Video games have made messy scenes in news and media. However, for every negative story there are dozens of positive stories that are never be reported. The media tends to focus on the negative and sensationalist alleged impact of gaming. Obviously, we all know the real truth not shown on Fox News: games can inspire violence in certain individuals just as it can create happiness and tranquility.

I remember the days when music was blamed for all the evils in the world. We live in an age where a person can blame their troubles on a video game because video games have reached mainstream attention. Like the media, many among us are quick to lay blame on external influences in our society rather than looking at ourselves as the source for our own trouble.

A circus of media and Internet publications will swarm down on the video game industry if a single deranged individual points their violent tendencies on a recently played game. If a person feels the urge to hurt another individual, chances are they’ve already made that decision far before they’ve played the next Grand Theft Auto. We don’t live in a perfect society and we can’t stop our TV, Music and Movies from displaying acts of extreme violence. Many people feel the need to blame something or someone for their own negative actions.

I asked our staff members can video games cause others to hurt people? Who is to blame?

I also asked, is there such a thing as positive gaming? What can be taught with video games and make it a positive.

These were the PixelatedStaffers responses.

Nobody wants to blame the parents. There is some social stigma that says we cannot point a finger at a parent and say, Hey, if you had provided a better home atmosphere for your child, maybe they wouldn’t have run away and become a hooker and later died of an STD. We don’t want to think that. We want to say, Oh, it’s the game; it’s the television show; it is the radio and the books they read and all of the means of societal interaction that we should be taught by those that raised us and weren’t.

Does a video game truly make you violent or does it make a violent person more creative? If a young person is raised on violent games to teach them life lessons in place of correct parental guidance, who really is to blame?

Younger children are highly influenced by those around them and this includes video games. A responsible parental figure should recommend against children playing violent video games until they are old enough to understand the realities of violence. This is why ESRB rating board was invented. That said, I also believe it is important to vocalize that games do cause happiness, tranquility and a distraction from everyday life when everyone points to games as the root of all evil. If a game can promote a positive feeling then the opposite can also be true? For every game that makes an individual feel happy there is a good chance a game exists which can make an individual become violent. So who is to blame?

So, please do me a favor: When you’re playing a video game and you win or achieve a locked mission … go high-five someone. Hug a loved one. Help an old lady across the street. When someone stops you and ask “Why you are in a great mood?” tell them that video games make you do nice things.

Unfortunately, the media will never cover that story.