Forum Post: It's time to address violence in video games

We have to address this from the viewpoint of parents whether we're parents of not. I'm not a parent. First thing is, get your kid to spend less time on the computer or Xbox if they're playing games. It's not healthy to spend too much time playing games. The next thing is, how do we reduce the amount of violence we see in video games? The short term solution is censorship. I don't see how this can work. The other solution is long term and more complicated. Video games, like movies start with a story. Reducing the amount of violence means replacing it with better stories. In a movie a series of events takes place until the conclusion but a video game can be much more complex because it's interactive. There can be multiple narratives with different outcomes that rely on the actions of the player. This requires a style of writing that can't be studied in school at this time. Universities can't turn someone into a good writer but they can teach structure. You can take courses in screen writing at this time but the concept is dated. There is more money at stake in gaming than there is in movies now.

First Person Shooter games are under attack now and they should be. They sell because there's a simple formula to producing them, they can be done quickly so they make use of the latest in computer hardware. They are a cop-out and gamers know this. At this time it takes about 5 years to produce a game that has a decent story with character development and good ones are very rare.

Universites should at least attempt to offer something that can teach the style and structure of writing that video games require. They did it with movies so why not games.

In the meantime, tell your kids to stop playing video games all the time.