AS
AS WE
AS WE REEVALUATE OUR GIVING PROCESSES.
PROCESSES. >>> SO AS WE LOOK FOR A
SOLUTION TO SCHOOL SHOOTINGS,
VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES HAVE COME
UNDER FIRE.
UNDER FIRE. >> AND NOW, A VIDEO GAME MAKER
IS FACING BACKLASH FOR WHAT IT
CREATED.
CREATED.
CREATED. ACCORDING TO VARIETY, THEY
PLAN TO RELEASE ACTIVE
SHOOTER.
SHOOTER.
SHOOTER. A DYNAMIC SWAT SIMULATOR AND
SCREEN SHOTS SHOW A SCHOOL
SHOOTING WHERE PLAYERS CAN
SHOOT OFFICERS AND CIVILIANS.
MANY ANTI-GUN GROUPS CONDEMN
THIS GAME.
THIS GAME. NOW, JOINING US IS JASON PACE,
THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UW
BOTHELL'S DIGITAL LAB.
SOMEONE WHO KNOWS A LOT ABOUT
VIDEO GAMES AND VIOLENCE
WITHIN THE GAME.
>> JASON, WE APPRECIATE YOUR
BEING HERE.
BEING HERE. I KNOW YOU HAD A CHANCE TO
WORK ON THE HALO FRANCHISE.
YEARS AGO.
YEARS AGO. BUT, YOU HAD SOME CONCERNS AND
I KNOW YOU WALKED AWAY FROM
THAT.
THAT.
THAT. EXPLAIN WHAT YOUR CONCERNS
WERE.
WERE.
WERE. >>
WERE. >> I THINK THAT OVER TIME AS I
WORKED WITH THE FRANCHISE IN
THE INDUSTRY, AND JUST BECAME
MORE AWARE OF THE LANDSCAPE,
IT WAS REALLY INCREASINGLY
CLEAR THAT THERE WAS A
DIVERSITY CRISIS.
DIVERSITY CRISIS. WE ARE WELL AWARE OF THAT NOW,
IN VIDEO GAMES.
AND ALSO, THAT WE WEREN'T
HAVING THE CONVERSATIONS I
THINK WE NEEDED TO HAVE ABOUT
THE IMPACT OF THE EXTREME
FOCUS ON VIOLENCE AND COMBAT
SIMULATIONS AND SO MUCH OF OUR
ENTERTAINMENT.
ENTERTAINMENT. >> NOW EXPLAIN THIS.
IS THERE A LINK BETWEEN VIDEO
GAME VIOLENCE AND REAL LIFE
VIOLENCE?
VIOLENCE?
VIOLENCE? >> THIS IS A CONVERSATION I
THINK IS FREQUENTLY CONFUSED.
THERE IS A PRETTY STRONG CASE
FOR A LINK.
YOU CAN SEE THIS IN THE
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION'S ASSESSMENT FOR
INCREASED AGGRESSION WHEN YOU
PLAY VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES SO
PEOPLE WHO PLAY A LOT OF
VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES TEND TO
BECOME MORE AGGRESSIVE.
THERE IS NOT A STRONG
CORRELATION FOR THAT
AGGRESSION TO TRANSLATE INTO
PHYSICAL VIOLENCE.
PHYSICAL VIOLENCE. THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT DOESN'T
HAPPEN.
HAPPEN.
HAPPEN. IT JUST MEANS THAT WE HAVEN'T
MADE A STRONG CASE FOR THAT
YET.
YET.
YET. SO,
YET. SO, IT IS SAFE TO SAY THAT
PEOPLE WILL BECOME OVERALL
MORE AGGRESSIVE WHEN THEY PLAY
VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES.
NOT NECESSARILY MORE
PHYSICALLY VIOLENT.
PHYSICALLY VIOLENT. >> SO WHEN WE DO TALK ABOUT
SOLUTIONS TO SCHOOL SHOOTINGS,
SHOULD VIDEO GAMES BE A PART
OF THAT CONVERSATION?
BECAUSE THIS DID COME UP AFTER
THE SANTA FE TEXAS SHOOTING.
>> I THINK IT HAS TO BE.
WE LOOK AT VIDEO GAMES AS ONE
SNAPSHOT IN OUR CULTURE.
WE ARE SATURATED WITH
INCREASINGLY VIOLENT MEDIA AND
HAVE BEEN.
HAVE BEEN. WE ALWAYS UP THE STAKES RIGHT?
SO WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU SEE A
SHOCKING MOVIE AND THEN THE
NEXT MOVIE HAS TO ONE UP THAT
IN ODDER ORDER TO GET THE
SAME REACTION.
SAME REACTION. IT'S THE SAME IN VIDEO GAMES.
WE HAVE TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS
NOT IN A VACUUM, BUT LOOKING
AT THE OVERALL LANDSCAPE OF
OUR MEDIA.
OUR MEDIA. IF WE ARE GOING TO DO JUSTICE,
WE CANNOT EXCLUDE VIDEO GAME
INS THAT.
INS THAT.
INS THAT. THEY PLAY A ROLE IN OUR
VIOLENT CULTURE.
VIOLENT CULTURE. >> DO WE NEED TO CHANGE GAMES
OVERALL OR DO A BETTER JOB OF
WHO IS PLAYING THEM?
>> THAT'S THE MILLION DOLLARS
QUESTION.
QUESTION.
QUESTION. SO DO YOU TRY AND KEEP THEM
OUT OF THE HANDS OF PLAYERS
OR REGULATE THEM SOME OTHER
WAYS?
WAYS?
WAYS? ONE
WAYS? ONE OF THE ISSUES IS WITH
OTHER FORMS OF MEDIA, THERE IS
AN ADULT IN THE ROOM SOMEWHERE
IN THE CHAIN.
YOU HAVE PEOPLE MAKING SUPER
VIOLENT FILMS, THEY HAVE TO
GET MONEY FROM THE STUDIOS AND
THERE ARE ALL THESE APPROVAL
GATES.
GATES.
GATES. THERE ARE DIFFERENT
PRIORITIES.
PRIORITIES. SO DIFFERENT KINDS OF MINDS
ARE WEIGHING IN ON THE
DECISION OF DOES THIS PIECE OF
MEDIA GET TO SEE THE LIGHT OF
DAY.
DAY.
DAY. AND
DAY. AND THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY,
IT IS MUCH MORE HOMOGENOUS.
THE PEOPLE WHO RUN THE
DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS ARE
BASICALLY THE SAME FOLKS
MAKEING THE VIDEO GAMES AND
PLAYING THEM.
PLAYING THEM. AND SO, THEY ALL THINK ALIKE.
AND SO IF YOU HAVE A
PASSIONATE CREATOR WHO IS
REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THEIR
HYPER VIOLENT VIDEO GAME
EXPERIENCE, CHANCES ARE THEY
WILL FIND ALLY THAT'S WILL
HELP THEM GET THEIR GAME OUT
TO THE WORLD IN A WAY THAT
MAYBE SOMETIMES OTHER FORMS OF
MEDIA MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO
ACHIEVE.
ACHIEVE.
ACHIEVE. >> AND OF COURSE, THESE GAMES
OUT THERE, WE ALWAYS SAY THEY
ARE RATED TEEN OR RATED ONLY
FOR ADULTS.
FOR ADULTS. BUT KIDS ALWAYS SEEM TO GET
THEIR HANDS ON THEM SOMEHOW.
IT IS REALLY HARD TO REGULATE
IN THAT WAY RIGHT?
>> YEP.
>> YEP.
>> YEP. EVERYBODY HAS A PC IN THEIR
BEDROOM.
BEDROOM.
BEDROOM. KIDS ARE GREAT AT GETTING
AROUND PARENTAL CONTROLS AND
THERE IS NO MEANINGFUL WAY AT
A LARGE SCALE AT LEAST TO KEEP
THESE EXPERIENCES OUT OF THE
HANDS OF KIDS.
SOY THINK WE NEED TO BE HONEST
WITH OURSELVES AND SAY IT IS
NOT REALLY GOING TO BE
EFFECTIVE JUST EXPECTING
PARENTS TO BE THE SOLE GATE OF
THE CONTENT.
THE CONTENT. >> WE HAVE A FEW SECONDS.
THROUGH THE HISTORY OF VIDEO
GAMES THEY WERE FAMILY
FRIENDLY.
FRIENDLY.
FRIENDLY. YOU COULD PLAY PAC MAN WITH
YOUR FAMILY, MARIO.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG.
HOW HAVE WE PROGRESSED TO THE
POINT OF VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES?
>> IT IS FASCINATING IF YOU
LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF VIDEO
GAMES.
GAMES.
GAMES. IN
GAMES. IN THE 80s AND 90s , THEY
WERE MORE OF AN INTELLECTUAL
OR ARCADE EXERCISE.
MAYBE YOU WERE SHOOTING THINGS
BUT IT WAS VERY CARTOONISH.
THERE WERE SOME CRITICAL
ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY IN THE
EARLY 90s THAT ALLOWED WHAT
IS CALLED NETWORKED
MULTIPLAYER DEATH MATCH TO
HAPPEN.
HAPPEN.
HAPPEN. AND THERE WERE SOME COMPANIES
WHO MADE EXPERIENCES THAT WERE
EARLY VERSIONS OF OUR
CONTEMPORARY SHOOTING GAMES
THAT ALLOWED PEOPLE TO PLAY
AGAINST EACH OTHER BOTH
LOCALLY AND ONLINE.
AND BASICALLY, WERE COMBAT
SIMULATIONS.
SIMULATIONS. AND THAT OPENED UP A NEW
MARKET THAT EXPLODED AND IT
HAS DRIVEN MUCH OF THE
ADVANCEMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY AND
CERTAINLY HAS MADE THE DOLLAR
AMOUNTS BIGGER EVERY YEAR.
IF YOU FAST FORWARD 25 YEARS
LATER, WE HAVE THIS
MULTIBILLION DOLLARS GLOBAL
INDUSTRY THAT IS FUNDAMENTALLY
PREDICATED ON A NOTION OF
HYPER REALISTIC COMBAT
SIMULATION AND VIOLENCE.
THAT IS KIND OF WHERE WE ARE
AT RIGHT NOW.
>> TIMES HAVE