Assignment 3: Gaming Controversy: Manhunt and GTA

Morten Holland

Teacher: Caitlin McReynolds

Games Design L3 Extended Diploma

Unit 13: Understanding the gaming industry

Assignment 3: Understanding Contractual, legal and ethical obligations in the gaming industry

Ever since very early, the gaming industry has been looked at in a negative light, and has been argued in an everlasting debate whether video game violence corrupts the minds of young gamers. It has been a topic that has been brought up in many courthouses due to murders committed by people who play video games. 

By far, the most talked about company in the debate is 'Rockstar Games' due to their heavily violent games such as 'Manhunt' and the 'Grand Theft Auto' series. By far 2 of the most controversial games in gaming history.

Manhunt

Story

Released in November 2003, Manhunt swept the news due to its highly aggressive gameplay. The game follows 'James Earl Cash', a death row inmate that has been sentenced to lethal injection. Cash then wakes up in the night to a character known as 'The Director' talking to him on an earpiece, explaining to him that he will be given his freedom when he kills members of a gang. The Director had bribed the officials so he could keep Cash alive so he could star in The Director's snuff film and kill the people who had wronged him. Cash is then told to dispose of other gangs to earn is freedom. He is then wronged by The Director when he kills Cash's family members, which makes Cash furious, which then fuels him to find and kill The Director. 

The game involves very violent executions such as suffocaiting someone with a plastic bag, stabbing someone repeatedly or using a variety of blunt or heavy objects.

The Incident

Warren Leblanc and Stefan Pakeerah

On the 27th of February 2004, Warren Leblanc (17) repeatedly stabbed Stefan Pakeerah (14) in a park in Leicester. Warren was referred to in the article as "obsessed" with the game 'Manhunt', and the game was blamed for the murder. 

The victim had been lured to the park to meet two girls. The culprit was armed at the time with a knife and claw hammer. He confessed when caught moments later by the police, covered in blood. The following Wednesday, he pleaded guilty in Leicester Crown Court. 

The victim's mother was appalled and said:

"I can't believe that this sort of material is allowed in a society where anarchy is not that far removed. It should not be available and it should not be available to young people."

A spokesman for the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publisher's Association said: 

 "We sympathise enormously with the family and parents of Stefan Pakeerah. However, we reject any suggestion or association between the tragic events and the sale of the video game Manhunt. The game in question is classified 18 by the British Board of Film Classification and therefore should not be in the possession of a juvenile. Simply being in someone's possession does not and should not lead to the conclusion that a game is responsible for these tragic events."

The Pakeerah family sued 'Rockstar Games' and 'Sony' for £50 million over the 'Manhunt' incident. The game was also removed from stores and banned from being sold in New Zealand, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom.

My opinion

I completely agree with the statement above from the ELSPA. I feel bad for the family but it isn't the game's fault. Warren clearly had very serious psychological problems, which means he should be the very last person to be playing an 18+ violent game. Not only is he not the right age to be playing it, but he's clearly in a very manic and unstable mindset. I think a small amount of blame should be put on the parents of Warren too, because they allowed him in his state to play an 18+ game, and took very little consideration to what the game was about or contained.

The 'Grand Theft Auto' Series

The first GTA game released in 1997-1999 (different regions) but didn't start off in the news. It was only when GTA 3, San Andreas and Vice City were released that they started making the news, because these games were the first of the series to put the player in a 3D environment. This made it much more immersive for the player. 

Story

In each installment of the series, you follow a different character who gets into a life of crime, however the newest installment of the game follows 3 characters. This consists of killing, carjackings, vandalism, drug dealing, etc.

San Andreas

In this particular installment, you follow Carl Johnson, born in Los Santos (Los Angeles) and second in command of the gang the 'Grove Street Families'.

This game was in the news for a deleted scene that was still in the code that a fan found and exposed to the news, causing 'Rockstar Games' and the father company 'Take Two Interactive' to change the rating to mature (M).

Grand Theft Auto III + Vice City

In this Vice City, you follow Tommy Vercetti, born in Liberty City but takes his role in Vice City. He's also a member of the Vercetti crime family, and a former member of the Forelli.

In GTA 3, you follow Claude (no known last name), and this game takes place in Liberty City (New York). He hasn't been known to be in any gangs, but nobody knows of his history before 1992.

These games were in the news because of a fan, Devin  Moore (now age 30), when he was convicted for shooting and killing 2 police officers and a dispatcher. He was in the police station for suspicion of stealing a car. These are both things that are heavily used in the games. He fled in a police car, but was caught soon after and was quoted saying:

"Life is a video game. Everybody's got to die sometime."  He then also confessed to the crimes. He was sentenced to lethal injection.

There's a television drama called 'The Gamechangers' which shows the legal battle Rockstar faced over the crimes of Devin Moore, and the development of some of the GTA games.