“Ban these evil games”, “Videogame violence corrupting our nation’s youth”, “video games stole my husband”. It seems everyday that
media are making more and more claims about evils of videogames. But are these claims based on fact, or is it merely that there is a juicy new scapegoat out there that woes of world can be pinned on?Many people will be aware of Daily Mail’s ‘Manhunt’ story by now. The paper ran with first page headline of ‘Ban these evil games’, claiming that 17 year old Warren LeBlanc’s obsession with ultra-violent Rockstar game ‘Manhunt’ drove him to beat his 14 year old friend, Stefan Pakeerah, over 50 times with both a claw hammer and knife. The tabloid then proceeded to assert “the hammer-and-knife killing mirrored scenes in ultra-violent game”. The paper also ran a quote from mother of victim, saying that, despite fact game had an 18 certificate, “it’s no good saying this game is marketed at adults. Everyone knows that young children get their hands on them.”
But what was real motive behind murder, and follow up story? It’s easy to see where motive for Daily Mail’s story came from. In words of panel of IGDA (International Games Developers Association) “it was a slow news day”. And what better to liven it up than blood, violence and a convenient scapegoat?
There are two other important facts to remember about this awful murder. Firstly, what do police say? After headline in Daily Mail you may think that they came to conclusion that it was game that set Warren off on his murderous way. However conclusion that police arrived at is that motive was robbery. It turns out that Warren Leblanc had, in actual fact, a £75 drugs fuelled debt to a local gang when he lured his erstwhile friend into park that night, and originally intended merely to rob him. The police report makes no mention of ‘Manhunt’ whatsoever. This may be because game was discovered in Stefan’s room, rather than that of killer. Both of these pertinent facts were absent from Mail’s front page day this story ran.
And one must ask, how was it that Mrs. Pakeerah missed fact her own 14 year old son owned this ultra-violent game, which he could only have acquired if an adult had purchased it for him.
“But is game any good?” I hear you cry. Quite simply, no. ‘Manhunt’ is one of those games that are key stumbling blocks in path of truly adult games. Computer games are now reaching point where mature themes, meaning detailed, involving stories that can deal with events in real world, and portray realistic reactions to them, are becoming possible. Yet some developers insist on pouring out games that are aimed only at fuelling testosterone driven adolescent fantasies of teenage sadists. When you consider tack like ‘Manhunt’ in light of games like ‘Half-Life 2’, with its compelling narrative interwoven through beautiful, breathtaking scenery, you realise just how tawdry ‘Manhunt’ really is. The consensus at IGDA meeting this year was that game was merely “a rubbish game with a layer of crunchy ultra-violence slapped on top”. No doubt loss of such a young child as Stefan Pakeerah was a tragedy in its own right, but true tragedy here is twofold. Almost overnight game, whose sales had been a mere trickle before, started flying off shelves of those few shops who hadn’t banned it, concept of censorship lending game a certain cachet. Even worse, in words of Rob Fahey of IGDA, is way in which “the games industry ‘close ranks’ to defend it [Manhunt] when its an aberration compared to most games - do you see Stephen Spielberg defending hardcore porn films?”
