Who Am I? —From Persona to Person

Abstract

Assuming the premise in the illusion of being attacked in the sexual violence in Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V) (2013), this essay is going to discuss the phenomenon that the violence inside the game space becomes an assault not against a persona, but against the person behind the persona in playable world through the operation of empathy. I argue that though the sexual violence is non-exclusively designed as a reward for players to explore, each perception from each first-person experience in the gameplay does not resonate with each other. The influences of empathy are very private to the gamers; some may anticipate to embark on the hedonism while others may reject to these sexual elements. Furthermore, I argue that the magic circle of game cannot totally protect players from being affected in the process of exploring the game world. I realize that the virtual violence transcend “mere entertainment” in game space and transmit some negative interpretations in playable world. Given that the potential contribution to this field of study from the non-resonant perception of individuals and the transcendence involved in the scenes, I would be interested in revealing the opposite interpretations of sexual violence in gameplay and how the influence eventually escapes from person to person based on empathic analysis and individual experience.