http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=4459


They're citing an example (from Grand Theft Auto, I would assume) of it being okay in a game to walk up to a police officer and hit him with a baseball bat, so the minor thinks it's okay to do that in real life. That's so obviously the game's fault. But hey, here are a few questions.

1) Hey MOM and DAD, why is your MINOR CHILD playing a M-rated game in the first place?
2) If there was no such thing as a baseball bat, then there would be no chance for this hypothetical situation to occur. Why not sue Major League Baseball and the companies that manufacture baseball bats?
3) If there was no such thing as a police officer, then they couldn't be assaulted at all. Why not sue the law enforcement agencies for existing?

Y'all might be interested in this link.

It's an interview with Tim Buckley of Ctrl+Alt+Del online comic fame and tells us his views upon violence in comp games etc.

In any case, the moment the law legislators look at what the previous/other legislators have put into power (or themselves for matter) as far as rating systems and actually enforcing the law at the store level (Mr Buckley covers this briefly in the interview) then their wouldn't be an immediate problem.

Unfortunately, you'll still get those who think that a game is something along the lines of Ludo and/or Tiddly-Winks - this is just a lack of education and a copious amount of ignorance on their part.  Also, if any one of us decided to rally one another together and go on protests - if any violence occured then it'd be giving the media ammunition to shoot us with.

Kobayashi Maru.  I guess that's all there is to say.

Regards,

Yickle.

Pho, I've just given that a few moments thought and already I can see the following:-

It'll be International Dress Up As Your Favourite Game Character day, so you'll see lots of Lara, LeChuck, Threepwood, Nukem, classic style Doom marine, miscellaneous characters from the Warcraft/Starcraft/Diablo universes (delete as appropriate), some Cate Archer, JC Denton...all acting like the players would have them act in the game.

So there's Lara going under the knife for bigger breasts, LeChuck stumbling out of bars/pubs with foul zombie breath, lots of Threepwoods desperately wanting to be pirates...but are anyway...Duke kicking down doors (or at least alot of skinny weakling geeks trying too), Lil trying his best to get into a zergling suit, lots of men in drag wearing pseudo-60s fashions, lots of people wearing baggy coats to make them look bigger than they really are...and wondering why there ISN'T a ventilation shaft they can crawl through every 20 feet...

Now,  I am missing out a whole load here such as other characters, usage of weapons (BFG10k anyone?), Doom marines getting into right-handed-fist-only-fights and holding their neck as they die, people dressed up as Grim Reapers saying they are your travel agent in the afterlife handing out walking sticks with built-in compasses, a 6-foot canine and a rabbity thing driving around in a cartoony Desoto...

---

Now here's the sad bit.  I do sometimes wonder why there is not a ventilation shaft every 20 feet that I can crawl through, I do scan a new room for cameras and LAMs,  I do sometimes consider making my own Sam costume to wear outside in the public....

And I want a Doom marine style motorcycle helmet dammit!

Regards,

Yickle.

P.S. Forgot to mention that I want my own Bone Wagon!

Those "scary conventions" are actually quite a bit of fun, really. I've been to Anime Expo twice, and it's quite enjoyable. Most of those people are just ordinary men and women who decided to dress up as his or her favorite character. How is that scary, really?

Anyway, yes, there is 'blame the anime'. Although I couldn't locate the stories, there have been a few reports of children unintentionally being injured or committing suicide based on things seen in the cartoon based on Pokemon.

you mean I can wear a horned reaper costume ?

ya know what im gonna act like one of my game heros .
leisure suit larry here i come .

Next thing you know, video game PLAYERS will be arrested as terrorists.

I don't see what all the fuss is about

Violent Games do not breed Violence

there has to be an element of violent behavior within the individual already

I Play quake a lot, in fact more than i speak to my parents anymore

In fact who are my parents

honestly though

if games that feature violence, are sold to kids what do they expect,

Agreed. All the virtues of life are typically not learnt through peer interaction (more often, the opposite) - parents are not only a direct and uncompromisable example of how one can live, but they also have the power to add to that (do as I say, not as I do, etc).

There are many psychologists and philosophers that have made claims to whether or not humans are born with or without malicious intent 'baked in' (I'll leave religion out for a bit), but the truth is that no conclusive arguments for either 'side' have been found. What can be concluded is that all options are open, and taking unnescessary risks is nonsensical. Parents setting the right example, straying from using brute force (the solution is understanding and thought, not 'because I can') etc etc - and simply paying attention to the lives of their kids, are doing the best they can to prevent it all going amiss.

At the point where the kid becomes a responsible adult, he can look at the prospects of suicide and take on a more agnostic or logical view, too. There might be life after death, but what's the hurry in finding out? Where is the gain in blowing one's brains out? Why take vengeance on people when you're not going to be there to feel vindictive/sorry/anything about it?
Sadly, not many people think that far when they're going about their normal daily business - let alone when they're in a desparate state of mind.


The attraction to violent games (and even watching boxing on TV) is a very normal thing, and does not mean that one is being violent. There has always been a morbid fascination for flying intestines, snuff movies, animal sex (alright, not for you, and you, and you, but the rest of the world is curious) - it's like prodding a sore tooth. By nature we investigate the thrills and dangers. For males this comes more naturally, since there's a need for the (average) male to try and gain 'rank', to be 'hunter, not hunted' etc. Even so, nearly everyone slows down to 'get a closer look at that wrecked car with the mangled corpses inside'. It would be strange if boxing fans, wrestling maniacs and crash-tourists would be considered healthy and normal, while game afficidionado's are 'violent morbid freaks'.