Simulation of Violence in Video Games and Its Ethics

Abstract

It can be argued that playing video games is the most popular and satisfying form of entertainment in today's technological age. Almost everything that could be experienced in real life has been simulated in a visually appealing video game that can be either purchased online or at the local mart with ease. But there is a dilemma between playing violent video games and the negative consequences that may potentially impact society. Even if it can be argued that playing violent video games has no effect on biological or psychological behaviour, that still will not win a philosophical argument on how a civilized society could possibly enjoy celebration of virtual bloodlust. To some researchers, the problem in ultra-violent video games stems from the fact that it simulates a crime. But with today's “super” technologies, where the lines of realism are limited only by the hardware capabilities of video game consoles, reality can get blurry, and no one can be blamed for getting immersed in such a virtual environment. Wrong acts, whether simulated or real, can “erode” the value of morality as a measure. When the wrong actions and acts of a society become socially acceptable, even in tcontext of a harmless, virtual simulation, the standards and morals of a society get “devalued”. On the other hand, some of the researches argue that such video games provide a test bed on educating and evaluating the principles of morality. In this paper, there is no intention to prove that violent video games have an effect on psychological or biological behaviour, but rather to shed some light on the morality of violent video games, from both the criticizing and the defending groups of researchers.