Views CUiture
ThegamesClDlumn
A welcome, ~indudngclisbadlon Doom Eternal involves killing
demons, but the evidence suggests violence in video games has no real effect
on behaviour in the real world, says Jacob AronJacob Aron iS New Seientisfs
deputy news editor. He has
been pl<rJlng video games
for 25 years, but still Isn't
very good at them. Follow
him on Twitter@>jjaronJacob also
recommends ...Game9
Saperhat
PC. PIGJStatlon4.Xbca:One.
KlntadoSwltda
An abltmct 1djl 1hooter
with a unique twist-time
o~ moves when you do.
As a n-sult you can dodge
bu11ets and line up seeming~
impossible shots, before
watching a real-time replay
at the end of eadJ level111Newldemlltl11.llaldalCllD
PLAYING Doom Eternal induces a have invaded Mms/Earth/
physlologlcalresponse in me-a whatever and only you can stop
fantastic adrenaline rush that ia a them... blah blah blah. All you
welcome diatractlon in these dark need t.o know are two simple
tlmea. The game is the second in rules:keepmovingandteep
amodem-dayre1iesbofthelong- killing.Etemal~s on this
running Doom series, which sees withaflametbrowrthatmakes
playen blast away demons with enemies drop annourandadds
anarsenalofabsurdweapomy. aquick-dashmove,meaningthe
The immecliatepll!decessortu whole game becomes a whirling
Eternal, simply called Doom, came
out in2016, shortly before my first "The plat ls lrnlevant-
daughterwas bom.Inherflrstfew clemons have lmaded.
weeb,sherefusedtu sleep in a Man n-.. -1.. '-hatever
crib and would only settle when t ma& UJAt -
lyingonmywifeorl.Asaresult. andonlJyou can stop
Ibecamenoctumal.stayingup them-blah blah blah"
most of the night with a tiny,
precious bundle lying on my chest. balletofbalandng resowt.'es,
In between swigs of coffee and suchashealtbandammo,and
episodes of Line of Duty, I turned death-dealing. It requires extreme
to Doom to keep me awake. attentlveneas and gets the heart
What mates the 2016 game so racing satlsfymgly.
engaging is a system designed to I realise that non-gamers
encoungeforwardmomentumat readingthisareprobablyhorrffled
all times: shoot a dmlon enough at my glorific:ation of death and
and itwill:llashonmge, signalling destruction, and some may
you cm lllOft in for a "r).ory Iciil" already be reaching for their
that will send limbs flying and keyboard tu complain. They
finish the job, restoring your wouldn't be the first-the.Doom
on-screen health In the process. series has long been criticised
The plot Is irrelevant-demons for beingt.ooviolent However,Sl&ying Doom's
demonsb•Plth•
game movtng forwardJooklng back, it seems absurd t.o
suggest the pilrelated graphics of
the 1993 original. could everwarp
young minds.
Video game violence isn't real-
world violence, any mmethan
chess is anacanate simulation
of war, butmanypeoplefeelthe
linkistbere. Concern over Doom
probably reached its peak after
the 1999 Columbine massacre in
Colorado,inwhichtwoteenagen
killed l2 students and a teacher at
their sc:hool. Investigators found
references to.Doom in a journal
belonging tu one of the killers, and
although there were rumours that
he had recreated the layout ofthe
school in the game. there is no
evidence this is actually true.
So, do violent video games
cause violent behaviour? Probably
not. For a start, much of the
resean:h in this area relies on
abstractmeumesofagression-
the length of time a participant
exposes someone tu aloud noise
is often deployed, for example.
What's DlDR!, although a 2018
meta-analysis that looked at 24
studies, which togetherinvolved
moretban 171XJO people, found a
slightassodation between video
game violence and aggression in
the real wodd, the effect size was
tiny-accounting fur less than 1
percent ofthevaria.nc:e in
aggressive behaviour in US teens.
With little to show f.bryears of
study, researchers and the:meclia
seem to have switched tu fretting
about the negative effects of sodal
media and smartphones.Agafn,
the effects seem tinyifthey exist
at all-one paper found that
eating potatoes has as much of an
association with teen well-being as
screen use. Withthatinmind,l'm
happy to keep blasting demons. I