Random rant

[Lord Flashheart]

When i first got this game i was like 8 or 9 and so was playing along like a pro until (enter propagators) , yes those bastards, then i never wanted to play the game anymore for like 6 months or around that length of time, then i just couldent take it anymore so i just wupped theyre asses , it was more pure lazyness as opposed to cant do it lol

Jezus, playing videogames "as a pro" at the age of 8. What is this world coming to? What's wrong with playing outside with your little friends at that age?

Call me old-fashioned but if I ever see my kids playing videogames before they reach puberty, I'll take out a sledgehammer and smash it to smithereens.
Little kids play outside, with cars and dolls and soldiers or just read a book. Fuck all that videogames shit.

Thanks for your attention.

 

[Serah]

Yes and little kids can't always play outside when it's raining or too cold for them either. I am a mother of a 6 year old little boy and I let him play video games and he loves it. He gets plenty of outdoor activity while at school and at home. There's nothing wrong with kids playing video games. You remind me of my dad, threatening to smash my games to smithereens. If the kid enjoys it, don't take it away from them. That's just cruel.

 

[Bambi]

Hahahahahaha xD

I dont think I played a video game til I played on my mates Amiga or whatever it was with its shitty 45 minute loading while you waited for the tape to do it stuff Pacman and paper boy ftw xD

 

[Exoskeleton]

I live in a violent neighborhood so going outside when I was little was not the best option for me...I started playing videogames when I was 8 years old...I dont see a prob with it...

 

[Koloth]

When I was a kid, we had board games. I remember playing board games, like monopoly for hours.

 

[Bambi]

I cheat at Monopoly

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Yes and little kids can't always play outside when it's raining or too cold for them either. I am a mother of a 6 year old little boy and I let him play video games and he loves it. He gets plenty of outdoor activity while at school and at home. There's nothing wrong with kids playing video games. You remind me of my dad, threatening to smash my games to smithereens. If the kid enjoys it, don't take it away from them. That's just cruel.

They're not babies, they won't die of a little rain or when it's a bit cold. And as I said: cars/dolls/soldiers, reading a book, playing board games with siblings and/or friends. Those are all things to do inside.

Ofcourse, it's pretty easy for a parent to give his/her kid a playstation and a game. Saves him/her some parenting for a while

When I was a kid, we had board games. I remember playing board games, like monopoly for hours.

Yes! Good ol' days. Heroquest, monopoly and tens of other boardgames. And who can forget Stratego? I was the undefeated champions of the house for 6 weeks! (we played like a dozen games every week).

 

[Dragon Mage]

My good fellow, you are working under the assumption that video games are bad for you.

In fact, they are anything but. Sure, they might look mindless, but millions of synapses are firing while that kid is playing. It allows them to multitask much better, process information faster, keep the goal in sight even though there are dozens of obstacles to be completed before that goal (this is called telescoping), and their visual-mental acuity is getting a serious workout.

That being said, I do not think it is right to exclusively play video games -- no, that's just a dumb thing to do. Video games are to the mind what sports is to the body. Remember that. You do need an equal balance of the two, however.

Yet, I would like to point out, that with children of the age you are referring to, it is bloody impossible to make them sit still for prolonged hours at a time. Kids at that age are like puppies -- they have so much energy, it rivals the hearts of the hottest stars. To think they would abandon any outdoor activity entirely is quite foolish, really. But when they are tired and don't feel like running around but are still bored, or simply have nothing to do outside that day, then let them pick up a controller and have some fun. Whether they know it or not, it's actually good for them. It's just a different muscle that is being flexed.

Also, please reevaluate your harsh judgment here. Smash the games? Seriously? That's just brute violence, and would definitely be giving your kids the wrong impression. My parents had a much worse view towards video games -- they believed games were down right mind-controlling and that if I or my brother were to play them our grades would drop precipitously, our brains would turn to slush, and we'd lose all reading skills. When my brother first brought home the PSone (on the brink of the PS2's retirement), within the first three days my dad had thrown it out on the deck in a fit of blind and bigoted rage.

When I first bought the PS2, my mother said (in lethel tones) "I thought I said I didn't want one of those things in my house."

The lesson here?

I've graduated in the top 10% of my class, magna cum laude, and have received $6,000 in scholarship money because of my academic achievements, AND I've recieved the Academic Excellence Award for 7 years straight. The video games didn't do a darn thing to my brain. All my parent's fears had been for naught.

In fact, I often used the video games as a way to study -- I'd feverishly try to memorize a page of notes for a solid 10 minutes, play the game for 15 minutes, pause, then try to recall as much of the notes as I could. In this way, I dramatically sped up the rate at which things were forced into my long-term memory. I'd take days of study and compress them into hours. In fact, I can still sing my solo for choir that I used this technique to memorize. And that was 5 years ago.

Also, reading and playing outside rapidly becomes a stagnant avenue of entertainment and may even become repulsive to the children. I know -- it did for me. I'd be so bored of reading (though I am currently majoring in Creative Writing with the intent of becoming a novelist) that I'd nearly be in tears for want of something else, something more to do. Mind you, playing outside wasn't an option since here in Michigan, winter lasts a long, long time, and I always needed to be supervised which no one could be arsed to do. A real catch-22.

And reconsider this -- is it any better for a child to be spending considerable hours of every day reading, unmoving, as opposed to playing a video game? What has really changed here? Only the medium of delivery. And that's a fact. Video games only offer a different dynamic of intellectual and visual engagement.

So, despite what hateful things may have been fed in your ear, do not be so quick to judge video games. A little logic goes a long way.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

My good fellow, you are working under the assumption that video games are bad for you.

No, I'm working under the belief little kids could do better things with their time than to play video games.

In fact, they are anything but. Sure, they might look mindless, but millions of synapses are firing while that kid is playing. It allows them to multitask much better, process information faster, keep the goal in sight even though there are dozens of obstacles to be completed before that goal (this is called telescoping), and their visual-mental acuity is getting a serious workout.

I bet that's been proven by researchers funded by the likes of Sony.

That being said, I do not think it is right to exclusively play video games -- no, that's just a dumb thing to do. Video games are to the mind what sports is to the body. Remember that. You do need an equal balance of the two, however.

Disagree, bookd are to the mind what sports is to the body.

To think they would abandon any outdoor activity entirely is quite foolish, really. But when they are tired and don't feel like running around but are still bored, or simply have nothing to do outside that day, then let them pick up a controller and have some fun. Whether they know it or not, it's actually good for them. It's just a different muscle that is being flexed.

Reading a book or playing some boardgames is also good for them. I prefer that over some videogames.

Also, please reevaluate your harsh judgment here. Smash the games? Seriously? That's just brute violence, and would definitely be giving your kids the wrong impression.

Life's a bitch and they should know it's not all roses in real life. Anyway, I was speaking figuratively ofcourse. Videogames wouldn't even be accesible for them anyway until they reach a certain age.

My parents had a much worse view towards video games -- they believed games were down right mind-controlling and that if I or my brother were to play them our grades would drop precipitously, our brains would turn to slush, and we'd lose all reading skills. When my brother first brought home the PSone (on the brink of the PS2's retirement), within the first three days my dad had thrown it out on the deck in a fit of blind and bigoted rage.

When I first bought the PS2, my mother said (in lethel tones) "I thought I said I didn't want one of those things in my house."

My parents said the same and I thought it was bullshit when I was a kid. Now I'm much older and I see the truth in it.

I've graduated in the top 10% of my class, magna cum laude, and have received $6,000 in scholarship money because of my academic achievements, AND I've recieved the Academic Excellence Award for 7 years straight. The video games didn't do a darn thing to my brain. All my parent's fears had been for naught.

In fact, I often used the video games as a way to study -- I'd feverishly try to memorize a page of notes for a solid 10 minutes, play the game for 15 minutes, pause, then try to recall as much of the notes as I could. In this way, I dramatically sped up the rate at which things were forced into my long-term memory. I'd take days of study and compress them into hours. In fact, I can still sing my solo for choir that I used this technique to memorize. And that was 5 years ago.

All very nice for you, but I couldnt care less. If you read properly I'm not against videogames. I said "kids the age of 8/9 shouldn"t play videogames, until they turn 12/reach puberty".

Also, reading and playing outside rapidly becomes a stagnant avenue of entertainment and may even become repulsive to the children. I know -- it did for me. I'd be so bored of reading (though I am currently majoring in Creative Writing with the intent of becoming a novelist) that I'd nearly be in tears for want of something else, something more to do. Mind you, playing outside wasn't an option since here in Michigan, winter lasts a long, long time, and I always needed to be supervised which no one could be arsed to do. A real catch-22.

Sorry, that's bullshit. The same can be said about videogames. Besides, there's so much you can do as a parent to prevent your kids getting bored with something. Ofcourse forcing your kids to read every day for an hour will get them to hate reading, that's only logical. But as i said, there are so many more things out there to revert too to entertain them that videogames should be the last option.

And reconsider this -- is it any better for a child to be spending considerable hours of every day reading, unmoving, as opposed to playing a video game? What has really changed here? Only the medium of delivery. And that's a fact. Video games only offer a different dynamic of intellectual and visual engagement.

Never said he should be spending considerable hours of each and every day reading. But be my guest and find me one academic research saying playing videogames is better than reading a book when you're a kid.

So, despite what hateful things may have been fed in your ear, do not be so quick to judge video games. A little logic goes a long way.

Once again, I'm not against videogames in general.

 

[Bambi]

All this srsness in spam

If you dont want your kids to play video games then thats up to you, dont sit and assume the rest of us a re bad people/parents

Imo, FF is liek an interactive book anyway ¬_¬

Also, how can you 'parent' a kid if they are off reading in a quiet corner? when my kids old enough to play FF or whatever, Il sit with her, help her through it, laugh when she screws up and praise her when she's doing great

Whats wrong with gaming in moderation at ANY age?

 

[Gingerbread Lesbian]

Pacman's ancient, that shit came out during World War One

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Also, how can you 'parent' a kid if they are off reading in a quiet corner?

Talking to your kid about the book in question never popped up in your head? You can have a way more satisfying conversation with a kid about a book than you can have with him/her about a videogame, which are usually pretty standard (fight, shoot or play a sport).

 

[Bambi]

Talking to your kid about the book in question never popped up in your head? You can have a way more satisfying conversation with a kid about a book than you can have with him/her about a videogame, which are usually pretty standard (fight, shoot or play a sport).

Dont give me parenting advice thanks

Pacman's ancient, that shit came out during World War One

Actually, it came out in 1982

>_>

<_<

 

[Gingerbread Lesbian]

Actually, it came out in 1982

>_>

<_<

rofl xD

I could never get passed level 2 anyway >.>

 

[Bambi]

rofl xD

I could never get passed level 2 anyway >.>

I made it to level 3 xD

 

[Serah]

They're not babies, they won't die of a little rain or when it's a bit cold. And as I said: cars/dolls/soldiers, reading a book, playing board games with siblings and/or friends. Those are all things to do inside.

Ofcourse, it's pretty easy for a parent to give his/her kid a playstation and a game. Saves him/her some parenting for a while

Excuse me, but I said WHEN it's raining and when it's too cold. Not once did I say a little rain or a bit cold. My son ended up with severe bronchitis from playing in the rain. I think it makes me a pretty decent mother to keep him indoors when it's raining so he doesn't get sick, thanks. Also, do NOT accuse me of not parenting just because I let my son play video games every now and then.

You need to learn to watch what you say around here. I keep a sharp on eye him, and he's allowed a time limit when playing games. I don't let him sit there all night playing. Not to mention it's dark here by 5pm. Sorry if it makes me a bad parent because I don't let my little boy run around outside in the dark. I don't see a goddamn thing wrong with letting them play video games. A lot of the games he plays are on a Leap Frog system anyway and wow, fucking shock horror they're learning games!

*thread moved to Costa*

 

[Lebreau]

I really don't see what's wrong with some video games here and there. Don't force your opinion on us, thanks, and being NICE about what you say doesn't hurt either.

As Kikyou there said about the Leap Frog learning games and all,well, do you think THOSE are bad as well? I played Final Fantasy and fighting games and shit when I was a kid, from age... 3 or so to now (17) and I'm just fucking FINE for it. It's not going to hurt the kids to play games sometimes, and if they enjoy it, it gives them something to do. Sure, it'd be great for them to read or play outside. Only, it got to -45 with windchill here last year during winter. I think I'll send my siblings out to play in THAT, okay? It's also quite rainy around here, and as for sitting down and asking your kids about the book? Some families now have two parents who WORK. Working takes ENERGY. You don't always want to sit down and talk about books with your kid. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is lately. I read to my littlest sister, who's a year old, but I also just played FFX with her a few nights ago. Is it appropriate? Probably not entirely. Is it going to hurt her? I really doubt it. She likes hitting the buttons and it's helping her gain coordination.

So yeah? Video games being bad for young children? I don't see it too much. We also have the Wii now, and while it CERTAINLY shouldn't replace exercise, it's not a bad idea. I love Wii Sports, it's quite fun. We've had family tournaments and shit for fun, and I think spending time with your family like that is much better than reading a book or playing outside sometimes. So yeah. I disagree with your post (s)

 

[Dragon Mage]

No, I'm working under the belief little kids could do better things with their time than to play video games.

But that does not get rid of the fallacy that you are still assuming little kids will (without fail) play video games to the exclusion of all else. This simply is not so. Here's a fact: If you give a child a very small avenue of entertainment, they will eventually find that entertainment as boring, and will dislike it more and more. Give them a variety, and they will find an equilibrium (though it may take a parent's good sense to enforce it at times) between different mediums of entertainment.

Otherwise, they will grow to hate either video games or sports (whichever they are limited to) so much, they will have nothing to do with it. Like having nothing but ham sandwhiches to eat -- after a week or two, you'll scream at the mere sight of bread. The same goes for forms of entertainment (intellectual and physical). To ensure a continued interest, provide a variety. It's simply common sense.

bet that's been proven by researchers funded by the likes of Sony.

No, actually. Just two graduate students, Shawn Green and Daphne Bavelier, of the University of Rochester. I've done some extensive research on the subject.

Here is a link to their direct research as it was oficially submitted, with all their results should you wish to puruse it:
http://www.bcs.rochester.edu/people/Daphne/GreenandBavelier.pdf

Here is a short summary that effectively describes the process and results:
http://www.usabilitynews.com/news/article1121.asp

Take a look at them. You'll notice that all the experiments done are as scientifically accurate as possible. They did a very good job conducting this experiment. Notice that no game company is mentioned anywhere.

Also take a look at the book Everything Bad Is Good For You by Steven Johnson. As he points out, video games and movies are far more cerebral today than they ever were in the past. (There's no comparison between the 50's The Hulk show and today's Lost.) Compare Tetris to modern games. As they go, it's probably the simplest game out there, excluding Pong. Now fast-forward and consider the immensely challenging and complex games of World of Warcraft, Oblivion, and Fallout 3. These newer games have huge guides to help the player through the game and to manipulate the rules.

To quote Johnson, "Games force you to make decisisions. Novels may activate our imagination, and music may conjure up powerful emotions, but games force you to decide, to choose, to prioritize. All the intellectual benefits of gaming derive from this fundamental virtue, because learning how to think is ultimately about learning to make the right decsions: weighing evidence, analyzing situations, consulting your long-term goals, and then deciding. No other pop cultural form directly engages the brain's decision-making apparatus in the same way."

I have to admit, the man has quite a point, does he not?

Disagree, bookd are to the mind what sports is to the body.

Ah, but remember one thing -- books take you for a journey but they do not actually directly engage the thinking process. There is truly no intellectual workout, mainly because the reader acts as a witness but not as a participant. Refer to the quote from Johnson above. Books conjure imagination (and believe me I love my books) but games pose situations that require a thoughtful interaction. Books do not flex the mental muscle the way games do. Nowhere near.

Reading a book or playing some boardgames is also good for them. I prefer that over some videogames.

I agree, reading books and playing D&D are some of my most treasured pastimes. But, as I've said before, those can become stale and even detestable if they are the sole options for any kind of entertainment or whathaveyou. The point here is to provide options, to open new avenues, and to allow more freedom with thought, amusement, and different ways of looking at things in general.

Life's a bitch and they should know it's not all roses in real life. Anyway, I was speaking figuratively ofcourse. Videogames wouldn't even be accesible for them anyway until they reach a certain age.

Still, the point I was truly addressing was the hostility you are bringing to the situation. Just because you don't entirely understand something or have heard nasty rumors about it doesn't in any way mean you can discriminate against it. Don't be a tyrant to your children -- give them some freedom but, if it gets out of hand, lay down the law and make things don't go too far.

I'm not saying to just throw your kids at video gams and discard all responsibility. Quite the opposite! But give them the choice -- to do otherwise would be similar to letting them excercise only one side of their body, and then let them start on the other side after several years. It just doesn't make sense.

My parents said the same and I thought it was bullshit when I was a kid. Now I'm much older and I see the truth in it.

Is that so? Could you please expand on this statement a bit? What made you change your mind? My experience was the complete opposite from what I hear.

All very nice for you, but I couldnt care less. If you read properly I'm not against videogames. I said "kids the age of 8/9 shouldn"t play videogames, until they turn 12/reach puberty".

You have no right to be rude. I've been civil to you. Please treat me with the same respect -- that is all I ask.

Also, you still haven't explained WHY that age limit is so important. Care to elaborate?

Sorry, that's bullshit. The same can be said about videogames. Besides, there's so much you can do as a parent to prevent your kids getting bored with something. Ofcourse forcing your kids to read every day for an hour will get them to hate reading, that's only logical. But as i said, there are so many more things out there to revert too to entertain them that videogames should be the last option.

Nope, no bullshit. Just mud.

And yes! I'm so glad you said this, because you've actually proven my point. Anything , including video games, can become stagnant in its level of engagement. There should be absolutely NO 'only this' and 'only that' scenarios here, but rather an equal distribution to ensure an equal intellectual and physical growth.

And, if there are so many things as you say, would you care to list them please? I'm very interested as to what you propose. Also, why should video games be such a last resort? Personally, I'd rather have my kids playing video games than go tree-climbing without my knowledge.

Never said he should be spending considerable hours of each and every day reading. But be my guest and find me one academic research saying playing videogames is better than reading a book when you're a kid.

Ah, but if you take away all other options of any kind of non-physical entertainment, you've basically forced them to partake in such extreme hours of reading.

And video games BETTER than reading? No, I don't believe that. No one does, not even Steven Johnson. But do video games have worthy merits of their own that reading doesn't provide? Absolutely.

 

[Serah]

Seeing as this is turning into more of a debate discussion, I'll be moving this to The Sleeping Forest.

 

[Kim Taehyung]

Okay, my personal opinion is that children should be allowed to play video games, so long as it's not engulfing their entire life. Such as people (no offense to anyone like this or anyone who knows someone like this) who stay locked up in their house and constantly play video games. My sister dated a guy who did this. He lived with us, and he constantly hogged our front room television, playing my Dreamcast (this was around 2000), and just hooked on Soul Caliber. I think he played it for nearly 4 days straight apart from the occasional bathroom break. He ended up having a seizure from this because of a combination of lack of sleep, lack of food (all he ate was junk food like chips and cheetos and such), and the animation on the screen he was constantly glued to. If I had any clue at all that my child would end up being like this, then I would put a stop to it.

But, I also find that video games are quite beneficial to children as well. I never played the educational video games such as Leap Frog and such, but I did learn quite a bit from the ones I did play. From gaming in general, I developed a very good hand-eye coordination skill. From games like Final Fantasy, I learned critical thinking and decision making skills. And even today, I realized that GTA IV Multiplayer teaches good hand-eye coordination, critical thinking, and learning how to think on your toes.

Now, this is all just my personal opinion. I'm not asking anyone to agree or disagree. I just wanted to include my input.