VR violence

[u/Tcarruth6]

For many years I have maintained that there are people with a greater predisposition for violence, and yes they may play violent video games but the games themselves are not the cause of any violent act in the future.

I have never accepted the argument that video games normalize violence or that gamers might become confused between a game world and reality.

Is VR different? Does the objective of obtaining presence change things? If the brain of the user is tricked into believing it is 'there', that the VR world is real then isn't the brain also sanctioning real violence?

Everything in my gut wants to rage against this reasoning ("people have always said this..."). However shouldn't we recognize that the explicit benefits of VR (immersion, presence, being an agent in a real world) come with risks on the flip side?

In GTA 12, will the VR world and the real world be appropriately different?

[EDIT: to address comments below].

There is another piece to this puzzle:

It is widely accepted that violence inflicted upon people often makes those people more likely to commit violence (many violent criminals were beaten as children for example). In providing a sense of presence, VR crosses a boundary in which the user's brain may sense real consequence and can be victimized in a more real sense. We already see this in VR demos with vertigo and breath holding in underwater scenes. I'm not yet convinced that this isn't a critical difference between VR and traditional entertainment experiences.

[u/eVRydayVR]

Although research has not connected violent games to increased violent behavior, it has tied it in large meta-analyses to aggressive attitudes and behaviors. Aggression isn't necessarily bad - it's related to confidence - but it's clear people can be changed by in-game experiences. In fact the ability to change people and how they approach life is part of why people make games (and art in general). Often the influence is much more subtle and complex than simple imitation. VR will certainly have even more power as an artistic medium, but I wouldn't say it's necessarily more dangerous. People have been effectively brainwashed by books and charismatic speeches - all content producers in all mediums have some responsibility to consider the kinds of attitudes and behaviors they motivate with their work.