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Amorocco's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (XBX)
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| [October 5, 2008 10:04:18 PM]
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When playing my final half hour of San Andreas, I began to realize that there are no moral codes within San Andreas besides the respect codes of the Grove Street Family. CJ’s moral codes are based on how he will further advance himself in his life on the streets.
While playing, I began to connect CJ’s actions with the ideas of Kantian morality. Kant believes that what a person should do and what a person wants to do are often not compatible. Kantianism is the idea of believing in doing what one wants to do which brings immediate gratification, but might not benefit the person in the long run. Also, doing what one person should do may cause instant discomfort or unhappiness. CJ deals with this issue throughout the game. When going on missions, CJ does not think about what will happen in the long run, rather he completes his missions without hesitation not thinking about the long run. CJ completely disregards moral reasoning and does not think about what the right thing to do is. Kant believes that the purpose of morality is to not make one happy, rather to do the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing. CJ’s actions are based on instant gratification and happiness; his actions are not in any way based on what the right thing to do is.
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| [October 4, 2008 06:18:31 PM]
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My second time playing San Andreas was a lot easier than the first time because I was able to learn how to break when I was driving, and I was a little more use to the violence. Although, the game seems somewhat pointless to a person who has little gaming skills who can barely drive a car while following a road map. I would try to finish missions but would usually get caught by the police and have to start over again. I would get frustrated with my playing skills, and resort to beating up police officers or starting a fight with civilians to amuse myself.
I found that beating up people was fun and amusing, and I think that that is what the game is all about. The game does not have any sense of moral values, and I think that is why the game is so popular. People love not having rules and restrictions, and they enjoy playing in a world where there are barely any consequences for their actions, and you are actually rewarded for hyper violent behavior. San Andreas makes it fun to beat up old men and women and have sex with prostitutes then kill them for your refund. I found myself laughing when I was participating in this violent behavior, and I did not know if it was because the behavior was so extreme that it was in a way humorous, or if I actually thought that it was funny seeing old people get beat up.
Morality is in no way a part of San Andreas, but I think that that is the whole point of the game. San Andreas teaches you that killing is fun, and police brutality is exciting. The idea is that we need to be able to separate fantasy from reality, and realize that violence in video games is different from violence in real life.
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| [October 3, 2008 09:49:15 PM]
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Before playing San Andreas, I had heard about the violence, inappropriate language, and perpetuating stereotypes, but I was still surprised by the graphic details and realistic violence. The game which takes place in the early 90’s, portrays the hardships of gang life within the toughest cities on the west coast. The game does not revolve around any morality, rather it seems like it is a free for all, where anything goes, and there are no rules. Violence is encouraged and police brutality is part of the game.
When beginning to play, I realized that hijacking people’s cars was encouraged, and if you wanted, you could start a fight with innocent pedestrians. Although, I learned that you will be reprimanded for poor driving, leading to a police chase. I learned that if you do not have sufficient driving skills, police brutality is one of the only ways to escape. After being critically injured a few times, I figured out how to fight, and eventually I was able to engage in police brutality. There is no punishment for illegal activity; rather the game encourages aggressive and hyper-violent behavior.
In San Andreas, there are no legal rules to be followed, and corruption and violence are the main premise of the game. The moral contract theory implies that the moral rules are set in place in order to gain benefits of social living. San Andreas encourages the idea of every man for himself, where life on the streets is ruled by gangbangers rather than by the police. By not cooperating and abiding by the law, San Andreas is turned into all against all, a city of destruction and brutality.
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