Comment Re:Scathing Critique? (Score 1) 69
I know a lot of you are questioning anyone limiting access to certain games. Generally, I support more often than not. As a martial arts instructor over the last 15 years, I can tell you that experiencing (experiential knowledge) is key to understanding and development: mentally, physically and emotionally. However, YOU WILL BECOME WHAT YOU PRETEND TO BE. Keep practicing something and it becomes easier to do. Since no one can really force you not to play the game (Congress did not stop the release of "Bully"), it is unfortunately up to the less experienced kids of the world to be aware of the effects that pretending to be a bully pose. Most adults are too busy to play games. They want to make more money so they can keep their kids in safe schools (i.e. schools with fewer bullies and drugs!).
When I was a kid (20 years ago), it was easy to figure out why the bullies acted out and crushed everyone they could. Their family backgrounds were terrible. The worst bully in my school was the son of a prostitute. We were told his dad died, but later learned his dad was a criminal. Pain and fury was all he knew. That does not excuse him, but he lacked the influence of a positive adult. As a result, he grew into a low-life himself, just copying from what he saw as his family. His life is typical for a bully. He was bright academically and won many awards in sports, but his hatred for other people was clear. The bullying did not go well for him. Last time I heard about him, he was bagging groceries after another stint in jail.
Another game, Bounty Hunter, about the adventures of Jango Fett from Star Wars has the same general negative effect on the player that "Bully" has. It is a fun game, but you feel the evil influence of thinking like a villain during the game. Rather than having customers live out the "dark side" of life in a game, a better way to make a social message to educate us on how bullies are created would be a movie. Make a big budget adventure flick and watch the people flock in! Then you will have the attention of a lot of people for at least a good 90 minutes. Who knows? You might even see a bully crying into a hanky!
When I was a kid (20 years ago), it was easy to figure out why the bullies acted out and crushed everyone they could. Their family backgrounds were terrible. The worst bully in my school was the son of a prostitute. We were told his dad died, but later learned his dad was a criminal. Pain and fury was all he knew. That does not excuse him, but he lacked the influence of a positive adult. As a result, he grew into a low-life himself, just copying from what he saw as his family. His life is typical for a bully. He was bright academically and won many awards in sports, but his hatred for other people was clear. The bullying did not go well for him. Last time I heard about him, he was bagging groceries after another stint in jail.
Another game, Bounty Hunter, about the adventures of Jango Fett from Star Wars has the same general negative effect on the player that "Bully" has. It is a fun game, but you feel the evil influence of thinking like a villain during the game. Rather than having customers live out the "dark side" of life in a game, a better way to make a social message to educate us on how bullies are created would be a movie. Make a big budget adventure flick and watch the people flock in! Then you will have the attention of a lot of people for at least a good 90 minutes. Who knows? You might even see a bully crying into a hanky!
