(03-07-2011, 01:49 PM)Namaste Wrote: The most popular games involve killing others. The Call of Duty franchise being an example. The latest version broke record sales in a record time.
World of Warcraft is another.
There may be times when people are feeling loving to the team/clan mates, however throughout most of the game(s), the mind is in fight or flight mode (the opposite of peacefulness) and engaged in destroying another. It's not just the end result, it's the state of consciousness throughout.
So many video games are war games. And let's not forget those zombie killing games! Hey, zombies need love too!
(03-08-2011, 09:34 AM)3DMonkey Wrote: Even so, the "effect" is not fight or flight response. My point is that it is not real. There is no real effect on the player other than hand/eye reflex stimulation. Fight or flight has a REAL effect. Pretend doesn't make for genuine effect. Getting excited, with rapid heart rate, by getting close to reaching the next level is far different than having a pro football player running full force directly at you.
If gaming is fight or flight, then there should be levels one through ten to describe the intensity. There aren't levels. Gaming is not fight or flight.
Interestingly, studies have been done showing that the brain doesn't know the difference between the memory of a real action and an imagined action. For example, when a person imagines playing tennis, the brain cannot distinguish between the imagined event, and the person's memory of actually playing tennis.
(Not sure how that relates to what you're discussing, but I thought it was worth mentioning.)