These early years of video gaming were a tumultuous time for parents, legislators, and a young video game industry that faced little research to support claims on any side of the debate. There was even a morally-despicable Columbine Mass Shooting RPG (role-playing game) released commercially in 2005. Tragic shootings like the massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado were linked to players of video games.
This fueled an onslaught of research aiming to equate violent video games with violent behavior in real life. They also enraged parents, teachers, legislators and behavioral scientists who were concerned about the effects of these games. So-called “first-person shooters” like Doom and Mortal Kombat were the rage, so to speak. In the late 90s, violent video games became fodder for Congressional hearings, ultimately resulting in the creation of ratings and standards. The event was founded at a time when video games were being blamed for just about everything from violent behavior to ADHD. Intrepid reporter Robin Raskin at the Games for Change Festival.įounded in 2004, the Games for Change Festival was conceived as a way to boost the creation and distribution of social impact games. At this year’s Games for Change Festival in New York City, I kept thinking about the “deaf, dumb, and blind kid” in The Who’s popular rock opera, Tommy, as I donned my Covid face mask, my VR headset, my controllers, and a stereophonic headset to enter a world of games that promise to have social impact.