The day is April 20, 1999.  12 students and a teacher start what seems like an ordinary day of school.  Or so they thought.  They were shot down by two gunmen.  These gunmen were teenagers, just two average-Joes that went to the school.  After the incident, the shooting was blamed on the media.  But was it really the media’s fault?  Or were the games used as a scapegoat for something completely unrelated to games?  Do these games really affect the mind in the ways that legislators say they do?  That is what we are here to explore.

            Many legislators say that playing violent games, such as First-Person Shooters, can create a killer.  Personally, I find that statement to be a half-truth.  I believe that games can only affect a child when it is at its most impressionable state, which is, on average, from birth to about 10.  Otherwise, a child should be able to distinguish from fantasy and reality.  Children under 10 are commonly seen pretending to be their favorite superheroes, and imitating their every move.  But after that, they start to mature, and become their own people.

            Back to the subject of Columbine.  These two teens were rumored to have played the game Doom in their spare time.  In Doom, you run around and kill monsters that happen to walk into your path.  Doom is a First-Person Shooter.  First-Person Shooters are games where you walk around with a gun in your hand, and you see it all through the eyes of the character.  Reporters have said that the shooters thought that they were playing a game of Doom, and saw the other children as monsters and shot them.  But is that a reasonable explanation for a killing?  I think not.

            The First-Person Shooters are the games that get bashed the most.  This is probably because the gun is put in “your hand,” and you can see everything through the character’s eyes.  In some games, you can use an accessory called a “Light Gun” to actually control the gun.  The rest of the media seem to think that these games make people “jump into the game.”  It is thought that when they see no consequences for their killings, they think that it is ok to run around shooting people.  Personally, I think that this isn’t true at all.

            Actually, I think that the rating system is a good thing, and that M rated games should NOT be sold to persons under the age of 17 without a parent or legal guardian present.  Parents are the only way to diminish this problem.  If you are a parent, be sure to read the labels, and choose games that are right for your children.