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Nate Woodward
ENG-2010-029
11/25/2013
Rhetorical Analysis
Final Draft
Being Serious Isn’t a Game, But Perhaps All Games Aren’t Serious
Video games are one of the world’s most popular forms of digital entertainment. They are a multi-billion dollar industry taking the world by storm; selling millions of copies of popular franchise games such as Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, Halo, Battlefield, and many more. Some video games could have long-term, positive effects on many people of any age while other games (depending on one’s own personality and the games content) purportedly may have the opposite effect; to the extent that society is being deleteriously affected by a virtual world as if the story lines, characters, weapons, and the environments within these games are real. Some people are mentally ill, and they may not be able to differentiate between reality and fantasy.
There are a number of convicted murderers, who admitted that video games influenced them to kill. Some may have even committed mass murder over a video game or acted out a sequence taken out of the story line of the game. This is the real issue: are video games a primary stimulant that would incite violent, aggressive, sexual and criminal misconduct, or are they just simply “games” that shouldn’t be taken so serious because of mainstream misconceptions and a lack of understanding of the benefits that can come out of gaming? Let’s take a look at the facts from both sides; the possible benefits as stated previously, and also the potential undesirable effects.
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One of my all-time, personal-favorite games that I play is “Halo". Halo is a science-fiction game about a super soldier (Spartan) by the name of John, who is commonly known as “Master
Chief”. He, his A.I. counterpart Cortana, human soldiers (the UNSC) and other Spartans like him are on a primary mission to defend Earth and take down an alien federation known as “the
Covenant”.
I mention this brief synopsis because the 3rd sequel [Halo 3 (see Figure
1)] to the original game was very popular back when it was released in 2007. It was so well-liked that a young teenager by the name of Daniel Petric wanted to get his own copy of Halo 3. At the time, he was 16 years old, and one night he decides to go out and purchase Halo 3, but it was against his father’s rules (his father is a Christian
Minister). When Daniel came home from the store, his parents discovered that he had left to go buy the Halo 3 game, which
Figure 1: "Halo 3", which is part of the exclusive Xbox series "Halo", was released on
Xbox 360 in 2007, and became a best-selling, platinum-hit game.
resulted in it promptly being taken away from
Daniel. Roughly a month later, he secured his dad’s pistol that was kept in a lockbox. He later tells his parents he had a “surprise” for them.
They both closed their eyes, and he shot his mother, killing her instantly on the spot. He also
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Woodward 1 shot his father and left him in critical condition. Daniel attempted to place the gun in his father’s hand to make it look like he was the one that pulled the trigger on his wife. Daniel fled from the scene, but his older sister and her husband came back from a Cleveland Indians game, in which they would eventually discover that Daniel had fatally killed his mother and shot his father. Daniel was soon arrested and charged with murder. He is now serving time in prison, and was sentenced for a considerable portion of his life. (Staff) Now was this violent behavior caused by the content within the game, or by a spoiled brat who generally got his way all the time, or was he abused by his parents, in that they never let him have anything that he wanted?
As an obsessed, Halo aficionado myself (2 years and counting); I have played every Halo there is. I’ve achieved my master Spartan (SR130) rank on Halo 4, which stemmed from playing lots of online multiplayer matches. I’ve been exposed to a lot of science fiction violence in all of the Halo games. I personally don’t feel psychologically affected by any of the Halos, Call of
Duty’s, and other science fiction games like Star Wars that I have played. When I say affected by them; I’m talking about committing any kind of violent crime(s) because personally; that isn’t in my nature. I find it very ironic that the people who try to connect video game violence to murders, rapes, and other forms of criminal activity are the ones who don’t play video games at all. Mark Petric said Daniel would go hang out at his friends’ houses and play violent video games. Yes, they have shooting and killing in them, but he also said that they were “sexually
explicit”. I disagree with that statement (with the exception of games like Grand Theft Auto, which does contain pornographic content) because Halo had no kind of sexually explicit material (although some would claim it’s apparent in Cortana’s anatomical figure), and neither did Call of Duty. Call of Duty has settings where you can filter out the language and even
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According to Brad J. Bushman, who has a Ph.D., and is a professor of communication and psychology; he claims that violent video games are more "harmful" in comparison to violent television shows and movies. He says that "...video game play is active whereas
watching TV is passive." He also believes that when a person plays as a violent video game character; their mindset will be focused on killing the "enemy" or "villain", but he claims that that's the same mentality a killer has in the real world. (Bushman) Now these are very valid points accepting one extremely important fear is not present, and that is that these games cannot or endanger your life in any way as real war can and does, but remember simple aspects regarding violent games. His argument regarding active vs. passive is more like knowing the difference between “reality” and “fantasy”, if you will. The fact is that all video games (violent or not) are a false sense of reality in the first place. People who buy games generally know beforehand that the video games, characters, story lines and some weapons aren’t real, but rather a virtually fantasized world made up by game writers, programmers and designers.
Have you noticed that in a good portion of these games; the good guy is trying to defeat the bad guy? Killing was and is never a pleasant thing, but all real-life wars are based on killing the enemy. The fact remains that war has been going on longer than all of us have lived, and with that being said; some of the content of these violent video games were actually influenced by these true-life events (like World War II or the War in Iraq) such as Call of Duty based on information from military Intel to the types of modern equipment, warfare tactics, GPS location, ops units, drones, and high-tech artillery now used in modern wars. The U.S.
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Figure 2 Call of Duty: Ghosts is the newest
Call of Duty game to hit the gaming world
November 5th, 2013.
government has invested trillions of dollars in war(s), and those same wars have inspired game franchises like Call of Duty [See Figure
2] and Battlefield to be created, yet the U.S.
Congress, politicians and other individuals hold conferences to discuss these violent games (specifically banning them), and how they are affecting children and adults alike.
The irony is that these same people are prowar (where people actually get killed), and yet, at the same time, are anti-gaming
(where people simulate warlike actions). Isn't that slightly hypocritical?
These valid points that have been illustrated so far can testify (to some) as to why video games are bad, but to revert to the main question of this passage; what brings out the good in video games that make them not as bad as they seem? First, there are other media outlets like television and music, which can perpetuate filth in seconds to millions, if not, billions of people without money to pay in order to use them. Secondly, Dr. Patrick Markey, an associate professor of psychology at Villanova University, states [in defense of violent video games] that “...in the past 15 years, sales of video games have consistently increased whereas homicides, rapes and aggravated assaults during this same time have decreased. It appears that
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any negative effect of violent video games is dwarfed by the effects of other societal factors.”
However, he also says that “...research clearly suggests that exposure to violent video games
temporarily increases a person's hostility.” (Markey) This statement wholeheartedly makes realistic sense because everyone gets angry (or has the choice to, rather). For example, we can get angry because something went wrong at work one day, or an accident happened that involved damage to an important item that we own that we highly cherish, but over time; our anger goes away because we make that choice!
Video games are a false sense of reality, but they can teach you how to work hard for something, which is a great trait to develop and apply in any workplace setting. You may not be moving physically besides your hands (unless you’re using the Nintendo Wii or Xbox Kinect, whereas you’re actively engaged), but whether you’re somatically engaged or not; your mind is working, thinking and processing information. You learn how to follow directions, it increases your dexterity, it sharpens your sensibility, your hand-to-eye coordination, and (depending on some games); it helps you improve your vocabulary. Hand-to-eye coordination can and is important in modern warfare using all the high-tech weaponry and vehicles that are portrayed in some games. Another awesome benefit from games since they’ve become popular is that some people can take it to the next level, become professionals, and earn a living as gamers, game programmers and game testers. Colleges and universities across the United States even provide special programs that lead to a professional career in gaming. Those gamers can also end up being programmers for training software for police, firefighters, military personnel, and flight simulators used in aviation courses. ‘The Ticker’, an online newspaper at Baruch
College, interviewed Corey Mead, who is an assistant professor of English at the same college,
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created video games,” (Mathias)
One of the greatest qualities a video game can have is a story line. Story lines can inspire authors, writers, and teachers. Classrooms all across the United States are starting to encourage video games in the classroom. ESchoolNews.com
gave an example of a teacher advocating for video games in a classroom setting: " Lucas Gillispie, a former biology teacher in coastal Pender County, N.C., is a leader in this national movement. He helped to create a language-arts curriculum tied to “World of Warcraft,” and he launched a grant program for
local teachers to incorporate “Minecraft” into their classes.” This begs the question; “If violent video games are so bad, then why are they being used in a classroom setting to improve student
skills”? I feel that this is the next step towards something great. Children can stay motivated in a classroom environment that contains curriculum that is generally interesting to them. It may not be the basis for schools, but it is an effective teaching tool.
In summary, video games have the potential to change and help the world if we as humans see it that way. They’re called “games” for a reason; to play and have fun. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that at all. If we use games for good purposes such as learning or like how that professor did with World of Warcraft in his classroom, the world will simply be a better place without constant debate. In closing, I’d like to use a simple analogy: let’s say you want to taste-test hot soup. You eat the soup with your spoon, but the spoon burns your mouth from the heat transferred into the metal of the spoon. Do you blame the spoon for burning you, the soup, or yourself for choosing to eat the hot soup, knowing the risk beforehand that you can possibly get burned? You and you alone are responsible for your actions and how you carry
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Woodward 1 them out. The same idea applies to video games. People can blame them all they want, but it’s their decision if they want video games to affect them. Being serious isn’t a game, but conceivably all video games aren’t as bad as some people make them out to be.
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
Bushman, Brad J. "The Effects of Violent Video Games. Do They Affect Our
Behavior?" The Effects of Violent Video Games on Behavior. ITHP, 12 Feb. 2013.
Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
< http://www.ithp.org/articles/violentvideogames.html
>.

Brown, Jeffrey. "Video Games: Violent, Yes. But Do They Make Us Violent?" PBS. PBS, 15
Feb. 2013. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
< http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2013/02/how-parents-andpolicymakers-handle-violent-video-games.html
>.
 Unknown, Author. "Video Games ProCon.org
." ProCon.org Headlines. ProCon.org
Headlines, 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
< http://videogames.procon.org
>.

Markey, Patrick, Dr. "In Defense of Violent Video Games." US News. U.S.News & World
Report, 29 Apr. 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.
< http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/04/29/no-link-between violent-video-games-effects-and-school-shootings >.

Garner, Dwight. "In Defense of Video Games: A Player’s Manifesto on the Sublime
Buzz." The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 June 2010. Web. 24 Nov.
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
Crofford, Brad. "The Echo." The Echo. Wordpress, 1 Mar. 2013. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
< http://echo.snu.edu/2013/03/01/in-defense-of-video-games/ >.

Staff, Plain Dealer. "Daniel Petric Killed Mother, Shot Father Because They Took Halo 3
Video Game, Prosecutors Say." The Plain Dealer. Advance Digital, 15 Dec. 2008.
.html
>.
Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
< http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/12/boy_killed_mom_and_shot_dad_ov
 Unknown, Author. "Halo 3 - Xbox 360." Amazon.com
: Video Games. Amazon, 25 Sept.
2007. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. < http://www.amazon.com/Halo-3-Xbox-
360/dp/B000FRU0NU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 >. (Halo 3 Image)
 Anderson, Craig A., and Wayne A. Warburton. "The Impact of Violent Video Games: An
Overview." The Federation Press. The Federation Press, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
< http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/caa/abstracts/2010-
2014/12AW.pdf
>.
 Services Reports, Staff and Wire. "How Mainstream Video Games Are Being Used as
Teaching Tools | ESchool News." ESchoolNews. ESchoolNews, 8 Jan. 2013. Web.
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24 Nov. 2013. < http://www.eschoolnews.com/2013/01/08/how-mainstreamvideo-games-are-being-used-as-teaching-tools/ >.
 Ask, Mathias. "Military Uses Video Games for Training Troops | Baruch Ticker – Baruch
Connect." Baruch Ticker. Baruch College, 7 Dec. 2013. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
< http://ticker.baruchconnect.com/article/military-uses-video-games-fortraining-troops/ >.

Unknown, Author. "Call of Duty: Ghosts - Xbox 360." Amazon.com
: Video Games.
Amazon, 5 Nov. 2013. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. < http://www.amazon.com/Call-Duty-
Ghosts-Xbox-360/dp/B002I098JE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 >. (Call of Duty: Ghosts Image)
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