Saturday 24 July, 2010

Today was my second time playing GTA: SA and it was a little easier to use the controller. I started all over from the beginning by riding the bike and learning how to save the game; however, I failed the mission of covering of graffitis by getting arrested after my fourth one. Then I found the joy(?) of punching people and stealing cars. I somehow managed to steal a fire truck and got a mission of taking care of a burning car. But by the time I got off the truck, the car blew up and I was unable to make any money.

My friend was watching me play (and struggle) and the first thing he said was "This game is so bad" because of its language and what other characters say to the protagonist. This goes along with my race talk from yesterday - how this game is very stereotypical of a "bad" neighborhood with people shooting each other and prostitutes walking on streets trying to score someone. Also, another thing I noticed about this game is that when I punch and kill a white person, I get a lot of money. But when I kill a different race, I only get $20 or so. Weird.

Then I thought about what we talked about in class - the grey area: is this acceptable because it's a video game, or is this what's actually happening in real life (therefore the game is "realistic"? Is it ethical to punch and step on someone and steal their money/weapons? While I was playing SA today, I thought of this one article I read in psychology - it was about a guy from my neighborhood from home who was into the game Matrix and once thought he was actually in the game that he shot his parents. This made me think if the same thing would happen to people who play GTA: SA on a regular basis (..or in a way that's unhealthy for them). Can games like this really alter one's mental health and cause that person to do harm?

I have yet to do any cool missions like flying a plane, but let's hope I get to do something cool the next time I play it.

This is the second time of playing GTA: SA too. And also in this time my control is much easier. I think I can answer your question.
My ethical answer for your first question that “is this acceptable because it's a video game, or is this what's actually happening in real life?” this game shouldn’t be acceptable whether this game has been accepted or not,. Despite of having this game a lot of realistic issues such as, killing, steeling and punching and maybe these issues are the same as in real or much harm, this game has a bad effects on people especially on the teenagers. For example, I see many of our class students having fun when they play this game and also I have the same feeling. This feeling comes from the happiness that we can break the rules and we can do whatever we want. Therefore, the teenagers who play this game will try to feel this kind of feeling in the real life. Moreover, as we talked in the second class about the example of if it is ethical for American director to make a realistic unflattering film about a war is currently being fought by American soldiers. Most of us refuse this kind of act. Like we said that this movie is disrespectful of American soldier, this game also is disrespectful of American society because it gives a bad picture of this society. I want to tell you what my brother said to me when I decided to study abroad in us. He said:” are you going to this country that has a lot of crimes and weapons” so “you have to be careful and don’t talk to black guys”. I really was shocked and when I asked him why you said that? He told me that he saw this in this game. When he played this game and saw that there are a lot of things look like a real life and the other things is fiction he couldn’t separate between what is real and what is not maybe because he has never been in us. .there is another thing happen to me. When I was playing this game in the DePaul lab the girl who was working in this lab told me something very funny. She told me that one of her friends went to Japan and a Japanese boy when he knew that he is from us. Asked him if he has ever owned weapon or has he ever shoot or killing someone. Therefore, this game has a misleading of how the real American society is.
Maybe because this game has something from the real American life mixed with some fiction, this game look like kind of a real life. I know that there are some things are fiction like the easiness of escaping from police and the much of breaking rules, but there are a lot of things look like a real life such as, people talks and some realistic issues like racism and crimes. However, if any other teenager or anyone who have never been in us plays this game, he will has this wrong picture of American society. Accordingly, it is unethical to accept this game.