Scudder 2

The Use of Violence in Interactive Entertainment

	"Beowulf", a violent and terrible story of a Hero who slays vicious monsters, was written some time prior to the sixth century. This is over five hundred years ago. The story was heard in near ancient mead-halls where the average people of Europe would eat dinner, and listen to violent, gruesome, provacotive entertainment, and they loved it. Even William Shakespeare's plays contain elements of violence, and sin, and awful behavior of the human race. Why do people call these works classic, and why are these awful tales, especially the disturbing ones by Edgar Alan Poe even taught to our children in schools?  The reason is because it's entertainment! That's right, pure entertainment, that should not be taken seriously, but should be explored and examined and read and played and learned for generations and generations. Human beings are violent creatures, and we should not forget our history, no matter who is talking against it. Interactive entertainment, as well as historical literature are art forms receiving unjustified negative criticism from the media and politicians due to questionable, and often violent content.
	Columbine High School, April 1999, two boys walked in with guns blazing killing several of their classmates and teachers. The tragedy was surely a terrible event and shocked the people of their town in Colorado as well as the country, and the world. For months, angry parents, teens, and the media looked for something to blame these shootings on. They targeted everything from the music the boys listened to, to the videogames they played. DOOM: a game created by iD Software in 1993 was a violent, but revolutionary game that changed the interative entertainment industry forever. It put players in a first person perspective of a space marine fighting his way out of infested stations and landscapes, in order to survive and return to civilization. The game had a huge following, and one of the boys responsible for Columbine even made custom levels for the game, but contrary to popular belief his levels never involved any indication of the Columbine shooting. DOOM is also rarely mentioned in their diaries, and notebooks they kept, showing that the reason for it's negative criticism on this incident is mainly due to the media attacking the game industry. When hearing a newscast or reading an article that blames a videogame for a violent act, one would have to ask himself, "Where is the proof?" or "Then why doesn't everyone do this?". Often in these situations and specifically in Columbine, the boys had anger problems and a violent incident was just waiting to happen. If people commit crimes, possibly because of violent games, then why make violent games?
	Videogames are a new media enterprise. They have been around for less than a score of years, while violent paintings and drawings have existed for thousands of years. The positive effects of violence and seemingly unreasonable content in this media however, clearly have something to teach us, and clearly outweigh the negatives. Ever since these first person perspective videogames have been created, the people have responded. Why? Because it is fun, and competitive. Multiplayer games provide a "proper outlet for aggression" (fsl) and can teach teens and adults alike competitive and strategic elements that they otherwise may not learn on their own. Starting with DOOM II, multiplayer was invented for the franchise, spawning tournament after tournament, of players who played not because they loved to kill people, but because they loved to work hard and form strategies, and try to be the best. These "esports" enthusiasts wanted glory, and sometimes money, but never murder. Dennis "Thresh" Thong, was the most famous of his time, playing with such skill and practice, that he awed his opponents. He is most noted for winning the Ferrari of John Carmack, the original programmer of DOOM in a tournament. He has played several shooters and strategy games, exhibiting success and riches in almost every endeavor. Dennis know owns Xfire, a software company that has designed a program to aid computer gamers in finding their friends on the internet. As seen in the example of Dennis Thong, who started his career playing violent videogames, the positives of these competitive games easily outweigh the negatives. But do not think Dennis is the only one, there are dozens of success stories of gamers who have gone on to do amazing things in either business, or the gaming industry itself which they blame on their videogame playing experiences.