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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Guest&nbsp; 85555" data-source="post: 5575149">I don't think so. Just haven't seen it first hand. Nor have a read anything research that makes a strong argument for there being a connection. If anything I think it serves as a release valve. I've heard the argument the blogger was making many times over the years from a variety of sources (and I do understand we are talking about desensitization here). I just don't buy it. Just because you allow your character to demonize orcs (which in game are evil) doesn't mean you would extend that kind of thinking to racial groups in the real world, or be less sensitive to violence against them. Personal experience is a much bigger factor I think. I know tons of gamers who blow off steam by slaughtering orcs, who are the most empathetic and sensitive people in the world. I think the fundamental mistake the blogger makes is he assumes RPGs are teaching us how to behave and think in real life. He really needs to back that up with some evidence. This is a game, and the PCs are taking on the roles of heroes in a fictional setting where some races are inherently hostile toward them or even wholly evil. Since goblins don't exist. I wouldn't worry about it. If you have someone at your gaming table with serious mental illness who can't distinguish clearly between make believe and reality, then of course that is another issue entirely. But on the whole, I think there is nothing wrong with violence in RPGs.</blockquote>

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