Video Games Ethics - Essay Example

Video game ethics Video games have become an essential part of the contemporary society as most youths use such as their part times. Developers of such products on the other hand exploit the ever-increasing demand for the products thus continue to develop diverse video games. However, just as any other product of art, video games portray the nature of the society since most of the games are on familiar social contexts. Among the common video games, include car racing and violent criminal shootings among many others. The games place a user in a virtual society in which they interact with the authorities just as they would in the real society. In the video games virtual societies, the players must comply with specific rules and laws that seek to make the games more engaging. Failure to comply with some of such rules earns the players various punishments that range from point deductions and eventual ejection from the completion. The fact that the video games are increasingly becoming common among the modern societies and the fact that they seek to portray the nature of the contemporary society makes the design and the application of the laws and regulations a contentious issue. The developers of the games employ regulations that make the games more engaging without considering the implications of such rules and laws in the real society. In most games such as need for speed, the player drives a racing car capable of withstanding some of the worst car crushes. Additionally, in the game traffic rules are relative with the infractions such as ramming onto a police car and resisting arrest earning one more points that are complimentary. Addiction to such games has effects on the peace and stability in the real world since some of such laws apply in the real world. Furthermore, in real world a car crush may turn fatal depending on the intensity of the crash. Moralists will continue to advocate for the harmonization of the video game rules to the laws in the real society while capitalists and entrepreneurs who develop the games continue to oppose such moves. Developers of the games rely on the large market turnout to sell their products thus make more profits. Abiding by such laws in the real world such as speed limits, the official driving age and drunk driving are some of the laws that should they incorporate in their games may affect their profitability. Developers of the games seek to make their products as interesting and as engaging as possible. “They heighten the conflict between the players and the authorities in order to make police evasion an interesting and intriguing experience to their customers” (Jeff 257). In fact, breaking the laws in the virtual society becomes the game. Harmonizing the rules of the games to those in the real society would make the games boring thus affect their profitability objective (John 41). Among the most controversial issues in video games have been the heightened crime and violence in the product especially given the fact that most of the consumers of such games are children. Moralists have therefore often propagated for the minimization of violence in the games since they influenced the actions of the young members of the society. Propagators of such reasoning even called for the placement of age restrictions in the games in order to regulate the level of violence of the games accessed by younger members of the society. The liberal portrayal of guns in the games is contrary to the social structure in the real world. The games thus motivate younger members of the society to live an illusionary lifestyle in which they appreciate violence and shun peaceful ways of solving conflicts. Such are valid arguments that should influence the formulation and development of video games. Producers of the video game products are business people just as any other. They therefore carry out extensive market researches in order to determine the prevailing favorable trends in the market. Through such market researches, the producers have determined that violence sells among the youths in the modern day society (Flew & Humphreys, 2005). This explains the rise in the number of violent video games in the modern society. The great market that the producers seek to satisfy arises from the society and not from the gaming programs as initially speculated. Most people love violence, the games run on violent programs in which people kill each other while others drive fast moving cars thus ramming on other cars thereby causing grotesque accidents on their way. The love for violence in the players of such games influences the producers to develop appropriate products; failure to produce such may cost the marketers their target market. The fact that they carry out extensive market researches in order to determine the prevailing market demands help portray the violent nature of the society since more people love such games. Video games portray the future of arts in the society. As arts, the games simply represent the development in the society. Culture refers to people’s way of life. Culture influences such fundamental aspects of life as religion, dietary and appreciation of violence among many others. Arts on the other hand are the embodiment of culture (Gunter, 1998). As a product of culture, arts thus represent the social and cultural development in the society. Since time immemorial, people have always painted drawn and even composed songs. Most of such artifacts are presentation of the society as the artists depict familiar features of the society. The same claim is applicable to the development of video games. The modern society influenced the development of visual media thus influencing the development of the games. The love of violence in the modern society has therefore equally influenced the manufacture of video games that appreciate and portrays violence, as is the prerequisite in the society. The modern society is characterized with heightened violence a feature that has continued to influence the development of modern day video games. Among the most memorable wars prevalent in the modern society included the 2001 war on terror in which the United States launched an offensive against Iraq a country it perceived to have caused various terrorist attacks in the country. Some other violent uprisings in the modern society included the Arab spring that resulted in the ouster of Libyan President Moamar Gadaffi. Other countries that experienced the wave of violence included Tunisia, Egypt and Syria. The case in Syria has degenerated to a civil war in which the government launched weapons of mass destruction on its citizens. Such violent developments influence and motivate the development and consumption of video games. Some of such games have previously included the bombing and mass murder of people in order to escape a precarious situation. The players in such games use heavy artillery with which they bomb and shoot their opponents as they escape to safety. By harmonizing the rules of the games to the laws and legislations in the society, the games would become slower than they currently are and may not interest most of the consumers. However, it is imperative that the developers uphold the required morality in the real society. Most developers uphold such, few video games portray sexuality. “In fact, sex is not an interesting game on the video gaming platform” (Jeff 261). Such developers therefore avoid such concepts and incorporate those that will not only sell but also improve the decency requirement in the society. The evident exclusion of sex and sexuality in video games portray the developers’ ability to minimize harm in the real society by developing a different virtual society. In this respect, the real society should develop effective mechanisms of improving both morality and lawfulness in its social structure without influencing the virtual society as portrayed by the developers of such games. Such games as EVE and World of Warcraft have portray violence and conflicts in the virtual society. “In the games, people steal from one another and evade law enforcers using speeding cars, motorcycles and aircrafts among many others” (Jeff 259). Stealing from either the state or another person in the virtual society is arguably similar to committing such a crime in the real world. However, several psychologists present diverse opinions on the concepts of the theft. Others argue that since the thefts occur on a virtual online environment, they have minimal consequences on the real world. While such arguments have some value of truth, such psychologists adapt an elusive view to reality. The harmonization of the laws with those in the real world is imperative in order to create an effective society. As discussed earlier, the games have proven more addictive with most children in the contemporary showing preference to the computer games. By spending most of their time on the virtual society within the video game environment, it becomes important for the laws to exhibit some similarity to those in the real society in order to control the behavior of such young members of the society. The harmonization of the regulations of the games and the laws in the real world is likely to improve the social ethics and uphold morality in the society. The users of such products will learn to exercise caution in their actual interactions with friends and colleagues in the real society. Most children in the developed economies for example prefer computer games to playing with colleagues in the playground. This implies that they interact with the laws in the virtual societies more than they interact with those in the real world. On several occasion, the local media have reported of children learning to drive through the computer games and therefore sneaking away of the house with their parent’s cars. By employing stringent driving policies in the games, such children would help prevent accidents by not over speeding or even trying to drive an actual car owing to age restrictions on the virtual societies. Such diversities and differences in the two worlds as portrayed by the video games thus make the rules that developer employ in their games fundamental. The societies in the games are increasingly becoming similar to the real society as developers strive to make their games more interesting. It thus becomes imperative that such developers harmonize the legislations in their games to those in the real society. Furthermore, video games have several controversies patterning to their infiltration into the modern day society. Among such controversies are their effects on users. Video games are addictive; they turn users into zombies as continued exposure to the virtual reality in the games influence the reasoning and thinking of their esteemed users. Such effects demand that developers of the game make the virtual societies in their games more realistic by harmonizing the laws applicable in such societies with those in the real world. The harmonization of the two laws is likely to mitigate on the possible conflicts portrayed by their esteemed users in the real world. Games like EVE and World of Warcraft have portrayed violence and conflicts in the virtual society. “In the games, people steal from one another and evade law enforcers using speeding cars, motorcycles and aircrafts among many others” (Jeff 259). Stealing from either the state or another person in the virtual society is arguably similar to committing such a crime in the real world. However, several psychologists present diverse opinions on the concepts of the theft. Others argue that since the thefts occur on a virtual online environment, they have minimal consequences on the real world. While such arguments have some value of truth, such psychologists adapt an elusive view to reality. The harmonization of the laws with those in the real world is imperative in order to create an effective society. As discussed earlier, the games have proven more addictive with most children in the contemporary showing preference to the computer games. By spending most of their time on the virtual society within the video game environment, it becomes important for the laws to exhibit some similarity to those in the real society in order to control the behavior of such young members of the society. The harmonization of the regulations of the games and the laws in the real world is likely to improve the social ethics and uphold morality in the society. The users of such products will learn to exercise caution in their actual interactions with friends and colleagues in the real society. Most children in the developed economies for example prefer computer games to playing with colleagues in the playground. This implies that they interact with the laws in the virtual societies more than they interact with those in the real world. On several occasion, the local media have reported of children learning to drive through the computer games and therefore sneaking away of the house with their parent’s cars. By employing stringent driving policies in the games, such children would help prevent accidents by not over speeding or even trying to drive an actual car owing to age restrictions on the virtual societies. In retrospect, the harmonization of the laws and regulations in the real society to those in the virtual society portrayed by video games is a contentious issue. Different stakeholders in the society hold divergent views on the same issue. Developers of such products believe that the two are different and they can therefore manipulate their virtual reality in order to increase the profitability of their products. They have a point in their argument; the societies they create are fictional and often bear minimal resemblance to the real world. In fact, the societies they create are more illusionary than the societies created by the developers of action films are. In comparing, the developers of action film should always exercise caution and uphold the rule of law in most of their films. Video games on the other hand do not place their consumers on the real society. They develop a complete virtual society in which they portray specific features capable of sustaining the games (Flew and Humphreys 32).Video games create a virtual society, the society only becomes virtual when it has its own rules and laws. Works cited Jeff, Dunn. Virtual worlds and moral education. Ethics information technology. (2012). 14: 255 265. Print. John, Sherry. "The effects of violent video games on aggression: A meta-analysis." Human Communication Research. (2011). 27: 409-4319. Print. Flew, Terry and Humphreys, Sal. Games: Technology, Industry, Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print. Read More