Video Games: one of the many hazzards PART 2

i think of it this way.

Why care what other people think about you’re playing/love of games? It is not their place to judge. If i am to be judged for my actions it will be by me and me alone, (unless God/s exsist - in which case them too)

Judge not lest ye be judged.

From what is available at the moment (as far as I know) I don’t think they have gone too far, but I’m thinking about in the future. The effects may be more realistic, the actual behaviour may be totally repulsive to the average person, if it becomes easier to make them, it will be easier to get nastier and perverse stuff. :sad:

Undoubtedly, games will reach the point where your mind has trouble distinguishing the on-screen generated events from actual RL video. Whether this would increase the likelihood of players taking to the streets with firearms as demonstrated in their favorite games is debatable, and I think an unrealistic presumption. I don’t agree that it will. People can be driven to violence by any number of events in real life. At best, a video game is only going to provide inspiration for the inevitable planned assault, and even then, using a keyboard + mouse to shoot virtual people certainly doesn’t teach players how to properly operate a firearm.

Only GTA will cause problems. The rest of the games are for sane people. Stupid Media.

After having used the Force so much in SW: Jedi Outcast to push and pull objects, I found myself inadvertently doing the same IRL. Whenever I needed something, I would reach out for it from a distance, almost reflexively, not trying to “test out” the Force, but automatically using it as if it were normal. This only happened a few times, and the objects never moved, but it was kind of weird. I don’t know what this means. :bored:

Its also a question of numbers…meaning, suppose one person would get aggresive from playing games and no one else…should we all then be banned from games because of that minority? Why should many suffer from the few that cant handle a game?
Same for car driving…some make accidents because they are reckless, should we then all be banned from driving? Same with alcohol…yes some cant handle it so should we then all be banned from it?
I think not! No way! :wink:

Its an illusion that we can control all like in an utopia where nothing cant go wrong!
And if you try you get very unhappy ppl because ppl dont have then freedom and thats one of the main rewards in life itself!
Never let fear be the reason that control rules over freedom!

There is always a percentage of ppl that is not sane or not stabile…that cant handle responsibility or their aggresion impulses, even if we would ban all there is, that minority will always exist, their part of the deversity of the human race!

Jeff

Many of us care about what other people think because if enough people get to thinking, they may cause enough of a commotion to ban certain video games from our shelves. I mean, all the people in politics aren’t very fun guys and probably want to please those parents instead of teenagers, who can’t vote. They could try to make video game taxes or something… do the same thing they did to cigs… well they won’t do that but they could do something With all that crap news flowing out, who knows how many people will want to get rid of games… religious extremists, old school parents, every friggin school in the country… I care most because my mom believes what they say on TV and tries to limit my video games. It makes me angry that people can be so hasty to blame video games for all those shootings and hit-and-runs.

I’m done with this rant.

Ha, I remember trying to /stick my friends while in real life after playing daoc for a while. It’d be nice if I could just be automatically following them to our destination while thinking/doing other things.

Violence is something that’s built into humans. The first cavemen that bashed in the head of another cavemen for meat or a woman, did not play videogames. Things like videogames and movies with violence and sex may sometimes be the medium… but not the CAUSE.

If you really want to stop violence, stop blaming videogames and movies and Marilyn Manson, and start taking a good look at society. Videogames are the cause of school shootings? Hah. Tell me, where did the kids get those guns? Not from their video game store, I’m sure.

The real problem is that today, people still think violence can easily be justified. It is ‘okay’ to hurt another human being physically or mentally if it serves our interests, or if they ‘aren’t right’, etcetera. People want to defend themselves with violence against those who could commit violence on them. And until both sides quit it, ‘threat’ and ‘violence’ are going to exist for a long time to come.

An eye for an eye will turn the world blind.

I’m pretty tired of people blaming videogames, the internet, movies and rock stars for everything that is really wrong with society. The problem isn’t material. It’s the way humans think and do.

Thats was the most reasonable and mature responce I’v heard on VG disscussion.
I could not have said it better.

Yeah it’s annoying when people try to blame videogames and music for bad stuff happening. In my current opinion we all choose our actions (not necessarily our feelings but our Actions) and a game can’t MAKE you do things.
I’ve always loved video games. I love them so much that I often dream that I’m in them as many of you also do. I think that game making is an art. It’s fun to play games in dreams too… (dadaada I should have read the first post I don’t know what this topic is about…)

As far as games being a hazard for me as far as dreaming is concerned is that sometimes I get so into playing that I forget to go to bed on time and see the sun coming up thus less dreams for this small human.

I don’t doubt that video games make you more aggressive, but only while your playing them. Because you get emersed in the experience and you ‘shut down’ everything around you to concentrate on the game, you feel like your in the game, like if im getting bashed around the noggin’ by some nameless enemy I get pissed, but thats the same if I were playing sport in real life.

I can’t count how many Nazis I’ve capped in Enemy Territory, how many heads I’ve shot off in GTA3, how many beasts I’ve slain in Ragnarok Online, how many armies I’ve defeated in Age of Empires, or how many Gameboys I’ve had to return in Animal Crossing :wink: . So you could say I’m a videogame “enthusiast.” See my signature? That’s my average accuracy in ET with the MP40.

I don’t think video games have an effect on you after you’re 12 and don’t repeat everything you see. I haven’t become more violent or aggressive in the years, I’ve actually become less angered (though not from video games).

However, if you’re under 12… well, maybe not 12, but whatever people can determine the age is where people stop becoming extremely impressionable. Anyway, when you’re younger that whatever age, there should be restrictions. In an ideal world, parents would restrict what their children can play. But this isn’t an ideal world, and that’s where the law steps in. But in the USA the laws are already in place, no rated “M” games can be sold to minors. But most places sell them anyway, or a child could get a parent who doesn’t care or know what it’s about to buy it for him.

After a school shooting, there are always those in the government (I’m looking your way, Liberman) and in the media that blame it on movies, music, and most of all, video games. Some kid busts in to his class and starts shooting people with shotguns and setting off pipe bombs. Can the latest Rammstein song (I’m listening to them now… du hast!) or a game do this to someone? No. These kids were abused from day 1, or not cared about, evil, depressed, in other words, screwed up. They should have been taken away in the paddy wagon long ago. Violence has been going on since the first life, and nothing can stop it. Severely restricting video games won’t do anything but make all the millions of players mad, cripple the games industry (less jobs = crappy economy) and the violence would still go on, because games were not the cause.

I’ll probably post more later but there’s stuff I have to do.

edit: As for how games affect lucid dreaming, I wouldn’t know since I have noly just begun to dabble in the “lucid arts.”

If you ask me its not the video games making kids go around shooting people.
It’s the parents not paying attantion to what the hell there kids are doing.
Or the parents not teaching the young kid that video games are not real.
Or just the parents let there kids run around doing whatever they want and not disciplining them when they do wrong.

A lot of people are under the misconception that human nature is inherently kind, ethical and non-violent. Depending on your opinion regarding the creation of humanity, some people just aren’t prepared to believe that humans are naturally capable of these acts. I mean, sure, other animals have no reservations killing each other for whatever reason seems appropriate at the time, but surely, aren’t humans better than that?

Perhaps, but to what capacity? Humanity has been provided with the ability (through whatever means) to define standards of ethical treatment, usually on the basis that we should treat each other the way we’d like to be treated ourselves. But the point remains, this social conditioning is only as effective as it’s taught. By all natural indication, people are not ethical creatures. We are, however, very much capable of being taught what to think, and how to feel. It’s the basis for our personal development. If we don’t learn from our significant influences, how are we to learn anything?

Your greatest influence until the age of around 13 is your parents. They (supposedly) teach you what is acceptable, and what isn’t. Failing this, where are you to learn these things? No, your ‘soul’ doesn’t come with a pre-defined set of ethical rules built-in and ready to guide you (though it’s a dangerously common belief). You have to be taught how to act, and absolutely everything is capable of teaching you. Some things clearly more harmful to society than others.

I won’t lie to you and claim that video games couldn’t provide the already unequipped mind with inspiration to commit a socially unacceptable action, my point is simply that it should never have the opportunity to.

I recommend the movie “Bowling for Columbine.” It’s a documentary about why America is so violent. Anyways, it debunks the myths that it’s due to video games, heavy metal, etc. In parts of Asia, they are more fanatical about video games than we are in America. The games can be just as or more violent than ours. However, there’s only about 50 gun related deaths in each population each year, 100-200 in each of the various european countries, less in canada, but something like 11,500 in USA each year. It’s not because of video games.

Anyone heard of VBS1? (Virtual battlefield simulation 1) - a video game to encourage fighting

www.virtualbattlefieldsystems.com

This is used by the United states marines and some other law enforcement and military orginisations, its purpose is to teach how to fight in squads and so on…

This is not avalible to the public however there is basically the same technoligy is basically operation flashpoint (www.flashpoint1985.com), same game engine same file formats and there is supposed to be a version of VBS1 gonna be relesed to the public called independence lost.

www.independencelost.com

How come there allowed to play the game and were not but the origonal version of the game that is avalible to the public is allowed when its just really the same thing? - These people who make desisions like video games screw heads up , what do they know? they blow people apart in iraq for no valid reason and they make a big thing out of computer games encouraging violence?

Who are they kidding?

Agreed. That’s one of the things I should have said in my huge post.

I should ahve stressed the “under 12” part of my post more, because this was one of the things I was trying to say.

to madjack: Target practice and other training (you know the kind when they’re in a fake city with laser guns…) would be more effective forms of training than a game, but I don’t doubt VBS1 would help soldiers somewhat. The difference between soldiers and Timmy, your average 9-year-old, is that soldiers may have to go out and fight, to actually use the skills. It’s kill or be killed on the battlefield. Little Timmy probably won’t ever be shot at or be in a situation where the skills would be of use, if he even got any real skills out of it. Aiming with a mouse is a lot different than aiming with an M16. I also played America’s Army for a while, a game that supposed to be used as a recruitment tool. It’s an official US Army product. After playing it for a few weeks I didn’t get an urge to go in the army, or any skills with a real gun, or some primal rage that made me shoot everything in site.

But who knows, maybe I’m the minority. A lot of childrenses have parentses that don’t care about them.

I believe that they are made for entertainment, which they seem to be working. Some idiots get their hands on a game like Postal (I think that was the game) / GTA Series. Stupid little 3 year olds are like BAMZORZ and stuff :\ We get blamed for it, and the gaming industry. It isnt EVERYONE’s fault that they did that, just “The Game’s”. Actually, more so the parents for getting them the game / the stupidity of the children. Also - I must say, as said before, that there ARE influences like Television, real life incidents, some forms of music that children listen to that will corrupt the mind of the stupid ones. As for Liebermen (SP?) winning the presidential election in a few years - I HOPE HE DOESNT WIN! He is totally against video games, and we all know that he will limit us beyond imagination :sad: Sad story of blaming on video games. I once heard that ALL of the startings of school shootings were blamed on a game called “Doom”. I found this incredibly stupid - these 8-bit graphic games inspired to kill people? It didn’t even actually qualify, it had DEMONS and it DID not teach how to use a gun. Now think - you kill Demons, so you decide to use your gun and kill people after magically learning how to use one. There were also influencial things that didnt include video games as said above. Games also included Quake and Wolfenstein, that were the same basic set up as Doom…

Lol. I play simulations, Sub Command to be most percise (a submarine sim. looks very uthentic). sure I find it interesting and i know things other people do not normaly know :tongue: but I do not wanna join the navy and serve on one!!! My ass they influence you alot.