Thoughts From Gamers

After writing that last post, I decided that I wanted to know some of what other people thought about video games. I sent out a questionnaire to some friends of mine, asking basic questions about how games affect them, both through violence and other areas. The answers that I have decided to share with you come from a variety of different gamer-types. There are both male and female respondents, some of which play very consistently, while others hardly play at all anymore. Everyone who answered does have a fair amount of gaming experience. My thoughts are scattered throughout the questionnaire. Enjoy!

How old are you?

Respondent A: 18

Respondent B: 55

Respondent C: 20

Respondent D: 19 years old

Respondent E: 19

How long have you been playing video games?

Respondent A: 6 years

Respondent B: 37 years

Respondent C: Since age 7

Respondent D: For as long as I can remember -- when I was a baby, my dad bought a Sega Genesis "for the baby" and I started backseat gaming. It's been a cooperative journey ever since -- he and I have owned pretty much every gaming system.

Respondent E: My entire life, pretty much since I could understand how a controller functions.

Approximately how frequently do you play video games? (Hours per day/week/month)

Respondent A: I play about 1-2 hours a day. When I played WOW I played 3-6 hours a day.

Respondent B: 3-5 hours/week

Respondent C: 2 hours per week

Respondent D: I would say on average I play three hours of video games per day or more. (It's not necessarily consistent, but when I game, I binge and do like 16 consecutive hours of gameplay.)

Respondent E: 3 hours daily, give or take.

What is your preferred type of game? (RPG, FPS, MMORPG, etc.)

Respondent A: MMORPG and RPG

Respondent B: Strategy

Respondent C: MMORPG

Respondent D: I prefer RPGs

Respondent E: I have really been into FPS lately. And love RPG.

Why do you play video games?

Respondent A: It’s an escape and gives an opportunity to see dream like images come true. Also, it gives me control.

Respondent B: Challenge of winning

Respondent C: Because I feel they encourage imagination and creative problem solving.

Respondent D: I play video games to challenge me. The decision-making process in video games is an essential skill that is very hard to find a place to practice -- we can't in our current education system, and games are a safe place for trial and error.

Respondent E: They’re a great way to escape from the everyday stressors of life. It’s really great to just be able to forget about your problems, if only very briefly.

These were all common themes in the answers that I received from unused questionnaires as well. One other popular response was to interact with friends, as well as people all around the globe. 

What do you like about video games?

Respondent A: Being able to control an entire world.

Respondent B: To test myself against the computer or others.

Respondent C: I like the ability to roam freely through uncharted worlds and do dangerous tasks with no threat of bodily harm.

Respondent D: I like that my brain is stimulated. It's a more active activity than watching television, and requires ingenuity and creativity in problem-solving.

Respondent E: You get to go on adventures to a place that you’ve only ever imagined, rescue Princess Peach and Zelda, go on quests, and learn magic. You can fight dragons, robots, or genetically altered human beings. You can shoot zombies without an actual zombie apocalypse.

How does playing video games relate to your stress level? I.e. After you play, do you feel more or less stressed?

Respondent A: My stress seems to decrease when I’m playing but increase afterwards, mostly because I realize all the work I didn’t do.

Respondent B: Probably more stressed

Respondent C: I feel less stressed usually, but occasionally more stressed.

Respondent D: I don't generally notice a change in my stress level -- I usually don't play games when I'm stressed.

Respondent E: I feel a lot less stressed after a gaming session.

Do you think video games are more or less violent today than when you started playing?

Respondent A: Much more violent.

Respondent B: Much more violent

Respondent C: Slightly more violent, but vastly better graphic quality, giving the impression of it being more detailed violence.

Respondent D: Games are more violent today than when I started playing technically because of our advances in technology and graphics. The ideas are not intrinsically more violent, we are just more readily able to visualize them now.

Respondent E: I would say a lot of it is in the graphics change. There has almost always been violence in videogames. Even in the oldies, from Duck Hunt to Zelda or Donkey Kong. In 8-bit videogames whatever you just shot simply fell to the ground or if you hit something it just passed out. Now you see heads blown off and bodies burnt to a crisp. You can stab straight through a person and see the blood and it still be on your sword afterward.

I can understand why, off the bat, respondents A and B would say that games are more violent. However, I fully agree with C, D, and E. As far as the content of games go, there might be a slight increase in violent matter, but for the most part, it seems more violent because of more detailed graphics. 

Who do you feel is responsible for making sure that children do not gain access to video games with violent and explicit content?

Respondent A: Their parents and family.

Respondent B: Parents

Respondent C: Their parents and the ESRB raters accurately doing their jobs.

Respondent D: 100% the parent's job.

Respondent E: Their parents. I mean, if a person buys a violent videogame for their child without first checking to make sure it’s appropriate for them then they’re in the wrong, not the videogame company.

What is the most violent/questionable action that you have been asked to perform in a video game? How did this make you feel?

Respondent A: Killing the entire world (Plague). I felt a little creepy for liking it so much.

Respondent B: Killing others.  It was part of a war based 1^st shooter game and I understand it’s not real.

Respondent C: To mow down civilians at an airport as initiation into a terrorist sector (Call of Duty Modern Warfare).  This prospect disturbed me, but fortunately the developers wrote an option to opt out of the mission, which is what I did.

Respondent D: (SPOILERS) In Heavy Rain, the player is given the choice of breaking into someone's home and killing them in order to gain information that would save your son's life. In the scene, the victim pleads for his life and shows you a picture of his two daughters, explaining that he's a father and he's needed. I have never made the choice to shoot him, but if I did, I would have had to grapple with the idea that might makes right, and my bond to my son is more important than his to his daughters.

Respondent E: The most violent was when I was playing BioShock. Almost immediately after you arrive you are told to find a wrench and beat someone to death with it. Though it was safe to say the person I killed was verifiably insane and would have killed me, it was still pretty intense.

I found it very interesting to read the responses to this question. I had several responses that included scenes from BioShock, and surprisingly, they were all different scenes. I think that it is a good technique, when playing games, to question the things that make you feel uncomfortable. One of the best aspects of gaming (which was briefly mentioned in the question, What do you like about video games?) is the control that the player has. Both player C and D chose to not complete the task they were asked to do. This probably changes the game in some manner, but that's the beauty of it. It is your choice as to which path you want to continue on with. 

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being too violent and 1 being fairly pacifistic, where do you feel the level of violence in overall media rests today?

Respondent A: 5

Respondent B: 4

Respondent C: I’d say a 4.

Respondent D: Media perpetuates stories of violence and terror -- strong 4.

Respondent E: I would say violence in all media has certainly increased. All anyone ever sees in the news anymore is death, death, and more death.

For this question, I purposefully asked about the media as a whole. Respondent E did not give a number, but they share a very good point. It is not just video games that are violent. The news is downtrodden with depression and despair.

 At what age do you think people become responsible for themselves and the content they view? Why?

Respondent A: Age 16-18. This is when cognitive ability increases and pubescent hormones slow (maybe I made that up). Also, at this point a person has a good understanding of consequences.

Respondent B: 16. At that age they can get out of the house easily and also should be starting to take responsibility for what they are doing.

Respondent C: 18, because at that age the ratings no longer prohibit them and they are no longer under the legal guardianship of their parents. 

Respondent D: At age 8, children generally gain the ability to discern right from wrong, so the easiest jumping-off point is age 8, but in all reality the pre-frontal cortex isn't fully developed until the early-to-mid-twenties. Biologically speaking, we are not equipped to make a completely informed decision until age 26 or so. Realistically, somewhere after age 8, but definitely before age 17 (when one can legally purchase games rated M).

Respondent E: I would say sixteen. If you’re old enough to be responsible for a car and driving you’re old enough to be responsible for yourself when you buy something.

I love that these people (along with several other respondents that I did not share) acknowledge that once a person is often out of the house, it is time for them to take control of their own actions. In my opinion, it is probably at about 15 or 16 that a person stops relying on what their parents say fully, and must make their own conscious decisions as to what they want exposure to. 

All in all, I did this questionnaire for fun. There was no huge response in particular that I was looking for. Rather, I just wanted to know where my fellow gamers stand in conjunction with where I do. For the most part, it seems as though we are on similar lines, which honestly surprised me in some cases! If I were to do something like this again, I would probably have people who are not active in video-gaming respond, and then compare the answers of those who do and do not play. 

Where do you stand? Do you agree with what these people thought, or do you have completely different ideas? Feel free to share in the comments, for I would love to hear what you have to say as well.