Pschological Effects Of Video Games

I love games. I've played violent games for a long time, but I'm not violent. When I was young I would play military shooter games and then I would also make guns out of Legos and pretend I was on some mission in enemy territory.

I never joined the military and don't want to now, because I abhor war and unnecessary violence.

However, if I play too much Civ V I will start thinking everything I'm doing is in turns and I only have two moves per turn.

Every kid on my street had an armoury of die cast toy guns which were used day in/day out for 30 person war games whenever possible.
I used to have several M16 variants with my favourite being a scale replica Armalite which I lost in a bush and never found again ( still hurts!).

Before Taiwaneese die cast replicas were available we used to use sticks and have sword fights where you were allowed to hit anywhere but the head and nuts!

FPS is the modern day equivalent and this thread has already been answered by those that suggest parental influence is more important.

If you are brought up by people who dont teach you the difference between real and make believe of course a video game might affect you but the vast majority of people ( FPS's have been selling in the multiple millions for over a decade) are able to make the distinction.

If Humans didnt enjoy the thought of war in the first place those games wouldnt sell -(any one up for a quick round of "Advanced Lawn Mower Simulator" BTW????)....... so yet again it looks like the people saying "FPS' are bad" seem to have gotten cause and effect the wrong way round.

Video games ruined my life.... lucky I have 2 lives left.

originally posted by: MrCrowley88
I just wanted to add an experience I had recently. I'm not much of a gamer to be honest. I usually find a game I like, play it for a month or so and than maybe I won't play a new game for a few months. But in March I was playing Dying Light for PS4 and I enjoyed it immensely. I played it everyday from 1-3 hours but never straight through I would take breaks. I began to notice I was having dreams every night about the game. After about 2 weeks of constant dreaming, i searched Twitter "Dying Light Dreams"...WOW. I was not the only one..there were literally hundreds of other people claiming the same thing. Anyone else experience this? I will admit this is not the first game to enter my dreams but it is the only game that I dreamt about so consistently.

Do any activity, consistently everyday for hours, and you will begin to dream about said activity.

I read fantasy novels everyday, and I have many dreams that incorporate many aspects of the books I read--simply because it is an everday part of my life.

It is a normal aspect of dreaming that pieces of your waking life are incorporated into them.

Honestly, as a test, start a new activity that you spend 1 to two hours completing each day--like an exercise routine. Eventually you will begin dreaming about it.

originally posted by: nOraKat
I would not be surprised if many of these military shooters are gov't sponsored.

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As an aside, please check your spelling before you post; especially the title. So many people misspelling on ATS nowadays. Makes us look bad.

The US Army had it's own first person shooter for a while. Actually, it looks like they still do. It's called www.americasarmy.com. I remember playing it on the original xbox.

Have you actually played a military style FPS game? Half of it is populated by preteen kids hurling racial epithets, and the other half are jobless neckbeards still living with their parents at age 27.

a reply to: ScientificRailgun

I know A LOT of military guys that play them. You'd think that seeing the "real thing" would be enough for them.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

True, though my previous post was made with tongue firmly in cheek, I recognize that the demographic for Military FPS games is varied. I don't necessarily see them as recruiting tools. I see it as a company creating a product to fill a demand. That some kids are "inspired" to join the military as a result of playing these game I think is an accident that the U.S. Government is quite happy about.

I know that in the development of these games, the studios will hire and use actual military folks to help make it seem as real as possible, but I don't think the U.S. Government actively supports and helps develop these games.

a reply to: ScientificRailgun

I posted a link to the US Army's official FPS video game. It *is* being used as a recruiting tool, and has been criticized as such.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
a reply to: ScientificRailgun

I posted a link to the US Army's official FPS video game. It *is* being used as a recruiting tool, and has been criticized as such.

Right, I remember the big Kerfuffle about "America's Army". To be honest, I've seen people playing that game, and I'll just say that the US Army should stick to invading other nations, because they're awful at making video games.

Yes I agree with you. But these were happening every night. Im a screenwriter so almost everyday I am engaged in thinking about some sort of subject. Yet, I don't dream of said subject each day. Thank you for replying and your insight! a reply to: LewsTherinThelamon

Insightful young man! Im 38 and started with a Vic 20, ZX spectrum 128bit, amiga (500 i think), then I got Mega Drive, PS1 then PC and XBOX to this day. Now Im mainly PC and the boy is XBOX.

It could very well be proven (if someone bothered to research) that actually computer games such as these had reduced crime. Growing up North West England, we spent alot of time playing Monaco Grand Prix on Megadrive, whole saturday competitions, some kids went out and actually played sport (but then usually came round to play Megadrive) others hung out.

I recon if I look back, the ones who ended up in prison/on drugs, did not play computers (or skateboard).

I look back, and I can specifically say, none of they guys I knew into computer games ended in a life of crime (or overdose death or brain dead from barbs) but the ones that did, perhaps 7 (to put it in perspective), all hung out at the corner shop and got into fights, no other outlet.

Interesting.

I am currently playing Verdun, a WW1 FPS, do I want to go out and assault a trench full of Tommies? Nope....am i imagining my bosses stupid face every time I slot one....yes.[/quote/]


TrueBrit: Very insightful and open-minded opinion! I like that you recognize BOTH sides of the story like myself.


To everyone else I'd like to say I was a HUGE gamer of all platforms and was even at the top of a leaderboard. I have also been locked in a psyche ward and have scored higher than 90% of the population on multiple psychopathy tests. Those two facts are completely unrelated. I'M NOT SAYING GAMES MAKE YOU VIOLENT - but your brain is susceptible to malfunctions and subliminal programming and all sorts of things. I'm not saying, nor did my links imply, that all gamers turn to killers.

I also understand the release thing. Without games I probably WOULD be the guy in jail that forensick was talking about. And Forensick... Did you really say the guys in jail aren't the guys playing computer games? Do you know how many drug dealers play video games? Do you know how many hackers are in prison for being too smart for their own good?

a reply to: OfManAndWolf

Video games do not make people violent, if anything, modern video games are an indicator of the progress that humans have made towards civility.

Violence has always entertained us, look up the number of cultures in the past that used violence as entertainment and sport. Public executions were entertainment throughout many cultures, and let's not forget the Roman Coliseum--taking the whole family to watch men hack away at each other and animals.

The difference is that, the violence in today's entertainment is fake. Actors portray gladiators, but the actors don't actually get injured or die. Video games are just pixels.

The game industry is a billion dollar industry with millions of players worldwide. In the United States alone, game software and hardware sales totaled $13.1 billion and 67% of US households play video games--while violent crime is decreasing

With that information alone, if it were true that video games make people violent, then we should be seeing the opposite take place--way more violence should be occuring. Violent crime should be rampantly increasing according to the massive amount of people that play video games.

But these irrational assertions between the affects of entertainment and human behavior have never been true. People just need something that they can blame for the wrong they see in the world.

Human beings were way more violent in the past when they didn't have video games.

As for video games causing people to join the military--has there been an exponential increase in military recruitment that matches the 67% of households that play video games?

I highly doubt it.

a reply to: ScientificRailgun

The newest one is based on the Unreal 3 engine -- so it actually should look pretty darn good.

originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: OfManAndWolf
effects of video games on certain children's behaviour

This bit jumped out at me.

SOME children.


Video games like, some books, films, tv shows or even simple stories told by adults to kids can seed ideas and fill gaps in the mind in humans that are simply susceptible to ideas of unsocial activity's from violence to poor relationship decisions.

How many people have tried to get what they want in the face of 'correct' moral code?

Too many people have been completely unaffected by all sorts of input for untold numbers of years for something like a military video game to have the kind of effects talked about here to be an intentional outcome. Could it make a small few, maybe i guess but FAR too small a number to make the whole endeavor worthy.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
a reply to: ScientificRailgun

The newest one is based on the Unreal 3 engine -- so it actually should look pretty darn good.

There's a new one coming out? Neat. I'll look it up.

The thing people have to remember is that video games are expensive! A console runs about $399 these days, and a gaming PC (which is more powerful) costs about the same or a bit more if built yourself.

Games are like $59.99!

Then you need internet to play online...that costs more...

So really, what we're seeing is violence by a segment of the population that is has some money and recreational time.

I don't think you'd find many kids in the inner city ghettos playing Call of Duty online after school.

originally posted by: MrCrowley88
Yes I agree with you. But these were happening every night. Im a screenwriter so almost everyday I am engaged in thinking about some sort of subject. Yet, I don't dream of said subject each day. Thank you for replying and your insight! a reply to: LewsTherinThelamon

That actually sounds interesting if it's true, I think I'll get a copy of that game and try it out for myself.

a reply to: OfManAndWolf

teens?

TEENS?

i suggest taking a look at this: www.pegi.info...
www.pegi.info...

every, EVERY parent, letting his child play a battlefield game (or any game that glorifies violence), is a f...in' MORON.

Undoubtedly there're games which're apparently good for you, but they're not the variety most would enjoy:
now.uiowa.edu - Want to slow mental decay? Play a video game...

It's not just any video game:

Wolinsky and colleagues separated 681 generally healthy medical patients in Iowa into four groups—each further separated into those 50 to 64 years of age and those over age 65. One group was given computerized crossword puzzles, while three other groups were exposed to a video game called “Road Tour,” (since renamed "Double Decision"), marketed by Posit Science Corp. Briefly, the exercise revolves around identifying a type of vehicle (displayed fleetingly on a license plate) and then reidentifying the vehicle type and matching it with a road sign displayed from a circular array of possibilities, all but one of them false icons. The player must succeed at least three out of every four tries to advance to the next level, which speeds up the vehicle identification and adds more distractions, up to 47 in all.

The goal, naturally, is to increase the user’s mental speed and agility at identifying the vehicle symbol and picking out the road sign from the constellation of distractors (which are rabbits, by the way).

“The game starts off with an assessment to determine your current speed of processing. Whatever it is, the training can help you get about 70 percent faster,” says Wolinsky, who has no financial stake in the brain-fitness game.

Wolinsky’s team added an active control group—those doing the crossword puzzles. The researchers found those who played the "Road Tour" game also scored far better than the crossword puzzle group on tests involving executive function beyond field-of-view vision, such as concentration, nimbleness with shifting from one mental task to another, and the speed at which new information is processed. The improvement ranged from 1.5 years to nearly seven years in cognitive improvement, the study found.

One of the difficulties in examining research in htis avenue is figuring out just want kind of game is being used and how well this translates to other games on the market. For example, there's this research linking gaming to improved laparoscopic skills in surgeons:
archsurg.jamanetwork.com - The Impact of Video Games on Training Surgeons in the 21st Century...

But how does that compare to sessions of World of Warcraft or Call of Duty 2? Some gamers will use this research to excuse their gaming, even if it's inappropriate or stretched beyond reason.