that as videogame storytelling traditions strengthen in realism so do violent depictions within these. God-Sim Black and White presents users with the choice of being a benevolent god or a violent god.
Almost all entertainment products use elements of conflict and resolution to spin compelling storytelling experiences (Bear 2002). Violence can be seen game-epics like Baldur’s Gate, action-features like Rainbow Six and ‘slasher-fests’ like Silent Hill. As this piece documents, there is more to videogames that violent content. While it is unknown how the violence debate will play out in the future, one thing is certain: violent videogames are an entertainment world on the cultural edge.
Related Wiki Links
References:
- Anderson, C.A. and Bushman, B. J. (2001) "Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: A meta-analytic review of the scientific literature", Psychological Science, no.12, pp. 353-359, ISBN 1467-9280-0956-7976
- Borrell, J. (2001) 'Still playing after all these years', Upside, vol.13, iss.10, pp.110-116.
- Bushman, B. and Huesmann, L. (2001) "Effects of televised violence on aggression", in D.G. Singer & J.L. Singer (ed.) Handbook of children and the media, Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp. 223-254, ISBN 0761919546
- Cupitt M. and Stockbridge S. (1996) Families and Electronic Entertainment, Sydney: Office of Film and Literature Classification, ISBN 0622304651.
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--Ian Cho 22:38, 28 Oct 2004 (EST)
