Video games do not promote violence according to any modern ethical research on the question.
I can’t imagine the pain of these families, and I’d want to lash out at any available target, too. They might even get lucky and have a settlement offer from Activision rather dragging everyone through a trial. But if this even makes it into a courtroom, I would bet that it will ultimately go nowhere. There’s just no credible evidence to support the claim.
What evidence links video games to violent thinking? I’m unaware of any.
That question aside, there’s simply no evidence that gaming impacts behavior, which as you suggest is the major interest here.
One thing I wish we could ban are opportunistic suits from hungry law firms that are just hoping that these companies will settle rather than fight an obviously frivolous suit. This is an insult to the civil legal system
I mean, some game studios consult child psychologists and lawyers to better implement addictive gambling-like mechanics without being liable for that.
For example? They couldn’t consult child psychologists for this purpose. It would be an ethics violation of the highest order and would get any license revoked.
Media does impact the consumer…
What kind of media? Evidence?
But violent games that do reach the market and aren’t dead on arrival are mild in that and can only supplement other, more real problems like mental health issues, trauma, neglect, bullying. And in 99.9% cases it’s just an excuse to push them under the carpet. Like, from drawing a line to what makes older demographics cause daily mass shootings. Not videogames, not even guns mostly, but the environment and culture as a whole.
Again, videogames simply do not influence social behavior. It’s difficult to find credible non-biased research, but here are a couple of relatively recent articles:
Tear, Morgan J., and Mark Nielsen. “Failure to Demonstrate That Playing Violent Video Games Diminishes Prosocial Behavior.” PLoS ONE, vol. 8, no. 7, July 2013, pp. 1–7. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068382.
Goodson, Simon, et al. “Violent Video Games and the P300: No Evidence to Support the Neural Desensitization Hypothesis.” CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, vol. 24, no. 1, Jan. 2021, pp. 48–55. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2020.0029
What “older demographics”? “Daily mass shootings”? Where do you live?
All that said, environment does seem to impact social behavior. It’s likely a much stronger influence than a recreational activity.
I know Rooster Teeth isn’t perfectly game related per se, but their machinimas and miniseries using game assets were transformative for many of us in the gaming community I believe. So I think it fits....
Not only that, but Capcom seems to be adding this Enigma Protector bullshit to their back catalog as well, if this Steam forum discussion is to be believed. Bet this borks the games on Linux and Steam Deck now.
So the situation is this: I am a junior high ELA teacher and I want to bring some videogames into the classroom. What I have to work with are the students Chromebooks. At first glance, I figured I’d throw some short, playable without install games on some flash drives and we could play through whatever game it is, and then...
Conclave sounds like it might work. Good story played in chapters. Runs in a browser. I bought a license when they first came out of beta and played through in an afternoon.
This reads like a statement from a vulture capitalist who plans to break up the company and sell the parts to make a quick buck. One would think they would focus on building trust, not giving yet more devs reasons to use a different engine.
First or third person, preferably 3D. No post-apocalyptic games unless it’s a post-apocalyptic scenario in nature. Also it must have a singleplayer mode. Does anyone know any games like this?
Developers of indie puzzle game Orgynizer have claimed that Unity said organisations like Planned Parenthood are “not valid charities” and are instead “political groups.”...
We have heard you. We apologize for the confusion and angst the runtime fee policy we announced on Tuesday caused. We are listening, talking to our team members, community, customers, and partners, and will be making changes to the policy. We will share an update in a couple of days. Thank you for your honest and critical...
This should be illegal, companies should be forced to open-source games (or at least provide the code to people who bought it) if they decide to discontinue it, so people can preserve it on their own....
That’s an interesting perspective. From my limited understanding, it might be plausible to prove in court. Could anyone be enticed to bring a RICO suit against them?
Ya gotta love when a corp realizes they’ve stepped in it and starts trying to create an escape route. I’m more than a little surprised that Unity’s board of directors haven’t taken the CEO’s head on a platter yet.
Simple common sense suggests that rented (subscribed) software of any kind is likely a very bad deal for the consumer. Rental where all the control rests with the publisher and not the user or creator (a la Steam) is just as bad.
Before big publishers emerged, we had exactly the try-before-you-buy situation you describe. It was called shareware. It had excellent quality control since any game that didn’t hold the player’s attention didn’t generate income. And the creator got all the revenue rather than the publisher and distributors keeping 80-90% or more.
These days, I just settle for waiting until a game appears on GOG. It’s a decent compromise.
Families of Uvalde victims sue Activision, say Call of Duty is 'the most prolific and effective marketer of assault weapons in the United States' (www.gamedeveloper.com) angielski
Rooster Teeth, home of Red Vs. Blue and RWBY, shutting down after 21 years (arstechnica.com)
I know Rooster Teeth isn’t perfectly game related per se, but their machinimas and miniseries using game assets were transformative for many of us in the gaming community I believe. So I think it fits....
Capcom adds new DRM to old PC games, raising worries over mods (www.polygon.com)
Not only that, but Capcom seems to be adding this Enigma Protector bullshit to their back catalog as well, if this Steam forum discussion is to be believed. Bet this borks the games on Linux and Steam Deck now.
Twitch's Sexual Content Policy Update (safety.twitch.tv) angielski
Looking for insight - Games on a school managed Chromebook angielski
So the situation is this: I am a junior high ELA teacher and I want to bring some videogames into the classroom. What I have to work with are the students Chromebooks. At first glance, I figured I’d throw some short, playable without install games on some flash drives and we could play through whatever game it is, and then...
I am returning my Playstation Portal angielski
As a new father that only owns one console, the PS Portal has allowed me to squeeze in extra precious gaming time into my day....
Unity is reviewing its product portfolio and says layoffs are "likely" (www.gamedeveloper.com) angielski
Looking for a survival sandbox game where you progress through technological ages angielski
First or third person, preferably 3D. No post-apocalyptic games unless it’s a post-apocalyptic scenario in nature. Also it must have a singleplayer mode. Does anyone know any games like this?
Unity apologizes and updates their infamous Runtime Fee (blog.unity.com) angielski
Unity reportedly told dev Planned Parenthood and children's hospital are "not valid charities" (www.gamesindustry.biz) angielski
Developers of indie puzzle game Orgynizer have claimed that Unity said organisations like Planned Parenthood are “not valid charities” and are instead “political groups.”...
Unity issue an apology on Twitter for "confusion and angst" over the runtime fee policy. (nitter.net) angielski
We have heard you. We apologize for the confusion and angst the runtime fee policy we announced on Tuesday caused. We are listening, talking to our team members, community, customers, and partners, and will be making changes to the policy. We will share an update in a couple of days. Thank you for your honest and critical...
This should be illegal (lemmy.world) angielski
This should be illegal, companies should be forced to open-source games (or at least provide the code to people who bought it) if they decide to discontinue it, so people can preserve it on their own....
Unity boycott begins as devs switch off ads to force a Runtime Fee reversal - Mobilegamer.biz (mobilegamer.biz) niemiecki
Mobile game developers are now boycotting Unity by switching off its ad products, mobilegamer.biz can reveal....
Darkest Dungeon Developers: statement on the recent Unity changes (twitter.com) angielski
Unity Claims PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Will Pay Its New Runtime Fee On Behalf Of Devs (twistedvoxel.com) angielski
Is anyone else like 10 times more likely to play a game they pirated versus one they bought? angielski
I can’t explain it, something about the freedom of acquisition takes the pressure off and lets me just launch it and try it out....