The title worried me a little. Due out next month, Grand Theft Childhood, is an academic analysis of violent games and the effects they have on younger players. But the subtitle, 'The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can do' hints at something more considered than a reactionary fright-fest aimed at impressionable parents and hamfisted polticos looking for their next moral sitting target.
My favourite 'serious' games blog, Watercooler Games, drew my attention to the book and links to a hugely encouraging interview with one half of the writing team, Harvard researcher, Cheryl Olson. It's one long, considered de-bunking of various myths associated with violent games and, indeed, game playing in general. For example:
One very encouraging finding was how sophisticated middle-school boys were in their understanding of violent games. They could enjoy playing bad guys without wanting to be them.
When asked about the way that certain politicians have taken up the crusade about violent games, Olson replies:
It's upsetting to see a group of boys laughing as they watch one game character literally rip the guts out of another. But when you know more about the context, motivations and other factors involved, you may see this differently. Also, for politicians it's an issue that they can campaign easily on, even if the scientific data don't support their claims.
With the Byron Report set to publish its findings this week, I hope its compilers have been as rigorous and open-minded in their examination of supposed truths concerning games culture and games playing. The authors of Grand Theft Childhood even rebuke themselves for not interviewing more girls about GTA - they had assumed that the game attracted a meagre female user-base, but it turned out that a fifth of the girls they surveyed had played the game regularly.
I'm not sure, and this is dangerous territory to get into I suppose, but I feel, if I had a teenage daughter, I'd rather she played GTA than Miss Bimbo. Rockstar's series has some dislikable misogynistic undertones, but the lead character is essentially on a quest for power and authority within a society where respect is garnered via actions rather than appearances. Breast augmentation and pathetic fame fantasies do not enter in the equation.
The book, due out on April 15, has a website, here.
