I am not a parent…yet, thank god. But I would be hard pressed to allow my young child to play a game that has swearing, and where the “gamer” takes on the roll of a mass murder. Kids have a hard time disguising between fact and fiction. And if they become empowered by playing violent video games that are rated M (Mature), then their parents should be spanked and sent to bed with no supper.
I can go to my gaming rig, blow up tanks, assassinated presidents of corrupt countries and get in a huge gunfight, take off my headphones and go mow the yard, and forget completely about the gaming experience I just had. It is simple to me, its entertainment, and I am not dumb enough to believe that 1/100th of what happens in video games is even close to real life. I was in the military and know that parts of video games come close to reality. But the point is, THERE IS NO RESPAWN IN REALLIFE. Shhhh, don’t tell that to your pastor.
Anyway, the point is games (especially fps’s) stretch the bounds of reality and give a user an experience that is purely fiction. Which is why games rock, the same reason people love music and movies. It’s an escape and is fun. Kids on the other hand, and even some teenagers, have a hard time understanding that games are purely fiction and have a hard time drawing the line between reality and fantasy. I will by no means get rid of my 360 or Gaming PC when I have kids, but I will watch my back, so to speak. I’m not gonna stop playing M rated games, cuz I dig em, but I will try my damndest to not play them in front of the “young ones”. They will be interested in gaming no doubt, so let’s see what an option would be…a Wii!!!!
All this is in relation to Rockstar Games and their recent statements that parents who buy Red Dead Redemption for their kids should be shot, well not really. Here’s their statement, “Our games are not designed for young people,” said Rockstar’s Lazlow in an interview. “If you’re a parent and buy one of our games for your child, you’re a terrible parent. We design games for adults because we’re adults. There’s a lot of kids games out there that we’re not interested in playing. Just like you enjoy watching movies and TV shows with adult themes and language and violence, that’s the kind of thing we seek to produce.”
