Am I Over reacting?

[inkfingers]

My mother thought that I was being ridiculous because I was crying over this event: My brother, my sister, and I all play Minecraft together. I was very upset because my sister put some cows and chickens in the ocean, and stranded them there. Also, my brother basically killed some dolphins. Anyway, I know that these animals are fake, made up of pixels and coding on a game, but I still cry when I see them being hurt or abused in any way. I feel that morality (right and wrong) should not stop when one enters a game. Just because the animals are fake, is not an excuse to be mean.

Is this notion illogical and ridiculous? Does anyone else feel this way about inanimate objects or games?

 

[midlife aspie]

I think your family could be more empathetic to your feelings when you are present during these game sessions. Perhaps there are programs depicting animal cruelty that might make an impact should your family members view them?

 

[Shamar]

My mother thought that I was being ridiculous because I was crying over this event: My brother, my sister, and I all play Minecraft together. I was very upset because my sister put some cows and chickens in the ocean, and stranded them there. Also, my brother basically killed some dolphins. Anyway, I know that these animals are fake, made up of pixels and coding on a game, but I still cry when I see them being hurt or abused in any way. I feel that morality (right and wrong) should not stop when one enters a game. Just because the animals are fake, is not an excuse to be mean.

Is this notion illogical and ridiculous? Does anyone else feel this way about inanimate objects or games?

You may be overreacting a bit, but I think it is good to feel empathy toward animal suffering and senseless killing. I am more concerned about your family's under-reacting. It seems to me deliberately causing virtual animals to suffer will desensitize a person to the suffering of real animals. As I recall reading, a lot of psychopaths got started this way. Please don't waver on your position.

 

[Pats]

Your reactions are possibly the reason your siblings are doing these things.
And, I tend to personify some things.

 

[Fino]

I'm the same way in that I never enjoyed doing those sorts of things in video-games.

But pretty much everybody else I've ever met that played video-games wasn't that way and enjoyed doing every evil thing possible. I've always seen it as a way for them to express the things they want to express but are not allowed to in real life.

So if I'm right, these are people with violent tendencies and the restraint to keep it to a virtual world.

I have similar ideas about people's enjoyment of violent movies and television, but maybe I'm just overthinking all of this in order to explain why so many people enjoy something that I don't enjoy! Who knows!

Has this not happened before? Is it not typical behavior of them? Or is it an ongoing problem? Do the joys of playing with them outweigh the problem?

 

[Misery]

Aye, I can understand where you're coming from on this. I wouldn't actually cry over it, but I still don't want to see animals dying or something. It just goes against my personality.

Well, to a point. One way or another Minecraft tends to require that you kill stuff for various reasons. Wanna be able to craft arrows? Better be ready to kill some chickens. Wanna make books or bookshelves? Gotta get leather from a cow. A lot of idiots like to say things like "Derp blerp, it's just a kiddie game", but for a "kiddie" game there sure is a whole lot of stabbing.

I tend to think of it in a way like, well... gotta do what I gotta do. Like, "Nothing personal, kid".

That all being said, I wont kill anything that doesn't present a reason for doing so. Dolphins, bats? Wont touch them. And so on. Also as far as I know, cows/chickens in the game cannot actually drown unless forcibly submerged (which is incredibly rare without the player purposefully doing it). They will always just float safely otherwise. Maybe keep that bit in mind?

Generally how I think in most games though. The more realistic an animal looks, the more it will bother me.

No Man's Sky is another example. There's LOTS of alien creatures roaming the planets you'll explore. Most of the time, you interact by scanning them for !!SCIENCE!! or feeding them for other reasons. But one type of mission that you can get involves killing a bunch of creatures. They'll often give a reason for it, like "It's an invasive species, its' wrecking the local environment" but still, it's like... do I really have to do that? Most of the creatures tend to look harmless and cute, and they make this awful sound and just look so sad when they die. Just.... argh. Don't like it one bit. HOSTILE creatures, on the other hand, are a different story. They're basically rampaging murderblobs that will attack anything, so it's not so hard to justify taking them out. I'll usually search them out to fill the quota instead of attacking the non-deadly ones.

I'm the same way in that I never enjoyed doing those sorts of things in video-games.

But pretty much everybody else I've ever met that played video-games wasn't that way and enjoyed doing every evil thing possible. I've always seen it as a way for them to express the things they want to express but are not allowed to in real life.

So if I'm right, these are people with violent tendencies and the restraint to keep it to a virtual world.

I have similar ideas about people's enjoyment of violent movies and television, but maybe I'm just overthinking all of this in order to explain why so many people enjoy something that I don't enjoy! Who knows!

Has this not happened before? Is it not typical behavior of them? Or is it an ongoing problem? Do the joys of playing with them outweigh the problem?

Yeah, it seems to be super common that people playing games will go out of their way to slaughter things. The rampages in GTA that get parent groups so worked up is only one of many examples. I've never really understood it.

 

[Theta.G]

but I still cry when I see them being hurt or abused in any way

Since this is a universal stance i'd say a saddened reaction is pretty normal.

 

[Progster]

I was very upset because my sister put some cows and chickens in the ocean, and stranded them there. Also, my brother basically killed some dolphins.

Even though it's just a game and I know real animals aren't being killed, I'd still find this very disturbing, if it were some sort on random, wanton destruction just for the sake of it. If it is for food or resources or some other necessity, I might feel differently about it. If they are doing it deliberately to wind you up, then you need to try not to let it show how much it bothers you, and they will get bored of their little 'joke' and stop.

 

[Fino]

but I still cry when I see them being hurt or abused in any way

Since this is a universal stance i'd say a saddened reaction is pretty normal.

But isn't it only a universal stance in response to reality?

If a representation of reality garners an identical reaction as reality, I'd have to say there might be something wrong.

But if the reaction to it actually happening is far more extreme and this reaction to the game is already a much reduced version of that then maybe it's not so odd, just different proportions than most people.

 

[china autie]

I have heard that there is a server for autistics who play Minecraft. I think it is called Autcraft. I have no other info though. Might be worth a look.

If your sibs are doing this to get a reaction out of you, they are being mean.

 

[wight]

I feel that morality (right and wrong) should not stop when one enters a game. Is this notion illogical and ridiculous?

I shall respond in brief:
Moral actions and choices do not depend on whether it is reality or gaming. Wanton cruelty is wrong, regardless of circumstances. You are not being illogical or ridiculous. Discovering that your brother and sister are willing to do such things, I would suggest, is likely more that reason for you crying. It is difficult and disheartening to realize people you love can be so cruel and unfeeling.

 

[Autistamatic]

I can relate. Moral choices may have no consequences in a videogame but they still reflect on the psyche of the player. My approach to a game reflects my approach to life.
Take the Mass Effect games. There are distinct differences and advantages to taking a moral or amoral approach to the games. No matter what the incentives or entertainment value in following the dark path I cannot bring myself to do it. I'm a paragon all the way, and I'm the same whatever the game is.

 

[Bolletje]

In my (probably unpopular) opinion, yes, you are overreacting.
Still, if your brother and sister already knew you were going to react this way it’s not nice of them to do this.

 

[Iamnotarabot]

Is this notion illogical and ridiculous? Does anyone else feel this way about inanimate objects or games?

I dont know how to respond properly to you, but I might share something related to video games with you.

I never reacted to cruelty towards animal in a game ( well I dont know your age but I was already around 18 when I tried minecraft for instance, never played sandbox or game with animals before, I learned to not touch them in ocarina of time lol)

But what I know for sure is that I took video games for real when I was younger,and this is something I have a hard time understanding because I have no real desire in the real world.But at the same time video games taught me values and made me aware of real world issues more than anything else. Same for other media/fiction.



And I still cry over some movies or music and video games.

We are more sensitive and we may take fiction more seriously then others, when we are into it ( it may be harder to get into it at first)
I guess it depends on the story you have in mind, maybe you witnessed some animal cruelty younger and hate to see something like that at all.

Maybe it is not related to animal cruelty per say or only , but you just want to play your own way and interracts with animals like a "farmer" and not a "hunter" in your server and so seeing others breaking that rule triggers something like a meltdown?

I understand your point of view on morality and roleplay in a game.
I had something weird like that in beyond 2 souls , I was realy into this game and cried a lot during it, very emotionnal experience, and When the character had a choice I would always consider the previous choice I did in a way that actually forced me to make choices I didnt like but find "in character". And I didnt even wanted to try out other choices later like other did, I never replayed the game.

 

[Progster]

I don't, or rarely play video games, but I remember when I was a kid there was one called Lemmings where you had to save these little animals from falling off a cliff, or otherwise getting themselves killed. I liked that idea better than having to kill, main or destroy something.

 

[AloneNotLonely]

Killing a few animals in a game doesn't matter. Gobbling down drumsticks and steaks at dinner does.

So yea you are overreacting.

 

[Fino]

I shall respond in brief:
Moral actions and choices do not depend on whether it is reality or gaming. Wanton cruelty is wrong, regardless of circumstances. You are not being illogical or ridiculous. Discovering that your brother and sister are willing to do such things, I would suggest, is likely more that reason for you crying. It is difficult and disheartening to realize people you love can be so cruel and unfeeling.

That depends on how you define "cruelty". Not only are you equating virtual cruelty with actual cruelty, but you're removing the part of cruelty that involves pain. In a video-game, there is no actual victim or actual pain. So how is it still defined as cruelty?

If you were to believe that laws and prison exist in our society for moral reasons and not just crime prevention reasons, as many do, then you would advocate for the arresting of anyone who has killed in a video-game, based on what you said.

 

[Theta.G]

But isn't it only a universal stance in response to reality?

If a representation of reality garners an identical reaction as reality, I'd have to say there might be something wrong.

But if the reaction to it actually happening is far more extreme and this reaction to the game is already a much reduced version of that then maybe it's not so odd, just different proportions than most people.

Something wrong?
OP cares about animals, crying or being sad when seeing them abused is a normal reaction. (not an over reaction)
If a person has been through some bad break ups, and is able to get "into" a dramatic romantic movie then cry at dramatic break up scenes, then something is wrong the person? Or... they just relate to the content & care for the characters while watching.

An overreaction here would be something like starting a movement to boycott minecraft for animal abuse or hitting her sibling in the head for abusing the virtual animal.

 

[tree]

I have heard that there is a server for autistics who play Minecraft. I think it is called Autcraft. I have no other info though. Might be worth a look.

That is the name of it.

QUOTE from site
Autcraft is a whitelisted Minecraft server for children (and adults) that have autism and their families.


What this means is that if you or a family member has autism and you own the computer version of Minecraft, you can register and apply to be put on the whitelist and play with other people just like you.

Waiting time for assessment of applications is approximately 2 weeks, due to recent increased interest in our server.

Autcraft was created by Stuart Duncan (aka AutismFather in game) who not only has autism himself but also a child with autism as well. The server is administrated by adults that include autistics, parents of autistic children or a family member of someone with autism. There are also "Helpers" that include children that prove to be responsible, positive and helpful with people; and "SrHelpers" which are adults that demonstrate some knowledge of the game as well as being respectful, responsible and helpful.

Some features of Autcraft:

• Bullying, killing, stealing, griefing, etc is not tolerated
• Swearing is not tolerated
• In game ticket/support system. Need an admin to do something, stand where you need the help and use /modreq <message>
• Players builds are protected using WorldGuard. Ask an admin for protection
• All kills, blocks placed, blocks broken, items dropped, picked up and more are tracked so that we can see exactly what happens anywhere

END QUOTE from site

Autcraft - Home - The First Minecraft Server for Children with Autism and Their Families - Autcraft.com

 

[Fino]

Something wrong?
OP cares about animals, crying or being sad when seeing them abused is a normal reaction. (not an over reaction)
If a person has been through some bad break ups, and is able to get "into" a dramatic romantic movie then cry at dramatic break up scenes, then something is wrong the person? Or... they just relate to the content & care for the characters while watching.

An overreaction here would be something like starting a movement to boycott minecraft for animal abuse or hitting her sibling in the head for abusing the virtual animal.

Yeah, and so do I, but these weren't animals, they were pixels in the shape of animals.

I would say the upset person is not upset directly by the movie, they are reminded of their own experience and upset by that.

If OP saw the animals hurt in the game and this reminded OP about the fact that animals are hurt in real life, or a time in her life that she witnessed them being hurt, and that upset her, then that totally makes sense.

Judging by some of these posts, I don't see how boycotting or hitting them would suddenly be an overreaction, if morality is the same virtual or not.