Do our gaming habits influence who we are?

[AssassinDX]

I'm talking morally at this point, although feel free to expand on that, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this.

Also, before we go any further I don't mean to cause offense with this topic, I am both speculating and generalising popular gaming stereotypes for the purpose of discussion.

Right, so here's my theory or at least part of it. We're presumably all RPG lovers, Final Fantasy gamers in particular otherwise we probably wouldn't be here. If you played these games growing up, from Secret of Mana to early Zelda games right up through the golden age of Final Fantasy and beyond, games which strongly involve a 'good vs evil' situation with you on the side of good, would you consider these games as an influence towards your personality?

I'd wager we're all good people in life on the whole, I bet you're the type of person to step in when a young child is being bullied, or make sure an elderly man is ok after falling over in the street, or simply being a generally polite person to total strangers whether your job or education requires it or not, thanks in part to the choices of games you played while growing up (of course as well as a good upbringing and choice social circles). Here's where it could get a bit controversial, but I think the kids of the present day won't grow up to be as considerate towards other people. Look at the Call of Duty or FIFA crowd, most of the publicity towards those who exclusively play those games is negative, from racist abuse from 8 year old children to death threats and the insulting of ones mother as standard. I think their moral compass could be vastly messed up as a result of being subjected to such language and behavior, whereas we grew up being influenced by the likes of Cloud, Tidus and so on saving the world their only gaming influence could well be Johnny from the other side of the world threatening to perform unmentionable acts on their sister while being stabbed in the face on screen.

Again, I stress this is merely my opinion, but I think it could make for an interesting discussion. Simply put, I think those who get immersed in a great story where good triumphs over evil can influence someone's personality and moral compass better than an online shooter or sports game. Your thoughts?

[Pike]

I like super indepth and geeky strategy and war games and I think that fits my general personality of liking bizarre little details and micromanagement. And history, of course. I don't know so much if they in turn influence my personality, though.

(SPOILER)No one here would ever guess that I frequently play as the Nazis/Soviets in Darkest Hour, or alternatively the Portuguese in Europa Universalis specifically so I can fight the Natives and colonize the Americas

Once Mister Adequate feels better he can post in this thread about how strategy games are the reason he got a specific Masters' degree

[Slothy]

ITT: We learn that Pike is a closeted evil dictator/aspiring genocidal robot.

I honestly doubt that games do much to influence our morality. Inform is here and there perhaps, though to be honest, so few games are written well enough to take any meaningful moral lesson from that I'm not even sure that's accurate. Maybe moreso now with games like the Walking Dead or Spec Ops. But whatever influence games do have, I doubt it's any more remarkable than the influence a good show, movie, book, music, etc. could have on us. Probably equally likely that who we are influences what we play though as far as personality and values go.

[NeoCracker]

...YOu guys didn't already know Pike was evil?

Do you guys like, even read her posts? o_O

[krissy]

if i hadn't played ff7 i probably r wouldn't e have figured u out i n was i a o sephiroth n clone so i guess it sort of does!

[Dr Unne]

I play games for escapism as much as anything else. I often don't want to be the good guy. Moral lessons from FF games are not very deep, if there are any at all. "Be friendly to your friends and if a bad guy is about to literally end the world, try to stop them." You don't say...

Who hasn't done this kind of stuff in games?

* Baldur's Gate - Fireball in the middle of the tavern, see how many townsfolk you can barbecue with one spell, then see how long you can fend off the police-mages before you die

* Oregon Trail - kill 2000 lbs of buffalo meat at a time even though you can only carry 50ish, because hunting is the most fun mechanic in the game. Alternatively, laugh as your friends and family die from dysentery

* Racing games - drive around the track backwards and crash head-on into first place at top speed to see how far you can get car debris to launch into the crowd

FF4 taught me to take off everyone's armor and weapons if you suspect they might leave the party soon, so you can sell it for profit. FFT taught me that new soliders can always be bought in the shop. Also I kinda wish Sephiroth would've won.

I enjoy a nice clear line between fantasy and reality.

[Ayen]

I hope not. You're talking to the guy who have a save point in Metal Gear Solid for the sole purpose of running around in stealth camouflage to kill a bunch of soldiers in horrible, horrible ways for hours.

It's more our upbringing that affects who we are than what we play. That's why every time I play Mass Effect I select the paragon options except when the person I'm talking to is a complete douche.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

If anything, my personality influences what games I play instead of the other way around. That being said, probably partially due to playing a lot of RPGs, I developed a love of telling my own stories and writing at an early age. The stories were what I cared about most when I played games during the PS1 era.

However, I don't think these games have influenced me anymore than books or movies have. I watch a lot of horror stuff, and I don't find myself wanting to do horrible disturbing things to people because of it. Or if looking at the protagonists, I don't find myself becoming dumber due to watching people do stupid stuff in those movies. I read a lot of books which involve a lot of horrible people and horrible situations sometimes (especially in college), and I've never found myself becoming more horrible due to it. Likewise, playing RPGs where people are saving the world has never really caused any noticeable change in my desire to do good that I've noticed. This is just me, though.

[Skyblade]

I actually think it might be the opposite, that what games we play (and what games we make) are determined by the values we hold. I still don't like playing games where you're a villain, and it is why I have never gotten into certain franchises.

At least, to what degree those do relate to real life morals at all. Because I certainly sometimes take actions in games that I wouldn't condone in real life. Such as walking down the street killing "innocent" guards in Assassin's Creed.

[Pumpkin]

Basically what Scotty and Skyblade said. My morality influences what games I play, not the other way around.

Also, I love an interesting villain. I really do. I don't like the faceless bad bad who you know beyond a reason of a doubt that he is wrong and insane. I mean, I like some of them, they can be pretty entertaining, but I like to see a villain who's morality isn't black and white. Who makes you think from their perspective and analyze what they're doing and why. Because I don't think morality is always black and white. Sure it is sometimes, but not always, and the characters, antagonist or protagonist, who have to make complicated and difficult decisions because they're in some moral grey area encourage me to question my morality and look at things from a different perspective.

[Del Murder]

Yeah, add me to the camp of those who see it as your own personal morality influencing your game choices rather than the other way around. That said, I don't think wanting to see what happens when you blow up a bunch of innocents in a game makes you likely to be a psychopath. Most people understand the difference between games and reality.

As for me, I probably go for the 'good guy' choice 99% of the time. I don't like being mean to people even if it's fake.

[Jiro]

Every time you encounter a situation and think critically about it, your moral compass shifts of is reaffirmed. The same is true if you apply that to games or hypothetical situations you find online or encounters in the street. Not everyone chooses to do so, and often a desire for fun or smurfery overrides the chance of critical observation, but I agree that it can have an impact -- though not necessarily shape -- a moral code.

[Rostum]

Jiro brings up a good point.

I don't know if or how it has affected me, but - I grew up on puzzle, pure adventure and platforming games, causing me to think critically, be creative, and learn problem solving skills. I'm fairly certain that with those games being a big part of my life growing up, they would have had quite a huge impact on my morality and personality in general.

[escobert]

If you want to see morals in a game come into question just play DayZ. Will you literally risk your characters life to save your friends? There is no coming back from death in DayZ. When you die, you are dead. You must start over. So all of the hours you just put into that guy getting him all geared up and ready to survive could all be taken away with one wrong step out of a door trough a trip wire, or walking too far into a field where a sniper is sitting. Should you trust that player asking for water? He could have friends in the bushes ready to cuff you and rob you or worse yet, kill you without a second thought. Maybe you should just shoot him now instead?


This is what you face every day in DayZ. your moral compass is always being tested especially when playing with friends. Do you save yourself and leave your real life friends to die or try and save them risking your own life?

It's amazing even in a game what people will do to keep that character alive. Killing on sight is big right now. Basically a you or me mentality. However there are still a big number of people who don't. You don't know until the bullets start flying and someones dead or you safely go on your ways.

and I don't think it really changes people morals in real life but, it can defiantly make you question someones morals in real life.