Games as murder simulators = laughable

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Home Jack Thompson

7:31 PM on 02.17.2008, Jim Sterling

158 comments | 17814 views

Games as murder simulators = laughable photo

#FAIL #Jack Thompson #Simulators #Violence

Crack-a-Jack Thompson has been out in full force since the NIU shooting, going so far as to send tips to Destructoid and even join its community. It's very clear that the murders of youngsters excite him, as he grows steadily more active and wild in their wake, especially as he gets to complain about what he deems "murder simulators." In fact, in the comments for yesterday's post, that's the exact term Jackpot used:

"We need to get you sociopathics kiddies off these murder simulators and back to doing your homework."

Of course, this begs the question: Do any of we "sociopathics kiddies" actually play murder simulators? What exactly are murder simulators, and is Grand Theft Auto, BioShock or any other videogame worthy of such a label? Don't ask me, try asking simulator expert Robert Gauss. Gauss has worked with simulators for the US Army and knows a fair bit more about them than some defense attorney who's close to getting disbarred. This is what he had to say:

How well does GTA simulate murder? Just even a cursory look can see how GTA fails this test: Everything is presented via a 3rd person view… weapons auto-load and auto-aim… computer people mostly walk and drive around aimlessly and helplessly… computer people don’t… act in a realistic manner when attacked… bodies disappear and respawn — hardly like murder if they keep coming back to life

Our “gang games” mentioned above do not even represent murder, but rather a cartoony environment… It’s not just unfair to call Grand Theft Auto a “murder simulator,” it is laughably incorrect…

Laughably incorrect. That's laughably incorrect, for those unable to read properly (and I'm thinking of a certain new reader here). In fact, to paraphrase Mr. Thompson himself, let me just say that I know facts are inconvenient things for ambulance chasing social parasites, but there they are, and here I am, right, oh so right, yet again.

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154 comments | showing # 51 to 100

cbre88x

Can you unleash the banhammer on Thompson?

I mean..I watch on Kotaku as they let him rant on and on as he spams every post with some random ass article about how videogames make children turn into homicidal maniacs, but this is Destructoid..we shouldn't take his shit.

By the way Jack..

http://www.cknow.com/ckinfo/e/etard-Astupiduser.html

You're using e-tard in the wrong context.

YOU=FAIL

Sam Spectre

love you Jim

Aertyr

Nice, I think i'm going to go trai... I mean play video games so I can plot how I will kil... I mean enjoy video games violen.... non violently.... yes... that's it.... yes... *MUHUHAHAHA*

Orionsaint

So if you say a violent game with killing is a murder simulator. Then you're saying video games in general are simulators? If I play a fighting game I'm playing a fighting simulator that's training me to fight? A racing game turns me into a race car driver? Mario games trained me to jump under things and jump up and hit them with my head. I learned how to throw fireballs as well. Wow these training simulators are amazing.

Crumpet Lips

I just knew playing Halo 3 would make me a true Super Soldier. Now I can kill everybody in the world and nobody will be able to stop me because I am the Master Chief and I have a chick in my head who tells me to do it so it's not my fault.

I love these murder simulators. I also love those guitar-sims like Guitar Hero 3 that teach you how to play Through Fire and Flames and Raining Blood with a real guitar because that is totally the same thing. Playing the guitar sim obviously makes me a professional guitar player.

Oh let's crank out some Gran Turismo as well. Why with those skills at handling those overpowered cars I have acquired whilst playing GT, I will surely be the best car racer in the world. I better go out and start racing everywhere to show people how good I am because a racing-sim will make me want to do that. Don't you guys understand?

Oh and let's not forget the Mario Brothers. This Plumbers-Sim makes me want to clean toilets, drain pipes and jump on turtles because thats what the game was made for. It was a Plumber-Sim/Turtle-Murder-Sim game that only had the purpose of training us all to hate and kill turtles while plumbing.

Barcode

Jack... seriously, come on, I don't know for sure, but, aren't almost all school shootings that have happened had a link to some kind of mental problems or at least some form of medication that they needed?

I think you should check into that before saying that all gamers are practicing to go on a rampage killing people.

And as for kids going back to their books, that's what parents are for. But wait! Parents aren't actually parenting!

Arcanum

I'd say Jack's beloved bible is more of a murder simulator than video games. And yet, he wanks off to it on a daily basis.

He really deserves to drop dead. It's too bad he already spawned.

Peronthious

@Arcanum

I may have missed something, but I don't recall it ever being said that Thompson was a particular religious nutjob. Not to be the devil's advocate or anything.

Arcanum

@Peronthious
Yeah, he is. He also has a particular hate for Islam. You can check his wikipedia page.

I really can't figure out how this pathetic bastard gets on television.

Jim Sterling

"I may have missed something, but I don't recall it ever being said that Thompson was a particular religious nutjob. Not to be the devil's advocate or anything."

He has made reference to how he fights with God on his side in the past.

Velt

Mix said it first, Mr. Jack Thompson: the average age of a gamer today is above 25 years old. Maybe you can try to lie to the allready stupid parents by saying the lies you say. But at the end of the day you dont have facts about anything, not even for the most basic premise that is the violent behavior of a kid who plays violent videogames.

And we don't need to kill this "troll" by not feeding it, he can be used as a bad example... just like Cuba or North Korea.

o24742o

all i know is that there is a giant market for this stuff. lets face it guys, the game itself is incapable of harming anyone or causing emotional problems. people make thier own choices for better or worse. there seems to be two issues here; firstly, parents let thier very young children (and possibly friends) play these games. these games depict criminals killing innocent people for ammusement purposes. these simulations (please dont argue that the game doesnt attempt to simulate killing innocent people) are becoming very pointless and violent. GTA is not for little kids. if u buy them for your kid your an idiot. buy them "doom" where they will be killing monsters instead of pregnent women.

secondly, what sort of moral and or ethical obligations does "RockStar" have to it's consumer base? they claim that it's just a game and it is not to be taken seriously. however, they continue to make the game more and more life-like. selling drugs, punching girls are just a few examples.

everyone has thier own oppinion. mine is simple, i wouldnt buy this game for my kid if he was 15, he would have to make his own choice and buy it himself or play it at a friends house. this game is for adults only; period.

ShawnKelfonne

"You know how you kill a troll?"

With fire, or acid.

Sam Spectre

@ShawnKelfonne

Or a Robot Army!!!!

hammburglar

was our good friend jack the landmark 20000th D-toid army member.

dronkmunk

pwned.

ShawnKelfonne

So, what's next? Is Burnout Paradise going to be vilified because I can bound down the street causing untold carnage with my car, only to have it respawn moments later with no ill effects?

Vehicular manslaughter simulator! Oh no!

Hank Peters

If you take away the whole visual element, playing Counter Strike is really no different from opening an e-mail. All you're doing is clicking and dragging. Seeing how Thompson is usually swift to answer his mail, what exactly does this make him?

Mxyzptlk

Awesome, Batman is hanging out here. This should provide an endless supply of laughs.

bluesquareapple

I usually refuse to suggesting banning people, but I have to agree with cbre88x's notion of banning Thompson. Nothing outside of the obvious he says is the truth, and when he does come close to saying anything that can be backed up by scientific data, he stretches it to his own agenda. (See: brain scans.) His sole purpose in life is to bait gamers into giving an emotional response. I'm going to have to bring up rule 13: don't argue with a troll, it means that they win. Until he brings cold hard facts to the table, he's nothing more than an internet and real life troll in my opinion. Thompson, you're a hack on your best days..

B-Radicate

@Arcanum: What's worse is that if he does die, like any quality murder simulator has taught me, he'll just respawn at full health.

Also, Jack, please be my Dtoid friend. I want you to know when I post on the cblogs. K, thanks.

savagesaladin

E-tards? Hehe, thats pretty good. Why didn't I think of that? I guess because I'm E-tarded. And not a lawyer with a snazzy haircut.

Origim

@ the people calling for banning Thompson: That would be the worst thing we could do. He would then declare victory for himself and claim we banned him because he was right and we didn't want to admit it.

I also find it funny how I play violent video games all the time and yet never have used any of my personal fire arms to kill people. It just might have to do with the fact I was taught right from wrong.

F Whipple

@captainapocalypse

I have that nerf gun, and it is legit. It has served me well in the nerf gun wars that I've had. Also four people died during those nerf wars due to my extensive training in Goldeneye

Fenx

At this point were pretty much beating the ghost of a dead horse, right? Does anyone actually listen to and believe Jack Thompson anymore? Anyone? Hell, I've seen a video of Christians proclaiming Harry Potter to be the devil and they seemed more convincing than Jack Thompson ever was or will be. Maybe if we ignore him he'll just fade away...

Im OK

In before Jack Thompson.

LarkOhiya

are we still talking about this...

Im OK

apparently so...

monosylabik

you know what i learned from doing schoolwork?
i learned mixing warm water with dry ice creates pressure inside a closed container....enough pressure to blow something up good. guess what i ended up doing after school in my backyard. not playing murder simulators if thats what you were wondering.

MePlayGames

violent video games offer a release so you won't actually drive your car down the sidewalk

Twicky

Jack Thompson joined? I'm not buying it.

grrza

I call shenanigans. I know JT's reputation as a lawyer isn't that great and he doesn't always make the best career decisions, but getting on a blog, calling people 'e-tards', and then saying "I'm a lawyer and you're not :P" seems utterly childish and foolish - even for him.

"etards"? "kiddies"? "I'm a lawyer and you're not so there"? If this is really what he's stooped to, then he has already lost his silly crusade.

If it was actually you JT, keep in mind that a good deal of us here are adults, who don't have 'homework', and in many cases are at least as, if not more educated than you claim to be.

Im OK

@Twicky, grrza, and others

Guys, this certainly isn't the first time that Jack Thompson has trolled a gamer site in a similar manner, not by a long shot. It's merely the first time that he's trolled Destructoid, that's all, at least as far as I'm aware anyway. He's trolled Kotaku and GamePolitics and others a bunch of times in the past.

Also, if you think Jack Thompson is above acting like an infantile, name-calling retard when "conversing" with gamers online, then check this out. This is simply how the man operates when talking to gamers, and is a big reason why he is so hated, never mind his stance on video games. As such, I don't doubt for a minute that this was the real Jack Thompson.

vexed alex

I want Jack to say more here on old Destructoid. The guy is a good laugh.

Can someone teach him how to make a c-blog? Epic lulz will ensue, I promise. I promise or your mattress is free, guys.

Monte

@grrza
Trust me, Jack DOES talk like that online... he's done it countless times in the comments over at GamePolitics and Dennis over there confirmed that the IP address used when he makes comments does indeed belong to the one and only Jack...

not sure if i recall him using the term "etard", but he's defiantly used the terms "kiddie" and the phrase "I'm and Lawyer and you're not", and acts in a blatantly unprofessional fashion... it's the difference between him talking in front of a camera and him posting online where he thinks no one that matters is looking...

hell, you can get to know what Jack is really like by just looking him up on WikiQuotes...

Vigor

Even though we all hate jack. The stuff he says really is so bad that it makes me laugh.

Bas

Can't you make an argument without calling someone names mr Sterling?

Bas

With that, I mean without ever calling mr Thompson any names. I know his points lack any merit, but seriously, calling him names will further reinforce the idea that we're all antisocial murderers. For the rest, rock on.

TheStripe

I think I've read E-tard in some of his rants against Hal Halpin. He uses that since gamers took "pixelante" away from him.

Necros

It's amazing to note the difference between the calm, reserved Thompson on TV and the irrational, insulting Thompson online.

TheStripe

He wants us to threaten his life.

We should all pool some money and make a donation in his name to Child's Play.

-Blank-

MR. JACK THOMPSON,

weren't you forced to undergo mental tests *cough*psych*evaluation*cough* and had your law license suspended for 91 days? yeah... and when you saw the commercial for Bioshock, you had to write and angry letter to the company that produced the game. but oops, you happended to send it to the wrong company. too bad.

and if your games are called "murder simulators", correct? so me playing driving simulator, such as Forza Motorsport, should definately make me one of the worlds greatest racers, correct? since i have no training or experience with real cars, without a license and all, i should be trusted on the road because you claim these games train us for these kinds of things. Your logic is pathetic at best.

CALkulon

In before JT, to relegate him to >100th post. Didn't read any of the responses, just wanted Jim to know I love him.

Kaspar

FATALITY!

MrPeenie

First of all, I play video games since over 10 years. Then, Im a sociology and psychology student. There is distinct proof for an influence of consumption of violent media content on aggression. But right now I dont know how its supposed to work in detail. Maybe Ill write some blog entry here, if I have a decided opinion. Also, Jack Thompson sucks.

Jack Thompson

Nice try, Jim, but you lose. The American Psychological Association, the largest association of psychologists in the world, found that these "games" do indeed cause increased aggression. They model and then incite these behaviors.

The US Supreme Court in Roper v. Simmons in 2005 held that this type of information is processed in a different part of a teen's brain than in an adults, which leads to copycatting, violent behaviors.

You can piss and moan all you want about my position--that kids shouldn't be sold adult products--but all the science is on my side. And so are the American people. If you can read what is posted at other sites, note that at Gamepolitics.com, a recent video game industry poll found that 65% of the American people want a federal law that prohibits the sale of GTA and other similar games to kids under 17.

Go ahead. Claim the right of a 12-year-old to walk into Wal-Mart and buy GTA with his saved lunch money. Only silly, hardcore gamers think that.

I'm in the majority, and your minority, with these massacres piling up, is losing. So sue me.

Jack Thompson

BlackSunEmpire

Could you link these studies please Jack, I'd love to read what psychologists will say when paid enough.

We're not all teenagers. I would say more than 65% of Dtoiders are keen to keep GTA out of the hands of people aged under 17, and guess what, theres not many in the community younger than that.

All we're saying is keep your petty quest for stardom away from our pastime.

And keeping with your awesome comment signing skills,

BSE, qualified doctor, and youre not.

Hank Peters

"So sue me."

This could be the best idea he has ever had.

Shoehorn

We know that your position is regarding the sale of M+ rated games to children, but why then are you looking at this case?

The MAN was 27 years old. He was 19 when Counterstrike was released, meaning your "brain scans from Harvard" that depict the brains of young teens do not apply!

You claim the science is on your side, but to this date it hasn't done anything for you in court, and the courts have decided overwhelmingly in our favour so far :)

We're in the majority, and your alarmist and out-of-touch minority, with these failed lawsuits and proposed unconstitutional bans piling up, is losing. So sue us.

DanGale

@Jack Thompson

"65% of the American people want a federal law that prohibits the sale of GTA and other similar games to kids under 17. "

Surely that's just common sense. Of course it's not appropriate for a twelve year old to be playing GTA, but that's not who the game is aimed at. Now I know the obvious comeback is within the region of, "these games are still attractive and obtainable by twelve year olds", but surely that is the case with any medium.

I'm just wondering though, I don't really know your stance on video gaames, only what I've been told through heresay, but is it correct to assume that you would like to ban all violent video games? Because the sentence I quoted above states that 65% want a law to prohibit sales to minors, not ban them all together.

Are there not other factors to consider when a gun man goes on a rampage through a school; upbringing, violent films, friends, mental condition etc. The best you can hope for is that video games give these people an idea on how to be insane and are not the reason as to why they are insane. Regardless of the video games, these people are ill and need help. Would it not be a better idea to forget this crusade agaisnt video games and try to locate and help these people??

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