TECHNOLOGY

7April2014Lastupdatedat11:15ET

Aggressionfromvideogames'linkedtoincompetence'
ByDaveLee
Technologyreporter,BBCNews

Feelingsofaggressionafterplayingvideogamesaremorelikelytobelinkedtogameplaymechanicsratherthanviolent content,astudysuggests. Researcherscarriedoutarangeoftests,includingmakinganonviolentversionofpopulargameHalfLife2. Gamesmodifiedtohavecounterintuitive,frustratingcontrolsleadingtofeelingsofincompetenceproducedmoreaggressive reactions. Theteamcalledformoresophisticatedresearchintoviolentgaming. "There'saneedforresearcherswhoareinterestedinthesequestionsnotjusttopulltwovideogamesofftheshelffromthehigh street,"saidDrAndrewPrzybylskifromtheOxfordInternetInstitute,whocarriedouttheresearchalongwithcolleaguesfromthe UniversityofRochesterintheUS. "Weneedtohaveamoresophisticatedapproachsowe'reallreadingfromthesameexperimentalmethods." Thelinkbetweenviolenceandvideogamesisaheavilydebatedtopicamongpsychologists. Onerecentstudysuggestedthatplayingviolentvideogamesforlongperiodsoftimecanholdbackthe"moralmaturity"of teenagers. Problemsarosewithteenagerswhospentmorethanthreehourseverydayinfrontofascreen,continuouslyplayingtheseviolent gameswithoutanyotherreallifeinteraction.
Evaporatingfoes

ThestudyfromtheUniversityofOxford,however,believeditwasthefirsttolookattheimpactgameplaymechanicshadon aggression. ThefindingshavebeenpublishedintheJournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology. Theresearchsoughttoestablishwhetheritwasviolenceingameswhichmadeplayersfeelmoreaggressive,oracombinationof otherfactors. Sixseparatestudieswerecarriedout. OneoftheminvolvedmodifyingHalfLife2acriticallyacclaimed,butgraphic,shootingtitle.

Theresearcherscreatedamodifiedversioninwhichratherthanviolentlyremovingenemies,theplayerwouldinstead"tag"foeswho wouldthenevaporate. Thisversionwastestedalongsidethenormal,violentversion. However,onlysomeofthegamersweregivenatutorialbeforeplayingthegamesotheycouldfamiliarisethemselveswiththe controlsandgamemechanics. Theresearchersfoundthatitwastheplayerswhohadnothadthetutorialwhofeltlesscompetentandmoreaggressive,ratherthan peoplewhohadplayedthemoreviolentversionofthegame.

Thwarted

"Wefocusedonthemotivesofpeoplewhoplayelectronicgamesandfoundplayershaveapsychologicalneedtocomeoutontop whenplaying,"saidDrPrzybylski. "Ifplayersfeelthwartedbythecontrolsorthedesignofthegame,theycanwindupfeelingaggressive. "Thisneedtomasterthegamewasfarmoresignificantthanwhetherthegamecontainedviolentmaterial. "Playersofgameswithoutanyviolentcontentwerestillfeelingprettyaggressiveiftheyhadn'tbeenabletomasterthecontrolsor progressthroughthelevelsattheendofthesession." Furtherresearchisneeded,DrPrzybylskisaid,intolongertermeffectsofvideogameviolencebeyondinitialfeelingsofaggression. CoauthorProfRichardRyan,fromtheUniversityofRochester,said:"Thestudyisnotsayingthatviolentcontentdoesn'taffect gamers,butourresearchsuggeststhatpeoplearenotdrawntoplayingviolentgamesinordertofeelaggressive. "Rather,theaggressionstemsfromfeelingnotincontrolorincompetentwhileplaying. "Ifthestructureofagameorthedesignofthecontrolsthwartsenjoyment,itisthisnottheviolentcontentthatseemstodrive feelingsofaggression." ThechiefexecutiveofTiga,aBritishvideogamestradebody,saiditwasencouragingtoreadastudythattookamorenuanced approachtothelinkbetweenvideogamesandaggressionthansomepreviousresearchintothetopic. "Ifdeveloperscandesignmoreeffectivegameplayprocessesthenitcouldbepossibletominimiseaplayer'sfeelingsof exasperationandirritationadmittedlysomethinggooddeveloperswillwanttoachieveinanycase,"saidRichardWilson. "Indeed,creatingagamethatischallengingwithoutfeelingunfairorfrustratingisoftenthemarkofagreatdeveloper. "It'salsoimportanttounderstand,aspartofthisdebate,thatmostvideogamesarenotviolent. "PreviousresearchpublishedbyTanyaByroninher2008independentreview'SaferChildreninaDigitalWorld',foundlittleevidence tosuggestchildrenwhoplayvideogamesbecomedesensitisedtoviolence." FollowDaveLeeonTwitter@DaveLeeBBC

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