The headline was "Even gory video games get boring".
I'm not sure just how well this summed up my message,
but then, this section IS read by teens... what kind
of a response do you think I might have gotten if it
were "Gory video games are heinous?" :-) And please
pardon typos, much of the typing is being done while
staring at the clipping as opposed to the screen.


You've probably encountered violent video games if
you've been in an electronics store recently. You
know the kind - they're rated M and have any
combination of a seductive female, a hideous monster
and/or a really, really big gun on the front cover.

I remember playing the original video game "Descent"
back in 1995. For those who don't already know about
it, the game basically involved infiltrating an
underground complex in some sort of starfighter,
destroying combat robots, rescuing hostages, setting
the complex to self-destruct and the racing out.

The first time I played "Descent", it was genuinely
scary. I remember creeping around corridors,
destroying the main reactor and then racing for the
exit as sirens sounded and the mine shook around me.
Nowadays, "Descent" is obsolete, but you couldn't have
told me that at the time. I was sweating, my heart
rate was elevated - my subconscious genuinely thought
that it was all really happening, even though I
consciously knew it was just a game.

No matter how realistic it is, however, if you play a
game, or go on a ride enough times, you will
eventually get bored. Nowadays, I consider "Descent"
to be downright tame.

So what happens when players can wantonly slaughter
realistic virtual simulations of other people - and
they get bored? Don't tell me you've never heard of
anyone demented enough to act it out. Gory video
games reportedly even played a part in the Columbine
shootings.

However, there are some objections to this line of
reasoning. For instance, many have claimed this sort
of video game is a harmless outlet for aggression,
that nobody would actually try to do it in real life. 
Are they positive? Are they completely sure it's
possible to play with realistic scenes of filth and
carnage for hours on end - and then go somewhere else
and suddenly stop thinking about it?

Thought influences action. This is a well-known fact
already. Advertisers are paid millions to get us to
think about products in the hope we'll want to buy
them. When people get angry, they can often be calmed
by distracting them, by getting them to think about
something else.

Surroundings influence thought. This is also a
well-known fact. Architecture, decorating, music; all
are designed to evoke a specific response in the
viewer or listener. Quiet, brightly lit libraries
invite study. Churches with paintings, music and a
calm atmosphere invite contemplation.

Conversely, many video games are designed to evoke
rage, terror and sadism, and reward players for
completing positively gruesome tasks. I've even seen
players get bored with the usual gore fest and start
destroying the "innocent" virtual characters. These
programs, or many of them at least, are not an outlet
for aggression - they encourage it. They desensitize
players to progressively more violent acts and images
until what once would have shocked them now only bores
them.

It doesn't have to be that way. Dozens of popular
games are rated the equivalent of G or PG. This
hardly diminishes their quality. The best-selling
"Descent" series has little gore or profanity compared
to some of its competitors.

Pretty much every bloody, super-violent game that
exists has a counterpart that equals or surpasses it
in gameplay value and lacks the "mature" rating.

[Original byline: "Jared Spurbeck is a Clearfield
senior who is currently being home educated. In his
free time, he writes computer games and attends
collectible card game tournaments. He is also on the
Internet frequently. He welcomes e-mail at
murrquan@yahoo.com.]

The preceding document is copyrighted by Ogden
Publishing Corporation.