Do First Person Shooter Gamers Enjoy Getting Killed?

from the anti-video-gamers-will-love-this-one dept

Mon, Feb 25th 2008 12:56pm — Mike Masnick

It's no secret that there are ongoing arguments between those people who believe video games incite violence and those who believe it doesn't (or even those who believe it acts as a release valve). Despite claims to the contrary, there's little real evidence linking violent video games to violent acts. At most, it's been shown that playing such games makes people emotional (as it should) -- not that it leads to actual violent acts. A recent study may probably get folks on both sides of the debate claiming it supports their position. Apparently, when people are playing first-person shooters, they actually enjoy getting killed in the game. Well, perhaps "enjoy" is the wrong word. It sounds like it's more a sense of relief. Basically, the study found that in the process of trying to "kill" others in the game, it does increase stress level for the players (similar to what studies have found), and getting killed yourself, takes away that stress, providing some "relief." For those who don't believe violent video games leads to violence, this could be used to support that claim -- showing that while people are playing, they're still rather stressed out at the idea of killing even virtual characters. Of course, those who dislike violent video games will probably now claim that it promotes suicide as well.

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Filed Under: first person shooters, violent video games

23 Comments

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Buzz, 25 Feb 2008 @ 12:59pm

I'm gonna kill you.
Video games make me do all varieties of terrible things! Wait, isn't that what they said about movies too? This planet is screwed.
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Matt Bennett, 25 Feb 2008 @ 1:16pm

Ok, I'm a pretty big gamer, including First person Shooters. I can see getting killed reducing your "stress" level, but keep in mind that "stress" as the clinicians here are referring to is pretty much the same things as "excitement" or "adrenaline." Really, the fun you're having is "stress", clinically speaking. Part of why it's healthier than watching TV.

So, you're playing you're "stressed," you're ducking and weaving, and all of sudden BOOM! You're dead. Fist of all, sometimes the manner in which you die is funny or entertaining, and second, the pressure is off, you're responsibilities are done, and you're looking at some variable amount of downtime (usually only 10-15 seconds, but still). So yeah, you relax a little, take a deep breath, and prepare for next go. It's less "stressful" the way the chair lift is compared to moguls, not cuz you're somehow relieved you don't have to kill people.
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LBD, 25 Feb 2008 @ 1:23pm

English is horrible
By phrasing your results in non-scientific language without careful definitions, you risk getting them misunderstood. By phrasing them in a scientific language that sounds like English it WILL be misunderstood. Bah. Scientific language is full of false friends with English. We need to conduct science in an otherwise dead language, methinks.
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Matt Bennett, 25 Feb 2008 @ 1:28pm

Like Latin? I think they tried that, people weren't fans of it.
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Rational Beaver, 25 Feb 2008 @ 1:36pm

So...
I imagine that we might find similar results if we studied the mental states of hockey players in the game vs. those who have just been put in the box for a penalty.
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Shay, 25 Feb 2008 @ 2:09pm

I'm the opposite
This was particularly interesting to me, because it explains why I adamantly do not enjoy first-person shooters. I get so wound up and stressed during the process of attempting to kill other players while avoiding being killed myself that it completely destroys any sense of enjoyment. So strong is my displeasure at the prospect of "dying" that I'm so stressed that it isn't fun...which after all is the whole point of a game.
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Matt Bennett, 25 Feb 2008 @ 2:12pm

Some people are competitive, some aren't. Some people enjoy proving themselves, some people would rather avoid the possibility of failure. This is all in situations where it's not just a game, and the risk is not zero.

Frankly I find the sort of attitude expressed above as a little sad.
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Feb 2008 @ 2:18pm

Q: Why are you banging your head on that wall?
A: Because it feels so good when I stop.
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The Maestro, 25 Feb 2008 @ 2:20pm

Promotes suicide?
Guess what, someone's already claiming that, even without this "evidence":
http://www.collisiondetection.net/mt/archives/2008/02/larouche_report.html#001743
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Ashwin Mudigonda, 25 Feb 2008 @ 2:21pm

What is your sample set?
Well, I don't know what the sample set was and what the game was, but when I am playing Halo, and I just stole the tank, and I climbed all the way to the corner of the board, I sort of just hang out there and "snipe" until someone takes me out. I mean, I don't want to get off the tank and then walk all the way to base.

Besides that, playing FPS has given me super-human reflexes.
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Feb 2008 @ 2:33pm

I'm pretty sure they got it backwards.

The "stress" isn't from trying to kill people. It's from trying not to be killed.

When the death finally comes, you relax a bit because hey, what are you going to do? Respawn?
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Feb 2008 @ 2:33pm

I'll murder you all, hijack cars, shoot people then kill myself because GTA rocks.
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TheZorch, 25 Feb 2008 @ 3:06pm

Hell NO!!! Getting kill in a FPS pisses us off, makes us focus harder so we can frag the hell out of the bastard who shot us down!!!
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LBD, 25 Feb 2008 @ 3:12pm

Re: latin
No, latin's a no go because it's still too 'englishy', and it has that verb and noun conjugation that drives lots of English speakers nuts. Starting from scratch would probably be best, but, honestly, unworkable. So... I dunno, but it's a real annoying problem.
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Feb 2008 @ 3:38pm

To me, it depends on how I'm killed. If, for example, I go on a spree while recklessly charging whatever objective I'm supposed to get at, and I get killed, I'm like "hahaha at least I tried". If I'm playing carefully and someone comes flying from somewhere and one shots me, I get quite annoyed.

Stupid science.
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Feb 2008 @ 4:09pm

someone please inform this kid how dying online relieves stress:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7LhYFqgQ8w
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Hellsvilla, 25 Feb 2008 @ 4:21pm

Re:
That kid wasn't playing a FPS game, he was trying to use Word 97.
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james, 25 Feb 2008 @ 4:22pm

Re: killed
heck i always get pissed after i get killed 'cause i can't believe that i did something that stupid, (again) to get my electronic brains spread across the cyber scape
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Alpha MAle, 25 Feb 2008 @ 7:39pm

Gamers like getting killed!!!? NO i hate getting killed but that is part of the game. during the game i get a bit stressed a times but when it is over back to normal no need to go do violent acts IT IS ONLY A GAME i might do bad things to Jack Thompson though
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JustMatt, 26 Feb 2008 @ 5:36am

Let me count the ways
The Holocaust, the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition and the Salem Witch Trials were all carried out by religious fundamentals.

The Hundred Years War, the War of the Roses, WWI, the Spanish American War, WWII, Korea and Vietnam, were carried out on behalf of some form of nationalism.

Pretty darn sure that video games didn't exist for any of those. So tell me again how video games make us violent? Tell me again how it was all sweetness and light before video games?
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Killer_Tofu (profile), 26 Feb 2008 @ 5:58am

Re #16 & 17
Now, I cannot watch the video because I am at work and YouTube is blocked, but if it is that one video I am thinking of. Where the kid is using his computer, then gets super pissed off and bangs the table and his keyboard a lot.
(You know, the one thats in 50 million places around the net, all claiming it was for a different reason, and some subtitled with different captions)
If it is that one, Hellsvilla, that is the funniest comment I have seen in awhile. Sooo funny, I love it.
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trevor broadnax, 27 Feb 2008 @ 4:43am

darfur
ghegrhrhvb
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Rob Grealy, 4 Mar 2008 @ 5:52am

What do scientists know about games ???
OK, as an "old" gamer (played Doom in DOS -- that's an operating system before Windows for you kids), I've so far not gone out and killed anyone, stabbed anyone, shot a hooker, garrotted a security guard (or nazi), used some magic spell to fireball / freeze / shadow damage anyone in Real Life ...

Why ???

Because Gamers understand that it "IS" a game ...

People that go on ragers in Real Life and kill real people had something wrong with them mentally anyways, and something would have eventually set them off ...

All these so called "social experts" are (starts with W and rhymes with Anchors) ...

Stop blaming Games or Movies for a failing social system you morons ...

/end rant
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