The Family and Social Policies Ministry of Turkey has called for a ban on Minecraft because, according to the local media, it encourages children to resort to violence. For those of you who do not know, Minecraft is a videogame where players can make designs in 2D or 3D. These designs can involve building houses or farmlands, or replicating environments from the real-world or other video games. While the game offers different modes, one mode allows players to create structures and then defend them from hostile creatures by killing them. The following two articles describe the position taken by the Turkish government and also whether video games truly encourage violence in players. The issue becomes relevant to creativity if we consider whether there should be certain content that should not be encouraged because they work against our norms and social values. Does the creativity promoted by Minecraft outweigh the risks posed by the violence it might influence on children? Are there deeper political concerns behind the arguments given by the Family and Social Policies Ministry? The call for a ban on video games that influence violence is not new. There are politicians in the US who advocate that video-games are encouraging gun violence as a way to diffuse arguments away from gun control laws.
Check out the UBC VideoGame Course