Small victory for gaming philosophy

[dude3282]

I recently had an online friend attack my gaming tendencies. She likes to argue a lot, so I figured she wouldn't mind too much if I laid into her. She does it to me all the time. Anyways, here is the pertinent part of the e-mail:

"I don't know how any parent wastes their money on stupid things like
video games and the electricity that goes with it. Half of those games
teach bad or wrong principles. Like one of the first video game was you
hit people and things with your car. Mail boxes were less points than
dogs, dogs less than kids, kids less than adults, pregnant women were
like the most points. That is just wrong. Along with all those
shot-em-up ones."

My parents didn't buy them, I did. And I saved for quite a while, thank you. Are you a gamer? I didn't think so. Your argument holds about as much water as "Marilyn Monroe was a whore, so we shouldn't watch movies," or "They made a documentary about the life of Charles Manson, so we shouldn't watch tv." Like any part of the modern entertainment industry, there are products that are trashy and products that are crap. You, as the consumer, are responsible for sorting the wheat from the chaff. To help you out with content, they have movie rating systems so you know if there's sex or violence in movies, right? Guess what: they have the exact same kind of system for games, it's just provided by the ESRB instead of MPAA. So, in short, video games are no worse than the rest of today's entertainment. Have a nice day.


It felt good.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: dude3282 on 2004-08-28 17:31 ]</font>

[Skett]

Good for you. I really dislike those who lay into game because they really don't understand it. And if you need another comeback, find something she likes that is considered unusual and do the same thing about that.

Anyways, good job. I certainly know the feeling as my sister is the same way.

[J3553]

Yeah, I hate it when people blame problems with their kids on Video Games. Every game has a clearly marked rating on it. Your 7 year old was beating up old ladies in GTA? Why did you allow the game in your house when it has an M 17+ rating on it? http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_disapprove.gif


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: J3553 on 2004-08-28 18:12 ]</font>

[Ness]

Good for you.

It makes me mad that people go after the videogame industry for being violent, yet there is more violence on TV than any other medium.

[DarthFomar]

On 2004-08-28 18:39, Ness wrote:
yet there is more violence on TV than any other medium.


http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif

Ain't that the truth. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

Television is one of the biggest and easiest places for a kid to encounter "violence, adult content, etc". Though the majority of it comes from movie subsciption channels, violence is still all to common in today's television...of course, I'm not complaining though. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

[chantez131313]

Good job! As everyone else said, I hate people like that. But my dad's also one of them, and I can't hate him...much. He's always saying, "Why do you play those stupid things so much?" Whoa, stupid things? Maybe you don't like them, but I do. Why do you play golf so much? It's all personal preference. No two people are the same. That's what makes us unique. If everyone everywhere were the same, not only would there be world peace, but it would be a dull world. But then again, maybe not. Oh well, you get the picture.

Anyways, nice job.

[Deathscythealpha]

On 2004-08-28 17:27, dude3282 wrote:

"I don't know how any parent wastes their money on stupid things like
video games and the electricity that goes with it. Half of those games
teach bad or wrong principles. Like one of the first video game was you
hit people and things with your car. Mail boxes were less points than
dogs, dogs less than kids, kids less than adults, pregnant women were
like the most points. That is just wrong. Along with all those
shot-em-up ones."



I think someone should also point out that the game was based off the 'Deathrace 2000' movie, staring Slyvester Stalonne. I would think that a film with all this going on is a lot worse then a game with very pixalated graphics.

[HUnewearl_Meira]

On 2004-08-30 17:00, Deathscythealpha wrote:
I think someone should also point out that the game was based off the 'Deathrace 2000' movie, staring Slyvester Stalonne. I would think that a film with all this going on is a lot worse then a game with very pixalated graphics.


Good call, Deathscythealpha. It seems to me, that the game must not've been very successful, though. The only game that I was able to think of that even comes close to her description was Paperboy, and in that, you're hitting mailboxes, dogs, kids and windows with newspapers, rather than cars.

It's also worth noting that sheltering your children can do as much harm to them as not sheltering them at all. By going ahead and exposing them to a bit of graphic-ness here and there (though not excessively, mind you), they do get a bit more of a concept of consequences, and they may also learn to be a bit bolder in their everyday lives, thus preventing them from being teased.

Ultimately, however, it's the parents' responsibility to teach proper values. To shrug that responsibility off and blame misbehavior on TV or video games is sheer irresponsibility, and is not acceptable.

[WraithVerge]

Ultimately, however, it's the parents' responsibility to teach proper values. To shrug that responsibility off and blame misbehavior on TV or video games is sheer irresponsibility, and is not acceptable.


That right there is what gets me the most about many parents. And it's so true. Parents need to step up and teach kids what is right and wrong rather than plop them in front of a TV or whatever then sit back and bitch about the violence on TV, in video games, and in music. You can't do anything productive if all you do is complain about it.

My parents don't have this problem, thankfully.

[Subliminalgroove]

I can understand why there is rage directed in the direction of violence in the media (especially video games). But the reasoning behind it doesn't make sense.


What it comes down to is parents finding something else to blame their own failures on. Do I feel that there is an unmitigated amount of violence in our culture? Yes. Do I think it is "irresponsible" (to use the phrase that is bandied about by various conservative parent groups) of the media to keep producing this trash? To an extent. It isn't nearly as irresponsible as a parent placing their kid infront of a tv or game and then promptly forget about them. The tv (in all its incarnations) has become the modern babysitter. Your average child has more interaction with television than with actual people. Its not a matter of how much violence the child has ingested through your neglectful parenting, its the neglectful parenting itself. Show me a child that doesn't get enough human contact (from a mother, father, or babysitter) and I will show you hell on wheels.

The simple solution is to be a part of the child's life. Watch what they watch, play the games they play, put things into perspective if it needs to be done, tell them what they can and cannot indulge in, BE A FUCKING PARENT!

That being said... I do think our society is seriously messed up in terms of what is accepted. Our media thrives off of violence and fear. And why? Because we eat it up like its crack. Our culture is obsessed with death, murder, violence, and a slew of other horrendous things. All we need to do to stop this stuff getting on the air and on the video game shelves is to simply STOP WATCHING IT. I don't know how many times I have heard people complain about the bloodthirstyness of the media only to rave about the last Cops episode or the new shootemup blockbuster two minutes later.

There is a quote by Spider Robinson which I adore that I think applies well here:

"You can show a dozen guys murdering each other on TV, but you can't ever show two people making love. A naked blade is reckoned less obscene than a naked woman. Isn't it about time we started trying to get a handle on love, from any and all directions?"

[Aredhel]

I can't tell you the last time I ate crack, but a nice post nonetheless, Subliminalgroove. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

The fear of death contrasts the warm embrace of life. People used to get that from everyday events: Oh, the vikings raped and pillaged here, my brother died of cholera, etc... Now, we have all sorts of wacky preventatives or delayers of death: decent healthcare, dieting, peace. We no longer have to fear life as an imminent purveyor of death. Perhaps it just comes as instinct to us, as it does with all animals, but death is an important part of our being. Whatever effect death has to do with existence is up to the individual and what they believe in. As such, we have deprived ourselves of this important concept of an ending to our suffering. Instead, death is prescribed to us through a little black box in your living room. Pixels of light enter the screen and are immediately processed by the eyes as the perceivable world. There is no difference anymore, reality and the perceived; if there ever was one to begin with. Television is part of us now, I don't believe there is any going back - short of mass extinction, that is. Our children have become mirrors of what they see in the TV; if they are our future, what kind of a world LIES before us?

It's a sad state of affairs, yes. But in perspective, isn't everything in balance once more? Information is the great equalizer - through all things, information is god. The television is information - what does this tell you about god?

[goku4ever]

I have a friend like that, except he loves video games a whole lot and blames there being murderers etc on what children watch on tv! even when he was little he was watching all the violent stuff! lol!
Also he doesnt like me beating people up in gta and says blah blah blah your too immature for this game etc etc. So i says to him "when in Rome"