Are we ready for purge games? We ask a psychologist

The Purge is a horror film series that has enjoyed great popularity. The initial situation around the murderous holiday offers enough material for a video game, but so far no developer has dared to approach the delicate matter. But would we be ready for this amok simulator, and could we also learn a lesson from it? We asked a psychologist that.

The Purge: Too delicate for developers and gamers?

In 2013, the horror film The Purge presented a dystopian scenario: A bloodthirsty holiday was instituted in the United States to reduce crime rates and unemployment rates. On this day, all citizens are permitted to to commit any crime for twelve hours without having to fear sanctions. The plot follows the individual fate of a family who barricade themselves in a house and save one person from a rampaging mob, who then slowly make their way inside. Two more films and a series followed.

Despite the interesting and satirical scenario, there is still no video game adaptation of The Purge, even though the “Battle Royale” game Fortnite and the gangster multiplayer GTA Online use very similar gameplay concepts. With the division of the killer and survivor group from Dead by Daylight, the most obvious structure of a The Purge game would be quickly found: Here the players could either reject the holiday and hide in their houses from the other citizens or take an active part in the “cleansing”..

But would that just be a pure amok simulator for entertainment or maybe also a simulation from which we could take a differentiated lesson on violence with us? We have psychologist Dr. Benjamin Strobel asked if we really need a The Purge video game and if in a way we do an asset to the gaming world could be.

The Purge: Pure entertainment or also educational?

• Do you think that such a game a pure entertainment product would be or also create interesting thought stimuli and the players a violent experience could offer?

dr Benjamin Strobel: “I think digital games are never pure entertainment products. A work always expresses the ideas, values ​​and attitudes of its creators. Games, like other media, are therefore always a mirror of their society and their time. What kind of values ​​and attitudes a game conveys depends, of course, on the specific work.

At The Purge you can look at the template: What kind of human image is behind it? What kind of belief in our society is being communicated? Like many apocalyptic stories, The Purge is based on the premise that that man is aggressive and selfish. Stories of betrayal and deceit are told. A survivor who knocks on the door asking for help turns out to be an enemy and betrays the trust of the good-natured.

This is not only fiction, but also has something to do with the view of our society. Behind this example is a narrative that you can, for example related to refugees in the real world: Instead of seeing them as needy, there are tales of marauding hordes portrayed as a threat or as parasites. As in The Purge, these people supposedly just want to rob us and steal resources, according to the misanthropic narrative.

So it’s not just a question of how we deal with violence, but also what image of humanity we have and whether we believe in our society. To some extent, The Purge is the story of a social system that has failed, because it has to resort to such a drastic solution. But this is not just any society, but a reflection of our own. If we believe The Purge to be plausible, we might also be willing to see our own society as failing. This can be a breeding ground for anti-democratic ideas, as we can observe with movements such as the lateral thinkers and the like. It may also prevent us from seeking constructive solutions. How could we better deal with problems of crime and unemployment?“

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The Purge: “Probably not a good lesson on violence”

• How do you think the purge game should be for this educational benefit be structured and which media-psychological aspects should be in the foreground for this?

dr Benjamin Strobel: “The special feature of digital games is that not only the content shown communicates values, but also that Rules and game systems to be able to formulate statements. Games researcher Ian Bogost calls this ‘procedural rhetoric’. For example, in a game based on The Purge, the question would be what incentives the game offers for one or the other decision.

Perhaps if you decide to act aggressively while hiding indoors is boring, you have total freedom of action and access to lots of weapons and items. Or maybe it’s much more difficult to defend well and safely and most players die trying. Then the game would communicate through its mechanics that it is unsafe and there is no point in abstaining from violence.

From a psychological point of view, The Purge probably not a good lesson on violence. Because the story is based on a long-disproven notion of aggression, the so-called catharsis hypothesis. It was assumed that aggression builds up in us humans, for example through frustration. But it was also believed that aggression could be reduced by acting it out, like at the Purge one day a year.

The idea is that you have discharged yourself and then you are calm and balanced again until it is time for the next purge. However, this idea could not be confirmed by empirical research. On the contrary: the findings tend to indicate that that repeated acts of aggression may be conducive to more violence.“

The best lesson: to have an alternative to violence

• Or are there other scenarios that you think are more appropriate? Which would that be?

dr Benjamin Strobel: “When it comes to violence, it’s always interesting which alternative courses of action are offered and how good they are. This plays a role in the therapy of violent problems, for example. If my only choices of action are to use a weapon or not to use it, that’s not a particularly rich choice.

Maybe it could be in a game good diplomatic solutions giving, trading, or a variety of acts that help and support others, such as medical care. Such alternatives could not only diversify a game in its procedural rhetoric, but also offer interesting gameplay incentives to emphasize the entertainment aspect, which would certainly be in the foreground for many.”

• Could you give us good examples of video games that have a violent theme differentiated and instructive treat?

dr Benjamin Strobel: “In the overall context, I can recommend Spec Ops: The Line, for example, which questions acts of violence and war as the game progresses. While we initially shoot everything as we were told, the game later confronts us with that we might have a choice after all.

I would also highlight the indie title Undertale, turning interesting alternative offers into violent action. Following the role-playing game’s genre conventions, you’ll start by pounding on enemies to get past them. However, over time you can learn that you can overcome them with skill without doing them any harm. Both games also comment on digital games in general: They show how normal it is for us in games to respond to problems with violence.“

While there isn’t a The Purge video game yet, the gaming world doesn’t necessarily need one either. The fact that video games can only convey valuable lessons about violence if they actively question it and also offer alternatives to it is an important insight from this interview, for which we are very grateful.