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Court is out on violent games

Ruling is ultimately up to parents who sit on both sides of the fence.

By Spencer Watson (Contact)

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

OVER THE LINE? — Parents must decide if games like “Halo 3” are okay for their kids to play.

Critics are still raving about some of the hottest releases in the world of video games last year: the killer thriller “Assassin’s Creed,” spooky underwater adventure “BioShock,” and the much-anticipated “Halo 3.” Unprecedented video realism, engrossing storylines, and endless playability have satiated reviewers and gamers alike, at least for the time being.

But the connective theme among all three — and a majority of the games on the market nowadays — is victory through violence. And that’s got critics of another sort all riled up.

Though scientific research has so far given no definitive conclusions, the debate about violence in video games, and specifically the effect that violence can have on players, continues.

And with all the conflicting information, it’s hard to know where to come down as a parent. And so many parents are making up their own rules regarding video game play.

Maumelle’s Brandi Bengtson, mother of 9-year-old J.D., said she and her husband David made the decision not only to keep violent games away from their son, but also to make sure games in general didn’t become a part of his everyday routine. The gaming console, said Bengtson, is hooked up only on special occasions — and only then for things like sports games.

“I want him to be outside playing. I don’t want him to be dependent on the TV or video games for entertainment,” she said.

Part of the motivation for that rule, she explained, wasn’t just the general lethargy parents see in kids who spend too much time hooked up to the Nintendo, but the prevalence of violent titles on the market.

On the other hand, Angie Bishop, also of Maumelle, lets her three boys, all between the ages of 9 and 17, play some violent games. She draws the line at titles like the Grand Theft Auto series because, with violence toward police officers as part of the play, she said she feels they teach a disregard for authority she doesn’t want her boys to have. She also won’t tolerate nudity or foul language from video games. And if they’re playing a violent game like “Halo 2,” she won’t let them take it online, again because of the language other players might use.

The effect, she said, has been more serene than when her boys were younger and were trying to mimic the acrobatics they saw the Power Rangers perform.

“They seem to have their feet planted pretty well,” she said of her kids’ behavior.

That range of response doesn’t surprise Chris Lemley of Conway. Once a teenager who grew up playing violent titles like “Quake” and “Doom,” he’s now the president and owner of Team Pandemic, the most successful professional video game team in the country. Working in the industry, he offers both a defense and a warning in the same explanation: “Video games are just another form of entertainment like movies or music.”

Like movies and music, they have their violent genres. And like movies and music, the industry has a way of communicating to parents what titles might not be appropriate for younger audiences by way of a rating system that, Lemley says, is fairly effective. He notes that system won’t account for fear like Bishop’s, that online play could expose kids to adult language, but says a game rated “M” for “Mature” has that rating for a reason. He also notes there are plenty of games without violence that still have a strong fan following.

“There’s an audience out there for ‘Pac-Man.’ But there’s also an audience out there for ‘Grand Theft Auto.’ If there weren’t, it wouldn’t be on the shelf.”