Feature: 'Sex, Violence, Tension and Comic Books'

Author: by Staff

In today's main Gamasutra feature, author Gerard Jones (Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Superheroes and Make-Believe Violence) discusses the ability for video games to relieve aggression, and the acceptance of new forms of media on a government level, in a fascinating exclusive interview. When asked by interviewer Bonnie Ruberg: "What do you think it is in your work that resonates with the gaming community?", Jones replies: "Video games have been so much under attack recently, that I think there’s a certain nervousness. Most people in this business are very pleasant and non-confrontational and the fact that they are being reviled as the causes of crime, causes of violence, is disturbing. On the one hand, I think people want to know how to respond to those criticisms. But on the other hand, I think there’s some genuine anxiety that maybe games have a bad side, maybe there is a problem, and how do we deal with any guilt or fear? I think anyone who’s a decent person but who finds himself or herself attracted to aggressive or violent imagery is a little troubled. Why do I like this? It’s not really something that we’re taught in life to examine. It just sort of sneaks up. So I think a desire to understand what’s happening inside ourselves is a big part of it. People in the games business are particularly inclined that way, being, for the most part, a gentle group in a medium where violence has become so prominent." You can now read the full Gamasutra feature on the subject for the complete interview with author Jones (no registration required, please feel free to link to this column from external websites).