Q's for long time gamers (more ?? reguarding game violence)

[Push Upstairs]

I asked previously about Sex in games Vs. Game violence for a paper topic.

Today I brought up game violence in class as a in class debate topic.

Naturally i am on the side defending video games agaist the accusations that are thrown thier way in the news and whatnot.

What I need need to know from the gamers who have been into this hobby for at least 15 yrs


How many years have you played video games?

Have video games affected you in a negative way? (something more than "I never have money because of games)

Has your passion for video games affected your family negatively?

Have they affected your social life in a overly negative way?

[pixelsnpolygons]

How many years have you played video games?

17-18 years.

Have video games affected you in a negative way? (something more than "I never have money because of games)

I would have to say no. They have always kept me busy, relaxed and entertained and because I write a site devoted to them - they make me use my head a lot.

Has your passion for video games affected your family negatively?

No. In fact, my wife and I play together - in her words it brings us closer together.

Have they affected your social life in a overly negative way?

Definitelty not. I get out when I want to, have no problem speaking - hold a decent job, have time for family outtings, etc. And with stuff like Xbox Live - even gaming has become a social atmosphere. I plan to hold parties in the coming years with all of my gaming friends, staff from my site, etc. Gaming has only make being social easier, if anything.

[Neil Koch]

How many years have you played video games?

About 25 years (I'm 29). Some of my first memories are playing Pong on a Sears Tele-System. I was too poor to really have any sort of games until I was about 16 and started working -- I've been pretty hardcore into video gaming since the 16-bit era.


Have video games affected you in a negative way? (something more than "I never have money because of games)

No. I guess in adressing your point of violence, I've personally experienced enough shit in real life (through growing up in shitty neighborhoods and having total assholes in my own family) that even stuff like the naughty bits of the GTA series doesn't faze me.

Also, my mom is very liberal and exposed me to a lot of violent/sexy stuff early, but also taught me that what you might see or play on a TV screen isn't necessarily how things work in the real world.


Has your passion for video games affected your family negatively?

Maybe in a way -- some people in my family keep bugging me to get married and have kids, but that's proabably more due to the fact that they're Catholic than anything else. They do the same shit to my cousin, who doesn't play games, but instead "wastes" his time helping immigrants to learn English so they can obtain citizenship.

My stepdad (who does system architecture for big companies) is actually a big Doom/Quake fan... he's said that he would love to get a X-Box, but my mom would probably kill him since he would waste away all his time on X-Box Live.


Have they affected your social life in a overly negative way?

I would say not. I mean, I've "lost" a few girlfriends due to my video game playing, but then again I've met some while playing stuff like Dance Dance Revolution.

I'm a total white guy, yet I have friends of all races because of the games I play. I've even started hanging out with some of the "cool" crowd from my high school/college because I've played with them online. And even with the people that I just "meet" online, it's just really cool.

Through games like RTCW and X-Box Live, I've met people from literally every continent in the world. We've gone out to meet each other just from the vibe that we have when we play.

If anything, games have increased my social life. I live in Minneapolis, which is a pretty isolated area due to the weather and racial mix, but yet I communicate/get involved with people from villages in places like South Africa and China (just to note two examples).

Even when I'm really deep into a game (like I have been with GTA SA) I still will go out with my friends, even if it's to have a coffee or beer.

I love video games, but I can't see myself as one of those guys like that Korean dude who just got arrested for playing for five days straight at an internet cafe without paying for it.

[Ed Oscuro]

Wow, I actually wrote something (something SHORT, too, amazing!) about this just an hour or so ago at GameSpy Forums. Here goes:


My thoughts on it - violence really doesn't come that naturally; but there's an undeniable cathartic release in online multiplayer games. The justification is in the challenge and competition, not the violence alone.
The only people railing on about games making people violent are people who don't play them. Sure, it's one thing to present that violence to a child and make it a part of their environment growing up - but many people seem to think that we adults can't (or more importantly, shouldn't) handle it, either.

[Emily]

There are violent games out there, but people need to treat games more like movies.Games have ratings just like movies, people should take them seriously. I play less violent games more often than my more violant titles(Resident Evil is too spooky @_@ ) and I generally prefer shooting/fighting aliens or monsters that 'humans. Actually , I cant get into games that are set in our reality. Wars and ghettos arent fun to me....i kind prefer magic and that kinda crap :)

[digitalpress]

How many years have you played video games?

It's been said many times before, my first video game system was the Odyssey, I wondered for a long time if my family was the only one that actually bought it (sorry Mr. Baer!). That was 1972, so I've got 32 years o' gaming.

Have video games affected you in a negative way? (something more than "I never have money because of games)

I can't say they have, unless you count the few bouts with nausea I've had in recent years playing certain first-person shooters. Otherwise it's been all good. Better than just a hobby, it's a lifestyle.

Has your passion for video games affected your family negatively?

In my high school years my father was convinced that I would someday regret having spent so much time with videogames. He meant that more in a social way than a physical one. Many many days I'd come home from school and retreat to my room.

The irony is that my wife is sometimes affected negatively in quite the opposite way. There always seem to be friends over, playing videogames :)

Also, the lawn doesn't get cut as often as it should.

Have they affected your social life in a overly negative way?

Oh, I think I may have already answered this. If anything, it's been a positive experience. Look at what it's become - videogaming can be as social an experience as any other. You can interact with your friends in person AND onilne. You can form bonds - even alliances - with people you've never actually met and would not have met without the luxury of something like Xbox Live.

Good luck with your paper! I hope you'll share the final version with us.

[EnemyZero]

i have 16 years of gaming under my belt, and i can say no, i really havny been affected, most games back in the 8 and 16bit era werent really gut wrentching anyways, except stuff like splatterhouse, mortal kombat, killer instinct and a few other games. Even then the violence and whatnot was very realistic to todays standards....so no can't say it affected me

[morphx]

How many years have you played video games?
About 19-20 I'm 24.

Have video games affected you in a negative way? (something more than "I never have money because of games)
The most negative I can think of is a few spats with the 'ole fiance while heavily addicted to the MMORPG DAoC. That is an addictive game and the developers of games like it and EQ do their best to add addictive content with every release.

Has your passion for video games affected your family negatively?
Nope, my dad and I used to play games together on the Intellivision and Commodore64 all the time. We still do, almost every gift giving oppurtunity we're exchanging games, for him its PC for me its pretty much anything.

Have they affected your social life in a overly negative way?
Quite the opposite I used to get dragged out of my room by friends to go to arcades or spend the night over. That was probably the best thing to get me outta my pre-teen shell. I have lots of memories of staying up all night to do every fatality in MKII and taping them with the VCR. Using good old Mario Paint to do some title screens and making a little movie.

Video games set me on my career path along with my 2 closest child hood friends. One is a producer at NOA and the other is a Comp Sci graduate like myself looking for that good game industry oppurtunity.

It's up to your parents to teach you right and wrong. The problem comes from the fact that some parents let TV teach and raise their children. Even then its hard to say that TV/Video Games would lead a person to be overly violent. People have an inate knowledge of what is right and wrong from birth. I think because a few nutjobs go an a rampage and happened to play Doom or some such game everyone places the blame on the one thing that can't defend itself. You should really do your paper on "America: A Nation of Fingerpointers"

[THXII38]

How many years have you played video games?

26 years

Have video games affected you in a negative way? (something more than "I never have money because of games)

No.

Has your passion for video games affected your family negatively?

No.

Have they affected your social life in a overly negative way?

No.

[YoshiM]

How many years have you played video games?
I am told I would attempt to play Asteroids when I was 4 and I've been pretty much playing since, so I'd have to say 25 years.

Have video games affected you in a negative way? (something more than "I never have money because of games)

Can't say real "negative" except being called a dork and such during middle school. A strange twist to that is the people who did the name calling also OWNED video games and would ask me questions on "what games are good".

Has your passion for video games affected your family negatively?

When I was a young teen my parents were "disappointed" that I spent a lot of my money renting games. I never saved. They were also concerned because all I talked about were games. In retrospect I don't think there was a problem. For the constant renting: I marked down every game I played in one of those Nintendo's Buyer Guides. I played well over 100 games in a time period of 2 years. That's a lot of entertainment for the little amount of money I paid.

As for the obsession with games: If I talked about football or basketball or any other sport as much as others or perhaps committed legendary plays, player stats and team scores I'd be seen as "normal". In retrospect (and it's something I even told my parents recently) I was no less normal than the armchair coach, couch fisherman or kitchen table deer hunter. Games were my hobby and my interest so I talked about them. I guess I was ahead of my time in that regard.

Have they affected your social life in a overly negative way?

I'd have to say "no". As I said before, middle school was quite a pain but that was not totally about video games. Games helped me meet people. Most of my friends I had made because the commonality we had were from video or pen-and-paper RPGs.

[Push Upstairs]

How do you guys feel about todays games and the violent content contained within some of the games?


For those that have kids, how do feel about your kids playing violent games?

[pixelsnpolygons]

How do you guys feel about todays games and the violent content contained within some of the games?


For those that have kids, how do feel about your kids playing violent games?

Well the video game industry is in a unique position compared with, say, movies in that it has gone through various stages of realism and graphics have only recently got to a point where I can see how people would be a little more guarded. Movies have gone through various degrees of realism too, but there's no comparison - someone will no doubt try to challenge this statement. Anyway, not that there weren't always violent games, and that those games weren't always thought of as "bad" - but looking back even games like the original Mortal Kombat are laughable. Today’s games like Manhunt and Grand Theft Auto feature violence that is more believable - but it is, for anyone with a brain, easily separated from real life so nothing has really changed since the first violent games. In 10 years, Manhunt will be laughable and there will be something a million times more realistic in its portrayal.

Some people argue that since video games turn violence into a sort of competition - whether for points, kills, whatever - that it has more of a psychological affect. To be honest, I've never been affected by violence in a video game in any permanent way - whereas there are some images in movies that have really stayed with me - but even so, I know that it is just a movie. In other words, violence in gaming has pretty much washed over me and I think it always will. I don't think the industry needs to stop making violent games - even games like Manhunt, which I think is basically sold on "shock value" - have their place or at least should, if video games are ever going to be taken as a serious industry. I don't believe in restricting genres or content - only the people who view them.

I think ratings are extremely important and all parents should be aware of them. Unfortunately, I know for a fact that most aren't. I have enlightened about 50 parents on Vice City - a game that their 5, 6, 7 year olds told them was "fine" - they didn't know any better. I think ratings should be a guideline, if someone thinks their kid is old enough - that is their business. I have a three year old who plays games. When he plays violent games will depend completely on how he develops - if he's mature enough at 10, I'll consider it - it'll just depend - but I don't believe in hiding him from it. Being desensitized from entertainment violence doesn't mean you're desensitized from real life violence.

[ddockery]

How many years have you played video games?

Easily 20 years, probably more.


Have video games affected you in a negative way? (something more than "I never have money because of games)

Well, they helped me procrastinate on doing homework and such when I was in school, but I would have found some other way to do that even if Doom weren't around.


Has your passion for video games affected your family negatively?

No


Have they affected your social life in a overly negative way?[/quote]

Well, I have opted to stay in and play games ather than go out quite a bit, but if anything this helped keep me OUT of trouble when I was younger, as I would have been out drinking a lot more often.

[98PaceCar]

How many years have you played video games?
24 to 25 years. Started on an Atari 2600 and never stopped.

Have video games affected you in a negative way? (something more than "I never have money because of games)
No. In fact, I have to thank video games for helping make me successful in what I'm currently doing for a living (programmer). My best friend's mom got him a Commodore 64 in the mid 80's and gave us some games. We both wanted to know how the games worked (mostly to cheat, but also to learn how to play them effectively). That taught me to be very analytical in my approach to solving problems which is a skill I've carried forward to become a successful (read.. well paid) programmer.

Has your passion for video games affected your family negatively?
Never. I was taught early on that video games are not reality and that there are responsiblities in the "real world" that need to be taken care of. Family is one of those. Even now, my parents are supportive of my hobby and get almost as excited as I do when I get a good find.

Have they affected your social life in a overly negative way?
Quite the opposite, actually. I've met a large number of people due to my time spent in game stores and arcades. A lot of those people have grown to become very close friends of mine. Plus, I've noticed a recent trend where I get lots of comments about my game related attire from people I would never expect to talk to otherwise. Recently, I had a conversation with a lady that could have been my grandmother about Doom tactics in the Tampa airport. I seriously doubt she would have ever mentioned Doom to me if I hadn't been wearing a vid game related shirt at the time.

[Jibbajaba]

How many years have you played video games?

20 years

Have video games affected you in a negative way? (something more than "I never have money because of games)

To the contrary, I find it to be a very fullfilling hobby.

Has your passion for video games affected your family negatively?

Not to my knowledge. I keep it out of my girlfriend's hair.

Have they affected your social life in a overly negative way?[/quote]

No. I'm an introvert by nature, so I don't really have a social life to begin with. I think that you would find that most people who play a lot of video games were at least somewhat introverted beforehand.

Chris

[Nature Boy]

How many years have you played video games?

Say around 25 or so. We had an Atari 2600 growing up, but I can't remember if I was 7 or 8 or what. By the time I was 9 though we had an Atari 400 and I know we had the VCS for at *least* a year before that so 25 works for me.

Have video games affected you in a negative way? (something more than "I never have money because of games)

Nope. In fact I'd say they affected me in a positive way. I wouldn't be a programmer today if I wasn't introduced to video games back when I was young and impressionable.

Has your passion for video games affected your family negatively?

Not at all.

Have they affected your social life in a overly negative way?

Not in the slightest.

I'm wondering how answering these questions will help you tackle video game violence as a subject though?

[Avatard]

Oddly enough I got to be better friends with people I knew in RL through online game. The job I currently have I was told about while online getting xp on everquest. "soandso tells you; hey, I know where a job is open".

Sure games have taken away time, but its time well spent I think. I know squat about movies and television because I never watched much but I know a lot about video games, where others know a lot about movies/tv and little about video games. Why target video games for violence, you've gotta target television too, turn the tables and hit their fav shows and see what happens.

I've played video games since I was 3 but I still loved to play outside and have fun with friends. And to my knowledge I never shot anyone on purpose! Maybe I've stomped on a few turtles, but never shot anyone!

[MegaDrive20XX]

How many years have you played video games?

Since 1983...for 20 years now..

Have video games affected you in a negative way? Nope, they make me escape the reality bullshit of family issues, politics, and the media in the real world....everyone has a happy place they like to escape too...I live in my own little world and everyone knows me there :)

Has your passion for video games affected your family negatively? Nope, they encourage my games as my business and entertainment

Have they affected your social life in a overly negative way? Only when it comes to dating...I need a lady who can tolerate me without going pyschotic about how much "Games Suck"...broken record on that one tiny issue for most ladies

[Lady Jaye]

How many years have you played video games?

For about 20 years now. I really got into videogames in 1984-85 on the Atari 2600, even though I was exposed to videogames (mostly the Colecovision) before then (I'm 29, btw).

Have video games affected you in a negative way? (something more than "I never have money because of games)

It hasn't really, although I do tend to get very frustrated sometimes, it never goes beyond the game.

Has your passion for video games affected your family negatively?

No. Even though my parents never really got into videogames, they'd occasionally play Ms. Pac-Man on the 2600 with me (and I heard recently that they'd sometimes even play while I was asleep!)

Have they affected your social life in a overly negative way?

I'm a natural lone wolf, so I'm not a social gamer. However, I do socialize in other spheres of life. So, has it had an overly negative impact on my social life? No way. I have friends who share different interests with me, so it keeps things interesting. My baseball friends don't normally with my gaming friends, who don't normally mingle with my karaoke friends... however, I don't mind.

[Push Upstairs]

I'm wondering how answering these questions will help you tackle video game violence as a subject though?

Well, i admit that initally the debate was going to be about violence but it has since grown into something a bit wider than that subject.

Sorry about that misleading thread title though :embarrassed: