To my fellow gamers out here...

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SomeKid

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Do you think the PC games we play, in all there 'violent' glory, trains us in how we use guns in any way?

I got the idea for this question from this column, http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49470 (Be warned, the theme tends to be 'For the Children'.)

Personally, I think she is totally wrong. Nothing from PC games is real, and the way they operate is completely devoid of real world situations (most of the time). My feeling is that a nutjob is a nutjob is a nutjob, whether they played GTA3, or whether they were out in the boonies since birth. Fantasy is fantasy, for those unable to figure that out, well, the term 'ticking time bomb' fits.

What say y'all?
 
Not really. Go watch the gamerz at the gun show in the Army of one tent. They're so pathetic when they get killed and don't get a 2nd chance. :-D
 
There's a couple of parts to it.

The only strategic and tatics a PC game teach are the ones necessary to beat each particular game. There's few if any real world knowledge gained from them. If fact most of the time, the things that your characters have to do in a game will get you killed in real life.

But on another level, it seems that many PC games have taken up a theme that it's cool to steal cars and shoot at police, and that "everyone dies". I think that if you repeat something enough times that a person will start to believe it. Even the seemingless harmless games like the Tony Hawk skateboarding ones teach the kids that it's alright to skate anywhere and everywhere without regard for anyone or anything.

Having said that, I admit to having let my kids play those kinds of games because I know I've taught them right, and I know that they know the difference between reality and fantasy. There are alot of kids out there that aren't being taught the difference, that aren't being taught that you have to take responsibility for your actions. I've always taken the approach that I want my kids exposed to things (even unpleasant things) so that they learn right from wrong, and understand the world isn't always a pleasant place. But more importantly, so that they learn to make up they own minds on things, and not rely on someone else to influence them.

I don't agree that playing video games or watching TV causes anyone to go out and kill or otherwise mimick the violence. But without parental guidance and support, I do think that these things can negatively affect kids. I have a nephew or two, that I definitely wouldn't let play some of these games or watch certain shows on TV. But of course, if I had control over them, they wouldn't be the questionable people they are turning out to be.
 
But on another level, it seems that many PC games have taken up a theme that it's cool to steal cars and shoot at police, and that "everyone dies". I think that if you repeat something enough times that a person will start to believe it.
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You said a lot there. In unarmed defense we talk about muscle memory. You practice the same moves over and over again until the movement becomes second nature.

I think what you are saying can be true with the mind. Particularly for those that go off the deep end and are confronted with the decision to pull a real trigger. All else being equal, I think the one who has been immersed in the violent games pulls it faster. Particularly if they are under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

Some of the flight simlulators are so real I'm convinced you could learn to fly on them, but as for the shooter types, I've seen a few and I don't think there is much to learn from them.
 
I grew up playing DOOM, Wolfenstein, Quake, Rise of the Triad and every other violent First-Person Shooter I could get my twitchy gamer's paws on.

I also shoot Bullseye Pistol competitively.

If there were any truth to the notion that playing games somehow makes one more capable of employing firearms in an effective manner, I'd have made High Master by now.

Suffice it to say that Rebecca Hagelin is a twit.

Incidentally, do the GTA games really give a higher score for head shots over body shots? I've played GTA 3 and Vice City, and don't remember that.
 
I'd love to see some kid actually learn how to operate a gun from Grand Theft Auto or Counterstrike.

GTA: Let's see: Guns can be found all over the city just sort of floating there with a colored halo around it neatly indicating what slot in your inventory it will fill. You can reload by holstering one gun, drawing another, then holstering that and drawing your first gun real fast. You never have to rack your slide even when you change magazines. Oh, and if you hold your pistol sideways a little ring with some arrows around it will lock onto the nearest pedestrian and your gun will aim itself.

Oh, and every gun store owner in the universe is a redneck montana militia type. (Play San Andreas and listen to the gun shop clerk's lines when you buy...)

Counterstrike: All guns eject out the left. M4's and AK47's are full auto only. You can chamber a round in an M4 by slapping a magazine in there and bashing the forward assist...

I could go on forever.
 
Camp David will be along shortly to tell all of you that you're going to hell. :)
 
Turning this around and answering a question that wasn't asked.

A friend who dosent shoot but knows I do asked me around to see his new game.

It was a shot em up which used a plastic pistol on a cable and you aimed at the screen, it actually worked pretty well.

He said he wanted me to try it to see if being a shooter would make me any better at it than he was.

So I gave it a go and it was fun and pretty easy. So I get through a few levels kill the bank robbers. free the hostage, shoot the guys on the boat then things started to speed up and the screen went sort of fuzzy and I started getting double scores for hits. Of course the inevitable happens and I get dead.

When I look round he is sitting with his mouh open. He eventually says "Well it appears your experience does make a difference I have had that game for 2 weeks and never got half as far as you did first time"

So I don't know if playing games makes you a better shooter but I believe shooting makes you a better game player.


al
 
Camp David will be along shortly to tell all of you that you're going to hell.
Click to expand...

Let him. The people who lie about videogames and say such things will get there before we do.

On topic, it's a pile of ar*ewash. I've played videogames since I was four. If they influenced me to kill, I haven't done it. And just for anyone who thinks like a certain Miami lawyer, I an not the excpetion.
 
I game BF2.
You better damn well believe its in no way shape or form how I handle myself with a firearm.
While playing BF2
1) I spray and pray often
2) I charge headlong into firefights....yea I even seek them out
3) I charge tanks with nothing but a C4 pack or AT mine
4) I charge machine gun nests willy nilly....
Games are games and real life is real life. The two are seperate and not interchangeable.
[soapbox]People like to blame things on things. Its part of the 'blameless' society we've become. Slip and fall in the parking lot? Its the malls fault, never mind that its been raining. Shoot someone? Its the video games, or the guns....nevermind the parents that ignored your making of propane bombs in the garage (think: Coumbine).
Blame should be laid where its due: At the feet of the individuals. In the case of children, it should also be blamed on the parents for thier lack of parenting.
[/soapbox]
 
Gamers..The Ultimate

If you find yourself in NYC, visit the Intrepid and try the jet fighter simulator! 360 degrees of mind blowing fun! Best $5 I've Ever spent!
 
I don't believe theres any correlation to gaming and real life shooting. Its not like you can carry around an AWP, then switch to a HK USP, double tap two to the head across the map, switch back to the AWP and no scope through two of the opponents, then go and stab the last person.... all under 2 seconds... :D

But then again its mouse and keyboard to actually holding a firearm, controlling your breathing, squeezing the trigger and the adrenaline rush. Completely different...

Although...

A friend who dosent shoot but knows I do asked me around to see his new game.

It was a shoot em up which used a plastic pistol on a cable and you aimed at the screen, it actually worked pretty well.

He said he wanted me to try it to see if being a shooter would make me any better at it than he was.

So I gave it a go and it was fun and pretty easy. So I get through a few levels kill the bank robbers. free the hostage, shoot the guys on the boat then things started to speed up and the screen went sort of fuzzy and I started getting double scores for hits. Of course the inevitable happens and I get dead.

When I look round he is sitting with his mouh open. He eventually says "Well it appears your experience does make a difference I have had that game for 2 weeks and never got half as far as you did first time"

So I don't know if playing games makes you a better shooter but I believe shooting makes you a better game player.


al
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I played my friend's Time Crisis II with the gun and bigscreen. He had it for a week, and I beat the game in 2 days. So maybe we instintively "point-shoot" better than non shooters, or maybe I'm just better at video games than he is :D
 
I have found some video game to be as real as real could be.. Call of Duty And Battle Field 2 is a very relistic game with all the tank and helicopters and lav's and jets... and the gun operation is amazingly realistic..but every time you reload the gun gets cauked even when theres one in the chamber..:cool:
 
I think shooters will understand and use various tactics such as making a tactical reload while behind cover, slicing the pie and flanking while in-game than non-shooters. Well, at least until they see the scores of the shooters and go "Hey, lightbulb!" :D

There are others, but I'm too pooped to go into any more.
 
Of course not, most people, even children, can seperate fiction and fantasy from reality. How many people try to blame violence on violent books, movies or television? Why isn't someone blaming jack bauer? One time it was dungeons and dragons and kiss that turning people into monsters, not its violent video games. Much like gun control, you can't blame the object.
 
It's easier to blame something else than to get off your butt and do something about the problem; that's why software like NetNanny and whatnot are so popular - it's easier than actually having to monitor our kids ourselves :rolleyes:
 
Key Elements

Grossman pretty well nails it with "first person" leading to "addiction." My wife and I were called "zombies" by our visting daughter over the weekend, as she tried to grab the PlayStation2 controls from our cold, dead hands!
 
I think the answer is “depends”. No… not the adult diaper.

It depends on the maturity level of the player (not chronological age) and the environment that they find themselves in. I remember when my mom made me stop watching “Little Rascals” reruns (no I’m not that dang old! They used to rerun them in the late 70’s like they were going out of style) cause I was, “being very disrespectful after watching them.” She was right. I was, and she stopped it. And now my parole officer says I’m one of the most respectful parolees he has. JK.

If someone too immature is immersed in anything meant for adults with out a good environment to set them straight, then ANYTHING that is meant for a more mature audience can lead then into violence, moral decay, depravity, et al… The problem is that IF a parent notices their kid is acting up because of a game, TV show, book, music… then the parent has to stop it. If not, who will.

And even if it’s not affecting the kid the parent has to decide it it’s a good use of the kid’s time anyway. I really can’t understand how these 13 year olds have time to get so dang proficient at these games. There are lawns to be mowed, dishes to be washed, homework; HECK the house may need another coat of paint.

I do find that violent games and movies; even fast driving music gets me hyper and “in a mood”. But I’m mature enough to know 1) I need to calm down or 2) if I’m in a mood already to stay away from them.

Now as far as does it makes anyone a better shooter? I have to tell you I can Kick A in doom, but give me a long gun in real life and the barn is the safest structure in the world.
 
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From SWAT 3 I learned that it's really stupid to try to clear a house by yourself.
Click to expand...

From SWAT 3 I was reminded that armed bad guys sometimes DO hide under the bed...

I've been unpleasantly startled/killed more times in S3 than I care to remember. It didn't teach me about firearms, but it's a great reminder of self-preservational tactics, situational awareness, and patience. Even as a game it can be unsettlingly creepy realizing how vulnerable you can be in those scenarios.

:uhoh:
 
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