Violent Video Games Ruining Reality
The violence factor in video games has steadily risen as creators aim for more realistic, grotesque scenarios that can really let players relish in those inner cravings buried deep within them. Our world has no need for a Purge-esque holiday when we can pick up a controller and release all our built-up tension. Our deep desires to kill people in foreign lands, hijack expensive cars, outrun the police and run around naked in the blood and guts of our enemies while firing off a weapon bigger than our entire body, can be immediately satisfied thanks to video games.
Yet these violent games do provide some setbacks in our society. Because of the heavy gaming in our culture, our generation’s minds are being tarnished. If not monitored closely, these games can have harmful effects, the most pressing of which are included below.
1. Fast traveling
It’s a concept present in many videos games. Just by pulling up a map and clicking on a certain location, the playing character will magically appear there in a matter of seconds. The consequence? People can’t appreciate traveling to places anymore.
It goes beyond laziness. There is a genuine lack of understanding that God gave us a pair of legs and feet with which to press a gas pedal. Players have become so used to just appearing in a place by sheer want that they have given up on the wonders of bumper-to-bumper traffic and the scent of smog and dead deer wafting through their automobile.
The only benefit is that some players have decided to take up scientific research to remedy this issue. One such group in Minnesota decided that since nobody wanted to go and actually retrieve the Doritos and Mountain Dew necessary for that night’s gaming session, they may as well build transporters to mimic fast traveling. They were successful, in that the closest 7Eleven was greeted by the sudden sight of a dismembered teenage body in their slurpee mixer. Reportedly, customers are still enjoying the added tang of young man’s blood in their Big Gulps.
2. Invisible Walls
For those who may still be aware of the power their legs have, the fear of unknown boundaries keeps them from leaving the home. Sure, in video games they’re harmless. You go too far and the game will just stop you, letting you know that the creators had not made the space beyond safe enough.
But is our creator so kind?
After sitting down with several petrified gamers, I found that their fears all seem to revolve around the idea that God may not have developed all the world yet. There are just certain places nobody actually ever goes—such as sketchy alleyways, rollerblading halls, and New Jersey—that may just exist as background aesthetic. If we were to collide with one of these walls, especially in some sort of motor vehicle, then there is no telling how many crashes and incidents there would be.
3. Parachutes
Speaking of incidents, studies show that hospitals across the nation have been receiving more and more patients in critical condition who have jumped from great heights. Those that survive insist that they were not acting on thoughts of suicide, and, in most cases, professional screenings support their claims.
When asked why they thought jumping off a building and falling to the pavement would be a good idea, they answered that their parachute did not work. In all cases, no remnants of a parachute were found. When questioned as to what happened to their parachute, their answer was that it never appeared.
Allegedly, the response of “Did you ever buy one?” is commonly met with confusion and a reply of “Dude, you buy ammo, not parachutes!”
At the end of the day, people need to remember that our world just isn’t as awesome as the fabricated, digitized versions that video games allow us to embrace. While it might kind of suck, actions do have actual consequences here. Dying in a puddle of your own blood does not come with the guarantee that you will wake up in a hospital or your last save point completely fine.
Jackie Kazim is a freshman film, photography & visual art major who is stocking up on spare parachutes. You can email her at [email protected].