Where Are You on the Video Game Violence Spectrum?

Video game violence is a more complicated and nuanced issue than most people think. Let’s take a closer look at the various types of violence in video games and see what parents might consider when choosing games for their kids.

Some people let their kids play only games that have no violence whatsoever:

Some people let their kids play only games that have no shooting:

Some say shooting is okay if you’re shooting inanimate objects like targets—or, like, holes in walls (Portal) or ink to slide on (Splatoon):

Others say shooting’s okay if the game looks like a cartoon or if you’re shooting robots, zombies, aliens, monsters, or other nonhuman creatures:

Or it’s okay if you’re a soldier, as in Call of Duty, and you’re shooting other soldiers, or if the game has a fantasy or science-fiction theme:

Or it’s okay if the violence is really over the top and cartoony:

Or it’s okay if it’s educational, as in Civilization:

Or it’s okay if it examines moral issues around violence, as in Mass Effect or Spec Ops: The Line:

Or it’s okay if it’s social satire:

We all have our own views on this. (Personally, I don’t  play realistic military shooters because they scare me; I don’t play Grand Theft Auto games because I don’t enjoy their depictions of sexually charged, extreme, and realistic violence.)

The point is that violence in video games is a lot more complicated than most people think it is.

The Question of Causation

Lots of people still believe that video games cause violence. I don’t think so. I think video games are like any other media. They can be inappropriate for some people (especially kids) and they should be consumed wisely. But the preponderance of the evidence, common sense, and the Supreme Court all argue against blaming video games for violent behavior.

That said, parents still have—and always will have—the responsibility to determine what’s appropriate for their minor children. Sometimes kids don’t like parental rules, and there will be conflict. Parents should know all about the flavors and types of violence in video games so they’ll be able to make informed decisions and feel confident saying no. Or yes.

How ESRB Ratings Deal With Violent Content

Most parents know about the ESRB ratings (they’re on the box!): EC (early childhood), E (everyone), E10+ (10 and over), T (13 and over), M (17 and over), and AO (adults only). EC  rated-games have no violence; M- and AO-rated games may have lots. Here are the descriptors pertaining to violence that may be displayed on the box:

• Animated Blood—Discolored and/or unrealistic depictions of blood
• Blood—Depictions of blood
• Blood and Gore—Depictions of blood or the mutilation of body parts
• Cartoon Violence—Violent actions involving cartoon-like situations and characters. May include violence where a character is unharmed after the action has been inflicted
• Comic Mischief—Depictions or dialogue involving slapstick or suggestive humor
• Fantasy Violence—Violent actions of a fantasy nature, involving human or non-human characters in situations easily distinguishable from real life
• Intense Violence—Graphic and realistic-looking depictions of physical conflict. May involve extreme and/or realistic blood, gore, weapons and depictions of human injury and death
• Sexual Violence—Depictions of rape or other violent sexual acts
• Violence—Scenes involving aggressive conflict. May contain bloodless dismemberment
• Violent References—References to violent acts

Many parents don’t pay much attention to ESRB ratings. I’d like to see that change.

The ESRB offers great information on their website. There you can read the Rating Summaries, which give you context. The best way to find these Rating Summaries is to search on Google like this: ESRB <name of game> synopsis

Pixelkin’s descriptions offer even more context. Here’s a description from our Game Library:

Violence: Violence is a major component of Grand Theft Auto. It is impossible to complete the games without perpetrating many murders. Additionally, players can kill civilians at a whim; the police will be put on alert, but there are ultimately no in-game repercussions. There is blood spatter in all of the games. Gore and dismemberment are minimal, but can occur. In GTA V there is an extended graphic torture sequence that is required to complete the game. In GTA: San Andreas, a large purple dildo is used as a weapon.

How to Evaluate Video Game Violence: A Proposal for Parents 

Okay, so I’m going to propose a procedure to help parents sort this out. It involves looking carefully at games to understand both the extent and the context of the violence.

1. For EC, E, and E10+ ratings, consider saying yes if kids fit within the age rating on the box.

For these ratings, I think it’s generally safe to follow the rating recommendations. For example, if the game is rated E10+, and your kid is 10, you can be pretty darned sure it’s okay. For example, Minecraft is rated E10+ for fantasy violence. I don’t know any 10-year-olds who can’t handle the level of violence in Minecraft (usually it consists of shooting at zombies made of blocks). If I had a 10-year-old who wanted to play Minecraft, I would say yes, partly because that level of violence doesn’t bother me and partly because kids can learn so much from Minecraft. Of course, if you’re a parent who wants to avoid any form of media violence, you might decide to say no, even to Minecraft.

If your kids are younger than the rating recommends, you should do some research: the ESRB Rating Summary, Pixelkin’s reviews and articles, Youtube videos, etc. After that, you may decide that a game actually is okay for your kids to play. Or better yet, play the game—even a little bit of playing will increase your understanding a lot. And if you’re playing with your kid, you can use the gaming session as a learning opportunity and conversation starter.  

How Online Play Figures In

One thing I haven’t talked about in this article is that kids play online games a lot these days. You can don a headset and jump into a Halo or Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto game and hear little kids playing along with adults any day of the week. This is a side note, really, because the violence isn’t necessarily amplified by online contact—but the language is. Kids may hear stuff from adults over a headset in a game that they’d never be exposed to otherwise. I think parents should pay special attention when kids play games online.

The Takeaway

Here’s the bottom line:

• Know your kid. Some kids can handle games rated for older kids. Some just think they should be able to. Being well informed will help you have a good talk with your kids about video game violence and set appropriate limits for individual kids.
• If your kids are between 13 and 16 (and sometimes even younger than 13), they may want to play M-rated games (rated 17+). Just as you might let your teens watch certain R-rated movies, you might decide to let your teens play certain M-rated games. But you should know what’s in them.
• Consider online interactivity and monitor it.
• Talk about the issues with your partner, with other parents, and with your kids, as appropriate.
• Think about your family’s values and how they relate to the consumption of all media—including video games. But consider that it’s an option to discuss the problems you see in media rather than banning something outright. Applying critical thinking and analysis to all media is an important skill, no matter what the content.
• If you possibly can, try playing the games your kids want to play. Although you can tell a lot from watching and talking about gameplay or watching a Let’s Play video, playing a game is the only way to experience exactly what your kids experience when they play a particular game.

And the big takeaway? You get to decide. But if you learn more about the nuances of violence in video games, you can make better decisions.