Smart Answers To Silly Questions

[Andy Chalk]

Smart Answers To Silly Questions

Malygris preps for his close-up on Canadian TV by looking a bit more deeply into the question of videogame-inspired violence.

Permalink

 

[oneplus999]

Such as, for instance, the fact that the "young guy" at the root of all this kerfuffle is 27 years old, young from some perspectives but hardly an age typically associated with "game-inspired" crime. A simple oversight on the part of the producer, or a couching of terms for better headlines? No way to know, but my reply to the CBC pointed out that the offender in this case wasn't exactly a naive kid who was led down the path of sin by a videogame he wasn't yet mature enough to process. It was all very polite and respectful, and even offered a few places for the producer to begin her own research into the impact of videogames.

I haven't heard back yet. I doubt I will.

Sorry, that wasn't the story we wanted. Don't worry though, we have your response along with those of several other people and I'm sure we can piece together enough out-of-context quotes to get the news we were looking for.

 

[ccesarano]

I always wondered why no one has tried the "art imitates life" angle, and video games, being art, imitate aspects of life themselves. Grand Theft Auto is certainly imitating real life crimes that occur in any city, just in a very exaggerated manner.

 

[L.B. Jeffries]

I've always thought the massive hysteria about the impact of video games was just a precursor to their inevitable cultural ascension. Look at all the other blow-ups.

The Judas Priest suicide pact lawsuits.

Fredric Werthman's attack on comic books.

Elvis putting on a shirt his mother made, going on the air, and shaking it like a chorus girl, shaking it like a Harlem Queen, shaking it like a midnight rambler. (thanks Gillian Welch)

This train is right on schedule, if not a bit early.

 

[olicon]

I always wondered why no one has tried the "art imitates life" angle, and video games, being art, imitate aspects of life themselves. Grand Theft Auto is certainly imitating real life crimes that occur in any city, just in a very exaggerated manner.

Now that you mentioned it, GTA IS ripping off real life events! Rockstar is pretty cheap.. I wonder how we fell for it all these years!

 

[fix-the-spade]

inevitably the magic marker will be applied to whatever you said to twist your words.

Then again, controversy often attracts new fans as well as detractors. There'll be plenty of people see these articles and get curious, then try for themselves and have fun.

 

[Arbre]

There was no doubt the real-life crime had virtual echoes. The ten-hour crime spree featured two robberies, nine carjacking attempts (three were unsuccessful), a handful of assaults and numerous reports of people having guns pointed at them. Police efforts to stop the one-man crime wave stepped up as the day wore on, culminating in a two-hour pursuit through the city that eventually led to the suspect's reportedly heavy-handed arrest.

2 hours and 3 stars at best?
Wimp.

 

[Arkitext]

There was no doubt the real-life crime had virtual echoes. The ten-hour crime spree featured two robberies, nine carjacking attempts (three were unsuccessful), a handful of assaults and numerous reports of people having guns pointed at them. Police efforts to stop the one-man crime wave stepped up as the day wore on, culminating in a two-hour pursuit through the city that eventually led to the suspect's reportedly heavy-handed arrest.

2 hours and 3 stars at best?
Wimp.

Someone needs GameFAQs.

 

[VonBlade]

If video games really do influence life, where is my +4 sword of extra smiting huh?? Where is my quiver full of moss arrows? And how come I can't do a Final Atomic Buster?

At this point I have to mention I was hoping this was a light-hearted thread in which we actually got smart answers to silly questions. Meh.

 

[Geoffrey42]

I always wondered why no one has tried the "art imitates life" angle, and video games, being art, imitate aspects of life themselves. Grand Theft Auto is certainly imitating real life crimes that occur in any city, just in a very exaggerated manner.

I think some people might say you were making a point without a platform, without first proving that videogames are "art".

I wouldn't say this.

But some people would.

 

[captainfuzzy]

If video games really do influence life, where is my +4 sword of extra smiting huh?? Where is my quiver full of moss arrows? And how come I can't do a Final Atomic Buster?

I wish eating at McDonald's increased my health instead of detracting from it.

And let's hope terrorists never get ahold of blue shells.

 

[fix-the-spade]

And let's hope terrorists never get ahold of blue shells.

Why worry? They'll only be able target world leaders and Michael Schumacher.

wait a sec, McDonalds DOESN'T improve health?

 

[Singing Gremlin]

And let's hope terrorists never get ahold of blue shells.

Why worry? They'll only be able target world leaders and Michael Schumacher.

wait a sec, McDonalds DOESN'T improve health?

A worrying thought though. What if they get a hold of the lightning attack? Simultaneous lightning strikes on every car on the highway!

 

[Zak Frost]

I think that people forget that you get smarter and more mature as you get older, but is smarter and more mature, age is not measurement of how intelligent or mature you are in comparison to other people, only to your past and future self, humans just want to have an easy maturity rater that requires no thought whatsoever. If you go kill people simply because it was in a video game, you are not an impressionable youth, you are just incredibly stupid, if you learn how to kill people through watching a movie or playing a game you are just a normal person, they don't want anyone to see things or do things that they would not want to see or do themselves current or when they were the age the person in question was. They are projecting their own fears onto someone else, and to these people I say: "GET A FREAKING LIFE!". But that's just my extremely long and poorly thought out theory.

 

[Johnn Johnston]

...But that's just my extremely long and poorly thought out theory.

Exteremely long and poorly though out theories? I have them all the time! I think it's down to the rise in films with Sharon Stone...

 

[Johnn Johnston]

And let's hope terrorists never get ahold of blue shells.

Why worry? They'll only be able target world leaders and Michael Schumacher.

wait a sec, McDonalds DOESN'T improve health?

A worrying thought though. What if they get a hold of the lightning attack? Simultaneous lightning strikes on every car on the highway!

And nobody wants a repeat of the M25 Banana Skin and Red Box tragedy.

 

[Kedcom]

The thing I've always found incredibly ironic in the videogames and violence debate is that the more serious the gamer, the more pacifistic they seem to actually be in real life.

Yeah sure there are some idiots who casually play games and casually cause mayhem in real life. But THOSE PEOPLE HAVE AND AWLAYS WILL EXIST. Games are nothing to do with it.

If games were not here does anyone seriously think that there would suddenly be any discernible drop in crime?

Of course not! Crime is mainly due to poverty, lack of education/decent parents, occasional nutters (crazy people are a fact of life sadly) etc etc blah blah. Funny how the media never turns the eye on themselves and realises that their incessant coverage of nasty stories (i.e. for every one heart-warming news story there will be ten bad ones) is just as significant in normalising violence as games are. Much more so in my opinion!

 

[Zak Frost]

Exteremely long and poorly though out theories? I have them all the time! I think it's down to the rise in films with Sharon Stone...

I think mine are due to the increase in homosexuals traveling abroad.