Game Design Theory

Given the light they have been shown in through various media channels these days, its no secret that video games and other visual media are often regarded as “violent” or “too mature” for today’s youth. While I will agree in some cases some games are too violent, but no more harmful than a rated-R movie a young child deviously stayed up past their parents’ bedtimes to watch ends up giving them nightmares for the next week. The two biggest takeaways here are that one, screens and other forms of electronic media should not serve as a child’s only source of entertainment, and two, that history has been repeating itself because this exact problem regarding the proper censorship of video games has been occurring since Exidy’s controversial release of Death Race, all the way back in 1976.

The burning question that seems to be plaguing everyone’s minds as of late is just exactly how or what is it that makes video games too violent for modern consumption. An overall amount of violent content within a specific game–take popular First Person Shooters like Call of Duty or Battlefield for example, where the main goal is to eliminate and kill everyone else on the enemy team–can and very well might project a negative message or mentality. While this is true, again, it all boils down to the correct or limited amount of exposure to this more mature form of media. Just as you wouldn’t (normally, hopefully) take your seven year old child to a violently graphic horror movie, a responsible and mature parent or guardian should not expose their children to said media until a specific age. For awhile I had shared this mentality. I thought it was simple logic to stray away from things that were too intense, until I remembered times as a kid, growing up. Of course with the mischievousness of being a kid and wanting to bend the rules as much as possible, it was certain that I’d have a friend or several whose parents are not as strict. Humans in general are curious beings, we always have been; for a mind that has not seen or experienced the severity of consequences as much as you might have, said curiosity burns even brighter. So of course they’re going to lie about what games they played at a friend’s house, they might sneak a copy or two underneath their pillow and only play it at night, who knows. In that case however, allow me to amend my previous statement. It all boils down to two things: correct and proper exposure to said violent or mature content, and open and honest communication with both parties regarding why the material isn’t suited for their age, or what exactly makes it so violent for them. Almost every discrepancy in ideals can be addressed and even sometimes resolved through proper portrayal and honest, genuine communication. A moment where both parties can bear their feelings, their thoughts and their emotions towards a specific topic without fear of judgement, then allow time for the other party to do the same. After that, address the discrepancies in your thoughts respectfully. Obviously there poses a clear challenge with communicating complex ideas and mentalities to an adolescent child, but fear should not be the primary motivator to convincing someone to your side.

As the message goes with the news and other social media outlets, fear-mongering and group-hate, for lack of a better word, is the norm; the only way to address conflict is by presenting the worst case scenario as the only option, unless drastic, mostly unrealistic measures are taken. This was the case with what could be considered the first “violent” video game: Exidy’s “Death Race”. Back in 1976, a small game development company scrounged up the resources to develop a P-ROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory) in where players of this game drive a weaponized vehicle around the game screen to run over pixelated “gremlins” to score points. At its core, it sounds like just another video game adaptation from a scene off a popular science fiction novel or movie. Even the splash art on the front and sides of the console depicted the Grim Reaper/Death alongside gravestones, with the instructions labeled “Hit Gremlins For Points”. But critics and journalists were quick as vultures to pry the corpse, so to speak, and were the first to cast the red painted stones at this budding genre. At the time, most video games were either purely educational (Tennis For Two), or existed solely to entertain (Pong). The idea or exploration of mortal violence was only lightly touched on in Space Invaders, and even then it was easier to distance the human from the pixels on screen. To say that what you’re shooting at is simply an alien, or a gremlin, it takes away from the morality of a human taking the life of another human. Again though, one cannot sell a good story in this society without a good fear factor; no pun intended. But what effect did this have on the managers and owners of Exidy? Exactly the opposite than what you’d expect, apparently. Instead of running back home counting the last of their change left over from a terrible investment, their coffers filled to the brim almost overnight. What was once a casual mention in a fleeting bar conversation quickly turned into the scoop of the era with every popular news channel covering this “blasphemous excuse of a game”. Soon everyone had heard of the controversial Death Race, and a stark divide between the fearful and the devoted quickly materialized.

Why though? Why all the animosity and hate towards a daring new venture? Because it defies the preset societal expectations of what constitutes mature entertainment? Would it simply be easier to brand the pixelated NPC’s as aliens, to rid the players of the humanity of killing another? These are but a few questions that popular media either seems to avoid or intentionally seeks to misconstrue the truth behind to fit the popular narrative. At the end of the day, history should be viewed through a carefully constructed, unbiased lens. The interpretations of cold hard facts, so to speak, can have personal interjections and feelings attached to them, but to deny a point of history is to deny a point of fact. I hope that at least in some way, I’ve sparked your interest or curiosity toward the morality behind some of the first popular video games. Tune in this Thursday where I begin to uncover the mysteries and allure of the first arcade machines, and their first public perception. Until then, I apologize for the late entry, and hope that you have a great rest of your night!

Cheers,

Ethan