TITLE: Players, or why I do I have a huge razor-edged scytche next to my door AUTHOR: Jim9137 DATE: 6/20/2005 11:12:00 ip. ----- BODY:

Out of boredom, here we go talking about players. Blaa blaa, hate mail to the usual address. --- Anyway, let's talk about players for change. As we all know, games have been accused for being a springboard to madness. The first clear example I think we can drag to the shooting, the Columbine High School Massacre, let me quote:

"Harris and Klebold were fans of violent video games such as "Doom". (Harris often created levels for the game; these were widely distributed, and can still occasionally be found on the Internet as the Harris levels. Rumors that the layout of these levels resembled that of Columbine High School circulated but have been debunked [3] ). Some analysts argued that part of the killers' problem may have been a result of their constant exposure to violent imagery in such video games, as well as music, and movies, theorizing that their obsession with these forms of media may have led to them having difficulty telling the difference between reality and fantasy. Several unsuccessful lawsuits against several video game manufacturers were filed as a result by parents of some of the victims."

No one will ever know what their real motive in the end was, but video games can and will continue on affecting players. In both good and bad ways. There have been rumours and even documented evidence of MMORPG players, playing Everquest/etc 24/7, forgetting to eat and rest, and eventually reaching their untimely death. Because of the pixels on the screen. It's fanaticism, but it exists. And that's not the end of it; there have been rumors of whole companies just focusing on selling virtual items on eBay, items which they have hired kids from low-income countries. But hey, it's just entertainment! On the brighter side, there have been numerous counter-arguments, claiming that games are good for one's mind, at least better than TV has ever been. They allow you to think, work on the why and when and who, rather than just taking everything they spill at your face. Chess improves logical thinking, and so do video games. Interactivity is from what your mind lives from after all, and games are widely used in education these days. It's far more fun way to learn than reading from book, but Educational titles sometimes tend to be rather limited. I think I should mention The Get-Well Gamers Foundation, who are a voluntary group devoting their time and effort to spread games to hospitals which don't have them yet for children to play, as it significantly reduces the time spend in hospital. Saves money! But still we hear horror stories constantly from various media outlets, how another gamer has gone loco, inspired by GTA or Manhunts to go on a killing spree. We hear stories from our friends how they get so addicted to a Civilization game that they just don't notice it's morning and they should go to work, actually my friend who rarely plays anything else than racing games was subjected to this, we hear stories of people who worship the game designers as gods or at least semi-gods (Derek smart syndrome)... And so on. Catholics and other conservative relentlessly crusade against games, while they are doing the exactly same thing with their bible and their "better way to live". And games are in fact, bigger business than movies these days. It's not some geeks Amstrad of Commodore anymore, it's huge battle between console makers and eternal struggle with few big publishing companies. But I think the issue in the end really is, which ticks these conservative parties, is that games are violent by nature. Only few game genres can claim to be non-violent, and these are business, puzzle, adventure and sports, pretty much. Exceptions do exist, but even Super Mario Brothers could be considered violent. Just in a pretty scene. HOLD THE PRESS! It's part of the human nature, has always been. Violence in various forms, we can see this starting from the bible, sports (American football?), books, music, movies... It's integral part of entertainment! I'm not saying that it's the only thing, but it's very huge part of it. And that my dear reader(s), is part of the human nature. The urge to compete, the urge to be superior. Heck, it's how nature works in it's purest, no matter what the bible said. A tiger won't bow to your superiority just like that, it'll struggle. Survival is the oldest game in the books. But to shift the focus back on players. This "getting too addicted" isn't really only games' problem, it's with games that harder because the experience can be so intense sometimes. That's what we call a good sign for a good game, right? But some people... they don't notice the difference between game and reality. Even a regular look person, who otherwise could be a perfectly decent citizen, might fall to this. I pray that they are on the minority, but they exist. And then we have the ones with real mental issues. But as it is, any form of entertainment can "trigger" a person. And not only entertainment, even his own life! But that's beyond the scope of this article. Let's take an example from another form of entertainment for change, the one that is probably more relentlessly pursued by Catholics and the like, the one that might take the experience further than the games at the moment can. And that's Role-Playing. I have personally roleplayed for few years, not very much I admit, and only through internet. And this mostly applies to freeform games, not the pen & paper games as such. But I've been exploring the internet, and I've noticed few common things with roleplaying and games. First one is In character (IC)/Out of Character (OOC) difference. Again, bear in mind that my following examples are in the minority, and there is nothing particularly wrong with roleplaying. There are few stereotypes of "bad" roleplayers. Mary-Sues are the heresy of any decent roleplayer it seems, where the player creates him/herself to play. Which, of course, is not particularly wise since you are there to play a role. And IC insults directed at the IC persona of the player might carry over OOC and essentially harm their relationship. This brings me to the second stereotype. The one who lives his life through his creations. Stalking people, attacking people OOC just because they killed his/her character in a game... In fact, I have seen a video where a roleplayer tried to justify to cops why he shot his friend with a crossbow to the chest, with dice rules. And then promptly fled while shouting "BOOTS OF ESCAPING" and got a bullet in his leg. Anyway. This has been happening on MMORPG's lately as well. There was a news article about a player who tracked down and killed a person who stole his sword in enrage. He didn't mean to do it, but he did. But who can play games then? You can only answer for yourself. And the education system better start pouring money on teaching this to kid before virtual reality truly kicks in, or otherwise we'll have some real problems. Parents, watch your kids. Talk to them; ask why they play what they play. Ask them why they watch their movies, why do their listen to their music. Or just talk about their hobbies; mention how you would like to play games some days. Everyone has responsibility, I do, you do, they do. You can't pinpoint on anyone, so start acting like it.

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