Politics + Video Games = Infuriating

Preempting the Inevitable Devastation that is the release of Grand Theft Auto 4 today, there has been a lot more than the usual wolf crying

I'm not a particular fan of GTA games myself. This is completely unrelated to the stealing of vehicles and the stabbing of hookers thereof. (who ISN'T into that??!) Game play wise, I just find it to be boring. Games with plots that are too open feel to me like a waste of my time. If I wanted to do anything in The Whole Wide World, I would, I don't know, live my life. At the risk of betraying my barely-hidden elitism, I'm playing a game for that certain je ne sais quois, that certain sense of escapism that fuels the heart of many a casual gamer. I find games with linear qualities really give the medium a chance to shine, artistically as well as entertainment-wise. Simply being able to do ANYTHING to me is almost like a way for a poor writer/ developer to cover their ass, a shield to protect them from the usual arsenal of un-originality/ bad dialogue attacks. I can appreciate shining exceptions (coughAssasin'sCreedcough) but generally speaking I find the genre under-developed and misrepresented. < /tangent >

But! That really wasn't supposed to be the point. My point was supposed to be that despite my personal taste, GTA 4 is a widely popular title, projected as another shining example of the original GTA's Illustrious Lineage. And when droves of power- hungry politicians and lawyers team up to gang bang the genre and project an attitude of fear on an unassuming (and generally ignorant) body of the public, well, as Wil Wheaton would say, "I get a little stabby."

Politicians shouldn't get to dictate how people raise their children. People have kids, and it's their responsibility to bring them up. It's not my fault if Mr. and Mrs. Bringing My Three-Year-Old-To-See-Die-Hard-Four raise little Timmy to be a psychopath. It's theirs. And both fortunately and unfortunately for us, it's their right as United States citizens. Politicians don't get to tell kids what not to do, parents do. I get so angry when I hear about more laws that are being passed to protect the miserable plebians from themselves. Mind your own damn business.

Don't get me wrong- violence is the bread and butter of the modern video game. Frankly, it was the bread and butter of the precursors to modern video games as well (Mario anybody? No one ever tells the story of that subjugated mushroom race). I'm not here to judge the goodness or badness of that fact. But to argue that violence in video games leads to real world violence is to me, the same as arguing that being friends with a gay person will make you a gay rapist. I love first person shooters. I've spent many an hour slaughtering aliens and personal friends alike. I am not a homicidal maniac. And any homicidal maniacs who have played such games, well maybe they enjoyed them BECAUSE THEY WERE RAGING HOMICIDAL MANIACS IN THE FIRST PLACE.

*pregnant pause*

Wil Wheaton made a poignant, far better entry on this subject just yesterday. I urge you to go read it, if you happen to be game-curious. In fact, it's an over all good article, you should look at it anyway.

And just an aside, but in light of the fact that the median age of a US gamer is 34 years old, isn't it about time politicians started laying off the "It's killing our children!" line?