Trump's Violent Video Game Reel Gets A Beautiful Response

Last week a video reel created by the Trump administration was made available on YouTube. Presented before entertainment software representatives during their White House meeting with Trump, it was a gross and reductive montage constructed from some of the most reprehensible visuals of the medium. It was criticized for its singular focus on violence to the exclusion of many other ideas and emotions expressed by videogames. You read up on the details of the meeting via Polygon's article and check out the video reel presented here. 

The New York-based non-profit Games for Change has released their own response: an 88-second montage showcasing “a different view of games.” Featuring stunning and emotional clips from big games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn, Life is Strange, as well as from smaller ones like Ori and the Blind Forest, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Abzu and Never Alone.

In the video's YouTube description, Games for Change says it was "compelled to share a different view of games" after the release of the White House's 88-second, violence-focused video. "Video games, their innovative creators and the vast community of players are so much more than what is depicted in the White House’s video," reads the description.

"We wanted to create our own version, at the same length, to challenge the White House’s misdirected blame being placed upon video games. To all you game developers and players who create and enjoy games – this is for you!"

President Trump resurrected the debate about video game violence last month after a high school shooting in Florida left 17 dead. "I’m hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people’s thoughts," he said. “Maybe they have to put a rating system for that,” he added, in willful ignorance or denial of the existence of the ESRB ratings system.

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