Gaming and other sources of blame

[Duke]

From the News Page:


All right, please allow me to apologize in advance, but I'm really sickening of all the whining, belly-aching and finger pointing about how games, movies, music, etc., is to blame for society going to the toilet. I must admit to being an avid gamer Doom 3 and Half Life 2 being my latest obsessions.

I'll be the first to admit that there is gratuitous blood and violence in them but so what? I've killed head crabs, zombies, imps, robots, martians, and corrupt humans. With the exception of corrupt human foes, all the characters are fictitious. Now, lets say I climb a bell tower or go to work one day and start firing, why in the hell would I be able to blame it on a game or a song lyric rather than me being a few cards short of a full deck? Take a look at this brainy article posted at MediaFamily.org. Essentially the article is based off of a Media Wise Video Game Report Card that lists games in two categories:

Parent Alert! Games to avoid for your children and teens

MediaWise Recommended Games for children and teens


This is the actual report card:

MediaWise Video Game Report Card

Game Lists: Rating: Parent Alert! Games to avoid for your children and teens:
1. Doom 3 M
2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas M
3. Half Life 2 M
4. Halo 2 M
5. Resident Evil: Outbreak M
6. Psi Ops: the Mindgate Conspiracy M
7. The Guy Game M
8. Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude M
9. Mortal Kombat Deception M
10. Rumble Roses M

MediaWise Recommended Games for children and teens:

1. ESPN NFL 2 K5 E
2. Pikmin 2 E
3. Sly 2: Band of Thieves E
4. Karaoke Revolution Volume 3 E
5. Madden NFL 2005 E
6. Jak 3 T
7. Prince of Persia T
8. Myst IV: Revelation T
9. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 E
10. SimCity 4 E

Notice anything about the above list? Well for starters, all of the games they recommend you keep your kids away are already rated mature. Wow, big surprise, the only thing worse than publishing a total waste of bandwidth such as this article on the net is some idiot such as myself copying it to his front page and bitching about it.

How do you feel about people blaming lunacy on outside sources and averting responsibility?

[Duke]

Personally I think one of the biggest problems with society today is that noone wants to take responsibility for acting stupid.

Well I guess we already know how I think, how do you guys feel?

[Merika]

You know....I'll admit some of the games played are a little rough as far as language or violence......but so is TV and life. I may have been shocked as a kid to see that.....but my kids sure aren't. I don't think they even pay attention to that part of it.....they just play the games and want to beat the level.

This reminds me of all the years that they blamed cigarette ads for kids smoking. It's been YEARS since those ads have been on TV and guess what? Teens still smoke. It's part of what they do to feel grown up. I'm not advocating cigs OR the ads.....but I don't see where the ads caused it with a whole generation who never saw those ads.

I think they come up with crap just to get government grant money to run stupid studies and write equally as stupid opinions.

[darkangelism]

my only issue with game ratings is the fact that i cant have certain games at home cause my brother is too young.

[Duke]

You can have them, just don't let him see them.

Just an FYI, my daughter watched me play through some parts of Doom 3 and HL 2 and she thought the games were awesome.

[Merika]

There isn't anything on those games which isn't in PG13 rated movies.

[dogula]

Anyone remember the security questions you had to answer to get into the old Leisure Suit Larry games? There were about pop culture things in the sixties. I think you had to answer five questions correctly, so by a long process of guess and check my friend and I were able to figure out all of the answers to the questions so we could play leisure suit larry. I think we beat it in like 2 days. I can't remember which game that was though

[darkangelism]

The new liesure suit larry is a messed up game....the jokes are creepy sometimes...i beat it....the game i mean.

[Duke]

I've never seen or played the game.

[GuitarHurricane]

Originally Posted by dogula

Anyone remember the security questions you had to answer to get into the old Leisure Suit Larry games? There were about pop culture things in the sixties. I think you had to answer five questions correctly, so by a long process of guess and check my friend and I were able to figure out all of the answers to the questions so we could play leisure suit larry. I think we beat it in like 2 days. I can't remember which game that was though

Yes!

Oh my God I was just going to post on that! I'm so happy someone remembered that!

Leisure Suit Larry had the PERFECT solution to the gaming issue--It took me forever to figure out all of these obscure questions that only my parents would know.

Of course, being seven, I didn't get most of the rauncy Leisure Suit Larry jokes anyway--nor did I get the goal of the game, but damnit I was proud of myself for figuring out 70's Pop Culture Answers!

Anyway Duke, I can't agree with you more--I'm quite sick of music/games being scapegoated for bad parenting. I honestly think that most kids are capable of seperating fantasy from reality, and a little Grand Theft Auto never hurt anyone.

By the way, anyone notice in San Andreas how your character is perfectly capable of murdering policemen, screwing hookers, and beating people to death and stealing money--But he refuses marihuana everytime it's offered to him during a cutscene? I find that amusing.

[Duke]

I have yet to play the game but I know that everyone who's tried it says it's the shizzle.

[GuitarHurricane]

It is indeed the shizzle, sir.

[darkangelism]

GTA has always had an anti drug message.

[Duke]

That's kind of cool, yet silly at the same time. Maybe all the staff at Rockstar Games are recovering potheads.