State of the Game

Do games really damage the fabric of society?

I’m currently sitting here at work feeling a little touchy, having not blasted, dominated or exploded anything over the weekend. Maybe I am suffering withdrawal, maybe my years of gaming have left me with a need to digitally destroy. Maybe I can’t function properly unless I have let off steam in the way that my brain is used to and expects. Maybe I should be supported by government handouts to prevent me from short-circuiting and hence letting my frustrations take on a tangible, physical form. Maybe all these kids with weapons who go around shooting the hell out of people aren’t' the product of violent games, maybe they were just suffering from withdrawal. Has anyone checked to see if their gaming rights were withheld by their parents prior to the obscenity? Or maybe I had a heavy weekend that has drained my constitution, it's a Monday and I haven't had anything to eat. Maybe those kids were annoyed and pissed about something and had neither the means, the notion nor the experience to deal with those feelings in a less violent and reactionary manner. Perhaps computer gaming is something that is very prevalent in today’s society and is therefore likely to be a pastime engaged in by the vast majority of the younger populace. Possibly we should concentrate on the parts of modern life that cause unnecessary hate and pain, and attempt to modify them to cause less suffering, than cast the blame for things we find hard to comprehend onto something we find hard to explain. One thing is for sure; we need to have some younger, or at least more technically savvy judges sitting in the courts of law.

The legal debate about the culpability of digital entertainment in relation to the degeneration of parts of our society was in the news again recently. This time it has been argued that the American Constitution cannot protect computer games, in particular the First Amendment, a passage that has gotten on more authoritarian tits than probably any other in modern history. Even for spoilsports who don't actually live in the US the First Amendment has acted as a beacon of free speech and liberty for those trying to express their human emotions and thoughts. Its reach has been felt around the world, to the point where many in this country and others feel that they have the same protections of expression as enjoyed by Americans. If only that were even close to being reality, but I’m not going to let this turn into a political polemic, no matter how much I’m tempted. Instead I’m going to ramble on about what the consequences of the perpetual attention of the law and the media may have on our collective pastime. Will our games ever get the recognition they deserve and will they ever be free of the accusation that it is they, in combination with TV, sex, drugs and Eminem that is destroying our civilisation.