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 . 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.”