Fadi, 18 years old. Dubai.
Fadi is a gamer from Dubai and is 18 years old. During the interview he is roleplaying as a
police officer in the city of Los Santos (LSPD). He has the role of a LSPD chief, the highest
ranking officer inside the police force. I spoke to him behind his desk at the police station.
According to Fadi, a game like Grand Theft Auto does not have to be classified as being
violent. Especially inside a role-playing server on FiveM, virtual violence is only used when it
fits the current narrative. Violence is not required to progress inside the game, it is a choice
the players make themselves.
The experience of being a digital police officer has resulted in valuable insights into solving
real world problems. One aspect of this is problem solving. Instead of being verbally
aggressive and even using violence, Fadi shared that he is now better in solving these tense
situations by communicating without escalating.
Since his role-playing experience as a digital police officer can be done in a safe environment,
he can experiment with different forms of communication and get immediate feedback from
other players. During the game he mentions his online identity appears to be more
courageous compared to real life, even when he is trying to stay as close to his real life
personality. This may indicate he is taking more risks, resulting in experiencing situations he
has never been in before either online or offline.
Transcript
Disclaimer
The transcription of the interviews published on the analysis page are the exact words, tone and language used by the participants during the interview. It is posted as an aid to understanding the proceedings of the research, but should not be treated as an authoritative record. Their word choices and grammar are an exact extraction from the interview and not my own interpretation.
"I'm fadi, I'm 18 years old and I'm from Dubai.
When did you play your first game?
I think I could probably say that my first game was when I was roughly around 6 or 7
years old. As I grew up I started watching a lot of more action movies and my interests
carried on from movies into gaming and that's how I ended up playing these quote-unquote
'violent games’.
When I role-play I prefer to be on the side of the law since it's more fun for me that
way. I tend to try and defuse situations without using violence.
Okay, and do you also recognize these skills in real life?
Yeah, I definitely do.
And in what way do see that?
I usually tend to use my words instead of using violence. For example if there was a
situation where there would be a fight, I would definitely try to calm down situation first
before, you know, using any force, whatsoever.
Do you think your virtual behavior like problem solving, helped you in real life as well?
Oh yeah, for sure- definitely. Gaming has definitely helped my communication skills.
That was one of my main, you know...helps I had in solving real situations.
I try and keep my personalities the same you know basically what you get in the game
is what you get you know, in the real life version of me. In this way I get to
communicate with people and people get to know me on a personal level.
My online character is definitely more courageous. He puts himself in situations where me,
as a real-life human being would not put himself in. For example I did not see myself as a
police officer in any point, but in-game I'm more courageous you know, I'm willing to
sacrifice my life for you know, the greater good.
Do you prefer the virtual world or the real world?
That's a pretty good question. Honestly, definitely I I do prefer the real-life world as you
know it is more realistic and I'm able to choose my own destiny, in any way. When you
play in a game you don't really have the emotions as much or you don't have like,
we're talking about your five senses not being utilized at all so that's basically main
difference from gaming and IRL."