Game Developer Speaks Out Against Game Critics

Karsten Lund, the director of the upcoming game, Kane and Lynch: Dog Days, spoke to computer and videogames.com about parents and political figures who wish to speak out against violence in the gaming industry. Lund says, "I'm not an expert in psychology, but I do think that some of these opinions come from an outside crowd that's not really used to dealing with games, they just watch it and think, 'Oh it's got to be affecting people.'" Lund believes that video gamers, "know the difference between real life and games." he goes on to say, "Even Chess is a violent game about war you could say, right? Games are a chance to try stuff that you're not trying in real life and without having to face the consequences."
Although Lund makes a few valid points, I definitely feel that he is downplaying the effect that violent video games has on certain audiences. I also feel like using chess as a comparative example is unrealistic. Although the concept of chess is based around basic warfare, the player does not see a graphic depiction of people killing each other anywhere in the game.