Many people around the world are involved in role-playing action games or play video games. For example, you and some friends could be playing a role-playing game in real life or spend hours in your room playing the newest video game that just came out. A lot of people believe paying violent video games(such as GTA 5) lead players into malevolent behavior, or committing violent crimes. Although many people may believe this, I believe that role-playing games and videogames are not dangerous.
An example of a role-playing game that occurs, is at St. Ann’s, a private high school in NYC, where high school students have created a role-playing, ambush game, where players use their skills and logic to be the last team standing. In this game, the two teams win the game by shooting opposing players with water pistol guns. Although this game requires shooting other players, it is not dangerous at all. First off, this game is very short and raises money. According to “High-Jinks: Shoot-Out”(2009), by Guy Martin, “... the games last two and a half weeks”(p. 1). After two and a half weeks, the games end, and eventually start all over again. The event being this short, allows the players to take a break, and the risks of anything happening are lessened by the shorter amount of time it takes. If the games were any longer, the prospect of injuries would increase, but since the game isn’t longer than that, it will be safer than it could be. In 2009, seventy players participating in this game, raised three hundred and sixty dollars! This money will go to the winners of the game, but also, if players choose, can be donated to a good cause. If the players or school choose to do this, many donations of money could be made each time a game is played, which helps players, and the community.
Instead of sitting on a couch, watching TV, eating food and being lazy, role-playing games provide a healthy alternative. Players can go anywhere they like to play the game, as long as the objective-of killing the other team-is fulfilled. By teammates constantly running around, on the search for their opponents, they are exercising. Although some teammates might take the games for granted, and make their alliances do all the dirty work, most players are dedicated to the game. This devotion means they will work hard and do anything they can to win, by actively participating.
According to the article, How Online Gamers are Solving Science’s Biggest Problem’s, by Dara Mohammadi, the perception that people who play video games “aren’t feted for their real-world usefulness” could change, due to their “virtual accomplishments.” For example, the author says, “ People playing an astronomy game called Planet Hunters found a curious planet … they’ve discovered 40 planets that could potentially support life, all of which had been previously missed by professional astronomers.” This proves that video games are also helpful for real-life situations, by allowing “players with little or no scientific knowledge tackle some of science’s biggest problems,” through video games. Players are helping scientists gain more knowledge. Players provide a greater possibility of learning new things, through certain perceptions to the games that even professionals are oblivious too.
Playing these video games and role playing games may hold negative things as well as positive things. For example, people playing the water pistol game at St, Ann’s continue playing even out of their immediate areas and limits. For example, Guy Martin says that one team,” staked out (a player named) Cohen(at his house) in a blue Toyota minivan.” Tuck Gaisford, a senior in that team, says,” We want to get Cohen out on the stoop, or learn whether he’s sleeping at home.” This predatory approach that these players have, could interfere with Cohen’s everyday life, causing it to be quite a drastic game. On the other hand, this personal problem is easily preventable. “ … students have developed a seventeen-point rule book, a map of the safe zones around school … and a non-playing senior-class “judge” to arbitrate disputed kills and rule violations.(Martin, pg. 1)” This proves that there are safe zones that players can escape to if they feel threatened, and there are rules that have to be followed to prevent any wrong-doing. Also, the article by Guy Martin states that,” All players are anonymous,” The chance of a player interfering with your personal life or becoming violent towards you outside of playing the game, is very low if you remain anonymous.
Not only are role-playing games not dangerous, video games are not dangerou either. “No study has ever shown that violent video games result directly in actual violence, let alone mass shootings. That doesn’t mean it isn’t possible, though the numbers suggest it’s very unlikely” (Kain, 2013, P.1).
The author says that video games do not cause violence, it is the person who decides if they want to commit a violent act or not. To add to this, the graph in the article, “Do Games Like ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ Cause Real-World Violence?” shows that as more video games are bought in capital states, the amount of violence in those states barely increases, besides in the United States. This could mean that only our country has a problem with violence, maybe because of other factors, but if the violence was because of videogames, the violence would have increased other places as well.
Because there are crimes committed while people play video games, does not mean the games are causing these crimes. It turns out that many studies have found that there is no connection between videogames and real-world violence. A lot of these violent crimes are committed by mentally ill people, some of which happen to play video games, but even if they didn’t play video games, they would still be mentally ill. That could be the reason for people hurting others. So the next time you play a videogame with some violence in it, ask yourself, “ Does this game make me want to act violently towards others in the real world?”
About the Author:
Jillian Yim was born and raised in St.Louis, Missouri, and went to school at Premier Charter School. She previously wrote an article about adultism, that was featured in a magazine for her school. She grew up with her younger sister and parents. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer and spending time with friends.
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