As video gaming basks in the emergence of high definition visuals and increased production values, it also faces new challenges from outside the industry. The suspension of disbelief is beginning to dispel from game violence thanks to the gradual shift towards photo-realistic graphics, and this is bound to bring forth a new breed of industry detractors. An op/ed piece on GamesIndustry.biz explains that developers can learn from the continued outcry surrounding the increasing realism of violence in games like the Grand Theft Auto series, and more recently the depiction of real-world locales in Resistance: Fall of Man.

The advances in games' ability to portray a convincing world have come so rapidly that the industry has not necessarily appreciated the impact certain images can make - that photo-realism in games can create the same impact as a photo or filmed image, especially when a real life location is represented.

This state of incomprehension seems likely to change considering recent reactions to real locations appearing within games, especially when guns and/or crime are involved.

At present, games are in an interim stage, where the mainstream media and the general public have a heightened awareness of videogames as a phenomenon, but not necessarily a particularly deep understanding of how gamers think.

This is where the industry needs to help to bridge the knowledge gap, to show that representation of the real world in games does not reflect directly on the locations shown, or express a desire on the part of gamers to imitate game actions in real life.

Wolfwood via gamesindustry.biz »