Do Violent Video Games Truly Have A Negative Impact?

You walk into a village, sporting your massive sword, big gun, and wielding unimaginable magical power, and instead of wreaking chaos and pillaging, you stay your hand and continue walking through.

Congratulations! you’re morally sound.

The point I’m trying to make is this; should video games be subjected to ideals and theories that we hold true outside of those fictional worlds? Considering that most games like Fable 2, Mass Effect, and Fallout 3 have a moral engine in the game, garnering points for your good deeds or your bad. This concept still seems a little small minded in my book in the sense that some politicians are calling for this to be implemented into every game.

These worlds that the designers have created are meant to be a place to unwind, and be whatever you want to be. So, who wants to deal with consequences when in reality, your actions never really took place?

Maybe I have too much faith in society itself, but I would hope that after someone shut off Grand Theft Auto 4, they wouldn’t walk down the street, pull a gun, steal a car, and then crash it into a police officer. The argument most politicians are still trying to make is that violent video games have a profound effect on the way people act, even to the point of being influential. While that may be the case for some, I think that the majority of people are morally sound outside of those fantastic realms and that they would use a little something our friend Spock calls “logic“.

So truly, how does that make you feel?
Are you supportive of the idea that violent video games do have a negative impact, or do you believe that it really comes down to the individual?