Do you think people can learn to be more tolerant from playing games?

[StaceyPowers]

A lot of video games include themes that promote more awareness of prejudice. But do you think that people can learn to be more tolerant from playing games?

I think in some cases, some people probably do question their assumptions and beliefs when exposed to different ideas in games. But other people are not going to open their minds regardless of what they play.

[Reality vs Adventure]

I think most people will be influenced by their peers in what games they play, so they most likely won't even be playing something that has a chance to open their eyes a little. The least tolerant people are going to play their 'cliche' games and the most tolerant people will play a wider variety that challenges thought. So gaming can help people become more tolerant if they already are tolerant which tend to be the younger generation. If they were to have a study using games in schools, I believe the results would be positive that students become more tolerant. But then anything like that would be designated critical race theory or more specifically critical thinking theory. Any critical thinking scares the hell out of people with the least toleration. They want to hold onto the adage that ignorance is bliss and shut down any awareness and completely demonize any that questions 'tradition,' or 'prejudiced tradition.' 

But even in schools, if the school has no diversity, then playing a game to help toleration levels gets washed out afterward because of their peers. Then parents will attack schools accusing awareness of prejudice to be an attempt of indoctrination. So the younger generation has a higher chance to learn toleration from games, but they are too protected by oppressive elders. In a diverse environment with all walks of life, it could help. But then again those people will already have a higher toleration level. In principle-I say yes to your question. In practicality- I say no because of peers. 

[Shagger]

This is a pessimistic view, I know, but I don't think games can teach people to be more tolerant in most cases and video games shouldn't try.

 

That's not because I have a problem with such messages in games, that could not be further from the truth, It's because I sadly just don't believe that people who really need taught are that receptive to the lesson. If someone is receptive to learning to be more tolerant and less prejudiced, then odds are they will already be fairly tolerant and non-prejudiced to begin with. When I played Hellblade and Tell me Why, I was happy to learn more about people who struggle with mental illness and trans people respectively, but they didn't really make me more tolerant of them because I'm a not prejudiced person to being with. The people who need those lessons far more tend to be not only prejudiced, but also ignorant, arrogant and entitled. They would look at game with a positive message with regard to minorities or marginalised groups like they only include such messages to preach to them, aggravate them and otherwise annoy them. These people too so self-centred to see the real point to such things. They'll accuse such games of "pandering" , "including groups to make quota's for inclusion of X-group" or even claiming that inclusion itself is prejudiced in some twisted way. The truth is simply they don't like being reminded of thier own prejudices by seen them reflected in a video game, a medium of entertainment that obviously should only exists for thier own, selfish ass.

 

If that is you reading this, you need to read this next part very carefully. These companies do not employ inclusivity, that being inclusivity of non-whites, people with varied religious beliefs, the LGBTQ+ community, woman who actually who actually look like real woman and not your wet dreams or any other form of inclusivity for your benefit. They don't give a damb about you. The ones they are thinking of when they make these decisions are the people in those groups. And yes, as well as thier bottom line and thier PR image, and even if I'm wrong and that's all they're thinking about, that still doesn't mean they give squirt of piss for what you think. They don't care what it means to you, but try and step outside of the box you live in where only what you think matters for one moment and think what it means to someone who lives there life in a marginalised group like that. Someone who has grown up in a world that's tried constantly to convince them that who they are or they way the live is in some way wrong. A world that insists they are less of person or worth less because of how and/or where they were born and to what parents, something that nobody has any control over. Just try to imagine what it would mean to someone like that who see's somebody who reflects them, is like them, that understands them being portrayed in something as mass marketed and that connects the one there to enjoy the offered experience as directly as a video game does.

 

Well, here's an example of what it can mean to someone. For a bit of background, this woman was already out of the closet at the time she recoded this, but grew up in a deeply Christian family, pretty much a cult, that didn't, and as far as I know has never fully accept her. This is her blind reaction to seeing that moment in The Last of Us Left Behind DLC. 

 

@The Blackangel, I think this clip will be okay for you as the important part (around 3-4 minutes from the point it will start playing) only includes runners and maybe one clicker toward the end and is quite pixelated, but maybe have someone check it for you.

 

 

That is an example of somebody on the LGBTQ+ spectrum seeing homosexuality being included in a mainstream game, but the point also applies to race, gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs or whatever. The point being they don't do it for you. It's not there to aggravate you, annoy you, or even teach you anything. It's there for the people out thier who have been made to feel uncomfortable in thier own skin by the world around them. So stop being selfish, try to open your mind to receive what lesson you may learn from the experience and generally just grow the fuck up.

Edited September 9, 2021 by Shagger

[killamch89]

It's hard to say really because video games have a unique influence on every individual. One may become more tolerant, while another may experience the opposite effect and someone else isn't affected at all.

[Heatman]

For the fact that we are all different human beings, there is no way you would expect a video game to have the same kind of impact on all of us and produce the same result. It may or may not work for people. 

[Shagger]

17 hours ago, Heatman said:

For the fact that we are all different human beings, there is no way you would expect a video game to have the same kind of impact on all of us and produce the same result. It may or may not work for people. 

 

Unlike a movie or TV that is simply observing a character and the decisions and dilemmas they experience, a video game puts you right into the situation and in control. Sometimes you have control of the character's morality and choices (Mass Effect, Life is Strange) and sometimes you don't (The Last of Us, Spec' Ops The Line) and it's often the later that provokes a bigger reaction because even though the player controls the character, they don't get the chance to decide what kind of person they are. That's why I think video games can generate controversy's over simply the story direction or nature of the characters that you just do see in movies and TV, or at least not as often or more extreme. I think the vast majority of these complaints are bullshit because they mostly come from hypocrites who claim to be voice speaking for "creative freedom", but pick and choose when to acknowledge a developer's right to that creative freedom only when it suits them. It's creative freedom when the developer in question decides to have Sargent-Straight-White-Man-Penis as the protagonist, but it's suddenly "political" if a developer want's to have anyone that deviates from that. It's ridiculous.

[Heatman]

2 hours ago, Shagger said:

 

Unlike a movie or TV that is simply observing a character and the decisions and dilemmas they experience, a video game puts you right into the situation and in control. Sometimes you have control of the character's morality and choices (Mass Effect, Life is Strange) and sometimes you don't (The Last of Us, Spec' Ops The Line) and it's often the later that provokes a bigger reaction because even though the player controls the character, they don't get the chance to decide what kind of person they are. That's why I think video games can generate controversy's over simply the story direction or nature of the characters that you just do see in movies and TV, or at least not as often or more extreme. I think the vast majority of these complaints are bullshit because they mostly come from hypocrites who claim to be voice speaking for "creative freedom", but pick and choose when to acknowledge a developer's right to that creative freedom only when it suits them. It's creative freedom when the developer in question decides to have Sargent-Straight-White-Man-Penis as the protagonist, but it's suddenly "political" if a developer want's to have anyone that deviates from that. It's ridiculous. 

It's more of a choice empowering thing with playing video games unlike just watching movies or TV shows. As, in the former, you get the choice to decide what to play your character as which is directly showing your inner desire not like it's the games that's decided what you have already decided to play your character as. 

Personally, I do think that movies or TV shows depending on how's it's produced would have more effects on impacting on one's tolerance levels. Take for instance in the movie Street Fighter ; there was an experiment where a beast was being feed video acts of violence with the bid to wire him to be inhuman and very destructive. Some may argue it's all scripted but in reality, it's very effective. 

[StaceyPowers]

On 9/6/2021 at 1:50 PM, Shagger said:

That is an example of somebody on the LGBTQ+ spectrum seeing homosexuality being included in a mainstream game, but the point also applies to race, gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs or whatever. The point being they don't do it for you. It's not there to aggravate you, annoy you, or even teach you anything. It's there for the people out thier who have been made to feel uncomfortable in thier own shin by the world around. So stop being selfish, try to open your mind to receive what less you may impart from the experience and generally just grow the fuck up

Brilliant, I think you are spot on.

[Heatman]

On 9/6/2021 at 8:20 PM, Reality vs Adventure said:

I think most people will be influenced by their peers in what games they play, so they most likely won't even be playing something that has a chance to open their eyes a little. The least tolerant people are going to play their 'cliche' games and the most tolerant people will play a wider variety that challenges thought. So gaming can help people become more tolerant if they already are tolerant which tend to be the younger generation. If they were to have a study using games in schools, I believe the results would be positive that students become more tolerant. But then anything like that would be designated critical race theory or more specifically critical thinking theory. Any critical thinking scares the hell out of people with the least toleration. They want to hold onto the adage that ignorance is bliss and shut down any awareness and completely demonize any that questions 'tradition,' or 'prejudiced tradition.' 

But even in schools, if the school has no diversity, then playing a game to help toleration levels gets washed out afterward because of their peers. Then parents will attack schools accusing awareness of prejudice to be an attempt of indoctrination. So the younger generation has a higher chance to learn toleration from games, but they are too protected by oppressive elders. In a diverse environment with all walks of life, it could help. But then again those people will already have a higher toleration level. In principle-I say yes to your question. In practicality- I say no because of peers. 

Yeah - it's actually very correct when it comes to what your peers can influence you into playing. At first, I wasn't really into football games till my peers choices robbed off on me. 

[Shagger]

8 hours ago, StaceyPowers said:

Brilliant, I think you are spot on.

 

Appreciate that, thank you.

[StaceyPowers]

1 hour ago, Shagger said:

 

Appreciate that, thank you.

I'd really never thought of it that way before. I guess people who are used to having attention on them all the time as a group will complain not so much because they actually feel oppressed as that they just want to find a reason to draw attention back to themselves. Although, I expect in some cases this may be a covert motive, and they may not even be fully aware that this is their intention.

[Heatman]

20 minutes ago, StaceyPowers said:

I'd really never thought of it that way before. I guess people who are used to having attention on them all the time as a group will complain not so much because they actually feel oppressed as that they just want to find a reason to draw attention back to themselves. Although, I expect in some cases this may be a covert motive, and they may not even be fully aware that this is their intention.

Human beings are always attracted to what gives them attention because it offers them a sense of belonging. It's just worrying when they do almost just about everything to get such attention even at the expense of others. 

[Razor1911]

2 hours ago, Heatman said:

Human beings are always attracted to what gives them attention because it offers them a sense of belonging. It's just worrying when they do almost just about everything to get such attention even at the expense of others. 

In that way, if we expect that playing games will teach us to be tolerant, than that would be a total misconception. Most of the games are based on extreme violence. No way, we can learn to be tolerant here. 😏

[Empire]

Pugging for Savage isn't really that tolerant of the bad players, but if the point is just to learn at the time and they aren't holding back the group from seeing progress, then they will be tolerated. If it was E12s though, pretty sure if anyone is bad and they get stuck on Shiva prog for hours, you'll be sure the group will disband very fast or the bad player kicked out without a word.

[Heatman]

2 hours ago, Razor1911 said:

In that way, if we expect that playing games will teach us to be tolerant, than that would be a total misconception. Most of the games are based on extreme violence. No way, we can learn to be tolerant here. 😏

Exactly - whatever you keep consuming on daily basis tends to take a hold of you. You may involuntarily behave in that line without knowing.