Gamers are social. Yeah, we know.

There’s always a negative stigma that surrounds hard core video gamers. ” I have a life and I can’t spend all my time getting good at video games”. ” I have other things to do”. ” I have friends” Great, we do too. The majority of people who constantly keep up with video games are part of a budding sub-culture of teenagers and young adults who, do have other things going on in their lives and use video games for the purpose that it was intended: escape, relaxation, socialization.

Think about it, some of the most popular games of this past year where? Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Gears of War, GTA 4, Soul Calibur 4, Guitar Hero 3, Rockband…all of these games are hugely sucessful and their success is dependent on either their multi player online ability or their multi player ability in general. Gamers like to play with their friends. They like to beat their friends (lol) and they like games with potential for them to get better and recognized for their skill.

I don’t doubt that there are people who sit down and do nothing but play video games all day, refuse to get a job, have no life etc but most of us gamers aren’t that lazy. Our video game time is somewhere meshed in between catching up on our latest shows, doing what we can on our day off and rushing home after a stressful day at work so we can get some time in with our friends. Gaming is social and even games with a reputation for addiction like WOW (World of Warcraft) require you to play with multiple people, that is if you ever want to level up and see the entire WOW world.

So, the next time you get your butt whooped online playing a video game, think before you say that the person that just kicked your butt has no life and don’t judge gamers. We definitely don’t judge you for your past times.

 

Oh, if you don’t believe me, someone else was thinking the same thing.

: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080916/ap_on_hi_te/tec_video_gamers;_ylt=AsCXjQ0igF5bOM9K09WAsgUK77EF

Gaming: A study on its effect on culture

Since I’ve been playing Halo (3, going on 4 years) I’ve been plagued by a lot of issues namely from non gamers who really believe, deep down in their hearts that video games have contributed to violent outbursts in children/young adults.

Now. I’m not saying that video games haven’t upped the exposure of violence but like with movies and music, games do come with a rating. If your child is under 18 and playing a rated M (Rated M for Mature), then it’s not the fault of the Game Makers and they should not be held accountable when your underage child plays a video game and acts out (Children sometimes can not tell the difference between real and fantasy and the lives maybe blurred), what I’m trying to say is check yourself.

Example 1. If you child drinks underage, gets drunk and gets alcohol poisoning, would you sue the beer company? Example 2. If your child sneaks and gets into a movie that features cursing and your child starts cursing, do you sue the makers of the movie? Same logic applies here.

I’m tired of the blame game. The latest strand of idiocy arises from this article: http://www.wdtimes.com/articles/2008/09/05/news/news3.txt. There’s a couple of things wrong with this article and I’d be delighted to point them out.

1. An 11 year old boy decided to skip school and there was no one to do anything about it.

2. He owned a .22 calibre rifle

3. He plays halo, a game that’s rated M17 which means for mature audiences, recommended for ages 17 and up.

4. He owned a gun, but was not taught how to properly use a gun. He took the magazine out but did not eject the round that was already in the chamber.

I can not believe that journalists and even the parents are even encouraging and goading the media and the community at large by stating that he skipped school to play halo and was continuously playing halo. Uh, the parents shouldn’t have allowed the game and should have paid a bit more attention to the gun they had lying around in the house. The kid could have been trying to recreate what he saw with his parents while they were casually shooting around.

I’m tired of people using video games, music, movies and everything but themselves as an excuse for why they are not good and attentive parents. I’m not saying that my mom knew everything I did, but if it was something as intense as playing a video game, she made damn sure she did her research, she would have spent an afternoon at the gaming store finding out everything about the thing before it even set foot in the house and it would have never set foot in the house since I was underage anyways.

We need better parents, more initiative and to follow the ratings. Stop scapegoating! I’m sorry that your son passed away, but don’t play the blame game.

I am, going to play some halo tonight. Anyone getting on Live?

P.S. for entertainment purposes only: http://www.break.com/index/blame-halo-3.html

 

Anastasia R, gamer girl