Other the years many different kinds of audiences have
played different kinds of computer games and have found them either exciting, a
part of their hobbies that allows them to unwind from a day’s work or it can be
a bad influence on younger viewers and maybe a cause of violence. In this blog
I will explain this and how computer games can affect an audience. As we have seen through human history with various subjects like propaganda and subliminal advertisement people can be taken in by some things, but that isn't always the case. This blog will go on to explain many controversial effects that games can have on people and the audiences opinion on each game as a whole.
Grand Theft Auto:
Grand Theft Auto (sometimes referred to as GTA for short) has come to be known as somewhat of a poster boy for violent video games in media, as it has inspired many negative actions from players through the years, most notably young players (even though the game is for an adult audience). The games all take place in a number of cities where you are to free roam throughout the city using a wide array of weapons at your disposal such as a gun, knife and various others in order to steal cars and use unacceptable behaviour if it were to be used in reality, such as theft, murder and overall violence against people with the added effects of blood.
Controversies:
Throughout the game series there have been several controversies surrounding it such as the obvious controversies such as the use of general violence against people, the use of various weapons including guns and crime. But there are many controversies that can go onto effect those who play and can take it the wrong way (by which I mean a younger audience then what is intended).
With the Hypodermic needle theory you can see several aspects through these controversies of use of violence, acts of crime and use of guns, the viewer could receive this as a message that violence can go unpunished and it is okay or to a much younger viewer that crime and murder can be used in real life because in the game they can get away with it, such as in the game where you can mug someone and kill them straight after for the money or experience points.
Here's an example in 2008 six teenagers were arrested for a crime spree that they committed in New York city, they mugged a man and knocked his teeth out before an attempted carjacking of a woman's BMW (which she was still driving at the time). These kids said that there crime were inspired by a grand theft auto character known as Niko Bellics who in the game has committed crimes within the game. This is a quote taken from a police officer after questioning the 6 teens.
An active audience with grand theft auto is someone with their own free will around the game and is just engaged around playing the game and seeing as a past time or a hobby and can be in control of what you do such as with grand theft auto, people choose to play the game and can tell the difference between fiction and reality with what they do while playing.
With a passive audience they can be brought in to play grand theft auto mainly because of the persuasive nature of its adverts or can be seen as followers of the series who still like to play the game as it is a series that is still going or sometime they take part in the game simply because friends are involved.
The effects debate around grand theft auto is really difficult to explain as grand theft auto has inspired many violent acts as I have shown in the example up above, but people these days aren't really drawn to commit acts of violence due to what they see in the media if the know how to think actively and more for themselves, those who do commit acts of violence usually do have mental problems or usually people who take a game series for real, such as the use of guns in the game people do commit acts of theft and there have been incidents when people commit those crimes, but there are those who play the game who would never think of committing an act of theft in their life.
With User Gratification Theory you can see that there are many different reasons why a grand theft auto player would play grand theft auto, it might be due to social reasons such as the game allowing people to communicate to other players through the play-station system or the X-box, this is usually around social means due to the fact that many people play the game.
The game has had different responses from reviewers as the game is critically acclaimed and has been given both a negative review saying the game is a "seemingly endless cycle" meaning it is just repeating the same antics every game and also has positive response from magazine or websites like Edge calling it a "remarkable achievement" in ways of creative such as in ways of world design and storytelling.
Audience Interpretation:
With all sorts of people playing this game there is always the problem of younger audience playing it as well. In some situations where people who are the marketed age buy the game there is the problem of possibly younger siblings or their children will play the game as well and due to a younger audience there can be different interpretations of the game in different ways. A young gamer could interpret grand theft auto as something that they would want to re-create or possibly think that the same laws that apply in a realistic game like grand theft auto also apply in real life as with an older audience who are old enough to be able to tell the difference between fact and fiction or real and fake.
Mortal Combat:
Mortal Combat is a stage by stage fighting game that allows people to choose from a selection of characters to fight in a one on one arena. The game is well known for its violence, blood scenes and the various scenes in the game where body parts are removed in certain attack actions.
Controversies:
The game has gone through several forms of controversies such as violence, sexism and many legal battles that taken place over these controversies. With Hypodermic Needle Theory you can see that the game has several factors such as when playing the game, it sends out the message of using physical violence against those who try to hurt you, that is at least what some people can get from this game which can lead to violent behaviour in real life from younger players.
Here's an example a 13 year old boy called Noah Wilson was killed by his friend, he was stabbed in the chest with a kitchen knife. His mother said that his friends was strongly obsessed with the game mortal combat and actually thought he was the character Cryax whose finishing move in the game is to stab his opponent in the chest.
The passive audience of this game can somewhat dominated by this game as mention in the quote it can lead to an obsession and can cause the audience to become easily manipulated into thinking what is in the game can be applied to the real world as stated earlier in the example.
The active audience of the game can be engaged in mortal combat and can tell the difference and in control such as in ways of not being sucked in by the adverts or offers involving the game.
The effects debate of Mortal Combat is that the effect of playing the game can influence young players of the game in forms of subliminal messaging, but the debate is that is not the case as the game has gained itself a cult following, millions of people play this game and not all are being affected in ways that cause violent behaviour.
The Uses and Gratification Theory allows one to see why they would want to play a game like Mortal combat as it applies to them in ways of enabling connection with friends who might like the game as well or maybe as a way of passing the time as a hobby, that is usually the reason for playing a video game.
The response that audiences would have to this game is usually a fan culture response as it is part of a long standing franchise and has been going on for many years in the gaming industry, any audience that is interested in a long standing franchise would play this game as it is exactly that.
Audience Interpretation:
The way the user could interpret the game, since it contains a large amount of violence, blood and disturbing scenes (in my opinion) then they could interpret this as a violent if they were at the age where they could tell that, but to a younger audience could interpret these scenes as those to re-create or copy as children can be mesmerized by shows with quantities of action and violence and gaming gives them a chance to be the controller of the action.
Flappy Bird:
Flappy Bird is a side scrolling mobile app game. The objective of the game is to direct a flying bird through a serious of obstacles which are usually pipes. The game has been known for the frustration it can bring out in players, it's addictive nature when playing and has since been removed from the App Store.
Controversies:
Hypodermic needle theory tells us that the game app flappy birds can convey some messages of frustration, as in the past the game is difficult and addictive. If the game sent any kind of message personally to the gamer it would probably be that you can win this game. The game does have a powerful effect on the player, meaning that flappy birds has driven people to become obsessive with winning, since it is incredibly hard to beat.
Here's an example, after the game was taken down people sent threatening letters to the creator and even began selling their Iphones on eBay that still have the app downloaded on it. This can be used as an example of active audiences too as people who enjoy a game can give reaction to it being taken down due to other people over using it. Passive audience are just those who are actively involved with the app and decide to play sometimes when they are bored instead of taking the loss of the app to heart.
The effects debate of the app is that it the target audience for those who play the game are those who are bored and do not want to take part in games that go into too much detail and that is provided by the app as it only has one objective. But the debate is that the app can make people obsessive as the app has this problem that makes it incredibly hard to win in the first place. The touch screen interface of the Iphone makes it hard to make the bird in the game react fast enough to obstacles and thus the bird will usually crash most times and losing the game, this is usually want causes frustration and obsession with the game to begin with this can also been seen in the Uses and Gratification theory as I have explained how the game can lead to most of its negative effects. The audience response for flappy birds is more of a preferred response, people don't have to buy the app, but they still choose to think that it is fun and can pass the time.
Audience interpretation:
Flappy birds is a gaming app targeted for those who wish to pass the time. Both adult and child can interpret this game the same way as it is just a simple idea and the mechanics are so simple that even a child could figure it out their first time.
Call Of Duty:
Call Of Duty (sometimes known as COD) is a first person shooter set in a war zone or any kind of battle field it really just depends on which game in the series you're playing. The game allows the player to use a wide variety of military based weapons at their disposal while going through a war zone to complete various missions. The game has been known for its violence and has had several controversies around it.
Controversies:
Hypodermic needle theory suggests that the game can inspire violence in gamers and has throughout the years as it sends out a message of military warfare and violence against others. To a younger audience they can take this as being the same as real life. Here is an example a 46 year old man from Plymouth known as Mark Bradford attack his neighbour a 13 year old young boy due to the boy beating him repeatedly at the game call of duty.
A passive audience are usually the followers of this game and are usually attracted to the game due to following the advertisement. An active audience usually in control of what they do and do not rely on the game that much for things like social interaction (as the game the game offers the player to communicate with friends) and have the will to stop playing when they want.
The effects debate is really the same with most violent game, most people are able to tell the difference, but with games that use violence and weapons in every aspect it is hard to see the difference if you are a young gamer and are too young to tell the difference. But call of duty has certified as a 18 rated game and many people who are under that age restriction shouldn't be playing it. But the gaming companies are not making these games open to younger players purposely as there are many ways for people to get games like this, so with that old man who beat the 13 year old over the game was obviously someone who falls into the category of obsessed and angered by loss in the game.
Uses and Gratification Theory allows us to try and understand why people would play this game or choose to get caught in it, the game offers a way for people to play a violent game and take part in something with other people around the world, so the game does offer a lot of excitement to those who know what they are doing. Call of duty can operate in various media such as videos on you tube things to talk about on Facebook so it offers participatory audience.
Audience Interpretation:
Say if someone of the younger audience wanted to play this game they would be too young in order to understand what's going on as a young mind does not understand the concept and violence of warfare and would in some ways try to re-create these scenes as opposed to the older audience (of which whom the game is made for in the first place) would be able to tell the difference as of learning about war from the news and the dangers that it presents when it is made into a game.
Controversies:
Throughout the game series there have been several controversies surrounding it such as the obvious controversies such as the use of general violence against people, the use of various weapons including guns and crime. But there are many controversies that can go onto effect those who play and can take it the wrong way (by which I mean a younger audience then what is intended).
With the Hypodermic needle theory you can see several aspects through these controversies of use of violence, acts of crime and use of guns, the viewer could receive this as a message that violence can go unpunished and it is okay or to a much younger viewer that crime and murder can be used in real life because in the game they can get away with it, such as in the game where you can mug someone and kill them straight after for the money or experience points.
Here's an example in 2008 six teenagers were arrested for a crime spree that they committed in New York city, they mugged a man and knocked his teeth out before an attempted carjacking of a woman's BMW (which she was still driving at the time). These kids said that there crime were inspired by a grand theft auto character known as Niko Bellics who in the game has committed crimes within the game. This is a quote taken from a police officer after questioning the 6 teens.
An active audience with grand theft auto is someone with their own free will around the game and is just engaged around playing the game and seeing as a past time or a hobby and can be in control of what you do such as with grand theft auto, people choose to play the game and can tell the difference between fiction and reality with what they do while playing.
With a passive audience they can be brought in to play grand theft auto mainly because of the persuasive nature of its adverts or can be seen as followers of the series who still like to play the game as it is a series that is still going or sometime they take part in the game simply because friends are involved.
The effects debate around grand theft auto is really difficult to explain as grand theft auto has inspired many violent acts as I have shown in the example up above, but people these days aren't really drawn to commit acts of violence due to what they see in the media if the know how to think actively and more for themselves, those who do commit acts of violence usually do have mental problems or usually people who take a game series for real, such as the use of guns in the game people do commit acts of theft and there have been incidents when people commit those crimes, but there are those who play the game who would never think of committing an act of theft in their life.
With User Gratification Theory you can see that there are many different reasons why a grand theft auto player would play grand theft auto, it might be due to social reasons such as the game allowing people to communicate to other players through the play-station system or the X-box, this is usually around social means due to the fact that many people play the game.
The game has had different responses from reviewers as the game is critically acclaimed and has been given both a negative review saying the game is a "seemingly endless cycle" meaning it is just repeating the same antics every game and also has positive response from magazine or websites like Edge calling it a "remarkable achievement" in ways of creative such as in ways of world design and storytelling.
Audience Interpretation:
With all sorts of people playing this game there is always the problem of younger audience playing it as well. In some situations where people who are the marketed age buy the game there is the problem of possibly younger siblings or their children will play the game as well and due to a younger audience there can be different interpretations of the game in different ways. A young gamer could interpret grand theft auto as something that they would want to re-create or possibly think that the same laws that apply in a realistic game like grand theft auto also apply in real life as with an older audience who are old enough to be able to tell the difference between fact and fiction or real and fake.
Mortal Combat:
Mortal Combat is a stage by stage fighting game that allows people to choose from a selection of characters to fight in a one on one arena. The game is well known for its violence, blood scenes and the various scenes in the game where body parts are removed in certain attack actions.
Controversies:
The game has gone through several forms of controversies such as violence, sexism and many legal battles that taken place over these controversies. With Hypodermic Needle Theory you can see that the game has several factors such as when playing the game, it sends out the message of using physical violence against those who try to hurt you, that is at least what some people can get from this game which can lead to violent behaviour in real life from younger players.
Here's an example a 13 year old boy called Noah Wilson was killed by his friend, he was stabbed in the chest with a kitchen knife. His mother said that his friends was strongly obsessed with the game mortal combat and actually thought he was the character Cryax whose finishing move in the game is to stab his opponent in the chest.
The passive audience of this game can somewhat dominated by this game as mention in the quote it can lead to an obsession and can cause the audience to become easily manipulated into thinking what is in the game can be applied to the real world as stated earlier in the example.
The active audience of the game can be engaged in mortal combat and can tell the difference and in control such as in ways of not being sucked in by the adverts or offers involving the game.
The effects debate of Mortal Combat is that the effect of playing the game can influence young players of the game in forms of subliminal messaging, but the debate is that is not the case as the game has gained itself a cult following, millions of people play this game and not all are being affected in ways that cause violent behaviour.
The Uses and Gratification Theory allows one to see why they would want to play a game like Mortal combat as it applies to them in ways of enabling connection with friends who might like the game as well or maybe as a way of passing the time as a hobby, that is usually the reason for playing a video game.
The response that audiences would have to this game is usually a fan culture response as it is part of a long standing franchise and has been going on for many years in the gaming industry, any audience that is interested in a long standing franchise would play this game as it is exactly that.
Audience Interpretation:
The way the user could interpret the game, since it contains a large amount of violence, blood and disturbing scenes (in my opinion) then they could interpret this as a violent if they were at the age where they could tell that, but to a younger audience could interpret these scenes as those to re-create or copy as children can be mesmerized by shows with quantities of action and violence and gaming gives them a chance to be the controller of the action.
Flappy Bird:
Flappy Bird is a side scrolling mobile app game. The objective of the game is to direct a flying bird through a serious of obstacles which are usually pipes. The game has been known for the frustration it can bring out in players, it's addictive nature when playing and has since been removed from the App Store.
Controversies:
Hypodermic needle theory tells us that the game app flappy birds can convey some messages of frustration, as in the past the game is difficult and addictive. If the game sent any kind of message personally to the gamer it would probably be that you can win this game. The game does have a powerful effect on the player, meaning that flappy birds has driven people to become obsessive with winning, since it is incredibly hard to beat.
Here's an example, after the game was taken down people sent threatening letters to the creator and even began selling their Iphones on eBay that still have the app downloaded on it. This can be used as an example of active audiences too as people who enjoy a game can give reaction to it being taken down due to other people over using it. Passive audience are just those who are actively involved with the app and decide to play sometimes when they are bored instead of taking the loss of the app to heart.
The effects debate of the app is that it the target audience for those who play the game are those who are bored and do not want to take part in games that go into too much detail and that is provided by the app as it only has one objective. But the debate is that the app can make people obsessive as the app has this problem that makes it incredibly hard to win in the first place. The touch screen interface of the Iphone makes it hard to make the bird in the game react fast enough to obstacles and thus the bird will usually crash most times and losing the game, this is usually want causes frustration and obsession with the game to begin with this can also been seen in the Uses and Gratification theory as I have explained how the game can lead to most of its negative effects. The audience response for flappy birds is more of a preferred response, people don't have to buy the app, but they still choose to think that it is fun and can pass the time.
Audience interpretation:
Flappy birds is a gaming app targeted for those who wish to pass the time. Both adult and child can interpret this game the same way as it is just a simple idea and the mechanics are so simple that even a child could figure it out their first time.
Call Of Duty:
Call Of Duty (sometimes known as COD) is a first person shooter set in a war zone or any kind of battle field it really just depends on which game in the series you're playing. The game allows the player to use a wide variety of military based weapons at their disposal while going through a war zone to complete various missions. The game has been known for its violence and has had several controversies around it.
Controversies:
Hypodermic needle theory suggests that the game can inspire violence in gamers and has throughout the years as it sends out a message of military warfare and violence against others. To a younger audience they can take this as being the same as real life. Here is an example a 46 year old man from Plymouth known as Mark Bradford attack his neighbour a 13 year old young boy due to the boy beating him repeatedly at the game call of duty.
A passive audience are usually the followers of this game and are usually attracted to the game due to following the advertisement. An active audience usually in control of what they do and do not rely on the game that much for things like social interaction (as the game the game offers the player to communicate with friends) and have the will to stop playing when they want.
The effects debate is really the same with most violent game, most people are able to tell the difference, but with games that use violence and weapons in every aspect it is hard to see the difference if you are a young gamer and are too young to tell the difference. But call of duty has certified as a 18 rated game and many people who are under that age restriction shouldn't be playing it. But the gaming companies are not making these games open to younger players purposely as there are many ways for people to get games like this, so with that old man who beat the 13 year old over the game was obviously someone who falls into the category of obsessed and angered by loss in the game.
Uses and Gratification Theory allows us to try and understand why people would play this game or choose to get caught in it, the game offers a way for people to play a violent game and take part in something with other people around the world, so the game does offer a lot of excitement to those who know what they are doing. Call of duty can operate in various media such as videos on you tube things to talk about on Facebook so it offers participatory audience.
Audience Interpretation:
Say if someone of the younger audience wanted to play this game they would be too young in order to understand what's going on as a young mind does not understand the concept and violence of warfare and would in some ways try to re-create these scenes as opposed to the older audience (of which whom the game is made for in the first place) would be able to tell the difference as of learning about war from the news and the dangers that it presents when it is made into a game.
