The Dark Side of Gaming

            
             Turning on the game console, the screen goes black and a Playstation 2 logo appears but with a blur it vanishes. Suddenly, grotesque images of bodies being violently mutilated fill every inch of the television in an obscure movie sequence. The short movie soon ends and is replaced by a large game title dangling above a blood-covered dagger. The title, "Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance", the fifth in a series, is not a new item to the youth of America. Games with severe levels of violence are a mere common place today, with access attained simply by an exchange of currency, regardless of set ratings laws. Surrounding the images of blood and gore is a vast controversy about whether or not these violent games are affecting the children who play them and whether the current laws already in motion should be cast aside for stricter ones. It is my belief that the children playing these games are being affected in an obscene and vulgar manner, possibly for the worst.
             To elaborate on what I mean by saying these games are "obscene", the esscence of the word must be understood and how it applies to the games. According to the most current dictionary, "obscene" means to be "offensive to accepted standards of decency or modesty." (dictionary.com) Common sense tells us that violent scenes have always been offensive to the standards of decency and modesty, and it is in these games such as, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, which the violent scenes flourish. Scenes with multiple stabbings and gushing blood are what the military uses as methods of desensitizing its soldiers. The Village Voice states in a column about a game called "Conflict: Desert Storm I" that "Conflict lets participants play as either U.S. Special Forces or British SAS to pursue a series of missions based loosely on real events in the Gulf War." Also, "a number of games, including Electronic Arts" recent Medal of Honor: Frontline, have recreated WWII battles; while upcoming games like Gathering of Developers" Vietcong and NovaLogic's Delta Force: Black Hawk Down will soon allow players to seek virtual revenge for American losses in Vietnam and Somalia.