Essay Plan

•  Introduction (200 words) - This will introduce Battlefield Hardline and the institutions that had developed and distributed the game. As well as that there is also the controversy that would be looked into as to how audiences are influenced by violence in video games. This will also introduce the two sides that can be taken from the topic.

Quotes

Goldstein, J. H., Buckingham, D., & Brougère, G. (2004). Toys, games, and media. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates.

"children said 17 years ago "war is shit"

""99% of the children commented that they enjoy killing"

• The Historical Text (350 words): This will look into the history of Death Race's controversy with the sense of killing human like beings. As well as that there is also the different areas in which this would also be looked into. As well as the controversy, there will also be the moral panic that it would've caused. This will also try to answer whether people should be concerned.

Quotes 

Goldstein, J. H., Buckingham, D., & Brougère, G. (2004). Toys, games, and media. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates.

"Death Race: First Controversy - Hit and Run style Gameplay"

"2003 game Manhunt presented controversy for the due to its level of graphic violence" 

"Age classification originating from the home console distribution of Mortal Kombat"

Theories

• Hypodermic Needle Syringe
• Uses and Gratification Theory

Main Text (600 words): This will study Battlefield Hardline and look into how audiences that would play this game would become either more aggressive or desensitised to the text. This will also have a comparison to the historical text to see whether video games over time have become more violent. SHEP will be investigated about DICE, Visceral and EA. MIGRAIN will be used to discuss the Story Mode and how it would portray violence in a more explicit manor.

Quotes that may be included:

• Video game popularity and real world youth violence have been moving in opposite directions. Violent juvenile crime in the US reached a peak in 1993 and has declined ever since.

• This amount of continuous exposure to gratious violent images sensationalizing murder, rape, and torture is neither benign nor cathartic. The fact is that media violence primes children to see killing as acceptable.

• The top 5 selling games in the UK in 2013 are further proof that this trend is global, with 4 of the top 5 being from the action and/or shooter genre

• For decades, both therapists and researchers have argued that observing violence increases the likelihood of a child being aggressive, whether they observe it at home or school.

• Violent video games increase aggressive thoughts and behavior, angry feelings and physiological arousal, and decrease helping behavior and feelings of empathy for others, according to the report.

• asked to write the names of five video games that they had 
• ‘‘played a lot’’...
The sample reported mean was 29.97 and standard deviation was 30.09. - In reference to the ESRB Rating System.

Other Texts (650 words): As well as Battlefield Hardline, other texts such as competitors like Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto will also be looked into to also have a comparison over the ages to see as to whether video games have become increasingly violent.

Quotes

Griffiths, Mark. "Violent Video Games and Aggression." Aggression and Violent Behavior 4.2 (1999): 203-12. Web.

"Children do become more aggressive after either playing or watching a violent video game."

"Video Games might have the capacity to promote aggressive tendencies"

 "We are looking at how the character is reacting to the violence"


"Realistic Reactions will have a higher age rating"

"Several features of violent video games suggest that they may have even more pronounced effects on users than violent TV programs and Films."

Theories

• Hypodermic Syringe Needle - Looks into how an audience would just passively play the game and not really benefit much. looking into how the players have become more desensitised with the violence that is in the franchise. Especially considering that there would be an increase in the age rating from the BBFC when the franchise had an age rating of 15 on Call of Duty 1-5. However this had changed with the franchise as the BBFC age rating changed in 2009 with the age certification of Modern Warfare 2 having an 18 and since then all the games in the franchise from then on has been classified with an 18 with the BBFC. PEGI had later on classified the games on 2012. The first Call of Duty game released with a PEGI rating being Black Ops 2. However there was an exception with the next title in the instalment Ghosts which had a 16 PEGI rating. Every title after Ghosts had been age certified 18.

• Uses and Gratification - How an audience would use these video games as a platform to escape reality and just enjoy the lack of consequence that are in the game of violence being the main focus point of entertainment.

• Psychographics 
• Catharsis Theory

Conclusion (200 words): This will look into the two sides as to whether an audience should or shouldn't be concerned. As well as that this will also look into Battlefield Hardline and depict whether it has had a negative influence to make an audience desensitised and aggressive or whether these video games offer a sense of diversion for an audience to explore without any consequence.