Digital Father Podcast

Violence in Video Games

Tomorrow is Son’s birthday.

What he wants is video games. He always wants video games. The problem is, I can’t find video games that meet my standards.

The most popular video games are all ‘melee’ games, in which you shoot everything that comes your way. The most vivid demonstrations are games like Doom and Halo, but it’s also in most of the Star Wars games as well. I like a good shoot-em-up, but it is just not right for me to be the one who brings all this violence into Son’s life.

So I stood today, dumbstruck, before the PC game rack at the computer store, trying to puzzle out what game to purchase. In between the offensive game could be found the occasional SimWhatever game, some Nickolodeon sponsored goof-fests, and the occasional children’s-level fantasy game. In short, a disappointing collection when looked at through the eyes of a soon-to-be thirteen year-old boy.

What is a father to do? I worked hard to avoid the games I believed he would find boring, childish, or easy. Then I skipped over games I thought too violent. The I was in the web development tools. Essentially, I had created requirements that had excluded the entire rack.

I went back through, limiting the search now to the least boring or least violent games. I stumbled upon a 1942 warfare game, which I hope will require a bit more though and a bit less shooting. It includes a Vietnam War follow-up, but that will be removed from the pack as soon as it is opened. I guess that I can accept 1942 as a war of honor, but Vietnam was simply a war of death and destruction.

I hope I’m not wrong about this. I just can’t help being reticent about supplying violent media to my kids. They get so much in my absence, I don’t want to send the message that I believe it’s appropriate. The biggest problem is my hypocrisy.

You see, I love war movies, sniper-style video games, crime dramas, and filthy comedy. I explain it away as ‘adult fare’. There are times where I draw the line, and there are some movies I won’t see. I’m particular to make sure the kids know it, so they have an idea that there is a line, and that we should ALL be respectful of it.

Two-tiered values systems exist in most families. I’m always concerned that there will be a time where someone in the house is going to say it’s time to “walk the walk.”

P.S.- He’s also getting his cell phone back, and his grandparents and I replaced his old video card last week. Just so you don’t think it’s a lean giving year.