A Rebuttal to Stephen Gohan's Editorial (From a Female Gamer)

by Staci Marino

After reading Mr. Gohan's editorial entitled "Why RPGs Should Be Severely Censored and Devoid of Character Development," I felt compelled to write this rebuttal. He blamed console RPGs for the tragedy in Littleton, and sited three characteristics about RPGs which he felt should be changed. While some points made are indeed valid, I honestly don't think that the changes he suggests should be made.

Before rebutting, the first point I need to make is: CONSOLE RPGS DID -NOT- CAUSE THE HIGH SCHOOL MASSACRE. Yes, some console games are very violent and have a lot of killing and blood, but so do movies, television programs, and particularly the news. Many people have sited the media itself as one of the potential motivators of the killings in Littleton because of the so-called "glorifying of the killer(s)" that the media shows. For days and possibly weeks and months, the killer is plastered on the various news stations. But the true cause of the murders is the teens with the guns. It doesn't matter how much violence they viewed in video games, movies, TV shows, or the media, nor how they were picked on by the student athletes; it's their fault for picking up the guns and bombs and using them against their fellow students and teachers. We can't lose site of this fact! Games, TV, and movies are all fantasies, and if someone can't discern between fantasy and reality, then perhaps that person shouldn't be allowed to play those games or watch those movies or shows. Parents need to be more restrictive with impressionable children and teens. I know that everyone is going to wonder whether there was something that could have been done to prevent the tragedy, and perhaps there was, but it was the boys' choice to use violence to express their anger instead of talking things out with a counselor or their parents...

Now, onto the actual rebuttal! The first point he discusses is the realism in RPGs lately, particularly with the inclusion of 3D graphics and FMVs. While I agree that these supposedly "fantasy" RPGs are becoming too much like real life, other people are fans of them, and they have their places in the gaming world, too. The worlds that these "realistic" RPGs take place in aren't just like our world, either. And if a game does happen to take place on our earth (an example being Parasite Eve), just remember that most movies do, too, and they shouldn't be considered "real life." If someone plays a 3D video game or watches a fiction movie and considers what they see "real life," then that's mental instability on the part of the gamer, not a fault of the game itself. Independence Day was incredibly realistic looking, but are we going to stock up on alien-fighting arms and such? I don't think so.

The next point presented in Mr. Gohan's editorial is character development and how having characters with no story (thus making the player come up with a story for each character him/herself) will prevent other tragedies from happening. He states that "Predefined character stories, especially as realistic as recent games, only add to the subconscious idea of the player that these characters are real and can be seen as role models, and are to be emulated in society." Certainly, we are all influenced by the characters we see, and may consider them to be role models, but the same is true for movies and books. Mr. Gohan was correct in saying that "predefined character personalities are nothing more than a very subtle form of advertising," but what characters are we really influenced by...? Personally, the death and destruction caused by Avalanche during the first mission to blow up Reactor 1 disgusted me, and didn't make me want to be like Barret or Cloud. Many of my friends and I were very influenced by a different FFVII character, Aeris Gainsborough. Why? Because she was a GOOD person. Because she was kind, sweet, innocent, and gave up her life to protect her planet and her friends. She was depicted as a mortal angel, and the ideal that she portrayed makes others want to be better people. Anyone who is influenced by characters who create a lot of destruction, thus making him/her more violent, may be predisposed to these characteristics due to other circumstances. It's not the fault of the video game--it's the fault of the person who allowed him/herself to be influenced by it.

Also, many gamers like to play RPGs for the excellent storylines and interesting characters. In fact, one of the criteria I use when judging an RPG I've played is whether or not the story was good, and whether I was able to care about the characters and, if I'm lucky, empathize with some of them. I like books, and I enjoy games with stories and characters that can rival those in a fantasy novel. But that's just my opinion.

Mr. Gohan suggests that we leave character development only inside our heads so that we aren't influenced to commit murder. Pen and paper RPGs allow the player to create his/her own character, and the infamous DnD (Dungeons and Dragons) game caused quite a few murders itself, with the players acting out their parts far too realistically. Now having a game like that on a console wouldn't allow the player to act out the part, but one never knows. Also, most console RPGs were originally created in Japan, and they also have many more RPGs than were released here. Yet Japan's murder and crime rates are much lower than those in the US. So it's obviously not the RPGs that are causing murders...

He also states that these games depict humans revolting against angels, as shown by many of Square's latest final boss forms (Kefka, Sephiroth, and Altima, to name a few). He believes that this is "a sick joke created by selfish atheists who are making fun of Christianity." First of all, these games are created in Asia, where Christianity is a minority, and is merely a curiousity to them, much like mythology and possibly even their religions are to us. Their religions tend to be Hindu, Buddism, Daoism, Shintoism, and the like. And they are NOT atheists. In fact, those religions tend to have multiple gods. Secondly, the image of an angel that the final bosses take is to show their desire to become a god themselves. But they AREN'T holy angels. Sephiroth is the One-Winged Angel, which is an angel who fell from grace. So the party isn't fighting a good angel. Kefka, I believe, was shown with two wings, but he is also a fallen angel.

The third change suggested by Mr. Gohan is: "Women should be kept as healers or magic users and not be scantily clothed, or it sets a bad example for society," he states. He goes on to say that female characters should stay back and let the male characters protect them. Plus, he adds that since there aren't many girl gamers, "So their opinion, while I guess it should still be considered, is far less important." After reading that, my blood boiled and it took a little while for me to calm down and write a coherent editorial.

First of all, Mr. Gohan, there are a LOT more female gamers than you think. Look at all the video game fanart and fanfiction sites on the web, and see just how many girls own these sites. Plus, you'll find links and webrings leading to tons more female-owned game-related sites. And these are just the girls who have websites! There are plenty more who aren't online or have websites related to these topics. So, please don't say there aren't many of us and that our opinions don't matter, because there ARE and they DO.

Second of all, the Dark Ages and the Middle Ages are long gone. Female characters have just as much right to be fighter characters as male characters do. Why should they have to be healers and wear tons of clothing? That seems incredibly chauvinistic to me... If games are as influensive as stated before, then do we really want to give young girls the impression that they need a man to protect them? Any self-respecting female today wouldn't want that! If any of you have a daughter in the future, what are you going to teach her about her role in society? My mother taught me that I could do anything I wanted to, no matter what. So why can't a video game that supposedly reflects reality depict strong females? While I tend to prefer female magicians myself (since I like magic-users in general), it's nice to see female warrior-types like FFVII's Tifa, Chrono Trigger's Ayla, and Seiken Densetsu 3's Riesz. Girls need good role-models, too, to show that they can do anything a man can.

Thirdly, females have certainly had their share of fighting in history. How about the amazons of South America? Granted, they each cut off a breast so they could shoot a bow and arrow better, but still, they didn't stand around waiting for some guy to come help them; they could handle things just fine by themselves. Joan of Arc also comes to mind.

And the final note on this point, just what exactly does a female's role in a video game have to do with what happened in Littleton...?

Mr. Gohan, you dared us to respond to your editorial. Hopefully, my response meets your challenge...

Original Editorial: Why RPGs Should be Severely Censored and Devoid of Character Development