Just a thought that keeps crossing my mind. I wonder if choices made in properly designed video games could provide clues about the potential for violence, in the gamer. Can gaming choices, or more likely patterns of choices, be designed to be indicative of mental issues, such as psychopathy - e.g. [just a wild guess] the choice kill one person blocking your path as opposed to a group of children standing nearby? Or perhaps given the choice to kill at the cost of winning. That sort of thing. I know of plenty of research regarding any potential link between gaming and violence. But I have never heard of research investigating any predictive value of gaming. Taken one step further, can games be designed to help parents test the mental health of their children, so as to identify potential problems early; possibly to include conditions like mild autism or Asperger's Syndrome?
There is a difference between games and reality. The worse pain a violent game can give you is a sore gaming finger or some pain to your ego. Reality is has many more ways to generate pain, some of which can be permanent. Most people are aware of this difference. Games allow one a platform to go where they will not go in reality. In games, you can play the daredevil or use a cheat code to have infinite lives. Reality is different, because there are no cheat codes for infinite lives and daredevils will break bones. While shooting others will have the consequences of prison or revenge. The internet is similar to gaming. Many people on the internet will become different people who will do and act in ways one might expect if the entire thing was a game. But if they to talk to people eye to eye, they realize there are consequences the same actions, so they will behave. It is possible internet manners are influenced by gaming.
That doesn't imply that mentally healthy people and people with issues game the same. The thing that makes gaming interesting is the level of complexity as well as the ability of the gamer to become immersed in the environment. I can't think of any test that provides such a mentally honest format. You are not being asked questions but you are still making thousands of choices, many of which could be unconscious choices.
