GTA 5 and similar games effect. Who is responsible for the consequences?

GTA 5 Grand Theft Auto is a game published by Rockstar Games, this game is a representable image of our daily life, it is so realistic and we can find any kind of unethical events that is able to happen in our everyday life too. The game contains weapons, corruption, nightclubs and many other things that represent violence and sexism like woman as prostitute or a sex object. GTA 5 is a game that gives an idea about the dirty lives outside on the streets. But every single thing you do or achieve in this game, it gives you the satisfaction of succeeding in these things, like gaining money, buying a car, buying a house… however, unethical actions in the game make some people dislike it, in order to defense the values and ethical codes. That is why some visuals were censored like topless girls in nightclubs, blood…

It’s obvious that GTA 5 is a game that challenges ethics and ideas of freedom by having things not present in other similar games (like prostitutes), but at the end, freedom has regulations and the way the game is affecting its players is so much harmful. The level of damage that the players get from such comparable games lead from individual harm to social harm in terms of beating, killing and stealing others.

Grand Theft Auto is a game that result aggressiveness in bad taste, having a leaning to eliminate the players sense of responsibility, respect for rules of any type, humiliating and reducing the women, supporting the idea of violence and it isn’t the type of game that a person of a cultivated and well-educated society would play (Reynolds, 2002). The fact that women are viewed as prostitutes is this game, it is enough to consider this game as dehumanizing women. This also reinforce the fact that the concept of sexism is strongly present also. There aren’t any police women in Grand Theft Auto, even in the missions, men are always the ones that the player talks to or work with, in able to finish the mission. Moreover, racism is obvious in the game, the fact that there is 3 characters in the game and the creators decided to create two white men and the third is black (of course there aren’t any women characters to play with), and I don’t think it is a coincidence.

The idea that a game’s designer might choose to intentionally abuse its players has been explored as a way of spotlighting the relation between the player and designer (Wilson and Sicart, 2010). There is no doubt that designers have a big impact on how the player will feel while playing the game, because even if the creator of the game was the main cause of the presence of violence, sexism, racism and dehumanizing, the designer can play a big role in reducing the level of these concepts visually.

“The game is highly violent and is based in a world of organized crime where you have to steal and kill to progress” (Reynolds, 2002). Films and Television does not have the same effect on audience because Films are already censored before exposed to audiences and it will have a age range (for example: 18+) and television visuals are required to pass and checked by the Information Ministry before being exposed on TVs. “Films imported from abroad must be sent to General Security in a sealed package” (Shaghieh, 2010). In addition, films and televisions are not involving the audience in the same way the game is, because in the game, the player is part of it, the more the player plays the game, the more he/she will get involved, it isn’t a 2 hours films only. “The peak came in the mid-Noughties, when several high-profile politicians including Hillary Clinton filed against Rockstar for sexual content hidden in the code base of GTA: San Andreas” (White, 2018).

To conclude, these types of games like GTA and Red Dead Redemption, are beautiful games, but these games should be censored or should be edited and remove these unethical factors in it. Who is responsible for this problem if these games are found online by everyone on the Internet, is it the role of the government? Should we blame the parents for not paying attention enough on their kids? Or should we blame the player that is enjoying the game and exercising violence toward others?

References:

Reynolds, R. (2002). Playing a” good” game: A philosophical approach to understanding the morality of games. International Game Developers Association.

Saghieh, N., Saghieh, R., & Geagea, N. (2010). CENSORShiP iN LEbANON: lAw ANd PRActicE. Trans. M. Abu Rayyan Ed. D. Khoury. Beirut: marsad al-raqaba.

Zagal, J. P. (2011). The videogame ethics reader. Cognella Academic Publishing.

https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/red-dead-redemption-2-interview