Written by Earl “TheUltimateGamer” Lovings
(This is an editorial piece. The opinions in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of compLexity Gaming or its parent company.)
In part 2 of the VVGitM series, TUG explains the POV in a gamers prospective.
Sorry I didn’t have this posted earlier guys. There has been a lot going on since after graduation. But, that’s not what this article is about. Its time to look into the mind of a hardcore gamer and see just how he views violence in the media.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy playing my Gears, Halo, Unreal Tournament (*drools*), Quake, Counter Strike, etc., as much as the next guy, but as a hardcore gamer, that’s not the ENTIRE world that consumes 100% of MY game time. Action Adventure, RPG, RTS, Turn Based Strategy, etc. is something that also has a shelf life on my various home and handheld consoles.
I can say, I have done the “Gamers Marathon” where you sit and play for 18 hours on one game. For 3 days straight I did this, and trust me, my body was kickin my ass after the fact.
Some of you might be thinking, “Ok TUG, what are you getting at?” Well, even as a hardcore gamer, not even I can log 18 straight hours of gaming on just one game over a month to months time. Migraines, a social life, my mom, watching tv, and trying to get a job all are very important things in my life. To just sit hermitized in my room for over 126 hours a week doing nothing but playing video games would not only melt my brain, cause me migraines out of the ass, and cause me to go bat…… insane, it would also cause for a calling of the local paddy wagon to haul me off to the wacko basket. I can say, I have done the “Gamers Marathon” where you sit and play for 18 hours on one game. For 3 days straight I did this, and trust me, my body was kickin my ass after the fact.
Now, the “halo killer” was “supposedly” able to do this on a regular basis.
Sorry, but this kid is 1/*insert your own # here* that had a mental problem, and the media decided to play the video game blame game and cause a firestorm directed right at the Bungie developed game. What if he had been a Saw fan? Would they have blamed the Saw series? Hell yes they would have. Hell, if he was a CS or GTA fan, they would have ate that shit up.
Okay, now that those stories are out of the way, its time to get to the nitty gritty. MOST gamers know the difference from right and wrong, real life and fiction, and so on and so forth. Actually, we have seen a decline in violence since the release of the PS1, as shown in this graph.
(Gamerrevolution.com)
Really?! REALLY?! Video games actually helping keep crime off of U.S. streets?!?!? NO WAY!!!!
The next gen consoles since 2003 have also played a large factor in keeping the crime rate down. I don’t know about you, but I certainly would rather my kid be inside playing games with his friends/by himself then going out here and causing trouble for everyone around him.
When ever a lot of gamers see the story about some idiot causing tragedy for some un-expecting family and it get blamed on video games, a lot of them ask the same question and leave the same comments like, “where were the parents?”, or “games don’t kill people, people kill people.” etc. I have to admit, I wonder some of the same things.
So, are parents to blame, is it just something in a persons DNA/mentality that makes them go nuts and cause tragedy for others, or does the media like to harp on certain topics and beat the proverbial dead horse? You just have to wait until next time to see the answer to that question.
TUG
(P.S. I promise it wont take me a month to write the next one……. I hope)