NadiaHeintzkill

Ms.Robillard
Hour5
February16th2015

TheProsofViolentVideoGames

Overtheyears,therehavebeenmajordebatesaboutviolentand/orshootinggames
causingastartlingburstofviolentbehaviorinteens.Duetotheobviouslydramaticincrease
oftechnologyanditsadvances,crimesofhomicidalactionsorothertypesareseeminglyand
quitesadlygettingblamedonthegames.Althoughthereareinfactdangersareassumed
theyaffectthewaysteensact,letslookattheprosofthesegames,shallwe?
Thosewhoareagainstandpracticallyblameeverysinglecrimeonviolentvideo
gameswouldmostcommonlyarguethatafterplayingthesegamesforaprolongedamountof
time,wouldcausemoreextremelyviolentoutburststhanusualaswellasdrivingtheirlustfor
killing.Thisispartlytrue.Yes,gamessuchasGrandTheftAutoorBattlefieldaregames
aboutshootingalongwithcausinghavoc/destructionareverypopulargamesamong
teenagersandadults,butthethingis,itwasneverscientificallyproventhattheyrethecause
ofhostilecrimesafterbeingplayedforlongperiodsoftime.ItwasmentionedinTheNew
YorkTimesarticleShootingintheDark.Alsointhereport,itclearlystatedthatacrimecan
becausedbyabuse,bullying,mentaldisorders,etc.Noteverymaniacstendenciesoriginate
fromviolentvideogames.TheearlierstatementisalsoconfirmedinForbessarticle
Do
GamesLike'GrandTheftAutoV'CauseRealWorldViolence?
Thearticle,orPDF,EssentialFactsAboutVideoGamesandViolenceevenshows
agraphasphysicalevidencethatcrimes(thiswasduringtheperiodwhereviolentvideo
gamesaleswereincreasingdramatically)droppedatstaggeringamounts.Thisareaoftime
wasduringthe90sand00s.
Itstheendofthehorrendousandtiringschoolyear.Whatsbetterthantohavean
excitingwatergunfight?AccordingtoTheNewYorkersShootout,severalNewYork
schoolshostendoftheyearwatergungames,thenameofthisactivitycalledKiller.Although
itdoessparksomecontroversyabouttheteensusingtermskilling,massacres,etc.
However,asitismentionedthatteenswilluseratherintelligenttacticsandplanstoshoot
peopledownandoutofthegame.Forinstance,HecaughtaliverycabonAmityStreetand
headednorthtotheHeights.Heknewhewasintroublewhenhisdriverrefusedtoraisethe
windows.AmemberoftheGaisfordteamshothiminthechestthroughthecabs
passengersidewindowashepulleduptotheschool.

Clearly,theseparticipantswouldneed
vastknowledgeofthecityaswellascooperationwithteammates.Thesetwomainfactors
canreallyhelppeopleinlifelearninghowtodevelopskillsatsocialskillsandworking
togetheraswellasmasteringgeographyareveryimportantinsociety.
Andlastbutnotleast,videogameplayersaresurprisinglyfiguringoutscientistsand
theirstruggles.AccordingtotheguardiansHowonlinegamersaresolvingsciencesbiggest

problems,gameslikeCandyCrushorFolditarepresentinganswerstothelongstruggles
withdiseaseslikeAlzheimer'sdisease,cancer,etc.Anothernamethatgoesbythename
PlanetHuntersallowedplayerstoexplorethespaceandhuntplanets,hencethetitle.
Surprisinglyandshockingly,thegamerevealedseveralplanetsthathavethepossibilityof
supportinglifeallofthesemissedbyastronomers,professionalandunprofessional.Although
thesearentviolent,theydoprovideanidealpointabouttheusefulnessofgamesandthe
ideas/informationtheyhold.
So,inconclusion,itisntmuchofasurprisethatteensandevenadultscanlearnfrom
videogamesingeneral.Violentandnonviolent,thevirtualrealitiesthatexcitetheplayersare
evenbetter.Asmentionedearlier,thescientificgamesthatarehelpingscientistsuncover
moreandmoremysteriesaboutlifeisextremelycriticalanduseful.Eventheviolentgames
canimprovehandandeyecoordination,anotherusefultoolinlife.ThewatergameKiller
providescollaborationneededforabrighterfuture.Theevidenceexposedtoyouinthisessay
clearlyshowsthefantasticpossibilitiesthatareopeningupmoreandmoretoeveryone,
showingtheworldthatgamesareclearingthewayforabetterandbrighterfutureoverflowed
withteensthatenjoywhattheydoandarewillingtoundertakethisskillandputittothetest.

Citations:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/06/22/shootout3
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/science/studyingtheeffectsofplayingviolentvideogam
es.html?_r=1&
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2013/09/18/dogameslikegrandtheftautovcausereal
worldviolence/
http://ocw.metu.edu.tr/pluginfile.php/9573/mod_resource/content/1/ESA_EF_About_Games_a
nd_Violence.pdf
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/25/onlinegamerssolvingsciencesbiggest
problems