Why do you play a violent video game?

Rune Beast0 · **Posted:** December 29th, 2007, 4:47 pm

Some people (including my anti-GTA mother) say, "Why do you have to pretend you're killing people to have fun?" Of course she decided BioShock was appropriate (perhaps if she knew more about it she wouldn't have xD) and after a long argument, I'll be getting Gears of War for my birthday.

I play violent games because, well, I can't really explain it, but they are fun. Can any of you guys explain why you play a violent video game over something else?

Adbot · **Posted:** December 29th, 2007, 4:47 pm

Al3X · **Posted:** December 29th, 2007, 5:03 pm

good stress remover for me =/ idk thats "not a legit reason" according to the stupid pricks trying to ban em.

Evelyn · **Posted:** December 29th, 2007, 6:00 pm

Violent video games keep me from being violent in real life.

How?

I release all my anger and violence on those terrorists in CS:S!

Jamie · **Posted:** December 29th, 2007, 6:10 pm

Relieving stress, showing that girls CAN also be good at fps/tps games, and having fun whenever the good old rpg gets boring.

trekkie · **Posted:** December 29th, 2007, 6:23 pm

because i want to speed up the npc's reincarnation process

Mikhail · **Posted:** December 29th, 2007, 10:44 pm

Because I want, and because i want those rag heads to die in BF2 har har har well that explains it.

Adbot · **Posted:** December 29th, 2007, 10:44 pm

Sworder · **Posted:** December 30th, 2007, 1:57 am

Because I don't have to pay for the damage I cause

I can blow things 10,000 feet in the air.

Basically, I play them because I know I probably won't be doing those things in real life, so I can do it without getting into any trouble.

MattVortex · **Posted:** December 30th, 2007, 2:52 am

Because they're enjoyable. Same reason I play every game. A game can be enjoyable whether violent or not. But I do not play them *because* they are violent.

Imo, everyone here just plays violent games because they're enjoyable. Because they're a challenge. It's not to release anger or to stop you being violent in real life or to relieve stress, and while these might be secondary effects, they are not the primary reason for playing a game. You play a game because you enjoy it. Find someone who plays violent games and I could almost guarantee that they also play non-violent games. Why do you play non-violent games? Because you enjoy them.

To me, there isn't really much of a debate here.

CreepyPirate · **Posted:** December 30th, 2007, 4:13 am

Because it's an escape from reality.

Why do you read a fantasy book? Cause it's a chance to go to a new world.

It's doing something you wouldn't be able to do in real life. Violent video games are very rarely just mindless violence, it's just the press makes it out to be like that.

GTA isn't just mindless murdering, GTA has some of the best scripts and best voice acting around, it's just like being in one of those old gangster films. It's a chance to..well, act it out it takes a film one step further.

I don't think anyone buys a game because they get to kill people, wtf i never think OH I CAN MURDER PEOPLE LETS GET IT that's beyond the point completely.

Dokter Bob · **Posted:** December 30th, 2007, 4:28 am

Violent games are really a good stress reliever, as most people say, and it can get rid of anger by...well, taking it out on virtual people. However, once you get accustomed to it, you think its normal to take it out on people, and you'll start doing it in real life, you'll think its normal.
So there are my views on violent games, and I'm sure thats what most parents would think. Because thats what my parents told me. :S

MattVortex · **Posted:** December 30th, 2007, 5:23 am

Dokter Bob wrote:

Violent games are really a good stress reliever, as most people say, and it can get rid of anger by...well, taking it out on virtual people. However, once you get accustomed to it, you think its normal to take it out on people, and you'll start doing it in real life, you'll think its normal.
So there are my views on violent games, and I'm sure thats what most parents would think. Because thats what my parents told me. :S

Do you have any evidence of that? That violent video games leads to violent people?

Of course you don't. There isn't any. In any case where video games have been blamed for murders the person who did the murder was a little screwed up in the head. Manhunt was blamed for a murder in the UK a while back, but the guy who did it had a form of psychosis. Violent video games do not make violent people.

Frankly, if my parents said the thing about becoming accostomed to violence, I would be insulted. That implies no ability of self-control and no grasp of the difference between fantasy and reality. If you're an exceptionally violent person a lot in real life with friends or whatever, then yes, you might lose that control in some form, but not in video games. People know that video games and real life are not the same thing. Suggesting that people who are violent in video games are also violent in real life in insulting to the intelligence and grasp of reality of the person.

I agree with creepy, mind. Games are also an escape, but still, you play a game because you enjoy it, and not all games are violent, but it could be said that almost all games are some kind of escape from reality.

Rune Beast0 · **Posted:** December 30th, 2007, 9:31 am

Of course Jack Thompson and his supporters will blame the games for setting off that man's psychosis. :roll:

I agree with you guys, violent video games are fun, and most of my games are violent in one way or another, ranging from stomping on things in Paper Mario to whacking genetically modified people with a wrench in BioShock. It does relieve stress. It is fun to send some guy up in the air. Some people do, however, buy a game like Manhunt because they get to kill people violently. It's people like that who set off the supporters of Jack Thompson, who think that, "THAT ARMED ROBBER PLAYED GTA AND THAT MADE HIM DO IT".

CreepyPirate · **Posted:** December 30th, 2007, 12:13 pm

You could compare Manhunt to SAW. The storys are both very well written, the voice acting is very well done as well.

SAW isn't banned, SAW isn't blamed for bloody violence, neither should games like Manhunt.

Ryan · **Posted:** December 30th, 2007, 1:43 pm

I play them for pure enjoyment. I must say, shooting someone in the head on Gears of War and seeing the head just pop off and the blood squirt out is just, fun really. I'm not really enough of a violent person irl to do anything influenced by violent games.

Karl 67 · **Posted:** December 30th, 2007, 6:59 pm

Why do I play violent games?

...

Because I can.