{"id":128299,"date":"2019-02-25T12:01:10","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T12:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=128299"},"modified":"2019-02-22T08:18:38","modified_gmt":"2019-02-22T08:18:38","slug":"what-can-video-games-teach-us-about-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2019\/02\/what-can-video-games-teach-us-about-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"What Can Video Games Teach Us about Peace?"},"content":{"rendered":"

More and more games are incorporating nonviolence as a feature and encouraging better social behaviour in the real world.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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“Mainstream games can continue to develop narratives and gameplay features that encourage the player to think about the use of violence and its implications.”<\/p><\/div>\n

18 Feb 2019 – <\/em>Debates about video game violence have almost become clich\u00e9. Over the past 20 years, video games have been blamed for inspiring mass shootings<\/a> and facilitating attacks by Islamic militants<\/a>. When the question of video game violence came before the United States Supreme Court in 2011, it appeared to settle the debate once and for all. In a 7-2 decision, the Court dismissed<\/a> the body of research on the subject as “based on correlation, not evidence of causation.”<\/p>\n

However, the debate reignited with renewed vigour in February 2018 when the United States suffered its deadliest high school shooting to date<\/a> at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. In the wake of the tragedy, President Donald Trump convened a private meeting with the video game industry, where he played an 88 second montage<\/a> of video game violence and expressed concern that these scenes were “shaping young peoples\u2019 thoughts.”<\/p>\n

In October 2018, the US National Academy of Sciences confirmed<\/a> a link between playing violent video games at one point in time and exercising overt physical aggression at a subsequent point in time. Other studies<\/a> have found that the consumption of violent media has a negative impact on pro-social behaviours, such as helpfulness and empathy.<\/p>\n

[click here to show video in new tab]<\/a>
\nFrom RT\u00c9 Archives, a RT\u00c9 News report from 2000 by\u00a0Sharon N\u00ed Bheol\u00e1in on the introduction of a new age rating programme for the gaming sector<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

However, just as violent video games can negatively influence real world behaviour, games with pro-social themes have been found to have a positive impact<\/a>. There is a notable lack of research into the nonviolent and pacific alternatives that are often present in conventionally violent video games. This is despite the considerable commitment and incredible innovation that some members of the gaming community have displayed with regard to pacifist ideals.<\/p>\n

For example,\u00a0developer Ben Burbank<\/a>\u00a0and artist Kent Sheely<\/a>\u00a0have both attempted pacifist play-throughs of the popular shooter series, Call of Duty. Gamer Kyle Hinckley<\/a> successfully completed Fallout 4 without killing anyone or anything \u2013 despite the series being premised on the slogan, “War\u2026 War never changes.” Hinckley managed to complete the game despite the game\u2019s developers admitting<\/a>\u00a0that a pacifist narrative was not their goal. More recently, members of the Battlefield community (an online multiplayer shooter set during World War One) briefly observed the centenary of the Armistice.<\/p>\n

httpv:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iSqOQi1IY4M
\nFallout 4 \u2013 Zero Kills (New Survival) \u2013 Part 01<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

With some gamers going to such great lengths to pursue pacifist ideals, why don\u2019t games developers incorporate nonviolence as a gameplay feature and encourage pro-social behaviour in the real world? Several games are doing so already. Take the Dishonored<\/a> series for example, in which players assume the role of an assassin tasked with neutralising a number of political targets. For each target, there is a nonviolent alternative to assassination, and the game rewards players with an in-game trophy or achievement if they complete the game without taking anyone\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

In addition, nonviolence has a positive impact on the game\u2019s ending: political order is restored, and the state can draw on the talent and resources that have been spared from needless bloodshed. In contrast, violent behaviour has a negative impact on the story and the gameplay: guard patrols become more frequent due to the player\u2019s violent actions, and bloodshed leads to the spread of vermin and disease \u2013 as in real life<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The\u00a0Deus Ex: Mankind Divided<\/a> series is another example of how games can encourage a player to think about the impact of \u2013 and alternatives to \u2013 violence. Deus Ex puts players in the role of an Interpol agent in a dystopian future that continues to grapple with discrimination, persecution, victimhood and access to justice. As in Dishonored, Deus Ex rewards players who complete the game using non-lethal means. In confrontations with terrorist and criminal elements, players are often afforded the opportunity to engage in dialogue with them. The game rewards a capacity for active listening and empathy by opening up opportunities for the peaceful resolution of disputes that might otherwise be inaccessible. This also allows players to bring criminal elements to justice through legal procedures, rather than lethal ones.<\/p>\n

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\nFrom RT\u00c9 Radio 1’s Arena,\u00a0Joe Griffin on\u00a0a series of games that explore the impact of war on civilians and refugees<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Researchers the world over are currently investigating how these gameplay features can be utilised to teach students, diplomats\u00a0and peacekeepers the skills necessary to build peace in a variety of contexts. PeaceMaker<\/a> and Global Conflicts: Palestine <\/a>are both “serious games”\u00a0that seek to educate players about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its myriad components. Both games have been found to promote a player\u2019s ability to empathise<\/a> with both the Israeli and Palestinian perspectives, while improving players\u2019 contextual knowledge of the conflict generally<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mission Zhobia<\/a> is a serious game being developed in association with the United Nations\u2019 Institute for Training and Research<\/a> and the United States\u2019 Institute for Peace<\/a>, among others. The game seeks to develop the key competencies of peacebuilding practitioners \u2013 effective dialogue, trust-building, and perspective-taking \u2013 through many of the gameplay features embedded in mainstream games such as Dishonored and Deus Ex.<\/p>\n

Researchers are currently investigating how gameplay features can teach students, diplomats\u00a0and peacekeepers the skills necessary to build peace in a variety of contexts<\/em><\/p>\n

Closer to home, an EU-wide consortium led by Trinity College Dublin has recently launched the Gaming for Peace game<\/a>, which aims to prepare military and police personnel for conflict prevention and peacebuilding missions. “Soft skills”\u00a0such as communication, empathy and gender and cultural awareness are imparted through gameplay features such as personal choice and interactive dialogue.<\/p>\n

READ: what’s behind the rise and rise of Fortnite?<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If video games can be put to such serious uses, then there is much to be said for the broader application of pacific games. Mainstream games can continue to develop narratives and gameplay features that encourage the player to think about the use of violence and its implications. Perhaps more practically, community groups and cross-border initiatives can use serious games\u00a0to promote interaction and perspective-taking in fractured societies. The research proves it is possible \u2013 all we are saying is give peace (and games) a chance.<\/p>\n

_____________________________________________<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em>Dr Gene Carolan is a Lecturer in Law at Technological University Dublin whose research interests lie in peace agreement design, transitional justice mechanisms, and conflict analysis<\/em><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 rte.ie<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

18 Feb 2019 – More and more games are incorporating nonviolence as a feature and encouraging better social behaviour in the real world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":128301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[195],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conflict-resolution-mediation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}