Killer game

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Killerspiel is a widespread, negative connotation ( dysphemism ) for a violent gamein the German-speaking world. It is primarily used todesignate computer games in which the player-controlled violence against human or human-like characters is represented. In addition, it is used to designate real games that appear suitable for degrading the human dignity of other players. There is no legal definition. The term is mainlyusedas a political catchphrase in the discussion about fictional violence and in the related debate about a possible ban on the games it refersto.

Origin and definition of terms in politics

Paintball was originally called a killer game

In the political discussion, the term killer game was first used primarily for real games such as paintball and laserdrome , although the term killer slot machine was coined as early as the early 1980s in the debate about video slot machines such as Space Invaders . The term killer game was made popular in 1999 by the then Bavarian Interior Minister Günther Beckstein . After the rampage in Erfurt in 2002, it was also used to describe violent computer games, for example first-person shooters like Counter-Strike or third-person shooters like Grand Theft Auto . In a legislative proposal that was made in response to the Erfurt rampage, there is still a "ban on killer games such as gotcha, paintball and laserdrome". In the coalition agreement of the grand coalition from 2005 , the demand for a ban on killer games was introduced without giving the name any meaning. Computer games have been mentioned specifically since 2006.

Definition of the Swiss National Council of August 19, 2009
"The term" killer games "is generally understood to mean interactive electronic game programs in which the virtual killing of people or other beings contributes to the success of the game. " ( National Council: Interpellation - 09.3394, Killerspiele. Measures of the Federal Council )
Definition of the 188th meeting of the Conference of Interior Ministers on June 5, 2009
"Games in which an essential part of the game is the virtual exercise of realistically portrayed acts of killing or other cruel or otherwise inhuman acts of violence against humans or human-like beings" ( Resolutions of the 188th meeting of the Conference of Interior Ministers, June 5, 2009 )
Definition of the Swiss National Council of April 30, 2009
"Game programs [...] in which cruel violence against people and human-like beings contribute to the success of the game." ( National Council: 09.3422 - Motion, ban on killer games )
Definition in an application to the Salzburg state parliament on February 11, 2008
"[...] [games] in which criminal acts are glorified and inhuman brutality is dismissed as a game. The players immerse themselves in an illusory world and the characteristics of brutality, harshness, power and violence are presented as winning characteristics. "( Salzburg State Parliament: No. 376 of the supplements to the stenographic protocol of the Salzburg State Parliament )
Definition of the Swiss National Council of December 21, 2007
"Ego-Shooter according to rating 16 + / 18 + of the Pan European Game Information" ( National Council: 07.3870 - Motion, ban on electronic killer games )
Definition in an application to the Upper Austrian State Parliament on June 17, 2007
"So-called" killer games "play down the fictional killings of virtual characters, glorify criminal acts of inhuman brutality." ( Upper Austrian Landtag: Supplement 1201/2007 to the short-written report of the Upper Austrian Landtag )
Definition in a legislative proposal by the Free State of Bavaria dated February 2, 2007
“Game programs that depict cruel or inhuman acts of violence against humans or human-like beings and that enable the player to participate in such acts of violence. In addition, real violent games that are likely to degrade other players in their human dignity are also to be prohibited. "( Bundesrat Drucksache 76/07, February 2, 2007 )
Definition of the Scientific Service of the German Bundestag from August 15, 2006
“Killer games are computer games in which the realistic simulated killing of people in the fictional game world is an essential part of the game plot and the success of the player essentially depends on it. In particular, the graphic representation of the acts of killing and the motives for killing inherent in the game must be taken into account. ”( Scientific Services of the German Bundestag: Elaboration, August 15, 2006 )

Conceptual problem

The term is not legally defined. In addition, there is no generally applicable definition for killer games. In the opinion of media scholars, the word killer game is considered irrelevant because it is suggestive and makes an objective, sober approach to the topic difficult. Instead, for example, “violent computer games” are used. The German word creation Killerspiel refers to the English term killer , which means murderer or manslaughter. The word formation is explained by the fact that, according to proponents of the ban, the aim of the game in the so-called games is primarily to kill, the game content is thus "virtual killing".

In addition, the term refers to the opinion that the consumption of such games stimulates and trains players to perform real murderous acts, and that they are thus “killing training software”. The then Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber put it : “They encourage young people to kill other people.” Other politicians reject the term as polemical .

In this context, computer games are always in discussions about school shootings theme of young people. The term implies a negative view of violence in computer games.

Computer gamers perceive the term killer game as misleading and discriminatory and speak out against a “ban on the production and distribution of action computer games ”.

In the entertainment software self-control , which is responsible for age-classification of computer games in Germany, the term is not used.

The term is a false friend of the English term killer game , which describes a game as a killer application .

Legal relevance

Laws containing the term killer game were not passed in Germany. However, there are laws that are relevant for games that contain violence, glorify violence and depict violence, especially in the field of youth protection. In Germany, access to computer games is formally restricted by the Youth Protection Act if it is possible that the development of a child or young person can be influenced by depictions of violence . This is justified with Article 2 of the Basic Law (paragraph 1 "Everyone has the right to the free development of his personality [...]" , paragraph 2 "Everyone has the right to life and physical integrity. [...]" ). By 2003, this was implemented in such a way that the Federal Examination Office for Writings Harmful to Young People (BPjS) had to decide whether a game is harmful to young people and whether it should be indexed as a result . Since 2003, the entertainment software self-regulation (USK) has mainly had to decide on the suitability of children and young people by means of a legally binding age identification system. In the form of Section 131 of the Criminal Code, there has also been a regulation since 1973 that regulates the representation and dissemination of acts of violence against people and, in particular, their passing on to minors. In the event of a violation, there is a risk of a fine or imprisonment of up to one year (Section 131 of the German Criminal Code).

Unlike in Germany, the European PEGI system is used for age classification in Switzerland and Austria . In Switzerland, manufacturers and dealers have made a voluntary commitment to comply with the PEGI classifications when selling. In Austria, the PEGI classifications are not legally binding, but only give the legal guardians recommendations about the respective degree of suitability of computer games (in some federal states, however, there are youth protection regulations that allow the sale of computer games to children or young people who are younger than the PEGI - or prohibit USK classification). Similarly, the PEGI system is used as a recommendation in most other European countries, only in Finland it is legally binding. In Great Britain, however, a test by the British Board of Film Classification is required for computer games with a PEGI rating of 18+ , which (similar to the USK in Germany) carries out its own, legally binding age rating. The PEGI rating automatically applies to all others. The testing of computer games that have been given an age rating of under 18 by PEGI is voluntary.

In March 2010, after the approval of the two chambers, the National Council and the Council of States , the Swiss Parliament transferred two motions on the subject of killer games to the government, the Federal Council . One of these motions instructed the Federal Council to ban the sale of "violent-containing killer games" to children and young people, the other demanded "an absolute ban on killer games and the revision of Article 135 of the Criminal Code ". During the session of the Swiss parliament in spring 2011, the Council of States, as the first acting council, decided to suspend four further open motions, which were identical or very similar in content , in order to await the feedback from the Federal Council. In May 2015, the Federal Council published a detailed report entitled “The future structure of child and youth protection in Switzerland”. In it, the Federal Council stipulates, among other things, that Article 135 of the Criminal Code already contains an absolute ban on depictions of violence "which contain cruel acts of violence against humans or animals that have no cultural or scientific value worthy of protection and that have a certain urgency". This article is therefore basically also applicable to killer games. In the abstract of the report, the Federal Council summarizes that existing measures should be "further developed and supplemented" and that the Federal Council wants to take on a coordinating role in this regard. In 2019, the government put a new federal law up for discussion, according to which minors should be protected from violence or sexual representations and other unsuitable content in films and games that could endanger their development. All cinemas, online mail order companies, sales outlets and video portals throughout Switzerland are to be obliged to have age labels and controls. Whether and in what form the parliament will approve these proposals is still open (as of October 2019).

Psychological research

After school children ran amok in the USA and Germany, research has increasingly focused on the phenomenon of so-called killer games . The suspicion is expressed that computer games with violent content in particular could condition the real shooting at people with killing weapons. This assumption is still controversially discussed today.

Brain studies by scientists from Indiana University ( USA ) such as Vincent P. Mathews or the University of Tōhoku ( Japan ) such as Ryūta Kawashima, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), demonstrated a certain influence of violent games on the front lobe , which is necessary for the control of emotions and Drive impulses is responsible. This can lead to a reduction in the potential for aggression.

Psychiatric reports diagnose an already known or latent psychological or mental disorder after almost every rampage, which can lead to aggressive actions at any time. The crucial importance of whether children and adolescents tend to use violence in real life is less about virtual play than about imparting values ​​and growing up in an educational environment that is competent in conflict. On the basis of their empirical studies and statistical analyzes, the venture researcher Siegbert A. Warwitz from the Karlsruhe University of Education and the motivational psychologists Rita Steckel and Clemens Trudewind from the Ruhr University Bochum come to this conclusion. The research results of Gisela Wegener-Spöhring also point in this direction.

See also

literature

  • Thomas Feibel: Killer games in the children's room: What we need to know about computers and violence . mvg, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-636-07250-4 .
  • Michael Grote and Carmen Sinnokrot: Legality of a federal law prohibiting the import, sale and rental of computer games that glorify violence ("killer games") . German Bundestag, Scientific Services, WD3, Berlin 2006.
  • Esther Köhler: Computer games and violence. A psychological all-clear . Springer, 2008, ISBN 978-3-8274-1997-2 .
  • Tobias Schindegger: Computer games - a guide for parents, educators and those interested in the media . Bertuch, Weimar 2005, ISBN 3-937601-13-9 (= Social Services , Volume 15).
  • Frithjof Staude-Müller: Violent computer games and a tendency to aggression. Longitudinal and experimental consideration of competing correlative assumptions . Kovač, Hamburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-8300-5336-1 .
  • Nadine Haschke: The legal ban on killer games . 2013, DNB  1043032312 ( PDF 1 MB, 205 pages, free of charge - Dissertation Uni Regensburg 2013).

Movies

  • Christian Schiffer: Killerspiele - The dispute begins , three-part ZDF documentary

Web links

Wiktionary: killer game  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b German Bundestag: Printed matter 15/88, November 14, 2002, draft of a law amending the Youth Protection Act (JuSchGÄndG) (PDF file; 182 kB)
  2. ↑ Henrike Friedrichs, Thorsten Junge, Uwe Sander: Jugendmedienschutz in Deutschland , Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-531-17206-4 , doi: 10.1007 / 978-3-531-18905-5 , p. 51 in the Google book search
  3. ^ Coalition wants to ban killer games - Spiegel Online from November 14, 2005
  4. ↑ Coalition Agreement of the German Federal Government 2005 ( Memento of the original from November 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 123 (PDF file; 618 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cdu.de
  5. ↑ a b c Scientific Services of the German Bundestag: Elaboration, August 15, 2006, legality of a federal law prohibition regulation for the import, sale and rental of computer games that glorify violence ("killer games") (PDF file; 181 kB)
  6. ↑ National Council: interpellation - 09.3394, killer games. Federal Council measures
  7. ↑ Collection of the resolutions approved for publication of the 188th meeting of the Standing Conference of Interior Ministers and Senators of the Länder on June 5, 2009 in Bremerhaven ( Memento of February 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF file; 62 kB)
  8. ↑ National Council: 09.3422 - Motion, ban on violent video games
  9. ^ Salzburger Landtag: No. 376 of the supplements to the stenographic protocol of the Salzburg Landtag
  10. ↑ National Council: 07.3870 - Motion, banning electronic games Killer
  11. ↑ Upper Austrian Landtag: Supplement 1201/2007 to the short-written report of the Upper Austrian Landtag
  12. ↑ Bundesrat: Drucksache 76/07, February 2, 2007 : Bill of the Free State of Bavaria (PDF file; 177 kB)
  13. ↑ Legal possibilities of a city administration to prohibit a "killer game" event Elaboration of the scientific service of the German Bundestag, May 25, 2009.
  14. ↑ Federal Agency for Civic Education: Do computer games make you violent? Article by Tilo Hartmann ( Free University of Amsterdam ), August 7, 2007.
  15. ↑ FAZ.net: "Computer games are a cultural asset", March 10, 2011. Media scientist Jeffrey Wimmer ( TU Ilmenau ) on the term killer game : "That is not how we call games in science, it is a term from public discourse."
  16. ↑ Silicon: Pros and Cons: No more killer games?
  17. ↑ Humanistic press service: "Warning shot arrest" and "Killer game" ban
  18. ↑ Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior: Press release No. 127/09 ( Memento of April 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  19. ^ Süddeutsche Zeitung: Debate about killer games . Article of May 19, 2010.
  20. ↑ DerWesten: Dorothee Bär in conversation about the CSU killer game debate
  21. ^ Petition (German Bundestag): Offenses against public order - Against a ban on action computer games from June 5, 2009
  22. ↑ M&C: We don't know any killer games ourselves ( Memento from May 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  23. ^ PEGI: Implementation in Switzerland ( Memento from April 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  24. ↑ Swiss Federal Council: Youth and the media: Future design of child and youth media protection in Switzerland (PDF) Swiss Confederation. Pp. 5-6. May 13, 2015. Accessed October 1, 2019.
  25. ↑ Spring session 11: Games again topic in the Council of States GameRights: Spring session 2011, March 7, 2011. Accessed October 2, 2019
  26. ↑ Swiss Federal Council: Youth and the media: Future design of child and youth media protection in Switzerland (PDF) Swiss Confederation. S. May 6, 2015. Accessed October 1, 2019.
  27. ↑ Swiss Federal Council: Youth and the media: Future design of child and youth media protection in Switzerland (PDF) Swiss Confederation. S. III. May 13, 2015. Accessed October 1, 2019.
  28. ↑ Federal Social Insurance Office FSIO: Protection of minors. Retrieved October 6, 2019 .
  29. ↑ Brain & Mind magazine . Spectrum of Science Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. Heidelberg
  30. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz; Anita Rudolf: Controversial forms of play. In: The sense of playing. Reflections and ideas for games , Schneider-Verlag, 4th edition, Baltmannsweiler 2016, ISBN 978-3-8340-1664-5 , pp. 126-160
  31. ^ Robert Grimm: brain research. Do shooting games teach killing? In: Badische Latest News from July 5, 2003 without page indication
  32. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz: sensational addiction or search for meaning. Thrill or skill . In: Ders .: Search for meaning in risk. Life in growing rings. Explanatory models for cross-border behavior . 2nd, extended edition, Verlag Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, ISBN 978-3-8340-1620-1 . Pp. 300-308
  33. ↑ Robert Grimm: Do shooting games teach killing  ? In: BNN of July 5, 2003 without page numbers
  34. ↑ Gisela Wegener-Spöhring: Aggression in children's play. Laying the groundwork in the theories of play and exploring their manifestations . Weinheim 1995. p. 10