In this day and age, when educators everywhere are loudly proclaiming that bullying is evil, unacceptable, and most politically incorrect, you almost have to admire Rockstar Games (creators of the infamous Grand Theft Auto) for having the stones to create a new video game called, well, Bully.
SKINHEAD thug wins a bloody playground fight with a classmate, before hunting down a teacher as his next victim. This is Bully. A new video game that's been called the sickest ever, a sadistic orgy of violence where you win points for being the most vicious yob in a reform school.News of the game's release comes as research suggests that playing violent video games makes youngsters more aggressive.
Or maybe not. While the game - which I sincerely hope is rated M for Mature - may be cathartic for those adults out of school who wish to indulge in a bit of electronic revenge, you have to wonder what the effect might be on any kid whose parent lets them spend lots of unsupervised time in video game carnage.
Notice the "parental responsibility" part I slipped in there.
Posted by kswygert at August 3, 2005 07:30 PM