Can Video games change the world?

Can video games change the world?

I really want to base this report on the people themselves, more specifically how games effect them to change things around the world, and cover some of the good effects but also go over the bad cases of how games can manipulate someones mind into in their own world.

Introduction:

This document will cover the possibility that electronic games have the power to change the world around us, this particular document will focus more on the effects video games can have on everyday people, and in turn, can make and have made some serious changes to the world and our way of life. These effects have had positive and negative effects throughout the history of electronic entertainment. These events are always up for debate as to whether certain repercussions from games are a good thing and this document will state a number of these events and compare the negatives with the positives.

The first set of examples I'm going to give could be considered the most obvious examples. When people commit crimes due to the influence of video games, or when games are seen to be so influential it's easy for the public eye to be convinced that games are the cause of said crimes.

In Febuary 2004, 14 year old Stefan Pakeerah was stabbed and beaten to death by 17 year old Warren LeBlanc. It was believed that Warren executed Stefan in an identical manor to one of the “execution moves” in Rockstar games Manhunt. Although the Police announced that robbery was the motive behind and not the video game itself, the entire country and other parts of Europe came together and their awareness into the world of video games was raised, although this had a negative effect for developers due to other violent games being banned the same year. And as many public interviews contained comments such as “There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed” the public eye as a whole turned a negative eye to many mature games.

The video game Manhunt 2 was rejected for its "unrelenting focus on stalking and brutal slaying", the British Board of Film Classification said.

It means the Manhunt sequel cannot be legally supplied anywhere in the UK.

The parents of a Leicester schoolboy who blamed the original game for the murder of their 14-year-old son said they were "absolutely elated".

The last game to be refused classification was Carmageddon in 1997. That decision was overturned on appeal.

David Cooke, director of the BBFC, said: "Manhunt 2 is distinguishable from recent high-end video games by its unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone.

"There is sustained and cumulative casual sadism in the way in which these killings are committed, and encouraged, in the game."

'Morally irresponsible'

The original Manhunt game caused huge controversy and was blamed for the murder of Stefan Pakeerah.


Police said robbery was the motive behind the attack on Stefan in Stokes Wood Park on 26 February 2004 - and not the video game blamed by Stefan's parents.
Manhunt's maker Rockstar North has always insisted its games are geared towards mature audiences and are marketed responsibly.


Leicester MP Keith Vaz, who campaigned with the Pakeerahs against the original version of Manhunt, praised the decision to ban Manhunt 2.


He said: "This is an excellent decision by the British Board of Film Classification, showing that game publishers cannot expect to get interactive games where players take the part of killers engaged in 'casual sadism' and murder."

However, the actions of Anders Brehivik are 100% linked to video games, as he admitted this himself. It's been said by many that Brehivik was a “product of the internet” due to how he isolated himself to the two games he played the most. Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. Call of Duty “trained him to kill” Although World of Warcraft didn't raise his violent tendencies it did immerse him into the world of video games. It was when he turned to Call of Duty when his fantasies of murder rose. Because of these tendencies, he tragically murdered 77 people in Oslo Norway. In my opinion, this is the extremely unfortunate circumstance of a man who is not mentally stable in possession of violent entertainment. And due to events like these video games can have the power to at least encourage actions of individual people. 

Norwegian extremist behind the country’s worst-ever peacetime massacre, spent an entire year immersed in World of Warcraft, an online multi-player fantasy game.

He claims to have used the internet for 70 percent of what he said was 15,000 hours of self-study. And, on the second day of his trial, he admitted that the Knights Templar National and pan-European Patriotic Resistance Movement he claims to represent was “merely a few individuals,” a likely reference to like-minded people he met on internet forums.

The deaths of the 77 people Breivik massacred in Norway are sadly all too real. But the killer himself looks more and more like a product of the internet. As prosecutors skillfully drew out details of Breivik’s failed life in the run-up to the attacks, it seemed that from 2006 — when he wound up his business selling fake diplomas and moved in with his mother — Breivik had retreated into an online world.

Of course, in turn with the negative effects games can have on people, they can also have positive effects too. Staying on the topic of World of Warcraft, a 12 year old boy in Norway called Hans saved himself and his sister from a Moose attack “Using the skills he acquired in game”. The second the Moose went in to attack them, Hans “taunted” the moose, this is an action in game that attracts enemies to you and protects weaker team members. He then proceeded to “fake death” which caused the Moose to lose interest and wander off back into the woods. This is another case of video games directly influencing somebodies actions, but this time two people were saved by doing so.

Video games have the power to influence and change peoples lives in terms of hobbies and pass times. For example, airsoft is becoming a much more popular sport due to franchises such as Call of Duty and Battlefield. Many fans of modern/realistic shooting games have turned to airsoft as an outdoor hobby due to how similar the two pastimes are. To the point of airsoft sites marketing themselves as “call of duty in real life” as a smart business ploy. 95% percent of airsoft regulars are avid gamers, this section of the document doesn't have quotes or article posts. This is coming from a personal side, as I've been an airsoft player myself for a few years. It's also a chance for players to let out their competitive side to a larger setting.

 Whilst certain genres of game can be believed to make certain changes to the world such as violent video games causing crimes etc the biggest impact into the world of media has come from competitive gaming. With games like Starcraft 2 and the entire fighting game genre becoming more and more popular when it comes to televised tournament style entertainment, video games are becoming more and more like a sport. This is true when it comes to the top Starcraft players, getting payed as much as certain sports icons per tournament. With players winning hundreds of thousands of dollars for every tournament they win. Hence the term “E-Sport” that everyone uses now. This stands for electronic sport.

 

However, what I want to touch upon in this document is the effects competitive gaming has on the players themselves, as this document is about how it individually effects people, which in turn, effects the world around them.

My first example is my brother Jake, for the longest time, throughout most of his growing up. He suffered from severe anxiety and panic attacks. This ended up becoming severe, to the point when simply stepping out the front door was too much for him to cope with. But since playing Mortal Kombat competitively was introduced into his life, he has done a vast amount of travelling in the space of a year. Something he would never have dreamed of doing a small number of years before. The idea and knowledge that video games have the power to change someone's outlook on life also suggests that video games may well have the power to change the world in some way shape or form. Even if the game doesn't change the world for everyone, it's changed their world at least.

A certain milestone of video games changing the world is based on the “games for health” program established in 2010. This mainly includes the Playstation Move. Which focuses on funding ideas that may lead to significant breakthroughs in the future of health care. With the playstation move being used in healthcare now to assist with helping patients deal with Alzheimers there is no denying that video games can have a positive effect on parts of the world. The same example applies for things such as the nintendo DS with games like Brain Training that are largely bought by elderly people wanting to keep their minds active. And middle aged women buying Nintendo's Wii Fit to try and stay in shape.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Games for Health Conference, it is an event that’s held in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio, which focuses on funding ideas that may lead to significant breakthroughs in the future of health and health care. The conference creates opportunities to develop innovative solutions that empower individuals to better manage their personal health. I’m honored and excited to take part in the event so I thought I’d give you a sneak peek at some of the things I plan to talk about.

A project was started called “The wounded warrior project” Which involved 5 US troops stationed in Afghanistan playing Call of Duty with the Los Angeles Dodgers. This was a non profit organized event. The two teams were connected Via Skype and the event organiser Greg Zinone stated “The troops loved it, we couldn't get them off!” QJ.net states “It's nice to see video games and technology bring normality to the lives of those that live 7000 miles away from their loved ones”

US soldiers stationed in Afghanistan played Call Of Duty online with Los Angeles Dodgers who volunteered to compete in the non-profit organized event, part of the Wounded Warrior project.

Former Great Lakes Loons Nathan Eovaldi and Josh Linblom also played, as the two teams faced off online while also connected via Skype. The US soldiers apparently waited 5 hours to play with the Dodgers, with many fans stationed in Afghanistan, and the event organizer Greg Zinone said that the soldiers ‘loved it, we couldn't get them off.’

It’s nice to see videogames and technology bring a bit of normality to the lives of soldiers living iover 7000 miles away from their families.

Have online games kept you connected with people who you would otherwise never see?

 The US military doesn't just use video games for entertainment however, sources state that before the assault of Osama Bin Laden's home, The navy seals trained using a system that created a mock environment of what Bin Laden's hideout was structured like, and troops would attack it using a mouse and keyboard. There are talks of the Cryengine 3 development kit making something called the “Dismounted Soldier”. This would involve the soldier holding a replica of their weapon in their hands, and would react to all of the soldiers basic strategic movements to provide the most realistic simulation yet. Which is a testament somewhat to the positive side of gaming influences in a form of practice that isn't gaming oriented.

 

A large factor as to how much of a powerful grip video games have on the general public it's time to go further into World of Warcraft. A large number of press articles and news reports linking things like child neglecting, bullying etc are often linked to this franchise. The way Blizzard have managed to create a game with the levels of immersion world of warcraft offers the statistics are frightening. Here are some statistics recorded from a national poll.

“Taking just the United States and Europe into account, the game engrosses 800 million dollars per year. Which is more than the GDP of Samoa. Which doesn't include the 5.5 million players in Asia who often pay by the hour. “

“In the United States, the average play time per week is 23 hours. The average work time is 35 hours. “

“More players play world of warcraft around the world than the population of Cuba.”

It's statistics like this that lead me to believe that video games are powerful enough to make a difference when required, or when an individual believes it's required. Unfortunately more often than not, the individual commits a criminal act with a deluded imagination. There have been many bizarre acts of cruelty due to world of warcraft, there have been outlandish reports of children being neglected by parents, children committing suicide, shootings and other crimes. Personally, I think it's scary just how much of a grip electronic video games have on people all over the world. It's common knowledge that for the most part, it's not purely the video game itself that causes these unfortunate events. Many of them have some form of mental defect, but the game can have the ability to push that individual over the edge in my opinion.

To conclude, I believe that video games alone may not necessarily have the power to change the world, but The power video games have over people is enough to make change in certain areas. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is always going to be up for debate, there will always be the casual gamer who will never understand how games affect a single person so severely. There will always be someone who becomes too immersed in the game and wants to take it that one step further, or one step too far. And there will always be the outsider who believes that video games in general are a bad thing, the type of people who will pin A light-hearted game like advance wars on the game boy advance on an act of deluded violence.

To quote Penn Jillette the world class magician “The cliché of the typical nerdy kid who doesn't go outside and stays to play games is completely true, and it's also true for the nerdy kid to read comic books and turns into this genius.” Just because video games are influential to some people doesn't always mean they're going to turn into a criminal, or end up performing a criminal act. That “nerdy” child could always grow up to work on the cryengine 3 developer kit and design military simulation for our military.