Maybe you have a family like mine, with a hypersensitive mother and a teenage brother who’d rather play RPG’s than do his homework. Or maybe you’re just a gamer walking down the street, listening to people talk. Either way, you’re bound to have encountered the dreaded phenomenon: “video game” as a dirty word.
In my house, “video game” gets spit out with extra venom (Of course, never at me. Apparently being female negates being both a gamer and a game writer). It’s why the dish washer isn’t emptied, why the laundry isn’t done, it’s the assumed black hole of laziness and sloth. It’s incontrovertibly “junk”–even though the people who call it that have never played.
For us, it may seem like ignorance, but for a large portion of the world, it’s supposed common sense. Pay attention to the way video games are referenced around you, and you’ll hear a lot of smack. Yes, I’m going home to play a game. You got a problem with that?
September 6th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
Considering the gale-force stupidity and vulgarity of most popular entertainments, I’ve always felt rather proud of war / board / roleplay / computer gaming.
September 6th, 2006 at 1:14 pm
It’s the same sort of hazing ritual by the public conscience all “youth culture” stuff goes through: comic books, all forms of popular music (rock, rap, etc.), anything adults don’t “get” or which they view as some sort of threat to their kids’ psychic well-being or simply think is a childish waste of time.
“Why aren’t you doing anything productive with yourselves?!”
In your brother’s case, though, he’s just a lazy slob; games happen to be how he avoids doing chores. I’m sure he would’ve found other time-wasters without `em. God knows I could… :-)
September 7th, 2006 at 6:56 am
Another on-the-mark post Bonnie.
What I’d like to know is how much time the non-video gamers spend plopped down in front of the boob tube? That’s far more useful, right?
:P
September 7th, 2006 at 10:05 pm
Another thing - in MY experience, sports fans are far more violent and anti-social than gamers are. I’ve seen fistfights and similar violence break out among the audience at almost every baseball and football game I’ve ever attended. I have never seen this at a gaming event - or even a large convention of which gaming was a part. Anecdotal evidence? You bet. But that’s what I’ve seen.
September 10th, 2006 at 7:08 pm
Anything adults don't "get" or which they view as some sort of threat to their kids' psychic well-being or simply think is a childish waste of time.
Maybe, except that it’s not just adults talking this way; it’s a generally accepted (almost casual thing) to bash games, for “normal” people of all ages.
In your brother's case, though, he's just a lazy slob.
He may be lazy, but he’s not a slob. Plus he manages to fit being a total academic wiz into his RPG schedule–no easy task, consider the hours this kid is playing :).