Simulating Murder?

Simulation gaming is called simulation because it does just that. The games are designed to imitate real life situations or experiences and give the gamer a sense of reality within the game. But whether or not these simulation games provide enough realistic experience to perform these functions in everyday life is a subject that is somewhat controversial. Jack Thompson is a nut job, we all know that. But he has some interesting points to branch off from regarding his “video games are murder simulators” claim.

Video games that can be considered and marketed as simulators such as Microsoft Flight Simulator and Gran Turismo offer a hugely realistic experience to the gamer due to the attention to detail and exact physics available for movement and precision. These games not only replicate the intense simulation training devices used by trainee pilots and drivers, but also mimic the real thing. Microsoft Flight Simulator has over the years added 3D virtual cockpits, synchronised weather updates and simulations of the actual forecast outside to provide the most realistic experience available and various hazards to ready the user for most situations involved in real life flight. Gran Turismo also allows for an intensely realistic ‘driving’ experience by providing simulator kits with racing seats and steering wheel and using licence skills tests to further your game development.

These games use accurate physics taken from real life to simulate controlled situations. There is no game that simulates murder to the extent that these games simulate driving/flying. Firstly, unfortunately, there are endless different ways you can kill somebody. And while games such as Grand Theft Auto and Hitman try to cover as many of these bases as they can, there is no way to accurately simulate the physical experience of killing another person. No game depicts the physics of pushing a knife through another mans throat, what pressure to apply and which vein to slice. Jack Thompson is riding on the virtual depiction of violence, not the simulation of it. People can claim that video games may expose others to the aesthetics of violence, but it cannot be said that gaming is teaching/training violence as would a simulation experience.

K. Parlane