Misconception about videogames from mainstream society

Detroit: Become Human is the latest videogame to be attacked by mainstream society. There's a scene with child-abuse in the game, and of course, ignoramuses who don't play videogames are going nuts.

There's this misconception that videogames are always interactive, and are always virtual reality. This couldn't be further from the truth, especially in the case of David Cage's games from Quantic Dream. His games are the complete opposite of interactive or virtual reality. They are barely-interactive movies created with real-time graphics. They are more like the old FMV-games from the Sega CD. The graphics may look real, but the interactions had therein are far from real.

In fact, reading a book or watching a movie feels more real because with a book, you are actually actively using your brain to interpret words into thoughts, while in movies, there is a narrative flow that feels more real. In a Quantic Dream game, 1) animations are stiff and unimmersive, 2) there is a lot of boring point-and-click exploration, and 3) you can die and start over, which completely doesn't feel like reality.

The irrational fear that mainstream people have is that if there is a disturbing scene in a videogame, it means that you are actually doing those disturbing things. For example, if there is a domestic violence scene in a videogame, the player is actually participating in enacting the violence, as if he or she loses himself or herself and becomes the violent person. This is not how gamers perceive this. It is just as or more observatory as a person watching a horror-movie.

Dear mainstream society, stop overreacting to videogames. Why don't you try and play the games yourselves instead of judging them from a distance? You'll realize that they are not any more harmful than movies or books.