Analysing the history of game controversies

Authors

  • Faltin Karlsen

Keywords:

moral panic, media panic, game violence, media regulation, media history

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to discuss some of the controversies that have surrounded digital games. Within media studies, such controversies are often referred to as moral panics or media panics. They are understood as cyclical events that arise when new media or media phenomena are introduced into society. The paper’s point of departure is the controversy that erupted after the launch of Death Race in 1976, which initiated the first world- spanning debate concerning digital games and violence. Similar debates followed the launch of games like Doom and Mortal Kombat. More recent controversies about game violence have erupted specifically in the wake of school shootings. My analysis shows that, while these debates certainly share similarities, they also undergo important transformations over time. Via a historical perspective, I will demonstrate the importance of these changes to our understanding of the status of digital games in society.

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Published

2014-01-01

Bibtex

@Conference{digra629, title ="Analysing the history of game controversies", year = "2014", author = "Karlsen, Faltin", publisher = "DiGRA", address = "Tampere", howpublished = "\url{https://dl.digra.org/index.php/dl/article/view/629}", booktitle = "Proceedings of DiGRA 2014 Conference"}