OPINION: I've spent years playing video games. I didn't become a gorehound or killer

Decades of research have yet to establish a direct causal link between violent video games and violent behavior.

I’ve been a gamer since elementary.

Whether it was our family’s, a friend’s, or a rental business, I’ve tried PlayStation, PS2, PS3, PS4, PS5, XBOX, XBOX 360, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, PSP, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo Switch. There were also arcades in malls and “piso” machines in the streets, as well as the chunky Nokia phones.

On console, some of my go-to titles were “Mortal Kombat,” “Tekken,” “Resident Evil,” “Silent Hill,” “Grand Theft Auto,” “God of War,” “WWE,” and “Celebrity Deathmatch.” The best of them all was still “Pokémon,” from the “Red” and “Blue” days onward.

But it was in computer shops where I grew up, so to speak. In the dingy cafés in the neighborhood, I spent hours on “Counter-Strike,” “Max Payne,” “Left 4 Dead,” and my all-time favorites “DOTA,” “Heroes of Newerth,” “League of Legends,” and “DOTA 2.” In college, I became a tambay of premier 24/7 shops around the university belt, spending a great deal of time—and baon—until the next morning. There were plenty of moments when a losing streak or a bout of lag ended with me slamming the keyboard, banging the table, or muttering curses under my breath.

In high school, I even joined “DOTA” pustahan matches. Trash talk was part of the culture, whether in chat or in teenage screams. And as they say, all’s fair in love and war. I’ll leave it to imagination what things were said and received.

Yet none of it ever went beyond the screen. No suntukan or real-world violence. At most, it was youthful exuberance, ungguyan, and boyhood noise.

In my professional life now, I’ve never spoken to a loved one, friend, colleague, classmate, or even a stranger that way. Many of those I used to trashtalk with now have stellar careers and families of their own.

Then came June 22. A school shooting in Tacloban left three students dead and at least 13 injured. Two minors, aged 14 and 15, became suspects. Police said one of them played “GoreBox,” an R18 game where players can use firearms, explosives, and other weapons.

Authorities quickly pointed to the game, temporarily banning it for its supposed influence on the suspect.

DILG Sec. Jonvic Remulla called on Congress to study a ban on “violent” games, as they “desensitize young people into the elements of death, elements of violence, and elements of murder.”

Sen. Risa Hontiveros even invited “GoreBox” developer Felix Filip to a Senate inquiry. Filip declined, even via Zoom, saying: “GoreBox is classified 18+ and is not intended for, or directed at, minors.”

At the risk of being solipsistic, I didn’t become a gorehound or killer because of the games I played. I’ve never performed a Fatality, shot strangers, assaulted women in the streets, or ran over pedestrians. Neither did Pokémon’s Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, or Throat Chop—nor DOTA’s Dismember, Culling Blade, or Finger of Death—make me violent outside the screen.

More importantly, decades of research have yet to establish a direct causal link between violent video games and violent behavior.

A March 2026 study published in “Nature” found no significant correlation between exposure to violent video games—particularly first-person shooters—and aggression levels. Researchers called it “overly simplistic” to attribute aggressive behavior solely to gaming—pointing instead to family environment, domestic violence, mental health, and personality traits.

In 2020, the American Psychological Association warned against attributing mass shootings to violent video games, saying doing so is “not scientifically sound” and draws attention away from more meaningful risk factors. Nonetheless, the APA acknowledged that some studies have found an association between violent games and aggressive behavior—but stopped short of concluding they cause criminal violence.

A November 2025 study in Indonesia’s Bulletin of Counseling and Psychotherapy found that violent games significantly influenced aggressive behavior among children—while acknowledging that family, school, and social environment play significant roles.

Beyond video games, the more urgent question is how two boys got hold of a .38-caliber revolver and a 9mm pistol.

Police said the 9mm belonged to one suspect’s police aunt. The .38, meanwhile, was registered to a security agency in Cebu but carried the same serial number as another firearm registered in Bohol.

From there, the questions only multiply. Why were these boys fascinated with guns in the first place? Where were the adults who were supposed to supervise them? If “GoreBox” truly shaped their worldview, why were they playing an R18 game at all?

And if we’re really serious about examining what normalized violence among young people, perhaps we should look beyond the screens.

Today’s Filipino children are growing up in a country where, about a decade ago, violence wasn’t merely tolerated but also openly celebrated. “Obosen,” right?