Having a lecture focusing on some of the ills of video games and video game culture was an interesting change of pace, with some fascinating issues being brought to attention. The underrepresentation/poor representation given to certain groups such as homosexuals, blacks, women, etc cannot be denied as a legitimate issue if we look at examples like those shown in the lecture. I feel that the issues addressed very much relate to issues of past lectures, in a very specific way. Not everyone can agree on what is offensive, what is doing damage and what needs to be challenged, which is why we controversies in game culture and whatever else, rather than simple distinctions of what is and is not okay. However, I think it’s fair to say that most of us in this course would agree that the issues of racism, homophobia and sexism in the world of games and gaming that were brought to attention this past week are in fact issues worthy of attention. At least, more worthy than your typical “games are ruining our kids and are the sole cause of high school shootings somebody think of the children” ‘issues’ we’ve looked at in the past few weeks.
I really, really believe that a change in perspective has to be made by society as a whole when looking at video games in the modern day. People have been making the same unfounded complaints and have been trying to make the same fruitless actions against video games in general for far too long, with results that have rarely pleased anyone. Yet here we have an industry that, while supplying many with a hobby and some even a great passion that they can enjoy day-to-day, actually does have its flaws – flaws that continue to be unaddressed by the large majority of people. Are first person shooters the sole reason for violent gun crimes in America? No, believe it or not I think there may be some other factors involved there. Are sexual/ethnic/gender representations in games skewed and directly detrimental to certain groups? If you look at the examples and the facts, it’s much easier to argue yes for this one. I personally believe that we’ve really got to get our priorities straight when it comes to the discourse of video games, and the impacts that they really have.
Spaceman , I think this was a really great issue to raise. I would like to add/comment though that rather than highlighting it is society whom ought to be changing their viewpoint regarding the video gaming culture/world , it ought really to be the gaming industries themselves coming together and addressing the issues that we as a gaming culture find concerning.
ReplyDeleteIssues like you have already mentioned being: "sexual/ethnic/gender representations in games". I firmly believe that if the gaming industry put their heads together and conducted thorough research before implementing the ideas then launching these absurd games and selling them, the issue could be dealt with.
Either way , the gaming heads and society both have a bit to think about since gaming most certainly differs to movies and films in the way that the scriptwriters of books and movies actually conduct relevant research and do investigation regarding their topics or genres and story that they want to tell... why does the gaming world not start to do the same? I am sure society would want to get more involved in the gaming world if they can at least feel that the games they are purchasing are correct in the historical sense and have been researched at least.