Video games (both singles and multiplayer) are an opportunity to take a break from the complexities of real life.
However, in addition to the dose of endorphins, many games, especially those that encourage competition between players, can cause changes in behavior. Not all of them are pleasant to others, and some are even dangerous. True, the question of whether games cause crime or are just a favorite hobby of some criminals remains open.
Let's leave it to the scientists. In the meantime, we will tell you about 10 crimes in which video games were involved.
10. Illusion of life
A list of 10 video game crimes opens up World of Warcraft. WoW is considered one of the most addictive MMORPGs to ever appear on computer monitors. Players spent many hours in the virtual world and completely forgot about the real world.
This happened to Lester Huffmeer and his wife Petra, who were arrested in 2013 for child abuse. The police were called by a vigilant neighbor who responded to the continuous crying of the children. When the police entered the house, their eyes were greeted with a disgusting sight - the inside of the trailer was covered with dust, everywhere there were heaps of debris and human feces. Two girls, 5 and 10 years old, were exhausted, they were left without food and water for a long time. They were not even allowed to leave the house. And the unemployed parents all this time calmly played World of Warcraft.
9.Pixel death
Loot in the game is serious business. So serious that some items are sold on the black market for thousands of dollars. And if you add here the emotional value of an item, especially one paid for by sitting at a computer for many hours, then a bunch of pixels can be very expensive.
In 2004, two Legend of Mir III players learned this the hard way. They were friends, and one of them, Zhu Caoyuan, asked the other, Ku Chengwei, for a particularly valuable weapon. He agreed. Time passed, and Caoyuan still did not give the weapon back. In the end, Chengwei was horrified to find out that Caoyuan had sold the weapon and put the money in his pocket. The deceived friend tried to file a report with the police, but they laughed at him. And Chengwei decided to restore justice in his own way, stabbing his former friend in the chest, from which he died.
Now in Asian countries, there is a tendency to recognize virtual objects as real property and, accordingly, to provide legal protection. And China is developing a "virtual law" to regulate the sale of gaming property.
8. PvP in real life
The Lineage II game has many fans in our country. Almost every MMO player who has now crossed his thirties started with a pirate server "line", and some made their way to the far "off", despite the ping (the servers were then located in America).
It was played not only by schoolchildren and students, but also by adult family people. For example dvp. In the world his name was Andrey Ponomarenko, he owned a computer company, was married, raised a child. And in "Ruler" several times he became a hero of the server and liked to record his PvP-battles (player against player) and upload them to YouTube.This provided him with authority and popularity among gamers throughout the post-Soviet space.
However, in life, unlike in the game, PvP is not encouraged, and dead people are not resurrected in the nearest settlement. In January 2007, the Linear players gathered for a drink and a snack. As usual, alcohol caused a quarrel, and dvp went out with another player on the street to "talk". After Andrey's blow, student Alexander Belkin (nickname in the game ABOVE) fell on the asphalt, hit his head on the curb and suffered a skull fracture. He died in hospital 3 days later. Dvp was jailed for 7 years.
7. Man as an obstacle
Addicts are willing to go to great lengths to keep playing their favorite video game. And if they try to stop them - wow, what begins here. Scandals, swearing, crying. But some of them are ready to go even further.
One of the most famous crimes committed under the influence of computer games occurred in Russia in 2011. In the village of Fruktovy near Volgograd, a 32-year-old woman disappeared. Two weeks later, her body was found on her own plot of land. It turned out that her son had killed. A 16-year-old boy hacked his mother to death with an ax in her sleep when she refused to pay him to repair his computer. Then Alexei wrapped the body in a sheet so as not to leave bloody traces, and hid it under his own bed, on which he calmly slept all the next night.
He told his stepfather who came home from work that Evgenia had allegedly gone on business to a neighboring village. The neighbors then wondered for a long time that such a quiet, calm boy, albeit a little reserved, was capable of such cruelty.
6. Deadly farm
When the social network Facebook began to grow and develop, it provided its users with the opportunity to play browser-based online games. One of the most popular was the farming simulator, Farmville. It was once played by at least 75 million people around the world.
Please note that the farm that the player controls operates according to real time laws. This means that if you want to "win" the game, you will have to spend almost all day long, regularly collecting raspberries every two hours. Alexandra Tobias from Florida, USA, got so carried away with collecting virtual vegetables and fruits and milking virtual cows that when her three-month-old son began to cry and interfere with her play, she shook him hard several times. The child sustained head injuries and a broken leg and, despite the efforts of doctors, could not be saved.
5. Cost of living
Video games cost money. Even shareware requires regular funding to keep the player afloat. And some work on a subscription plan, that is, for a monthly fee, the player gets full access to the content. As a rule, the price is about $ 15, but for some categories of citizens, for example, teenagers, this amount may seem overwhelming. And some of them are ready for the opportunity to continue playing at all.
In November 2007, when World of Warcraft had the highest number of subscribers, the Hanoi police arrested a 13-year-old. He strangled an 81-year-old woman, robbed her, covered her body with earth and ... paid for the game.
4. Clan War
Lineage II is a social game, it is difficult to play it alone, so the players unite and create clans. Clans can both be friends and fight between themselves.
On one Lineage II server, there were two clans from the city of Ufa, each numbering about 30 people. Their relationship was tense. Once, at a party, two people met, 22-year-old student Andrei and 33-year-old taxi driver Albert. Word for word, we got into conversation, found out common interests, and it turned out that they are rivals in the game. At that time, everything ended well, the people around them separated. However, the matter did not end there. Arriving home, Andrey called Albert and offered PvP in real life. As a result, on the way to the hospital, Albert died of his injuries.
Clan Albert players stopped playing in memory of their friend. Andrey's clan players were left to celebrate the "victory" on the empty server.
3. There is no death in games
According to Evan Ramsey, the instigator of the 1997 Bethel school shooting that killed two people and injured two others, he simply did not understand what death was. Indeed, in DOOM, Ramsey's favorite computer game, in order for a person to finally die, he must be shot at least 8-9 times.
It turned out that once is enough in real life. And the DOOM franchise continues to confidently hold the laurels of one of the most violent and bloody in the gaming industry.
2. Life is a game
It seems that criminals are especially fond of Grand Theft Auto - it serves as their source of inspiration. In 2003, Alabama native Devin Moore was convicted of three murders.
When the police were about to question him in connection with the carjacking, Moore killed two police officers and a dispatcher, got into their car and went on the run. True, he managed to escape not far, and after a couple of hours he was detained in a neighboring state.
During the arrest, he uttered the following words: “Life is a video game. Each of us will die someday. " What struck those around him most was that Moore had not shown any propensity for violence before; he was even going to enlist in the US Air Force and had already been approved. The offender was sentenced to death, but he appealed, claiming that he had committed crimes under the influence of GTA.
1. Bloody incarnation
Perhaps the bloodiest of 10 video game crimes was committed by Adam Lanza. On the morning of December 14, 2012, he arrived at Sandy Hook Elementary School armed to the teeth. He had two pistols, a shotgun and a semi-automatic rifle.
Lanza stormed into the full of students at Sandy Hook Elementary School and for 11 minutes shot at children, distraught with fear, 5-10 years old. He killed 26 people, 20 children and six teachers, and later shot himself.
Many accused Lanza's crimes of video games, especially the game with the self-explanatory name Kindergarten Killers (the name literally translates as "Killers in Kindergarten"). However, others point out that the criminal's favorite game was Dance Dance Revolution, which could hardly be called violent.