[Eshara]

Hey guys, I'm doing a persuasive essay for school and I need your help. Please, if you can take some time out and express your feelings, it would help me out tremendously.

I have a few questions that need to be answered by everyone:

1. When you get mad or pissed off, while playing a game, where do you think it comes from? The competition? Losing control over something in the game? Explain.
2. Do you think games help control your anger? Explain.
3. Do you feel games relieve your stress? Explain.

You can email me ([email protected]) or post your feelings here on this thread. I might ask some of you for your names to quote what you’ve said later on. I might also ask some more questions later on also, if this is ok.

Thank you and I appreciate your help.

Edit: I had to explain question 1 a little better. I hope that helps some. "Aggression" was to powerful for what I intented.

[ May 09, 2001: Message edited by: Eshara ]

[Impaler]

Those are all loaded questions. (for those of you who don't know, a loaded question is a double trick question, like "Does your mom know you're gay?" If you say yes, then you're gay, if you say no, you're gay.)

1. I don't get any aggression while playing games, other than grinding my teeth from the toughness in the situation.

2. I'm not angry, and if I do happen to become furious, I drink tea.

3. I don't have stress, and if I did, I'm sure games might help.

Games provide an exit through which people can leave to a much funner, prettier and interactive world, where you're not you, and everyone pays attention not to what you look like, or how much money you have, but to how well you play.

And.. er.. talk jive, i guess.

[ May 09, 2001: Message edited by: Jiveturkey ]

[ May 09, 2001: Message edited by: Impaler ]

[nova]

Check out some articles on gamasutra.com. I used this site a lot for my own research for my senior project. I have a hard copy of an article at home on violence in video games, but I forgot the address. I'll write more when I get home

-- Laura

[KrassOtti]

1. Being pissed of comes from being beaten. Not like beaten once, but when you are stuck in a place and you try over and over again or you join a Quake match and the guy wipes the floor with you.
2. No, if I have anger I let it out regardless. I used to hold my anger back, but I don't do so these days. Games haven't teached me that, but rather interaction with other social beings. [after being shit on too many times when I was young I decided I'll reverse it.]
3. Stress reliever? Not for me, not at all. I am stressed out right now, finals coming up and just broke up with my girlfriend, so I decided to load up CS. After 10 minutes of play I quit again, cuz it was doing absolutely nothing for me. I often tried games as stress reliever, but never works. If it does only momentarily while I play the game, but once I am finished I still feel like everything sucks and how worthless everything is.

blah, my opinion

hope this somehow helps a little bit

[Eshara]

Yes, it does.

Thank you everyone.

I hope to see more.

[nova]

Here's that site.. lucky I printed out the link

Games Can NOT Cause Violence - http://www.gamedev.net/columns/soapbox/ and scroll down to the second to last article.

I disagree with the title, I think mostly for the reason that it's a little too absolute, since violence in video games has different effects on people.

1. I think you'd get angry from when you start taking the game 'personally'.. when realism takes over and the expereince is so real that it's involving enough to be... um.. really important to you? Mm.. hope you can understand what I'm saying here. Oh yeah, another link.. this one's on behavioral game design http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20010427/hopson_01.htm

2. Ot often works. You vent by playing, and releasing your anger on an inanimate object I think this also depends on the person and their mental/emotional stability. A game is a game though, and there's always a reality factor involved with that inanimate object dealy.

3. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Occasionally they make me more stressed (see answer to question no 1).

-- Laura

[PandaX52]

I think the level of frustration is different in the types of games you choose to play. FOr example:

Counter-Strike= Fun, but it can be very frustrating, you're playing with other people online who's goal is to end your digital life, it can get rather intense at times.

Ecco the Dolphin(DC)= One of the most relaxing games I've ever played, at least untill you get farther in the game and things get really tedious

I think It's really about the types of games you play,I've listed the extremes of the spectrum. The more violent games like half-life are very fun and can be really effective at stress relief, but the tension in the game is it's byproduct. While on the contrary, games like ecco the dolphin have a really relaxing atmosphere, but they may not hold your attention as long.

[MrPumpernickel]

Violent games do absolutely relieve some anger that you might have and it also sharpens your reflexes...I have found myself reacting faster on things around me..might be paranoia but then again it may be not...

And people who get violent from games has some sort of other underlying problems...don't wanna call it disorder though...

[ May 10, 2001: Message edited by: MrPumpernickel ]

[ambient-whisper]

all i can say is KYODAI. its the most relaxing game i ever played.( though it too can become frustrating

[Silybum]

1. Usually doing something stupid like rushing in CS or getting whacked by a newbie with the lowest ratio; so probably getting mad cause of the competative spirit

2. Don't think they do anything for me; if I'm pissed off the game doesn't really help, sometimes it may get me upset even more if I get my ass kicked

3. In my case it's just a mind numbing thing so I dont think about what stresses my out, but as soon as I stop playing any worries usually come back

The only thing I noticed that games influence in my case is my speaking habits, I tend to cuss out loud more if something goes wrong. When you're playing a game by yourself that's not a problem; when you're in a crowded bus and drop something then it's a bit more of an issue (I'm trying to 'clean' up though).

Sily

[XandGash]

I like solving problems, and I was playing Silent Hill a while back. Great game. When I got near the end, there was the "Zodiac Puzzle." I racked my brains for a while trying to figure it out orderwise, heck I even factored in Chinese New Year and the ten-month calendar. It was frustrating for a while, until I sat back and realized that it was all about how many appendages they were showing. Though I WAS frustrated, the act of trying to figure out the problem was a real stress-buster. Games are cool.

[travis travis]

1. When you get mad or pissed off, while playing a game, where do you think it comes from? The competition? Losing control over something in the game? Explain.

I have a long gaming history, the only thing that causes anger, in my opinion, is games with poorly designed play balance that can lead to incredible frustration. Of course, the more the player has put into the experience only to run into some hitch, the more frustration there could potentially be. But typically, with normal people, and even slightly unbalanced people, bad gameplay experiences are easy enough to brush off in two milliseconds because there's WAY more to life then games.


2. Do you think games help control your anger? Explain.

No. I don't use games to funnel aggression. I play them for light-hearted fun.

3. Do you feel games relieve your stress? Explain.

Sometimes. Not very often. Most games are active, and I think that's a little different then relaxation. They are usually an encouraging activity though, that can bring your attention, your spirits, etc... up.


If you are working on some thesis about games and violence... think about this. Who is more likely to act violently, the jock with 4-inch biceps, chugging his way through the world, or the timid, emaciated computer dork? Actually, I would say neither, if their heads are on straight, but otherwise...