January 16, 2013

• Blaming Videogames

  I want to address a few issues at once here.  I recently read an entry criticizing Pat Robinson over his response to a teenager who called into the show complaining that his dad was spending too much time playing videogames and not enough time with his mother.  I don’t watch that show, and don’t really care about Pat Robinson, so this is third hand information, but supposedly Pat Robinson suggested that the mother might have driven the father into the gaming, and what I saw in the comments section was a hate fest toward Pat Robinson and the husband.  But here is the thing, maybe she did drive him to it? 

  There is something wrong with our society that causes men to bear the brunt of the blame when a relationship is imbalanced.  To be fair there are some guys who get sucked into games, and at no fault of their partner, they simply get started playing and become so addicted that they stop paying attention to real life.  On the other hand, there are guys who get a new game, get addicted for a short time, beat it, and are done.  Then there are guys who are unhappy with their lives, and use the videogames as a salve, or an escape.  If the man is unhappy with his life then then the blame for his gaming must be shared.  Blaming the game, or the man alone, is not valid. 

  There are also guys who are moderate gamers, and who will play on and off when they feel like relaxing or leaving tension, and this is not a problematic behavior on any level. 

  Now, I also saw an article on Yahoo about women wanting to get into the gaming industry but encountering “sexism” there as it is a male dominated industry.  The author of the article did not understand why there are not more women in the gaming industry, when (1) there is an abundance of female characters and (2) the amount of female gamers is increasing.

  To answer the questions:

  1) Although I have not seen it specifically stated, the female characters in the games are generally designed for a male target audience, which is why most of them are eye candy.  Not trying to be rude, just calling attention to the obvious.  For many guys that attractive female character is the closest they can get to ever being in a relationship.  Most men do not succeed in passing on their DNA to the next generation.  This is due to socio-economic factors primarily, but on some level that video game woman fills a void. 

  There are also guys, such as myself, who do not care whether the character is male or female, so long as the gameplay is good. 

  2) There are actually very few female gamers.  I have seen multiple Yahoo articles saying that numbers of female gamers are now equal or greater than the numbers of male gamers, and that the future of gaming is mobile devices like I-pads and I-phones.  Articles and statements like that indicate a serious and woeful ignorance of the videogame subculture.  First of all, playing “Angry Birds” and “Fruit Ninja” isn’t gaming, it’s fidgeting.  No real gamers are going to give up their PS3 or Xbox, and games like “Dragon Age” and “Mass Effect” for little fidgety apps like “Fruit Ninja.”  Be serious.  Yes there are a lot of women playing those things because a lot of them now have I-phones and I-pads, but that doesn’t make them gamers.  Most of those women will never touch an actual gaming console. 

  So while the amount of female gamers may or may not be increasing, the examples that Yahoo keeps giving all refer to an increased use of apps like Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja.  Real actual games still target a predominantly male audience.  One reason why actual female gamers have so much appeal to men, is because there are so very few of them.  We always like it when women can share our interests and activities with us because then it’s like having a wife/girlfriend AND a friend at the same time.  On average women don’t have the same level of aggressive tendencies that men do, so they don’t typically derive the same level of pleasure or catharsis from gaming.

  That being said, I would like to talk about censorship, because I keep hearing people blaming videogames for real life violence and calling for censorship.  I saw one woman in the comment section complaining about how games make her kids bratty. 

  Here is the thing, if your kids are bratty then it is your own fault for raising them to be bratty.  Until your kids are old enough to work, then it is very difficult for them to possess things without you knowing about it or approving it.  Just because little Billy says “Mommy I want it” doesn’t mean you have to give it to him.  If it’s not appropriate for his age or you just don’t feel like getting it for him then it is perfectly acceptable for you to say no.  No is not a bad word, it’s a very good work.  You can tell him no, and if he makes a fuss then you take him out to the car and beat his behind until he learns who is boss.  If he threatens to call some child help hotline you say, “Go ahead smart guy, a lot can happen before they get here,” or, “OK, if you want to leave then you can get out of this car right now and find a new family.”  Most kids are stupid, and they have no idea how the world works.  That is why you have to teach them about economics, politics, and basic common sense.  Once confronted with the idea that they will have to fend for themselves then they will realize how pointless and stupid their rebellion is.

  But I digress, if you aren’t smart enough to censor what your kids have, or to not buy them anything they want, then don’t come after me to bear the brunt of your incompetance.  Just admit you’re lazy, and stay out of my game room.

  “Oh but some of those games are so…”

  STOP.  I don’t care how violent they are, how graphic they are, how gratuitously violent they are, how perverted they are, or anything else.  Yes there are some games that offend me, and yes there are some games that I wouldn’t want my kids to have, but you know what?  I have a special magic trick that deals with all of that, and it’s so easy that anyone can do it.  It’s this amazing thing, where I own the bank card, so only I can determine how the money on there gets spent.  I don’t understand why other people have difficulty employing this technique.  Be responsible for your own self.

  Also, videogames do not make people violent.  People are naturally violent, and men have more aggressive and violent tendencies than women (on average).  But still, natural propensities for violence vary with the individual.  Negligent parenting and mental insanity are what make people violent.  Negligent parenting means that an individual with above average violent propensities will not learn to control himself.  Stop blaming the games for bad parenting.  The games are cathartic.

  I don’t care if my neighbor is playing some blood and guts hackfest, so long as he isn’t doing it in real life it’s none of my business.  I don’t care, I really don’t.  I cannot overstress how much I don’t care.  What I do care about is when someone tries to regulate what I can have. 

  • 1:45 pm
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