A good buddy of mine recently started writting an essay about the relevance of gaming with regards to whether it to beneficial to society, or the opposite.

I allocate a decent portion of my time to gaming, so the question got me thinking about how it affects my life.Does gaming have any benefits besides entertainment? Does Gaming promote violence etc. I just want to see what the shrine's thoughts and opinions on the subject are. I personally am going to be dedicating alot less time to gaming in the future and will try to cease completely (eventually :))

If there are they enough interested people we could start an actual debate.


DISCUSS AWAY CITIZENS OF THE SHRINE!

My father and I have come to the conclusion that video games played a substantial part in my mental development due to the fact that they base themselves on the concepts of reasoning, reading, mathamatics, problem solving, etc.
I don't think gaming promotes violence on it's own. My friends and I would play violent shooter and fighting games for hours on end but we were all emotionally balanced enough to not be idiots and go mimicking them. Our parents had guns(I grew up in an area with lots of hunting)but we all realized the power and danger of them(I grew up in an area with lots of hunting)

That's my two cents on the matter.

Gaming (or more accurately, games) doesn't "promote" anything any more than the rest of popular culture does. Granted, I don't have stats and facts to back this up, but there's probably just as many violent movies or television programs as there are violent games. Of course, what is and isn't violent is quite subjective, but I digress.

At any rate, I don't think gaming has as much an impact on society as we gamers like to think, simply because it doesn't reach nearly as many people as movies and television and radio do.

I agree with CyanCyde and Coma on that, However I there still remains the issue of whether games hav any actual benefits besides entertainment. Is it positive in any way with regards to individual growth? I know this is all hyper subjective, but I would still appreciate your comments and views.

Gaming has improved my hand-eye coordination and response time!

Gaming (or more accurately, games) doesn't "promote" anything any more than the rest of popular culture does. Granted, I don't have stats and facts to back this up, but there's probably just as many violent movies or television programs as there are violent games. Of course, what is and isn't violent is quite subjective, but I digress.


Agreeing with this.



I agree with CyanCyde and Coma on that, However I there still remains the issue of whether games hav any actual benefits besides entertainment. Is it positive in any way with regards to individual growth? I know this is all hyper subjective, but I would still appreciate your comments and views.

There has been a UK study which has indicated some games have improved kids thinking skills according to this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1879019.stm

There has been a UK study which has indicated some games have improved kids thinking skills according to this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1879019.stm

There have been a vast number of studies which show that video games dampen physical development and encourage children to be more violent (though I guess the latter relates to which games one plays). Back in my days as a kid when I was trying to navigate Sonic the Hedgehog through a half-pipe to collect the Chaos Emeralds this wasn't an issue, but games these days are more engaging and explicit and they really can have an impact on influential people or children.

I'm also going to agree with CyanCyde, but I think in years to come video games might just have a larger impact; because as time goes on more and more people are growing up with video games as entertainment. Its a thriving industry already, and it will only get bigger and better.

Is it positive in any way with regards to individual growth?

That can vary wildly from individual to individual. In my specific case, I'm sure playing the original FF (as well as numerous others) as an 8 or 9 year old improved my reading and motor skills.


There have been a vast number of studies which show that video games dampen physical development and encourage children to be more violent (though I guess the latter relates to which games one plays).

Such studies can't possibly be scientific. There are a thousand and one things being pushed into youngsters' heads besides video games. Schools (at least in the US) are putting more and more pressure on kids to memorize and regurgitate more and more information at faster paces than, well, ever. Kids are being introduced to higher levels of school-stress at younger ages than even I did, having just graduated four years ago. I know this because I have a pair of siblings in elementary school, and a education major for a wife. Also, the TV shows kids watch nowadays are far more violent than the ones I watched when I was that age. And at least in my case, when I was a depressed, emo-ish kid in junior high and my first two years of high school, video games (especially violent ones) kept me from actually being violent, whether it be to myself or anybody else, for that matter.

Such studies can't possibly be scientific. There are a thousand and one things being pushed into youngsters' heads besides video games. Schools (at least in the US) are putting more and more pressure on kids to memorize and regurgitate more and more information at faster paces than, well, ever. Kids are being introduced to higher levels of school-stress at younger ages than even I did, having just graduated four years ago. I know this because I have a pair of siblings in elementary school, and a education major for a wife. Also, the TV shows kids watch nowadays are far more violent than the ones I watched when I was that age. And at least in my case, when I was a depressed, emo-ish kid in junior high and my first two years of high school, video games (especially violent ones) kept me from actually being violent, whether it be to myself or anybody else, for that matter.

There is a lot of truth in that. Some of these studies are poorly controlled, others probably account for such vast variability as best as they possibly can and take a few measures to differentiate between school, tv, games and other media. But I think like anything else, video games have their good points and their bad points, its all going to depend on where you fall on that scale.

In my opinion, I have realized that I could be doing more productive (What in my opinion is productive) activities. However I agree with CyanCyde that there are obvious pro's. No one could convince me that The Myst series wasnt intellectually stimulating :)

I guess its the same with the majority of influences, its subjective to the individual.

I find it truly sad that kids my age that are great people and play excessive video games are called losers. Because the other day I was looking around at my Math class at all the low-life kids and stoners, who have no work ethic, and no motive to do anything successful.
I truly believe I should thank video games for increasing my vocabulary, put effort into work, and other various characteristics.
I think video games show people all around the world, different ways of thinking and a variety of cultures. I do believe I am quite more mature than the average teen because I can understand concepts and find meaning in things.
Also, spending time and money on gaming has kept me from more dangerous and common things a teen would do, such as drinking and drugs.
Entertainment value is a big part of games but I believe it goes much more deeper than that.

Also for the violence topic, TV and movies are just as violent and they feed a lot more of ideas into a person's mind. Games help you interact with the problem and force you to solve it with the best possible way. It helps you learn from your mistakes and improve.

It's still and always will be debatable about whether violent video games promote violence. I did a report on the subject, but there wasn't any hard evidence to support either side. Just because someone plays Doom doesn't mean they have a tendency to run out and just kill people for the sheer pleasure of it, I think there are other things to consider. How's life at home? How are the bullies at school treatin' ya? Things like this (especially if it's excessive) can help drive a kid towards the edge and will eventually make them snap.

But for me, I believe it all depends on the person. I don't agree that violent video games or media violence in general is the only reason why kids perform violent acts, but something that's in between.

At the end of the day I think, like doing anything else in excess, too much video gaming (to the extent where people get obsessed with it over all else) is a bad thing but spending moderate time periods playing video games as an alternative to watching a movie, tv programme, reading a book etc is harmless enough.

In my opinion, too much gaming is obviously bad, but gaming is villified by lots of people. A lot of people think that just because a kid might play GTA or GUN for a while, they'll end up going out and shooting someone. Of course I don't support giving a six year-old a game like the ones i mentioned, but in the end only the parents are to blame. If the parents buy the kid the game, they are the ones at fault. It makes no sense to go suing the fuck out of company because you didn't realize that it had guns in it. It's the same with music. It has no higher value than entertainment. Only the kids with serious issues would even contemplate something as stupid as shooting a gun in a Wal-Mart.

I can agree with this. Video games carry a rating for a reason. If parents believe their child can handle a GTA type game with full maturity, then it is reasonable to find that violence acceptable.
But for kids like rjkrider, they should stick to the E rated games. Haha.

i have never agreed that video games promote violence. i've played/been around kids who have played games like grand thieft auto and state of emergency, and they haven't turned out bad or extremely angry, ect. but then again, i could be wrong.

another thing: parents will go out and buy their kids these games and then complain abut how there's so much violence in them. FIRST OF ALL they're the parent and they control the kid, so if it is a big problem they should try and prevent their kids from playing those games, not contacting the people who make them and bitching them out. that kind of thing annoys the hell out of me.

That can vary wildly from individual to individual. In my specific case, I'm sure playing the original FF (as well as numerous others) as an 8 or 9 year old improved my reading and motor skills.

I agree on that. I played FFIX for the first time when I was 9 years old, and it helped me improve my English and my vocabulary.


Violence in games is everywhere. When people think of a violence game they may think of GTA, godfather or First person shooters as doom, soldier of fortune and tekken or dead or alive.
Two months ago i checked the manual of Spyro the Dragon:The year of the dragon (the 3rd one, o the ps1) at a friend's house and was suprised that it was saying at the back: ATTENTION: This game contains 3D violence scenes!
How comes a game is considered violence but at the same time a game that is alright to be played by all ages? (every1 who ever played spyro would know that the game doesnt contain violence at all)

Define violence.

Every game contains some violence, like Donkey Kong, Crash Bandicoot, and others. Basically it is warning parents that the game has the option to inflict hurt onto things. But this type of violence is not a problem because of its popularity in cartoons.

Define violence.

:rolleyes:


]Every game contains some violence, like Donkey Kong, Crash Bandicoot, and others. Basically it is warning parents that the game has the option to inflict hurt onto things. But this type of violence is not a problem because of its popularity in cartoons.

Cartoony violence has been around since Bugs, Elmer, Wile E., Road Runner, and Tom and Jerry. It's the relatively recent (and rapid) rise of more realistic (and intense) violence in television, movies, and video games that is the cause of these debates, studies, ratings systems, and the like.

Actually if you think about it, the games where you pull out a huge rocket launcher from your back pocket are less potentially violence-inducing than say Tom and Jerry where they shoot fireworks at each other. I can't see a five year-old shooting a huge rocket launcher at a friend, but I can see one shooting off a firework.

Thats an interesting point. Tom and Jerry used to beat the shit out of each other with mallets, did that lead to all those hammer murders?

Actually if you think about it, the games where you pull out a huge rocket launcher from your back pocket are less potentially violence-inducing than say Tom and Jerry where they shoot fireworks at each other. I can't see a five year-old shooting a huge rocket launcher at a friend, but I can see one shooting off a firework.


i never thought about that before.. that's a good point.

Well most ignorant parents think their child is to young to understand and mimic cartoons.

;639524']Well most ignorant parents think their child is to young to understand and mimic cartoons.

The problem is that they are too young to understand them but not too young to mimic them

Next thing you know you have to call the plumber due to a baby clogged toilet.

Thats an interesting point. Tom and Jerry used to beat the shit out of each other with mallets, did that lead to all those hammer murders?

I don't think it led to them, but it could be an indirect reason for some of those murders where a little kid kills his best friend by accident.

video games dont promote anything more, than movies, television, music, or any other aspect of pop culture does. its just that there the one thing society has pointed out and layed there blame on as a pathetic excuse for somthing. you would seriusely have to be a freaking moron to try some of the stupid things in games or movies. so hats of to the morons who are ruening the fun for the rest of us sensable people.

I don't think gaming promots violence, The government says that this kid killed this person after playing this game, they just want to put the blame on somthing, why not blame it on what the kids like the most. Why is it the government has a way of blameing things we like the most? Sorry if I got off topic.

because its a cheep shot.

DOWN WITH COMMUNISIM!

It is more the media's fault than the government's.

DOWN WITH COMMUNISIM!
wot?

Here is a true story:

I used to draw in school when I was younger. Sometimes my teachers would hassle me.

In first grade I would draw guns and cut-away diagrams of ballistic missile submarines.

No one seemed to care about the ballistic missile submarines, or the 20 ICMBs, each containing 9 MIRVs with 350 kiloton warheads.

The guns though...I got scolded for that. Casue you know, guns are dangerous, but thermonuclear weapons are just toys.

In second grade I drew titties, I got in real trouble for that.

That is how I learned that armageddon was good, personal violence was disagreeable, and anything supposedly covered by underwear was down right evil. Correction...that is how I learned everyone was insane, except for me.

I just wrote a persuasive report on gaming last week. Basically what I said was that there are benefits to playing videogames, such as faster reflexes with your hands. I also wrote about why parents don't like to buy games just because they think the cover isn't good. I actually heard someone say to their kid at the store 'That game looks so demonic!' And I'm thinking 'just because of the cover's looks, doesn't mean you shouldn't buy it. But anyway thanx for asking.

I think the real issue that the video game industry has is one of identity; a staggering amount of people (read: most non-gamers) still believe the myth that 'video games are for kids'. The largest market for video games is the 18-39 male age bracket; the same age bracket that is known for action movies, sci-fi and pornography.

The controversy stems mainly from parents seeing games like Grand Theft Auto and going 'omg won't somebody think of the children'. Yet a movie like Sin City comes out, which features explicit murder and torture, and nobody bats an eye. You don't hear the 'movies are bad!' bandwagon, because everyone realises that if your twelve year old is watching Sin City, the parents are to blame. If your twelve year old is playing GTA, suddenly it's Rockstar's fault for making the game in the first place.

If the games industry was treated more like the movie industry, there wouldn't be a problem. Nintendo is the Disney of the gaming world; you can be pretty safe buying your kid a GameCube and letting them play Super Mario Sunshine. Sure, they've got their M-rated equivalents, but so does Disney (Pirates of the Carribean, anyone).

Sony (and Microsoft) are like, well, Sony in the movie industry. A whole range of different titles for all different ages. And all with ratings to tell parents if their kids should be playing it or not. The ESRB has done an excellent job of self-monitoring all these years, and recently in Australia the OFLC (office of film and literature classification), the same board that rates movies, has started rating games.

If people start realizing that games, like all literature, need to be partaken of those mature enough to understand them, then there won't be the issue of 'whether games are good or bad for kids', anymore than people ask 'is Shrek good or bad for kids'.

Here is a true story:

I used to draw in school when I was younger. Sometimes my teachers would hassle me.

In first grade I would draw guns and cut-away diagrams of ballistic missile submarines.

No one seemed to care about the ballistic missile submarines, or the 20 ICMBs, each containing 9 MIRVs with 350 kiloton warheads.

The guns though...I got scolded for that. Casue you know, guns are dangerous, but thermonuclear weapons are just toys.

In second grade I drew titties, I got in real trouble for that.

That is how I learned that armageddon was good, personal violence was disagreeable, and anything supposedly covered by underwear was down right evil. Correction...that is how I learned everyone was insane, except for me.

dude. you gotta give me fucking permission to quote this/you now and forever!! >.<

i wanna put this in my sig, make a wallpaper with this on it and everything. lol.