Think Twice before Playing GTA

The Ethics of Video Games

Video games were one of the main outputs of the 20th century. It started with simply coded tic-tac-toe and moon landing games to very realistic ones where players nowadays can use virtual reality sets to feel the satisfaction of the game. Game developers came up with several genres of games, such as dressing-up games, life simulation games, racing games, and even war games. Some of them were subjected to mass criticism and controversy due to their content, and one of these controversial games was the very famous Grand Theft Auto (GTA).

GTA was the product of marvelous advanced game development; however, it was listed under the category of the 10 most controversial video games (Gross, 2013). GTA’s setting is in a fictional state of San Andreas in southern California, where the whole plot of the game revolves around committing criminal and illegal acts, such as stealing property, drug dealing, brutally killing people, dating prostitutes and strippers, and killing them later on. GTA is based on hierarchical rewards; for instance, Reynolds (2002, p.2) mentions the fact that as you contribute to these kinds of activities throughout the game, your position in the gang gets higher and higher.

GTA 5 broke sales records and became the fastest-selling entertainment product in history. It earned $800 million on its first day of sale and $1 billion in the first three days of the sale (Trotman, 2014). The motives that drive consumers to buy these kinds of games are mainly related to the nature of the game, which is thrilling and characterized by a “free-play” environment where the main character commits secretive missions and acts against the law. Also, the main drive for consuming the game is mostly related to people’s psychology; for instance, in GTA, one can create their kind of character, having a specific plot, function, and role that they can do whatever they want to. Unfortunately, the tiny line between freedom of speech and hate speech is becoming more and more vague and blurred. For example, GTA is a game that reflects dehumanizing acts and ideas; it damages the image of women by presenting them as hookers and prostitutes. Moreover, in one way or another, it encourages its users to perform illegal and dehumanizing acts.

The main question is, should these kinds of content be censored? Or should they be protected under free speech principles? If it should be censored, what are the main criteria for censoring content? If not, what are the steps to ensure a safe gaming environment? In many countries, such as the U.S. and EU countries, free speech is a primary right that everyone should enjoy (Reynolds, 2002, p.10). Some courts, however, do not define games as speech, while others do, and here the dilemma starts. Coming to our example, which is GTA, it is important to mention the fact that GTA is not the only violent game so far; there are plenty of similar games that have similar heavy and violent content (The Saint Row Instance, The Mafia Series, Mariam, and The Sleeping Dogs). For instance, the game ‘Mariam’, which is a new Saudi-produced online horror game, was quickly subjected to both public criticism and authorities’ concerns.

The UAE authorities warned parents not to let their kids play the game because the game is designed in a way to invade your data to use it for phishing and theft purposes. Each one of us has its own coded ethical rules; thus, judging the case from only one perspective will not be fair and objective (Reynolds, 2002). Before deciding whether to ban these kinds of games or not, it is important to evaluate the game according to the main ethical school of thought. From the virtue ethical school of thought, the point of being human is to be virtuous (Reynolds, 2002, p.8). Thus, this approach often asks if playing a given computer game is a morally good thing to do. Here, it is important to mention the fact that virtue theory often relies on both the context of the game and the choices that we make during the game (i.e. killing people, stealing properties, and so on). Also, according to the second school of thought, which is duty-based ethics, GTA’s violent materials and their offensive content against women are not justified and are considered to violate ethical boundaries (Reynolds, 2002, p.6).

Game designers should always take into consideration how their developed games are influencing people, mainly children, so game developers should be responsible for their developed games. Unfortunately, many game developers deny the fact that these kinds of games can influence kids who play them, yet a study conducted by Dartmouth College shows the correlation between playing GTA and having the tendency to perform deviant behaviors and acts such as smoking, drinking, and unprotected sex (Spencer, 2014). Here it is important to highlight the fact that exposure to violent and intense content will influence a child’s behavior and psychology; in video games, the audience is creating and advancing the plot in their minds, making the players more prone to be affected by the game.

Thus, censoring the game is not the best choice since people have the right to be exposed to different kinds of content; however, the audience should always make their choices rationally. Also, a big portion of the responsibility relies on the game developers and designers; they should always evaluate their work and be more careful about what behavior they might reinforce in society. Moreover, the age limit for playing the game should be extremely strict, to raise awareness to parents about the intensity of the game. In addition to this, more studies should be conducted aiming to prove the correlation between the consumption of violent games and their effect on one’s psychology and behavior.

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