As I’m sure many of you know a little game was released recently, a little game called Grand Theft Auto V. I, like many other gamers sat eagerly anticipating its release. We soaked up every drop of information until the 17th of September, but it wasn’t just us gamers who awaited the day. Also waiting like hyenas ready to pounce were those who saw the game as an opportunity for a quick story.
I’m talking about tabloid journalists who saw the game as a chance for an easy dig at the games industry. This often happens when a major release captures the public’s attention. Clearly this time they were on top form too, as it only took them until the next day to begin. It was the 18th when I walked into my local newsagents and saw before me headlines and stories demonising games. Two headlines in particular: ‘Knifed for Grand Theft Auto’, and worse still, ‘Driven to Kill by Call of Duty’. These immediately brought up that familiar mixture of exasperation and déjà vu that I’m sure you too have experienced. You would think by now we would be used to these assaults on an industry we love by those with little knowledge or appreciation.
I could start by pointing out that people are stabbed for desirable items every day without it making the headlines. According to official data in September there were 418 instances of violent theft in London. We hear little to nothing of the other 417 cases, these don’t make good panic inducing stories. Not like the story of how that game you’ve just brought is probably warping your mind, like it did for the last psychopathic murderer.
To what extent exactly, did Call of Duty drive someone to kill? Let’s face it I’m a gamer, you’re a gamer (I’m assuming) and like me you’ve probably played CoD at some point. Maybe for vast expanses of time you’d not really want to be fully open about it (my online time is measured in months not minutes) but in all that time at no point did it drive me to kill. Well, unless you count levels where you’re in a tank firing at the enemy, but I doubt the story was an in-depth look at the ‘war pigs’ level from MW2. This brings me to my next point, which is the image they chose to feature alongside that headline. Not the image of Wayne Rooney smoking something he maybe shouldn’t (shocking news) no, I mean the stock picture taken from Modern Warfare 2, a game that is now four years old. Surely if this game did drive them to kill it took them on the scenic route. Honestly though it seems lazy to plaster an old image next to a new story, especially when a few weeks down the line we are to be blessed with another addition to the series. Surely there are some photos from that they could abuse; at least it would be current.
I’m a long term gamer (circa SNES era). Most of us have played a GTA game at some point in our lives; many of us have played some kind of violent video game. That doesn’t mean we have ever gone on to plot a bank heist after an all-night session. By reading the tabloids you get the message that all gamers do is sit alone (probably in the dark and unwashed) playing our bloody sports, plotting to hurt people for ‘LOLS’. Journalists see the potential to make a quick story they know will cause people (those who don’t take the time to learn for themselves), to panic and eye every patron of gaming stores with suspicion. Or to take back that eighteen rated game from their twelve year old and blame the sales assistant for not telling them what they were buying. What a surprise that game contains violence, after all it only tells you on the box… repeatedly… even in picture form. How could you possibly have known indeed?
That’s the main problem, a lack of understanding and the reluctance to learn. Most people won’t take the time to look at and try to see behind the box. How many parents will actually sit down with their child and take an interest in their hobby? Many won’t. Instead they will just give the game over to them for a week of peace and quiet, and then wonder why they are so unresponsive. Worst still is the media’s reluctance to talk about the benefits of gaming. There have been many studies that show games help develop hand eye coordination, provide stress release in a safe environment, help build team work and decision making skills. To me the biggest benefit I see in gaming is the potential for uniting us. Often when I play online I get to talk to new people from different countries. Without these apparently evil games I wouldn’t get the chance hear their stories or about their cultures. Games can provide a window to interact with others like you, who love the same past time as you. What other medium can bring 32 people all from across the globe for twelve minutes to share in some fun?
Unfortunately we don’t hear these stories, sadly ‘guy makes friend from another country’ doesn’t sell. Not when people like Breivik who go on killing sprees are found out to have at some point played a video game. I find it insulting, as each of these headlines seems to suggest gamers are too dumb to differentiate between fantasy and reality. The only consolation to me is that those who believe these stories are probably just as lazy as the journalists who write them.
