Injection
By: D. E. Harris
Tags: Drugs, Opioids, Violence, Videogames

‘Resident Evil 7’ (image source: YouTube/Punish)

Video Game Culture, Violence, and Opioid Usage

A typical video game argument goes something like this, “Video games are violent — therefore — the people that play video games have an inclination towards violence.” A plethora of research can confirm as well as debate this relationship. Yet, there is another issue far more urgent that few video game researchers investigate, the popularity of video game avatar drug use.

An online search will quickly uncover topics related to violence and video games, particularly in the United States. However, another online search would not reveal national issues with violence tied to video game play in other countries. Canada, Europe and Asia have high volumes of video game players. Yet, mass-violence such as public shootings is only high in the United States. While it is true that research will suggest an escalating rate of violence in Canada, Europe and Asian countries, a link between the increase in reported cases of opioid addiction tied to age, income, gender, and leisure activities has not yet been established. The United States, however, defers in its public policy on gun ownership and access. Therefore, while Canadian, European and Asian countries may have the same high volume of video games players as the United States, only the United States incurs such high rates of mass-violence and opioid addiction. While video game research is still in its infancy, researchers in the field who cannot stomach video game violence, and end their research question there, will continue to overlook a possible connection between the impact of video game avatar drug usage on video game players, and the likelihood of opioid drug addiction due to its presence in popular video games.

In-game avatar drug use is popularize in a genre of video games known as survival horror. In survival horror video games, the video game player is subjected to psychological and emotional torment, stress and anguish as their avatar is wounded, hurt, stressed or exhausted. Often, the only option to replenish avatar health, in these games, is for the avatar to inject opioids or other drugs. Survival horror video games such as Resident Evil (1996) produced by Hiroyuki Kobayashi, and Silent Hill (1999) designed by Konami and Keiichiro Toyama are quite possibility the earliest catalysts for this trend.

Resident Evil is a popular video game series. Its main story features an underground government lab that has weaponize a bio-virus, which lead to a zombie-outbreak. Resident Evil is also one of the first games to use medicinal plants and plant-based powders. Silent Hill, another popular video game series, and undoubtedly a front-runner to Resident Evil, is set in a Lovecraftian town of monsters and machinations, and features the avatar’s use of opioids and injectable drugs to replenish health.

Other video games such as The Evil Within (2014) designed by Shinji Mikami is an action-based third-person survival horror game, and displays the avatars use of intravenous opioid injections. Although, the first installment of the video game The Evil Within (2014) did not receive a wide reception, its sequel, The Evil Within 2 (2017) produced by Shinsaku Ohara did. Prior to the release of The Evil Within 2 (2017), the seventh installment of the Resident Evil series Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017) by Keisuke Yamakawa was released. For the first time, since the Resident Evil video games series began in 1996, Resident Evil now featured injectable drug use.

With the recent release of video games such as State of Decay (2018) designed by Richard Foge, which features avatars taking pain-killers, and We Happy Few (2018) designed by David Sears, that displays a entire world addicted to what appears to be pain-killers called ‘Joy’; it appears that survival horror video games show no sign of suddenly disappearing or addressing the potential impact of the imagery they contain.

As the United States continues its national debate on violence, it is inevitable that video game play will be injected into that political debate. Consider, for a moment, that Canada, Europe, and Asia are all battling a drug crucible — not a mass-violence epidemic. Then ask yourself, if the real issue is one of industry or public policy.