The world of video games has gone through very different phases, but it’s true that as their quality and realism have grown, so has the controversy surrounding them. I’m sure many of you will remember the craze that broke out around Mortal Kombat, a game that the press called scary, realistic and dangerous for children. I don’t know, they must have believed that if we played it, we’d go out on the street and try to rip someone’s heart (or head) out with our hands.

Mortal Kombat was gory, sure, but to a level that was even comical, because it had the same realism as an eighties martial arts movie. Over the years, the tendency to criticize video games for their violence or other issues related to their content, which were generally considered dangerous, has not changed, in fact it has gone further and recurred in very significant controversies.

Personally, I think criticizing and trying to censor a video game for being violent is absurd, they are works of fiction which, like movies, tell a story and give us the opportunity to experience it interactively. I’m not going to go out and shoot myself just because I’m watching an action movie, and for the same reason I’m not going to do it because I’m playing a video game. With the criticisms and the disputes the only thing that was trying was looking for a “scapegoat” take responsibility for much deeper problems that may arise on a social and personal level.

I could give many examples, but one of the most classic and relevant is the one about american boy who decide to shoot each other in high school. The media say that he was inspired by the video game “X” and that if it were not for that bad influence, nothing would have happened. The problem, of course, is that he was playing video games, not that he had access to a firearm like someone who goes to the corner store to buy a package of yogurt. We also say nothing about his possible family, social and psychological problems, it doesn’t matter, it just matters that he played GTA, DOOM or Call of Duty.

I am aware that eventually, even in my own time, many parents have become “afraid” of video games, and ultimately it limited their children’s access to certain degrees. Fortunately, in my case I did not have any type of censorship of this type. When I was not old enough, I played titles like DOOM (1993) and enjoyed many other games as a kid. What can I say, I led a completely normal life and it didn’t occur to me to go out on the street “hunting demons”.

Family upbringing, social environment and friends they’re far more important influences than a simple video game, that’s clear to me, and I think the world would be a little better if we were all equally clear on that. However, I’m curious and I’ll ask you a question, did your parents forbid you from playing any video games when you were little? we read each other