During a Q&A panel at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY on February 20, co-founder and creative director of Irrational Games Ken Levine voiced his opinion that violence and sex in the videogame industry and media in general are primal things that have always been present.
"I’m not the person you want on Fox News or CNN making this argument for the game industry because I think there’s a cost to everything good in the world," said Levine when asked his feelings on games that are criticized for violence, sex, and addiction. "Are games awesome? Absolutely. I love games. Can I absolutely say that it doesn’t raise your aggression an iota when you play? I don’t know. I’m not a scientist."
The Irrational Games head then went on to state how all media, not just video games, are affected by sex and violence.
"I think if you go back to the dawn of time people have been trying certain types of media as if they weren’t about fucking and killing," continued Levine. "But media has always been about fucking and killing. It will always be about fucking and killing because those are very primal things. Excuse my French. Those are very primal things and people are really interested in those things. So games should be no different and I don’t see why games should be any different."
He later mentioned how growing up, Levine was exposed to violent media such as The Godfather and that they affected him as a creative person. He then stated that if he hadn’t taken in that media his games would be a lot different, and probably not as good.
Levine also showed his comical side when first answering the question, where the young woman asking it stated that she didn’t think playing violent games drives one crazy.
"Well let’s not kid around," he joked. "We are."
For more on Ken Levine, be sure to check out GamerNode’s one-on-one interview with him that took place after the Q&A panel. Also be on the lookout for a full feature article about Levine’s panel, coming this weekend.
