In the last decade, gaming has become massively popular, as has the controversial topic of its psychological effects of video game violence on players’ aggression levels. In a Psychology class that I took last semester, the material was heavily focused on the psychological effects of game violence on players’ aggression levels in real life. Therefore, this topic has been present in the back of my mind for quite some time; most of my friends are gamers and tend to get aggressive when playing games such as World of Warcraft and League of Legends. However, not all of them display this aggression in real life. It is important to note that many factors play a role in aggression levels, such as the age you started playing, your cultural background, your upbringing, social trends; the list goes on and on. I found that really interesting.
While interacting in the Guild Wars 2 gaming world with my avatar, I found that I was more likely to have an ‘offense’ and ‘defense’ mentality because I wanted to win and continue to level up. In my lived reality, while I am very ambitious, I do not think about competing with others, but rather with myself; I always want to one up myself. I found that in Guild Wars 2, that was very different. I was acting very differently in the game than how I normally am in real life. For example, when I would see someone in dire need or in pain, either physically or mentally, I would always rush to help in real life. However, in Guild Wars 2, at times I found myself ignoring them and focusing on my own mission. Personally, I find myself to be a very empathetic and caring person in real life; I also am not really violent. Apart from a heated political discussion here and there, I never really get heated. As soon as I started playing, I realized how easy it is to fall into the trap of aggression. This was dangerous. I realized that violence is indeed, more detached than I had ever experienced before. Examples of this include me using more powerful weapons that were not needed to win a battle, or getting excited when I kill a player. In real life, while I am not afraid of conflict anymore, I’d still rather avoid it unless I feel that it is absolutely necessary. When I say conflict in that instance, I refer to standing up for yourself or confronting someone about something that they may have done to upset you. Physical violence has never really been my forte.
It is also valid to say that Guild Wars 2 displays minimal violence, in comparison to other games such as League of Legends. While the debate about short and long-term psychological effects of video game violence on players’ aggression levels is no closer to a resolution than when it began, a possible improvement would be educating game players on the latter. Once people become aware of the psychological effects of game violence on their own aggression levels, perhaps the knowledge of that would make an impact. After all, knowledge is power.
-B