Article for OPM

[shivadee]

Okay folks......well the Gamer Advisory/Analyst pannel for playstation.com has asked a few of us to write an essay for them about Violence in Videogames.

I want people to get an impression of Trinidad Gamers so i am posting a questionaire to use in the essay. Hopefully they will use it. No guarantees. Dont feel is a psych report. LOL

1. What is your PRIMARY (choose one only) genre of videogame preference and why?

2. Do you think these games are violent and which do you think are?

3. Do you feel that after playing a violent game and interact with people you find yourself more "edgy" than usual

4. Have you ever known anyone who was negatively affected by violence after playing a violent game?

5. Do you think the ESRB rating for games and laws incorporated justified?

6. Do you think that violence in videogames are directly linked or have a large effect on children?

7. Do you think that the general public has a false view about violence in videogames from the general media? (elaborat

[Beomagi]

1. An interactive one... I just can't pick a genre. Look, when i used to come home during college, My little bro and I would compete in Fatal fury and king of fighters, - you know - to the point where you're attacks are dependant on the exact frame. Day in, day out. I love first person tactical, and some first person deathmatch - I LOVE a good story line driven fps. I owe it to my little bro for getting me into RPG's. Look - when you can use Terra, morphed with genji glove + ovvering hitting over 5k 8 times, you realise you're addicted to that genre. My older brother is a car fanatic. He probably can't fix a car for crap, but that doesn't stop him for loving the ride, look and in his case, attention. I owe it to him for getting in to driving games - though he almost pissed me off this one time when GulfCity was having a Need for speed Tourney, so he had me racing certain maps in need for speed 3 over and over and over... I started off getting interested in strategy and adventure. Redalert was the first one to captivate me - and now it's BFME. GrimFandango was possibly the most awesome of adventure games i've ever played, and that showed me what adventure was like. I CANNOT say what genre i like the most - BUT i can tell you what i like the least.
SPORTS. I'm writing this while lazing around my apartment after spending the morning playing table tennis, so it's not that i hate sports, its that i hate the idea of paying someone to create a virtual field for me to play in.

2. Some sport games have nonsensical violence in that you can end up in a pretty detailed fight - hockey i believe started this. I think it's just silly in that it detracts from the game. No game is too violent, many parents are to stupid.

3. Not at all

4. My older brother. My younger bro and I was where the competition was at. Back then (it was Super streetfighter II) he (Big Cips) was a Guile man. My younger bro (small Cips) and i, were Ken and Ryu men primarily - so it goes without saying my my older bro used to get beaten, eh...  I think he ended up hating the game... He was more edgy after the game, but my mother would take note, and say she didn't want him playing it. My parents curbed our time on the game (paul does pay for all, but it was fair)

5. YES. Buying a game with an M rating - I've seen it with family, it can affect people. Don't sell it to them. It doesn't affect me. The rating is useful to adults - parents that dont have the time to actually play the game - but both the parents are to FUGGIN LAZY to decide if the game is good for their spawn, and the ESRB doesn't advertise this rating enough. It should be better brought to the parents attention.

6. Yes. I've seen my brother get edgy. I've seen a rather silly second cousin, playing violent games, and he's talk with this "tough gangSTA!" manner. I believe that with prolonged acting, one becomes - in his case, if his momma doesn't slap him back down to earth, he'll end up as he tried to act now. He guns down some police in GTA and chuckes. I think it's a suble effect that can be more profound in time - recall, realism has only been around for the last 5 or 6 years.

7. Yes, I want to see the next time a parent brings a game to a senator and says "My little billy was playing GTA with the hot coffe mod!!!" I want to see that parent FINED for not taking the time to understand what he/she/it is getting their son. They should be humiliated for not taking the time to understand just what the hell they're buying their kid. It's JUST like the movies. You're 6 - your parents dont exactly let you go to watch "SAW". Billy has NO business playing an M rated game, and Billy's parent has NO business raising children when they can't spend time with them. PLAY THE FRACKING GAME WITH THEM!!! If even for a few minutes :/


Cheers!
☺

[shivadee]

well okay.......looks like Beo is the only one interested.....i was hoping GATT woulda want to get their name in OPM or so....no seen. Thanks for the help folks.....err....folk LOL

[W1nTry]

1. What is your PRIMARY (choose one only) genre of videogame preference and why?
FPS, RTS and RPG in that order

2. Do you think these games are violent and which do you think are?
Yes they are violent, each and every last game (save and except the Myst series and even in those were small amts of violen) I play is violent in nature and perhaps the reason I play them

3. Do you feel that after playing a violent game and interact with people you find yourself more "edgy" than usual
ONLY after playing particular games like Doom3 where my heart rate was elevated from fright (see Silent Hill in there too)

4. Have you ever known anyone who was negatively affected by violence after playing a violent game?
Not personally, just those articles I read online about violence related to games (even if some of those stories are CRAP and are misdirected imho)

5. Do you think the ESRB rating for games and laws incorporated justified?
Yes, it's like with movies or any other law regulating the age at which an individual is allowed to participate. Certain games require a certain level of maturity so that one can detach oneself from the real and the imaginary (and even then some 'adults' STILL let us down eg. Baby that died cause the rents went to a cybercafe to play WOW.... Indonesia or some other asian territory as I recall)

6. Do you think that violence in videogames are directly linked or have a large effect on children?
Yes and NO. Yes in that, if you let a 6 yr old play GTA and he steals his neighbours bicycle then sure, it prolly had something to do with it. NO however depending on the type of game, or the way in which the violence is directed. Eg. Nintendo Super smash series. Those games are TONNES of fun, but I have never seen anyone get violent over it, child or otherwise. The violence is set in a CLEARLY imaginary world and it's not depicted with blood/gore making it very easy to distinguish from reality even to kids (see looney toons Road runner also)

7. Do you think that the general public has a false view about violence in videogames from the general media? (elaborate)
100% HELL YEAH. Gaming is taking a bad rap for things that it should not. The ESRB rating is part of this, in that it dictates you do NOT let a person under X age to play. I think in MOST if not ALL cases it's parents to blame as you're supposed to take an ACTIVE interest in ALL facets of your childs life. It's like saying my child was molested and I found out after 20 yrs because I never thought the person I trusted would do that, and I NEVER INSTRUCTED my child that should anything EVER occur to notify me immediately. You HAVE TO ASK questions about EVERYTHING, you HAVE to take notice of who your kids play with/work with/lime with/etc, you HAVE to look out for the childs best interest. If you buy an 18+ ESRB rated game for a 6 yr old, it's like buying a gun loading it and putting it on the counter for your 4 yr old to play with. You WOULDN'T do that right? then why allow you child to be exposed to materials NOT intended for them IN YOUR PRESENCE. Ppl argue that they didn't know, IGNORANCE doh stop yuh from getting THROWN in jail for not paying taxes does it? IGNORANCE of your childs development is inexcusible and IMHO to blame for all these violence and crimes related to video games.

Sorry I didn't respond earlier, I was real busy Shiv

[shivadee]

well thanks for those that did reply. For those that didnt.....well too bad. The article should be in next months OPM.....i believe....will let you know if any of my stuff made it in.

[Crixx_Creww]

iam sorry i didnt see this earlier shiv i woulda love to paint a real nice picture about how different the gaming life is in trinidad as compared to that of america.

Where playing competitive and violent video games has never as far as we know, in the gatt world, resulted in violence between players, as opposed to the US where it happens fairly frequently.
Less frequently though than people who go to sports matches and end up fighting as a result of the games.

And the first question should be rephrased, because its nearly impossible for any of us to choose only one genre.

[shivadee]

That was the critera. You coulda give an answer like w1ntry