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This is no secret to game developers. Though none of the game companies TIME contacted was willing to openly discuss violence in e-games, one game developer agreed to talk on the condition that he not be named. "A video game is all about adrenaline, and the easiest way to trigger adrenaline is to make someone think they're going to die," he explained. One of the tricks of the trade is to concentrate on the "blink rate." It's an old Madison Avenue ad-agency gimmick, he said. "People stop blinking if an ad has their attention. Same here--if you're into a game, your pupils dilate and your blink rate slows down." The body and brain become fully involved--so much so that dopamine, a neurotransmitter that some believe is the master molecule of addiction, gets produced while you're playing.
I've played lots of video games, at times obsessively. Invariably, though, the obsession gives way to boredom. Even the best games run their course. As a gamer, I always find it sort of sad when a favorite title just doesn't evoke that old spark anymore. But as parents, we may find that this is the best thing we have working for us.
--Reported by Maryanne Murray Buechner and Jay Ehrlich/New York, Wendy Cole/Chicago, John F. Dickerson/Washington, Nancy Harbert/Albuquerque, Michael Krantz/San Francisco and Jacqueline Savaiano/Los Angeles