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The
Role of Sex, Culture and Environment on Video Games
By:
Luzviminda Chan
Role of Sex on Video
Games
Since players of video
games are dominantly male, most video games are designed for them. Male
characters are being portrayed as having the more relevant role than females-a
large number of video games have males on the title role and females as
supporting roles.
It is said that female players are more interested in communication and interaction when they play a game, whereas males enjoy playing video games that involve fighting and violence.
Ham Jongsuk (2008)
states that…
“People
(especially males) access cyberspace to experience something that they cannot
achieve in the real world and that is the power of complete control, which is
one way of defining omnipotence.” (p.2)
The story line of most
video games focuses on the masculinity of men. Most video games are loaded with
activities or missions that male players dreamed of doing in real life. A lot of
fighting, traveling and sometimes having sex with the female characters are
shown in most video games. These video games were being the gauge of male
players to reach their fantasies of being powerful.
While playing video games may have positive effects on males, it is the opposite
when it comes to females. According to the advocacy organization Children
Now, almost half of the top-selling console video games contain negative
messages about females (Fair play,
2001).
Oftentimes, female characters were
made to provide sexual excitement and to give the fantasy of masculinity to its
male players. In games like Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball, the
characters were designed having almost perfect physical characteristics dressed
in very sexy swimsuits. While in the game Grand Theft Auto, players can
beat prostitutes to death with baseball bats after having sex with them.
It is really
unfortunate that video games are identified with male power and domination, and
the inferiority of females over males is the focus of some video games.
Role of Culture and
Environment on Video Games
In a day where more
people are living in apartments and condominium units and parents working all
day long leaving their children with their house helps, more and more children
were just confined in playing video games than playing outside the streets. It
is important that people should know its effects.
According to Kurt
Squire (2002), there are several factors that are involved in a video game.
It can be said that video games can be used as an educational tool.
Playing video games involves a lot of thinking and strategy, like the game Brain
Challenge in Nintendo DS. Games
like that have “the ability to capture and keep the players attention and
allow them to interact with the information in a meaningful way” (Dorman,
1997). It is said that “[g]ame developers have also developed games which
promote health and provide information to children and adolescents” (Computer games, 2005).
Playing video games
helps in improving social interaction of its players, contrary to speculations
that players are being confined to a world that he or she only knows. Though
made in a virtual set-up, a player can well interact with other players in other
places thru email groups and forums. In there, they can exchange ideas, cheats
or other things about the game they both enjoy thus, improving one’s ability
to interact with others.
Playing video games
also improves family ties. In a study stated in Kurt Squire’s essay, when a
number of families were given Nintendo machines it yielded the result that video
games are important part of family
play, it strengthen the bonding of family members, much as any traditional game
might.
On the other side,
there are several things that should be considered before playing video games.
Video games are said to be a source of violence, some players were just so into
it, sometimes imitating the actions they play on games in real life. It also
affects the problem-solving skills of a player. Sometimes they act or solve a
problem the way they do it in games rather than what should be done in the real
world. They tend to be the characters they play in those games. It can be said
that playing video games can influence the way a player perceives himself.
Given the pros and cons
of video games, it is still quite a fact that it really has increased personal
freedom, reduced social hierarchy, enhanced options for leisure, and allowed a
greater variety in social interaction and communication. Video games have
allowed people to enjoy themselves alone or with friends.
References
Computer
games – issues. (2005) Retrieved September 30, 2008, from http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/Videogames.
Dorman, S. (1997). Video and
computer games: effect on children and implications for health education.
The Journal of School Health, 64,
4, 133-138.
Fair
play: violence, gender and race in video games.
(2001).” Retrieved September 27, 2008, from http://publications.childrennow.org/publications/media/fairplay_2001b.cfm.
Ham,
J. (2008). The fantasy of masculinity in a massive multiplayer online role-playing
game: a comparison of Philippine and Korean experiences. (Presented at the 8th
Jenkins,
H. Complete Freedom Of Movement: Video Games As Gendered Play Spaces.
Retrieved September 27, 2008, from http://web.mit.edu/cms/People/henry3/complete.html.
