Will Hatred Cause a Rash of Violence?

Hatred is a third-person shooting game created by Destructive Creations, a development house operating out of Poland. The game is scheduled for launch in the second quarter of next year, and for the time being it is only going to be released for Windows. The game is expected to be violent and gory.

This sounds like a description of just about any mundane game that comes out these days, but for some odd reason, Hatred has stirred up yet another controversy in gaming, right on the heels of #Gamergate. Is it because there are no female or transgendered protagonists? Is it because the game will only be released to the PC Master Race? Is it because it's a third-person shooter rather than another first-person military shooter clone? Well, that could be a part of it, because instead of taking out tangos, players will be going on a rampage slaughtering civilians in this game, or at least this is what is being said, and critics are saying that this will cause impressionable behavior and real-life violence.

This is an argument that has been debated for years now (centuries actually, if you include media other than the relatively new entertainment form of video games). In one of my university elective classes, I wrote a paper explaining how I believed that video games were not the root cause of school violence. In more recent years, I have been reading more about society and "the redpill', and I now believe and have observed how the media can effect the minds and opinions of both young and old. However, I still firmly believe that violent video games will not cause gamers to go on Elliot Rodgers-esque killing sprees.

The real causes of violence run much deeper. These causes can be intense depression, hopelessness, lack of parental involvement, and much, much more, but playing games alone is not going to cause people to want to act out what their virtual avatars do on screens in reality. trust me. I did a lot of gaming in my day, and playing games did not make me want to go on a rampage; it only made me want to play more and sit on my ass accomplishing nothing of real value, but I had fun. Parents should be involved in their children's lives, making sure that they know the difference between virtual violence and violence in the real world, and that real actions have real consequences. Adults that want to go berserk because they cannot get laid or whatever should learn game, take measures to stop being a social degen, maybe even travel to some place where they'll have an easier time with the women. Putting an end to violent games will not solve these problems (except to the degree that social degen nerds that are out of shape with no job or social skills might be forced to go outside and develop themselves, but this could apply to "acceptable" games like Candy Crush and the like too).

These days, when a lot of games are heading to be polite, colorful, politically correct, and trying to be some kind of higher art, rather than just an entertainment – we wanted to create something against trends. Something different, something that could give the player a pure, gaming pleasure. (Quoted from the developer's website).

With games like Depression Quest being released, I'd have to agree with the above statement. It seems like the creators may have dabbled in some redpill reading, maybe the 48 Laws of Power. Looking at the trailer (watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrX7G-1xPLs), they must have adhered to the Sixth Law of Power, since it certainly has gotten a lot of attention. I must say that I am intrigued myself.