Bacsal 1 Mark Bacsal Professor Lace English 113A 18 November 2013

First Person Shooter & Third Person Shooter Violence When playing a first person shooter (FPS) video game or a third person shooter (TPS) video game, our first thought when we see a living, breathing creature or human is to shoot it. Watching your enemy struggle for his or own life. What we dont think about is that FPS and TPS video games are slowly influencing our aggression, actions, thoughts etc Video games have influenced us just like all the movies and TV shows we see today; they influence how we act, dress, talk, and perceive things. Many FPS and TPS video games are very addicting and influential. As we constantly continue to play FPS and TPS video games, we try to act as the main character or imitate the main characters actions and or attributes. Since most FPS and TPS games contain violence, we are slowly exposing our brain to a new world, as if it were reality. As we play more violent FPS and TPS video games, our aggression begins to heighten so do our thoughts and actions. Mont wrote in an article, the aim of the present study was to investigate the processing of emotions in trained action video players and control persons. We showed that excessive first-person-shootervideo-gamers exhibit differences in the neural processing of unpleasant emotions, likely involving top-down effects on emotional control (Montag 2). This is proof that playing excessive amount of violent FPS and TPS video games affect adults and, especially, young adolescents brains.

Bacsal 2 As an experienced video gamer myself, I loved blowing peoples heads off, crippling them, sniping them from afar, and watching them flee as I throw a grenade only to blow them up. I had a fun time playing FPS and TPS games, but as I began to play more often I noticed that I became more aggressive, as with my thoughts. I disliked the reason when my parents would disturb me, ending up as me losing focus in the video game only to die by an enemys rifle. Not only was I aggressive when disturbed, my thoughts were very absurd. I would think that anyone that laughed was criticizing me, so I would think if I had a firearm maybe I couldve used it against them and they would stop laughing at me. Back then I was nave and self-conscious and followed everything that I saw or heard. Violence found in TPS and FPS video games are very influential to young adolescents, and those who tend to constantly play violent video games. Montag wrote that some researchers hypothesized that playing violent video games has an effect on the gamers real life, e.g.. the confrontation with aggression in the video game leads to aggressive behavior in the real world (Gentile and Gentile, 2007) (Montag 3). This quote proves that there might be a chance that aggressive behavior is correlated with violent video games. Although video games are addictive and influential which might lead to bad habits, there are some benefits playing FPS and TPS video games. As we continue to play an FPS, like Call of Duty or a TPS video game like Grand Theft Auto, our eyes adapt to the fast moving visuals, constantly being aware of our surroundings, as we stay on alert while playing FPS and TPS games our hand to eye coordination increases and our reaction times have increased. The benefits are slight compared to the negative effects of excessive gameplay of violent FPS and TPS video games.

Bacsal 3 I had a hard time controlling my aggression when I was young, so a third party, Child and Family Guidance, had to limit my time and I started to find a new hobby. An example was the Washington Naval Yard shooting which was supposedly caused due to playing violent video games. A gunman armed with a shotgun shot and injured several people at the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command. Many people are actually being affected by playing violent video games and are bringing them to reality. Montag also stated that Moreover, the expert Counterstrike gamers showed a stronger activation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and temporal areas of the brain in reaction to Counterstrike pictures, which might reflect the activation of actions scripts related to the first person-shooter-video-game (Montag 2). This provides evidence that when a certain person is in an environment or area which resembles an area in a video game the brain shows reaction, which may reflect on our actions, and or thoughts. Excessive gameplay of violent FPS and TPS video games can be harmful to our brains, bodies, and may sometimes be fatal to others. Violence found in video games is like movies and TV shows. They inspire us, yet they influence us on how we perceive or act to certain situations or events. In video games like Call of Duty franchise and the Grand Theft Auto franchise more and more people have been playing these video games. Game stations have been taking the precautions of avoiding situations of influencing young adolescents by requiring a parent or guardian over 18 to buy rated M video games. An example is buying a rated M video games from Game Stop. As you pick up a rated M video game and try to purchase it they require you to show any identification that proves you are 18 and over. The reason why game stations or game developers go throught this verification is to avoid any video game conspiracies or controversies. Many people have been

Bacsal 4 avoiding or going around this verification process by having a brother, or friend buy the games for them. ` Violent FPS and TPS video games are highly addictive and influential especially among

the young. Although game stations are taking precautions, there are ways to avoid them. Games have been proven to affect our brain brains response time, and our reactions times, but have also affected our thoughts and actions. Most gamers are blamed for their aggressive behavior due to others faulty actions.

Montag, Christian, et al. "Does excessive play of violent first-person-shooter-video-games dampen brain activity in response to emotional stimuli?" Biological Psychology. 89.19 (2012) 107-111 Web. 5 November 2013.