How Do We Define A Violent Video Game?

     With the Sandy Hook shooting on everyone's minds recently, I feel the need to bring up an old argument and drive it home again. However, before I go on a rant about violence in video games, I want to throw a related issue out there. There is no doubt that there are countless violent video games out on the market, but there's only one problem: what is a violent video game? How do we define what a violent video game is? "Well, it's a game with violence in it, of course." Yes, but where do we draw the line? Consider, for instance, The Legend of Zelda. The player assumes the identity of Link, a young boy who gallivants around the land of Hyrule slicing away at enemies with his sword in order to defeat the evil Ganondorf and save Princess Zelda. Is that not violence? "But he's trying to save the Princess!" But it's still violence, is it not? Again, I ask: where do we draw the line?

I'm going to carve your heart out of your chest and consume it... What? That's exactly what happens!

VARIATIONS OF VIOLENCE

      "What's there to talk about, Goongala? Violence is violence!" Yes... and no. Just because something is violent doesn't necessarily make it evil, although most people tend to gather them up and clump them into one and the same. Violence can be separated into two different categories: Good Violence and Bad Violence.

GOOD VIOLENCE

     "Whoa now, Goongala. There's no such thing as good violence." Oh really? What about World War II? "Ah... okay..." Think about it this way: a conglomeration of evil alien races have come to destroy Earth and all of its inhabitants. Do you stand back and let them? Of course not. If you're like me, you'd pick up a gun and send them running back home to mommy. Even if you're not like me, I'd find it hard to believe that you'd just stand back and let them do their thing.

"Just do what you want... I don't want to live on this planet anymore..."

     For those of you who've played video games in the last ten years, you probably figured out that I was talking about Halo. I use Halo as an example of "Good Violence" all the time. The human race is on the verge of extinction, and you're fighting to keep that from happening. There will never be a time when you think twice about shooting that Brute or Jackal, because he will kill you if you hesitate. There are other games that fit this category, although they may not be as "absolute" in their violence's goodness. Such games as Mass Effect, The Legend of Zelda, and Left 4 Dead can also be considered "good violence"; Mass Effect deals with a similar problem as Halo with the Reavers, The Legend of Zelda is an epic quest against evil to save an innocent princess, and zombies are not exactly the type to sit down and negotiate. Even Doom and Dead Space can be considered good violence, no matter how bloody and gory they may be. The main focus here is, "Are they here to kill me no matter what I say or do?" If the answer is yes, then it's usually good violence.

BAD VIOLENCE

     "You're going to say GTA, aren't you, Goongala?" Whoa! You took the words right out of my mouth! The most obvious candidate for "bad violence" has got to be Grand Theft Auto. This is the type of game where you are encouraged to steal cars and shoot cops. The story isn't much better. As Niko Bellic in Grand Theft Auto 4, you work for a variety of shady individuals who, more often than not, get you into situations where you have your sights set on cops. I know, because I've played it.

If this is the main premise of your game... you're probably dealing with bad violence.

     "Wait... You mean you've played GTA 4 and you're not a mass-murdering psychopath?" Picked up on that, did you? Yes, despite all the horrible things in GTA 4, I am not a mass-murdering psychopath. As I've said countless times before, the "mass-murdering gamer" stereotype is wrong. If someone has a solid grasp of the difference between right and wrong, and fact and fiction, then there shouldn't be a problem with playing these games. My parents taught me these things when I was growing up, and I have a solid grasp on them. I can play and enjoy these games without the fear of them corrupting my understanding of reality.

     GTA is not the only game out there that consists of bad violence. While I've never played it, I know that Saints Row is just as bad as, if not worse than, GTA when it comes to violence without acceptable reason. You also have games like Hitman, in which you play the role of a ruthless assassin who kills for money. "Assassin's? Wait... what about Assassin's Creed?"

THAT MEDDLESOME GREY AREA

     As with many things in life, not everything is absolutely one way or the other, and violence in video games is no exception. Assassin's Creed is one of those games that falls into the grey area in between. On the surface, you're an assassin whose job is to kill people. However, the game tries to make your story out to be a righteous path. You're one of the good guys out to free the world from the tyranny of the evil Templars. Then you kill someone, and they explain why they were doing what they were doing. Sometimes, you feel that their death can be justified, because what they were doing was exploiting the poor and weak or killing in the name of furthering their power and influence.

Imma just leave this here for the bad people to step on...

     However, sometimes you find yourself siding with the person you just shoved your knife into. Most of the previous games were more one way or the other, but the latest installment in the series had me really start questioning my actions as an assassin. It was a story of vengeance, not one of bettering the world by ridding it of evil. A lot of other games fit this grey area. One of the most common types are Role Playing Games (RPGs). In games like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, or Fable you have the choice to be good or bad. You can free a group of peasants, or you can behead them and take their stuff. Some RPGs are set on a railroad of sorts, and keep you on the good side, but most of the time they let you make your own decisions along those tracks. Even Mass Effect, which I said earlier was good violence, could possibly fit into this category because they allow you to do bad things to good people at certain points.

FINAL THOUGHTS

     It's important to differentiate between the good and bad. Sometimes these games, although violent, can teach good values. A certain quote comes to mind when I think of violence as a good thing:

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

- Edmund Burke

     Just imagine if Link decided to put his sword down and let Ganon do whatever he wanted to Hyrule, or if the Master Chief decided to lay down his guns and let the Covenant destroy Earth. Think about how our world would look if no one stood up to Hitler and put a stop to his atrocities. Violence can be used for good, and it is important that we understand that.