For some avid game players and followers it might seem like the world is falling in on them from time to time and in recent weeks, perhaps something to do with anti-game people setting new years resolutions, the gaming world seems to be coming under fire from all sorts of different angles.
Try this for starters. “If Sir Isaac Newton had been playing a DS, I’m sure he never would have noticed the apple falling from the tree, so he never would have formulated the theory of gravity.” Or how about this one “I truly believe that video games were created by Satan to turn otherwise normal children into his drooling, glassy-eyed stooges.” Both of these nonsensical quotes are from a lady calling her self the “Frumpy Middleaged Mum” and there in lay the problem.
Would Sir Isaac Newton really have been less of a genius if he played on a Nintendo DS?To me at least it seems that we are at a point in time where the generational chasm is starting to affect peoples judgement of something that 20 years ago wasn’t seen as a problem. The proliferation of games playing is such these days that it catches nationwide, nay global attention whenever someone says something bad about videogames. It is the 21st centuries equivalent of the TV in the 50s (it’ll make your eyes go square if you sit too close) or the 80s version of violent movies (it’ll make you go out and replicate their mass murdering actions) or the 90s version of mobile phones (it’ll give you ear cancer).
The only people I can find making these ridiculous and uninformed remarks about gaming are either attention seeking whores, mp’s who have no real political agenda and plucked something out of their ass or daily mail writers, oh and porn stars (see later in this column). All of them however have something in common: They are all of an older generation who simply don’t understand the better side, the positive side of gaming and its influence both good and bad on young people today and instead of taking the time to find out, simply lash out with uninformed rhetoric that does nothing for them, save an Andy Warhol moment in the spotlight and certainly does nothing for the gaming industry.
There are a few who do and we should be thankful for these forward thinkers because it is only really them who we will have to thank in 30 years from now when gaming is a big sport with national TV exposure and widespread acceptance. These people are however a very small minority and we need more of them and fast.
For now however we are part of an ongoing battle against the uninformed and bigoted opinions of an older generation who simply don’t get it.
A middle aged mum in Orange County looking for attention by hitting on videogames, even if the original post was trying to be humorous is one thing and we can pretty much ignore her, but when it reaches national news it’s a little harder. So it was with dismay that I read something in the Daily Mail recently which irked me yet again. The Mail seems to employ the stereotypical anti-game writer, none more so than Andrew Alexander.
“The Shadow Minister, Ed Vaizey, provides a foretaste of nonsense to come with his declaration that the video games industry - there's culture for you - has been let down by the Government. It has not grown fast enough.” He wrote in the Daily Mail and whilst that was sarcastic, he did go on to trump that “He proposes a Video Games Council. Why there should be a government role in this field may well defeat you. It is at least as silly as the role of Hereditary Butler to the Crown etc and no doubt more expensive.”
Ed Vaizey came under attack in the Daily Mail for his progressive thinking regarding the games industry
Surely, he is confirming the very reason why we SHOULD have a video game council as with bigoted opinions like his, the industry doesn’t stand a chance of being heard at government level. Thanks for the revolutionary insight Mr Alexander.
Actually along with Mr Vaizey it was MP Tom Watson who was behind the idea of a UK Gaming Council and someone you may remember was the subject of an article by our very own Dr.G recently and should be applauded as one of the few men in power in this country that actually understands the gaming industry. Vaizey meanwhile is pushing forward on some legislation that will actually help and seems totally at odds with some of his colleagues because of it. For example, another MP, Keith Vaz warned back in November that parents should be more responsible when it comes to the purchase of age related games and I don’t disagree with him, but what we really need is the PEGI system to be adopted fully and not in 3 years time, but now.
Even then, Mr Vaz has recently said that video games are worse than movies because “the player is part of the process. Players shoot and stab people in a videogame, and that is different. I accept that inappropriate content is wrong, wherever it is found, but videogames are different.” Obviously he is generalising, but it shows yet another example of broad generalisations being bounded around without much investigation on the subject. Grouping the entire games industry in to “players shoot and stab people” doesn’t really help does it?
To his credit, he did point out that he wasn’t asking for censorship, instead he would like to see cigarette style health warnings attached to game boxes. All well and good perhaps, but parents hardly take any notice of the age rating as it is, let alone a health warning and presumably we will have the age old problem of wanting something more if its not healthy for us, especially if you are young and influenced.
Could warnings such as these be the consensus that prevents censorship?
A recent survey revealed that 39% of parents in the UK took no notice of the age rating on games and allowed their children to play the games regardless and that 25% of them had sat and played the games with them. Conversely, 53% of parents had allowed their child to watch a movie outside of the suggested age rating. It would be far too simplistic to point out that games are therefore better than movies when it comes to age ratings, but the main point here is that we need those PEGI ratings to make things clearer than the current mish-mash of ratings found on our games.
Even then, it comes down to education and good parenting to make sure kids don’t start playing games above their age rating, but it also means we need to ensure the right games get the right ratings too and that’s something the Australians are currently holding demonstrations about in Sydney, wanting an R18+ rating to be adopted to stop so many games being banned from sale. Germany has also seen protest marches in recent months due to the government there wanting to pass draconian laws on games. Again, its people of a different generation who simply don’t understand games and would rather just ban them than take the time to learn what is good and what isn’t.
And in the UK, we are on the verge of seeing the Digital Economy Bill get a speed up from MP’s, largely under the premise that the PEGI Rating system needs to be passed in to law and that is part of the bill. The other parts of the controversial bill will see internet pirates get 3 strikes and then their ISP turning their line off.
So if it seems like us gamers are being ganged up on its hardly a surprise, but what we shouldn’t be doing is losing our heads and telling these people to “go f*** themselves” or as I saw on the frumpy mum blog “hope you die in a fire” or “hope you get cancer and die”. All fairly ordinary gaming comments that you would see around any site related to gaming, but not really the kind of signal we want to send these people as it just confirms their worst fears of us being poorly fed, unsociable geeks with the attention span of a gnat with Alzheimer’s.
What we should be doing is putting together smart, reasoned and logical replies and educating the older generation, as hard as that sounds and pointing out the positives of video games. Things like Childs Play which recently raised $1.7million from gamers and the gaming industry to help fight poverty in poor regions should be pointed out. We should also be shouting about social game Farmville that raised over $1.0million from its users to help seed planting in Haiti after its recent problems. And there are many more great examples of the industry and its players doing great things in the world at large.
An appeal through Farmville has already raised money to help rebuild Haiti after the earthquake(Picture courtesy of the Daily Mail)And then there are positives coming from science that can help too. Dr. Mark Baldwin of Montreal’s McGill University is one of Canada’s leading professors and has recently said he is convinced that videogames can eventually be a reliable means to improve a player’s mental health. That isn’t just some crackpot suggestion; it is from a guy who is a leader in his field.
The last word on this goes to someone, some of you, but hopefully not all of you will know. “Legendary” porn star Ron Jeremy is the latest to come and publicly bash video games, although its questionable he has read any of the literature or studies in to the subject, he says with all the conviction in the world that whilst he didn’t want children to watch porn “there are far worse influences out there like video games.”
Obviously he is trying to make his own business sound less shady than it is and divert attention away from his industry, but since when has picking up a turd from your driveway and moving it to next doors been right?
Bottom line: Gaming is here to stay for the long term, so it would be better to embrace the great parts of what it does and concentrate on removing the bad bits, not generalising across the board for fame or fortune or election. It is, I admit, a brave soul from the older generation who takes the time to sit and understand what positive impact games can have on our every day lives, but one that needs to happen far more often and from far more people if we are to succeed as an industry.
In summary then, as gamers, we need to be more mature as these people have all said things based on some form of half truth (save perhaps Mr Jeremy) and even a small amount of evidence can help ruin the reputation we are trying to build.
Sources : General :
http://www.gamepolitics.com/Childs Play Story :
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26737/Childs_Play_Raises_17_Million_In_2009.phpDaily Mail rant :
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1237803/ANDREW-ALEXANDER-Will-wise-man-pull-viewers.htmlFrumpy mum blog :
http://themomblog.freedomblogging.com/category/frumpy-middleaged-mom-marla-jo-fisher/MP Keith Vaz on games :
http://negativegamer.com/2010/01/06/keith-vaz-warns-violent-games-are-worse-than-violent-films/Dr Mark Baldwin on games :
http://www.gamepolitics.com/2010/01/06/games-can-turn-frown-upside-downDr.Gonzo on Politics and Gaming:
http://www.cadred.org/News/Article/87648/
Totally agree.
anyway good read.
For example, if one of our players got out of their seats, stood up and shouted racist comments across the LAN hall, it wouldn't take me more than 30 seconds to remove them from our organisation (as they simply know it is not tolerated), and that kind of discipline should be enforced elsewhere within eSports, be it within the community teams playing EDOM leagues, or the big dogs winning the events.
Players playing under large organisation banners especially should understand that behaviour which is simply not tolerated in our culture should not be acceptable on the internet, at LAN or whatever the case may be. A simple understanding should mean the players realise that they will be punished by management (or admins, referees, etc) if they break such a simple rule. Bit communist sounding maybe (in comparison to current implemented rules), but it is currently executed in every other sport.
As Vixxen said below, it's a simple case of one large team (for COD, dignitas, Reason, Fnatic) taking action if such a problem occurred, which would cause a snowball effect for the smaller teams who aspire to be like them.
edited 2010-01-14 23:51:59
Being totally unaware of what it is, they say that gaming is the major cause of their child problems instead of looking at how they manage their children, cause it's very easy to go to work and blame the game.
This is exactly the same scheme with politics, who blame video games when something that they couldn't understand happens (ie shooting in school). In the past, they said that role playing was the evil (had an article about that somewhere) and i even see an article saying that a man became a killer because he was playing video game, SuperMario in that precis case xD.
Unfortunately, they haven't understood that we are in a world of violence, you open a newspaper or watch the tv, you see only news speaking about people killed.
Btw, in both case, someone fail to have a human contact with the person, and they have to found something else to be guilty and now, video game is fashion for that.
#8 Im a referee and i see and hear a lot worse :D
My parents say im doing bang bang when i´with a girl :/ Must just be the difference between you and me :S
unfortunately for you, you are schooting too fast... But it's nice for you that you parents know what you are doing, they can keep an eye on you :d
correct me if i'm wrong
Doesn't matter if you see and hear a lot worse in say football or whatever other sport there is, the fact is esports has a bad reputation, we dont help it.
If it was already recognised sport etc it wouldn't matter so much, but with all the negative press and lack of understanding, it just gives weight to what the negative people out there are saying & that it is true - when it's really not.
The bad thing is that it really isn't something that would be that hard to implement, but someone has to be first and enforce something like that and no one seems prepared to be the first.
2- In school and later stages of life there are basically 3 types of people: the ones that bully, the ones that get bullied, and the ones that dont do neither. What happens is that when these people go online, the bully continues to bully, the people that dont get affected by bullying continue to being cool people, and the people that are being bullied in school/work now get the chance of being the bullys aswell, due to the internet being an anonymous and safe place. So now the bullys that where the minority become the majority, which leads to mindblowing amounts of flame.
3- A lot of people use the internet to vent their anger, the same way people used to yell at their parents or punch their pillows. The problem is that you cant see if someone is mad at something completely unrelated to the subject and is just using the internet to channel their rage, or if they are flaming you on purpose.
4- As it was covered in the article, the old folks usually dont play games or use the internet as much as we do, so they dont know exactly how the enviroment is, and thus cant teach their kids to behave appropriately like they do in RL. If a kid is rude to another one in school the teachers will call his parents and tell them. You dont have that on the internet, so kids and teenagers see the online world as a "get-away-with-anything" place.
The last point will probably get better with time, as parents will start using the internet as much as their kids, and social behavior will be as important IRL as in the internet, unfortunetely the first 3 points will continue to exist until the internet requires personal identification or something similar.
Games will have to be taken seriously in the coming years as they rival films in terms of profits but they will never transcend the level they posses as being mere toys until more mature content is produced (and I'm not talking about violence/language) For every Quantic Dream or Team Ico there are hundreds of development companies churning out nonsense like the Wheelman.
On a side note the amount of misrepresented reporting on games from news outlets is amazing. This is another example from Fox. The woman who is criticising the game Mass Effect for it's sexual scenes is asked if she has played it. Her answer, no. It's damaging and irresponsible journalism.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKzF173GqTU
For games and gamers to become accepted amongst the "frumpy moms" and ignorant pornstars, it needs to offer something more than just "playing games". Games and the community around games should strive to help youngster develop themselves much like football clubs do today. They provide contact persons, professionals (to a certain degree) which can help with different issues, for concerned parents and children, but also individuals which might have problems limiting gaming. Having this link to real life will serve non-gamers with a link into what is a chaotic world, and it will help gamers get a healthy perspective on gaming.
So many pages could be written on this topic :P
By the way:
"save an Andy Warhol moment in the spotlight and certainly does nothing for the gaming industry"
This is bad writing, if you're writing an article for anyone outside of Great Britain. Most people come from a different society than you, and they really don't know what these assumptions to individuals with colourful lifestyles, mean. It's like you were telling everyone an increadibly funny joke about your grandma's cousin's sister's dog's aunt, of who we have no perception.
And even if I got interested in Andy Warhol, how hard would it be for me to find "his moment" ? Does youtube host the very video with "his moment" ? Probably no, because we all know of the saying "15 minutes of fame", yet it's a tad hard to relate his name to that saying of his, while reading an article and trying to concentrate on topic. You really could've done better with that sentence.
Just a quick insight, on how Top Gear's hosts piss people off from somewhere outside Britain (and perhaps the British themselves, who don't read the gutter-press).
edited 2010-01-15 08:34:32
His quote was "Everyone will be famous for 15 minutes" and that is what it relates to and a quick google for Andy Warhol quotes, shows this is as the very first link...
You even know the quote, ergo you arent really making any sense by complaining about it as you DO actually know what it was talking about.
Its nothing to do with being british and although I accept not everyone will get it, those who dont can look it up, much like any word or phrase they read in any language that they dont understand.
Oh and I am pretty sure Andy Warhol is well known enough, far more so than my grans, cousins, sisters dog...
edited 2010-01-15 09:47:05
The problem with your sentence is - when you're using a structure "Andy Warhol" moment, a lot of people imagine some sort of action or TV event, where he appeared and made a moment. Besides, there are more quotes of him, now that I looked it up on google.
It's alright, when you write fancy sentences and stuff, and it's not a bad article, I don't understand why are you getting so defensive. I wasn't trying to attack you, just making some remarks for the future, sorry if I don't "feel" my english that well, it's not my native language.
Also, remember, that people of all kind of age and gender and nationality come to this website, and I'm sure they do read what you say - clarity of each sentence should be on your primary list of things to have in mind while building sentences.
edited 2010-01-15 16:04:29
edited 2010-01-15 17:19:10
why have you invited yourself into the chat, when you have no idea what I'm talking about ? If english is your language, you should be able to understand my humble words...Have I made mistakes ? Feel free to point them out.
So...Please don't be shy to quote me, where I'm saying that Redeye's English is gramaticly incorrect.
Absolutely. Now tell me, how is "Andy Warhol moment" a compulsory to know part of English ?
Actually, it wasn't a flaw, at all. I rather liked the article itself, gave me a bit of insight into the whole matter.
Again, you might want to quote me on that one, instead of fantasizing on something that is of no size.
If you still don't get it...OK:
What I did, was, that I tried to paint a picture, what that metaphor "Andy Warhol moment" looks like in the eyes of most Europeans.
The same thing happens on Top Gear, when Jeremy Clarkson starts making allusions about some famous people in Britain, who we have no perception of. Love that show, love his humour, and if he told those jokes in any other way, they would lose charm. But remember, Top Gear is "supposed" to be a show only for the British people, it's pretty clear, while this website is international. Also, Redeye is not writing an article with jokes on jokes, hes writing an insightful text, which purpose is not to be funny, but informative. Therefore, he should not make these huge leaps to the left with metaphors that are hard to understand, and take you away from concetrating on the text. He could've used "15 minutes of fame (Andy Warhol)" metaphor, and there would be no hussle, everybody would be happy.
That is what I'm saying. What's the point of using fancy words and allusions, if a huge chunk of people will misunderstand you, or even misinterpret something, that is rather important ?
It's his "corner", his words, his opinion, his black sheep on white paper. How he goes about them, is his business, I just noted something he might want to have in mind.
P.S.: You might want to relax, vixxen. No need to jump "into the fight" where nobody is fighting.
Jeez, get off your high horse Lesac :D I didn't state grammar either ;) lol
I'm not fighting, but it irks me that you pull out one line of an entire article for no reason. An English writer, writing in English, who has probably been writing more years than you have been alive (sry redeye lol) where is your respect? What annoys me more, is that you expect someone to change their writing style to keep people, that are probably a minority, happy? Shouldn't ever happen, you used Google, there is no doubt in my mind many others will do as well - so why are you moaning about it exactly? Its like asking him not to use any words with more than 5 letters, because the idiots on the forums wont understand it and will have to reference dictionary.com every 2minutes!
Creative license, you might want to learn about it, rather than giving people tips that they don't need.
tbh I found your initial comments somewhat condescending and the rest since then, even more so, that isn't 'fighting' as you put it, its merely pointing out differences in opinion.
I'm not on a horse. You might want to check your vision.
Ya, seems like you're not stating anything. Nor understanding something.
This is hilarious :D
What does respect have to do with righteous feedback ?
A good writer has to be sometimes flexible, sometimes stagnant. Depends on what he/she is writing.
And...about the minority comment...here's my answer - ROFL.
I'm sorry to inform you, but you need glasses. I've stated an answer to this question over 2-3 times.
And btw - love your style. When you address others in such big words like "moaning, crying, complaining", you probably feel like a real man. Holy smokes, you're probably a 220 pound muscle mule, and most normal men seem to you like sissy girls, eh ? Do you wear "superman" pyjamas to bed too ?
No, it's absolutely not like that. And I've also explained why. I really pity your wit.
If a tip occurs, and is based on valid arguments - then the tip is needed.
A lesson about life, a "you might want to learn about it" thingy - stop telling people how to act/talk/do/advise/tip, because dental services cost quite some.
Well, if:
1. Coming into a discussion about a point without having no points yourself;
2. Not going with the flow of discussion, just attacking discussioners;
3. Making wrong assumptions, and overexaggerating them;
4. Totally disregarding your opposition's arguments, their replies to your arguments, and endlessly repeating your own daft arguments that have been answered to or denied;
WELL, if that is not coming to a discussion to show off what a cock you are and how well can you protect your lame text turf, then I'm Sir Isaac Newton himself.
gg.
edited 2010-01-18 01:10:39
cba to reply to u further, ur too silly :)
"Never argue with an idiot, they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience"
edited 2010-01-18 01:46:21
Yep, was beginning to wonder why you keep misunderstanding the simplest of words.
Yes. And that you proved by failing to prove that I'm silly (open your eyes for once, and read above).
And how was I trying to drag you down to my own level ?
By sincerely answering your questions and politely telling you every little detail, so it was easier for you to understand ?
And still, you failed, cornered yourself into some dumb position, where you just kept repeating same nonsence over and over, and in the end you're calling me an idiot, when the whole time you're the one who has been fantasizing and trying to drag the discussion off-point.
Although, it's nice that you're not giving up. Lol. You can always identify that you're arguing with a woman, when in the middle of discussion, she loses grip, steady mind and all the intelect she had, and starts attacking the person's looks/belongings and other stuff. How did I miss that.
Mrs. Maturity Herself.
edited 2010-01-18 19:15:46
Nice to see some quality articles on tek9 even if this is posted on cadred also.
I agree with what what they were saying about age ratings and that , very true i wont let my kid play GTA and shit like this, my mum is a teacher at an infant school and even some of those kids are playing games like cod -.- and other shooting games, she says that these kids tend to be the more naughty and have future problems at school
edited 2010-01-15 15:19:05
imo it isn't the games that are the problem, its the parenting that goes with it. But as soon as the parents fail at their job, people look to blame something & because of the lack of education regarding games/gaming, people automatically assume thats the source of blame.
For example, take Tekken, child plays that & then goes to school and beats up other children in a Tekken-like manner -the game gets the blame! BUT why is it? The problem is that the parent didn't supervise and teach the child between right and wrong, why you don't go around hitting people for no reason & the difference between a game, and reality. So not the game at all, just bad parenting.
When our generation are the older generation, many of these issues will cease to exist. Once our generation have more say in the media, have more control; and we're the ones raising our children, most of this spin and nay-saying bullshit will simply stop.
There won't be uneducated, ignorant people who don't want to listen. I'm sure there will still be doubters, but to every doubter, there will be just as many ex/or still playing gamers who can politely tell them they are completely missing the mark.
We just have to brave the storm for the next few years. Think of how far the gaming industry has already came in the last 10 years. Think ahead 10 years, how far would it have gone by then? Leaps and bounds is my guess, and most of this 'games are evil, they will turn your son/daughter into Satan' crap will be forgotten.
As Redeye said in his article; 'There are a few who do and we should be thankful for these forward thinkers because it is only really them who we will have to thank in 30 years from now when gaming is a big sport with national TV exposure and widespread acceptance.'
It's not all doom and gloom. With some luck, let's hope it'll be a big sport with national TV exposure and widespread acceptance within 10 years, or even sooner.
Let's keep positive.
Although to comment on your first paragraph, it's weird to think what we may consider as 'corrupting our children' when we're parents with teenagers.
edited 2010-01-16 18:06:38