Post by trog @ 01:48pm 31/07/11 | 14 Comments
"And I really think, if anything, there is more evidence to show that the violent games reduce aggression and violence. There have actually been some studies about that, that it’s cathartic. If you go to QuakeCon and you walk by and you see the people there [and compare that to] a random cross section of a college campus, you’re probably going to find a more peaceful crowd of people at the gaming convention. I think it’s at worst neutral and potentially positive."While this debate will no doubt continue to rage for many years to come, there are some recent events that have given us some glimmers of hope, and those of us that enjoy fragging will continue to be able to do so.
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Posted 01:52pm 31/7/11
ISWYDT.
Posted 01:53pm 31/7/11
Posted 04:08pm 31/7/11
I grew up before video games and the toy shops where full of toy guns, guns that looked like proper guns, cap guns that worked on the same principal as a real gun and gave off the smell of gun powder.
Parents thought nothing of buying the guns, the kids wanted them to play war games and Cowboys and Indians then would argue over who didn't die for 10 second when they where shot at. Ah great days.
The toy gun didn't come cheap so you made your own in dad's shed and if you where really inventive you made a cracker gun that fired ball bearings and teens where given license free slug guns.
In 1964 compulsory National Service for 20-year-old males was introduced during the Vietnam war.
Parents should be thankful that there are video games to satisfy the need for make believe.
Posted 04:37pm 31/7/11
I am kind of in between this.
I grew up with video games but they were more of a rainy day solution.
I had a SNES and 64 when I was like 6/7 so I was just grasping on the idea. I was much more interested in going outside and as you said, playing army men, having sword fights with sticks and basically running a muck. wasn't until I got my PS1 that I started to play games for entertainment rather then cure bordness. Resident Evil, Silent Hill GTA were great and I never went outside and tried to steal a car.
My parents had a rule of "No games during the week" with the exception of pokemon on our gameboy colors! so every Friday afternoon was like F*** YEA CRASH BANDICOOT WARPED! VRALLY!!!!
CAP guns and slingshots were all fun and games and we didn't think of even trying any of that s***.
I would hate to grow up as a kid now. Trampolines with safety nets? wtf is that. bubble wrap everything. Nanny country. I drove past a park the other day with fence around it. So kids wouldn't run into traffic or the nearby lake.
We I was young we actually listened to our parents and didn't do stupid s*** like running into traffic. although we did play soccer and cricket on the road. but not a f*****g main street.
and many other racing games and platformers
Posted 04:55pm 31/7/11
When it comes to violence in games and adults, I wonder how many fights have broken out at the Mana Bar compared to a Leagues club in the same period of time.
Posted 05:07pm 31/7/11
Posted 05:23pm 31/7/11
Saving Private Ryan: Great movie with guts, gore and limbs flying all over the place, if this were a video game it would be frowned upon or restricted?
Is it because video games are so interactive these days that people (with mental issues) can't distinguish between whats real and not real. Do those who commit such atrocities as the Norway attacks think that people will just re spawn and there is no repercussions for committing acts of crime?
I grew up when video games were the thing I had a C64 and although it would be a special thing to play when I was being good, around the late SNES/N64/PS1 time I began to play games quite often and to this day I still do. Never have I had the urge to commit a crime, I might know by playing video games how to kill someone with a Piano Wire but hey a movie wouldn't?
It's just something for the Religious groups and Political groups to debate about instead of discussing topics they should be discussed such as harsher penalties for Criminals who commit these acts.
Posted 07:03pm 31/7/11
I spent without finishing, over 100 hours playing GTA4.
I spent watching saving private ryan, 2 hours.
I interacted and killed people voluntarily. I chose to end each "life".
The bigger problem is that there's no real campaign on teaching children or parents the difference between media sources and real life. Although it's pretty obvious when you're older, instilling good values starts young. Making kids aware that these things are all not real, and that things aren't real to create a story. That story is worth something to people so they buy and watch/play that story.
The story is different to life, but often based around things in life. This is to escape the boring parts of our life, like coming home to an empty house with noone available to do anything, and instead of being miserable, experiencing someone elses life for it's ups and downs, instead of the deadpan boredom of daily ritual.
Although you might crush a few dreams along the way.
Posted 07:30pm 31/7/11
Youth, who are overly aggressive anyway, become abusive when their egos write cheques their skill can't keep. Given enough agro this can roll over into real life and result in violence. I know quite a few people who would love to have a way of punching someone through their screen. I see people every day get really abusive because they can, despite what "controls" are in place in whatever game.
Ultimately, the real question is, why do people have to be so disrespectful and egotistical with people they don't even know?
Careful though Faceman might come in and comment
Posted 01:58am 01/8/11
Seek it out and you'll encounter an interesting hypothetical that really highlights the difference between virtual violence and actual violence. Violence is obviously something that can't be ignored, as violence is something that is inherent in modern pop culture, and something seen on the news at large.
As an example. bashing into someone and taking something from them, is the basis behind one of this countries greatest pastimes, rugby (an over simplification, but I'm not a fan!). That's fine in my opinion. I think children need to be introduced to the concept of violence just as much as they need to be exposed to the concept of sexual education.
Drawing from the resource of FPS, acts of violence aren't really displayed in realistic terms in any game I have ever played. Virtual rocket launchers and assault rifles give no indication of how they would perform in actuality. Again, this is well illustrated in Penn & Teller's Bulls***.
In my own life. every violent situation I have been involved in has resulted in something a long way away from anything I've experienced in video games. The occurrence of such situations in themselves has been a source of frustration and rage at the time, but I didn't find those feelings to be lingering (in my teenage years). The the most prominent circumstance that I could mention would be when I was hit over the head with a bottle and bled lots. After that there was a lot of rolling around on the ground, but that's about it. This could have gone any number of ways (for better and for worse), but I would have difficulty listening to anybody that would suggest that such acts are the result of violence portrayed in video games.
At the end of the day, a child that can't understand the difference between violence portrayed in art (video games and movies) and violence in real life is in need of some serious help.
Posted 02:28am 01/8/11
I've been playing games since I was 5 and especially fond of games such as Marathon growing up.
Even at a young age, it's fairly obvious that it's a game and IRL I don't have it in me to fight anyone unless I absolutely have to.
It's not the video games making children violent, it's poor parenting and other various issues.
Posted 02:49am 01/8/11
I'd argue that boredom is far more destructive when it comes to kids than games that depict any kind of violence. I'd rather see a kid slaying enemies in a game for a couple of hours than watch him/her going out of their mind with boredom.
Posted 01:24pm 01/8/11
alternatively: show us your map of Norway.
last edited by trillion at 13:24:01 01/Aug/11
Posted 10:03am 02/8/11
Every evening after school was some form of mischief, rock fights being the preferred. No construction site was safe. We lived out our dreams of Cowboys and Indians, "Stig of the dump" and "Vic Morrow's Combat" running and fighting 'til we were puffed out and as twilight fell we all went home, bruised, scrapped and keen as all hell for tomorrow when we'd be at it again. No one got killed and I haven't seen anyone from those times arrested for serial murder. I always thought the griping about computer/video game violence was tepid rubbish