For some reason gaming is a subject that many people refuse really discuss without someone promptly tying it together with violent behaviour and/or (though not so much these days but certainly in the earlier days) with laziness.

It feels sometimes that nobody has the sense to stop and listen to what has to be said about games. Mind you I say all this and I guess I’m preaching to the converted…

Maybe some game(r) parents need to speak out and say what the reality is about gaming and children?

Ms. Peasgood essentially argues that interactivity leads to mimicry, which can be the case, but she fails to recognize that any good book or movie is much more than a passive experience — they require an actively engaged reader. Sure, movies and books ask for mental footwork, but games worth their salt do so as well. When I played Team Fortress Classic, I was wildly attracted to the mental game of quick and small-scale tactics. When my friends and I played death-match in Duke Nukem 3D, we activated specific switches and doors so that sound would help us lay traps. (Gosh, these are some old examples!)

I’m sort of comparing apples to oranges here because most movies and books communicate the human condition while games, for the most part, skirt the subject in search of pure diversion. From what I can tell, Serious Games Interactive tackles the human condition with its Global Conflict series. I don’t have too much experience with them, so I can’t really speak with authority.

Basically, the video is bunk because they seemingly don’t try to understand what they throw stones at. As Tim mentioned, games *can* be a way for parents to engage their children. But parents must choose this role, often at their own discomfort. I’ve talked about morality, violence, and social responsibility with my kids because I felt that certain episodes within our games warranted such dialog. It’s really all about taking responsibility for yourself, your family, and your position within a community. I, like everyone else, could use a second serving of this.

It seems that whenever someone from the gaming community steps forward to try and educate, and something positive is said about games, or something that contradicts the (wrong) negative opinion the ‘prosecutors’ shout out “err, video games are violent and make people murder!” (and the naysayers whoop and cheer)

This is an outdated opinion of games. The majority of games are not violent, nor sexist, nor racist. There will always be violent, sexist, racist media – NOT just games. This is because there will always be prejudice in the world. Games and movies can be listed suitable for 15/18 years, controlling who has access. Yet books, art and even the News are available to all and you can find violence in all.

Rather than blaming games for violent behaviour and depression look to the parents. It is far more likely that the child’s mood is affected by the interaction he/she has with family and peers.

I’ll conceded to the idea that prolonged interaction may lead to mimicry, that if you do something — anything — to excess then your response may be influenced by what you ingest. But the key is that it’s a parent’s responsibility to know what his child is doing. As a parent, I know the maturity levels of my children. I know which ones could dissociate themselves from violent media just as I know which one excessively texts and which one easily frustrates over projects that require meticulousness.

Ratings exist for us to regulate a child’s exposure. It’s a two-partied responsibility: the stores check IDs, and parents police their kids. To me, this video is a non-issue. To question the content of a game seems to skirt the greater issue of ensuring that the system of rating and regulation works, which I think it does for the most part. But that means that we parents must take the responsibility of knowing our children and their habits.

“I’d personally wager that there are little or no video games that inspire depression, low self-esteem and aggressive behaviour as Julie Peasgood claims, but rather people who are inclined to depression, low-self esteem and aggressive behaviour.”

One’s disposition to life has a way of manifesting itself in everything around him.