New videogame released recently, Battlefield: Vietnam . A glorification of landmines and napalm, punji sticks and attack helicopters. The even more disturbing part: It's a lot of fun.
I'm really unnerved by my fondness for this game, and similar predecessors like Delta Force: Black Hawk Down and Battlefield: 1942. I just don't know how to respond. Is it OK to get enjoyment from shooting people and blowing them up? Well, no, not in real life. But is it really "just a game"? I have great respect for our military forces and the sacrifices and commitment they have out of sense of duty to their country and fellow citizens. But that's still somewhat short of enjoying seeing people blown up. And there does seem to be a distinction in my mind, as I don't get off on seeing people blow up on TV, in fact it makes me a little sick. But in the context of the game, it's incredibly effective and engaging.
And the games have become so much more enveloping, its incredible. It's entirely possible to enter a computer game as a "specialist" in helicopter piloting, or artillery, or reconnaissance. Your ability to provide effective intel and supporting your team are essential to winning. The fact that all this occurs online with other human players makes it even more immersive. It really is a lot of fun.
But it still makes me uncomfortable. It's not helped by the fact that EA (the publishers) have included mostly Vietnam-era protest songs on the soundtrack (HUH! What is it good for?), which sound disturbingly good while you strafe the enemy villages. That's when you're not listening to Ride of the Valkyries, a la Apocalypse Now, and yes, the people on the ground can hear the music get louder as your Huey comes into firing distance. Of course, as in Battlefield: 1942, you get to play both sides, thereby heightening the moral ambiguity of the whole thing.
I suppose I still come down on the "just a game" side of the argument, and to be honest I've played Grand Theft Auto and Black Hawk Down pretty regularly, and have still not killed anyone.
But I can't help but feel creepy about it. Not that it will stop me from playing.
I know what you mean about being disturbed about getting enjoyment from a video game. Luke owns Hitman 2 for the Gamecube. There's a cheat where you can turn off the gravity and put a nailgun in your hands so when you shoot someone, they go flying across the room and get stuck to the wall. I feel bad for laughing, but it's so funny! It's like Lenny's question about playing football with a no-legged dog.
Here's my weird, hypocritical video game killing behavior. Mostly, I prefer the monster fighting, sword and sorcerer type of game with little to no actual killing of humans. Except I really enjoy Vice City. Sure there's a lot of indiscriminate killing, but it's just a game. What I've noticed is, when I'm killing people indiscriminately (in the game, I cannot stress that enough), it's not quite indiscriminant. I tend to avoid killing the women in the game. I don't know why I do it, I just do. If it's just a game, it really shouldn't matter... at all. But I've thought about consciously playing a more, uh, "balanced" game and find that, I really don't want to. Now does this demonstrate that that particular component of my involuntary social behavior is so deeply rooted that I cannot set it aside, even for pretend time, or does it demonstrate that I shouldn't play Vice City because I take it too seriously. I'm going to say it's the former because I'm not planning on stopping playing any time soon.
What was worse for me was talking to my Battlefield friends at work. And being overheard by others.
"So I hop over the ridge and mow down about 3 or 4 americans. Then I swing around and lob a grenade at another group and run like hell."
or
"So what'cha doing tonight?"
"Killing people."
I spent the first 3 days of owning vietnam doing an internal struggle over the morality of it. The problem however is I became intensely addicted in that time period.
I'm a complete addict.
Between BF:V and Call of Duty, I'm suprised I get ANYTHING done.
I'm especially adept at chopper piloting. It actually took some deprogramming as I spent a helluva lot of time getting etremely good at it in Desert Combat (where the physics are VERY real) and had to get used to the over simplified controls of BF:V, but now..whoo-haa...look out Charlie.