Panarama gaming investigation

[Ryoko]

I'm really not looking forward to this tonight another lets bash gaming, games are evil load of crap I expect.

So apparently it's about the fact psychologists have wasted time to find out that gaming uses a risk and reward strategy to make people want to continue to play, did they get paid to find that out?, they could have just tried playing one then they would have realised that.

It's as old as the hills, you need to keep people playing the title to the end, just as you need to make people want to continue watching the show or film, other wise they will wonder off and do something else, not invest in the next game, not watch the next episode in the TV series etc, it's a method used by all media, even celebrity filled monthly rags.

Of course this has been going on since the creation of gaming in the 1960's what has really changed things today is the advent of online gaming, which is a totally different kettle of fish and a massive catch 22 for the industry.

Online gaming has exploded over the years as it's an addition to our social interaction, titles such as WOW are nothing more then a fantasy pub, why go out with your mates in real life and discuss your boring life and job when you can hang around with your guild as a brave sir knight making a difference to the world on your quest, it's like a dream a fantasy of yourself actually being important with the addition of people to talk to and be friends with, COD is similar only on a much smaller scale. the catch-22 for the industry being of course how to make us buy the new one over the one with have been comfortably inhabiting over the last 12 months or so, hence the creation of downloadable content as an extra revenue stream to make up for the fact we are buying less games and playing the few we have for longer.

I doubt Panarama will touch the human interaction aspect that is at the heart of all the biggest titles now days, a modern day far more accessible version of Dungeons and Dragons on a global scale, that all gaming is. Really not looking forward to this show it is the BBC after all.

Oh god.. this is going to be fun isn't it?

I think videogames should be banned. They do nothing but encourage violence in young children and make people want to become killers.

I heard medal of duty, i think thats the name, lets you kill american and british soldiers as nazis. this is not good for our youngsters.

i brought this for my 10 year old because he used to look up to the soldiers but now i worry that he will soon become aggressive because of these games.

is there anything we can do as responsible mums to stop these games from coming out?

thanks

Hmmm

I was brought up on Donkey Kong, my son plays Mario...it's not particularly violent, he gets eaten by electric bees and bombed by spikey clouds regularly but rarely delivers much by way of retaliation.

I got him a Ninja Turtles game in the sale and it was just fight after fight after fight, really just crap and boring. Am trying to lose it in the bin, currently.

It depends on the game imo.

Are there some Billy Goats going over some bridges?

MrsHamdon, not all computer games are violent. Tetris, anyone? And you should be guided by the age rating on a game before you let your child play it. My DH works in the games industry, and has done for 15 years. He has never once made a violent game.

Medal of duty doesn't exist, I think you are talking about Call of Honour.

Mrshamdon, you call for violent videogames to be banned and yet you have bought your 10 year old son one such game to play on

Bit hypocritical methinks no?

It does matter to some people though.
There are people gaming to the detriment of their RL - not being able to hold down a job, poor communication, rattiness, poor health/diet/exercise.
Obviously not everyone and not you Ryoko, but it is happening.

yes sheepy, i brought this game because of my son wanting it but because of his reactions to it i want all violent games to be banned. people may say this is an overreaction but i don't like how he flinches every now and then.

he spends any time he can get free on the xbox, he is tired in the mornings and i feel terrible because this is the first war game i have brought for him. i figured the rating on the box was a rough guide and that it wasn't to be taken seriously, but now i worry for my boy.

You could always turn the XBox off? My DC play on the XBox for an hour a day at the weekends, and DS1 is 10.

MrsHamdon, you wouldn't let your 10yr old watch a Saw film or pornography, so why in the hell did you think a game with an 18 rating (assuming you mean Call of Duty) was suitable?

I said this on another thread recently, but I'll say it again. Just because it's a game does not mean it is suitable for children.

Buying a violent game that is completely unsuitable for your son, and then demanding it is banned because it might affect your child is stupid.

i didn't say anything about saw or pornography in my post, they're fine. saw is about morals and how people shouldn't be sinful, and pornography is about naturism.

both valuable lessons

PaisleyLeaf

Alot of people escape real life into the gaming world because they have poor health, poor communication, can't hold down/ don't have a job, don't want to exercise etc.

it's an escape from a dull life and a chance to talk to people when they are normally to shy to do so.

MrsHamdon I think I know your DS, he looks like Tweak from South Park doesn't he?, can you please tell him to stay away from my bin in future.

yes turn the xbox off, your house your rules.

I have an 11 year old ds who like his stepdad likes his games BUT I control what he plays on and for how long.

He has also pestered to play COD etc, NOT A CHANCE.

Mrs Hamdon, 'responsible mums' as you put it don't buy games for underage kids unless they are absolutely sure their kids can handle it.

Nothing to do with the game.

Everything to do with the parent (and maybe a bit with the marketing).

My husband also works in the videogame industry and will be watching this. Games are constantly scapegoated in the press and it's very tiring.

I think we forget that videogames have been around for decades now. Many if not most of the people playing them are adults. Some games are violent (and are 18 certificates) and some players play some games to unhealthy levels, but generally gaming is just another form of entertainment, with some of it great, and some of it a waste of money.

Aside from wasting the time of those who responded to them the trolls have managed to derail any chance for a serious discussion on this.

Ah, cross-posted with your latest post, you're on a wind-up. I haven't seen any of the Saw films as I don't like that level of violence myself - but now I know they're about morals maybe I should lok intothem!

can anyone tell me if saints row is a good game to be getting for my son then?

going by the name, i can only assume that it's something about religion??

thanks

Ryoko, yes there will be. I guess can become a sort of vicious circle in that way for many too.

No they haven't it's just bumped it up a bit, I just stuck it up now as a preemptive strike, I know what the BBC is like, they will not fail to annoy me with ignorant sensationalist crap tonight no doubt.

That show has been sensationalist crap for years anyway.

If it's a vicious circle for many that says to me they would be the same with anything.

the stereotype WOW player for example (fat bastard, eats fast food, lives with mum), without his WOW IMHO the guy would just be doing the same only watching TV all day on a filthy sofa.

You can't blame everything on games or TV, it's just the way some people are.

Would you think differently of the person if it was a Kinect game they played endlessly, thus getting exercise?, you can learn things in games, just as you can learn things from TV.

Granted knowing about Ragnarok and the like is pointless but so is knowing about B-list celebrities, at least knowing about historical myths makes you look smarter.

Ahem, to the real point. Yes, games (particularly MMOs) are addictive.
You can be whoever you want to be over the internet. Couple that with maybe having low expectations in life and perhaps having few friends or feeling like an outsider and games are the perfect place to be.

DH was addicted to WoW for a time. He would just play for days. He still functioned, but it was mostly sleep, work, WoW.
It got worse (or perhaps I just noticed it more) after DS was born.

Speaking candidly to him months later (after we both stopped playing WoW) he said he felt he was depressed at the time, and WoW was a way of getting away from it all and feeling like he was achieving something.

We are still avid gamers (though have less time for it now with DS) but as DH said a few days ago, he sticks to games that have an ending. That way, he plays it, finishes it, and then forgets about it.

The point I'm so ineloquently trying to make is that, as with a lot of addictions, gaming just fills the gap. DH was depressed, and games were there to make him feel better. If games weren't there, it would have been something else.

Just as the majority of the population enjoy drinking responsibly, there are a few who take it too far, and it's the same with gaming.

As for the "games rot the brain and will turn our children into violent monsters" hysteria. It's utter bollocks. People said the same thing about television. I bet they said it about books as well.
If I see another "violent killer played computer games, that's clearly where it all started" story in the news I will fucking scream.

Also, anyone who thinks gamers are all zombies glued to their computers should also check this out and see all the good a bunch of gamers are doing. Especially the letters page, because there are some very heartfelt letters there about how much games mean to very ill children and their parents.

anyone playing WoW to begin with, needs to assess their lives and wonder where it all went wrong

Ditto to anyone trolling a parenting forum