VIDEO GAMES MAKE YOU a THE-RAPIST!!!!!

[YorkshirePud]

I FUCKING HATE THIS MORONS!! IM SO FULL OF RAGE I CAN ONLY MASH THE KEYBOARD IN RAGE!

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/28 ... ous-claim/

ill calm down and check back tomorrow

also FUCK YEAH CAPS LOCK!

[InfiniteStates]

Dr. Jerry Weichman, a clinical psychologist at the Hoag Neurosciences Institute in Southern California, told Fox: "If a younger kid experiences Bulletstorm's explicit language and violence, the damage could be significant... Violent video games like Bulletstorm have the potential to send the message that violence and insults with sexual innuendos are the way to handle disputes and problems."

This is quite true - if you allow your fucking kids to be parented by TV and games. Maybe if parents took responsibility for the upbringing of their own children they wouldn't need to blame the forms of media they were reliant on as surrogate parents.

Similarly, if these "doctors" had real work to do, they wouldn't feel the need to dream up ways to get themselves in the spotlight.

[YorkshirePud]

it all goes wrong with waybuloo! put button moon back on and all will be fine!

[Symonator]

:wow:

More doctors need spotlight time for some kind of fund? fuck off.

[DJ-Daz]

Dr. Jerry Weichman, a clinical psychologist at the Hoag Neurosciences Institute in Southern California, told Fox: "If a younger kid experiences Bulletstorm's explicit language and violence, the damage could be significant... Violent video games like Bulletstorm have the potential to send the message that violence and insults with sexual innuendos are the way to handle disputes and problems."

This is quite true - if you allow your fucking kids to be parented by TV and games. Maybe if parents took responsibility for the upbringing of their own children they wouldn't need to blame the forms of media they were reliant on as surrogate parents.

Similarly, if these "doctors" had real work to do, they wouldn't feel the need to dream up ways to get themselves in the spotlight.

watch the new zeitgeist movie, a real eyeopener about psychology and kids.

[DJ-Daz]

for humour I've renamed this topic.

[InfiniteStates]

A professional retort to the original news report (I've broken it into pages for the benefit of Dave's eyes LOL):

The article "Is Bulletstorm the Worst Video Game in the World?" is not actually an assessment of Bulletstorm, a first-person shooter being released this month by Electronic Arts and Epic Games. Rather, it describes the mature content depicted in the game, and suggests that it is inappropriate for children and that too little is being done to regulate children's access to video games with mature content. Although it is reasonable for FoxNews.com to present these opinions, there are a number of inconsistencies and inaccuracies in FoxNews.com's story.

Bulletstorm's pairing of violence with off-color humor is highlighted at the start, but things take a startling twist when the author reports that Dr. Carol Lieberman, a self-described "media psychiatrist," said that "the increase in rapes can be attributed in large part to the playing out of [sexual] scenes in video games." Researchers have battled over the connections between video games and ADHD, aggression, stereotyping of sex roles, and other important topics, but I am not aware of any published evidence linking sexual scenes in video games to increases in the prevalence or incidence of rape. Incidentally, sexual scenes are not depicted in Bulletstorm, with the exception of images of exposed enemy buttocks.

The rape quote is representative of a broader problem in the piece. The sources interviewed are experts in topics such as women's health, peer interactions, conflict resolution, education, terrorism, romantic relationships, and moral development. However, with the exception of a video game industry analyst and Dr. Melanie Killen, a psychologist who has assisted in the development of educational video games to teach children peaceful conflict resolution techniques, these experts do not study video games.

Crude or sexual jokes and innuendo are mainstays of television programs. Images of men being hit in the crotch are a staple of the family-friendly America's Funniest Home Videos.
They make interesting comments about the effects of video games on children, but the majority of their statements are true of all media, and are not specifically linked to video games. Dr. Jerry Weichman notes that "Violent video games like Bulletstorm have the potential to send the message that violence and insults with sexual innuendos are the way to handle disputes and problems." However, these same lessons can also be transmitted to children by watching age-inappropriate television shows, being exposed to pornography, receiving corporal punishment, and observing peers and adults exhibiting violent behaviors.

In the context of children's entertainment, I think that we can all agree that depictions of violence and ribald humor do not convey particularly positive messages to kids. One of the central ideas presented in the piece is that exposing children to innuendo and sexual comments is particularly problematic. However, these comments do not take into account the pervasiveness of gross-out humor in modern media. Crude or sexual jokes and innuendo are mainstays of television programs. Images of men being hit in the crotch and individuals of both sexes inadvertently losing their clothes are a staple of the family-friendly America's Funniest Home Videos.

Teen comedies, such as Superbad and American Pie, are full of violence and sexual scenes and innuendo, and the same is true for their PG-13-rated counterparts, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Weird Science. Even literary classics, notably the works of William Shakespeare, are littered with naughty wordplay. Although it is fair to suspect that the interactive nature of video games might change how depictions of violence influence viewers, there is nothing special about video games that makes crude humor especially problematic.

Bulletstorm is criticized for its combination of violent content and sexual themes, but the broader focus of the piece implies that the video game industry needs more strict regulation, including penalties for retailers that sell M-rated games to minors. However, in the process of presenting this point, the regulatory body for the gaming industry, the Entertainment Software Rating Board, is treated unfairly. The author writes, "Lieberman and others say [ESRB ratings are] useless, because [they aren't] enforced at retail."

I am not aware of any research that supports this statement, but studies by the Federal Trade Commission have shown that the vast majority of retailers honor ESRB ratings and do not sell M-rated games to children. Moreover, these studies have shown that children trying to purchase M-rated video games make fewer successful purchases than children trying to attend R-rated movies or purchase explicit music. Retailers sacrifice legal video game sales and potential profits in order to protect children by abiding by ESRB ratings, even though no laws actually compel them to respect ESRB ratings.

Half-formed objections, sensationalist claims, and knee-jerk reactions define the public's perception of gamers and gaming.
It may seem logical to equate the ESRB with the FCC, but it's an inappropriate comparison. The FCC ensures that radio and television programs do not air obscene, profane, or indecent content during certain hours of the day or to certain audiences, and it has the power to fine broadcasters if they air content that would be considered to be inappropriate to the average person. The FCC functions under the assumption that people should be protected from inadvertently exposing themselves to something that they would rather not see, and since a person of any age or persuasion could turn on a TV or radio at any moment, the standards set for these broadcasts are strictly defined and carefully regulated.

In contrast, movies, music, and video games are products that consumers have to voluntarily identify, seek out, and purchase. The standard for these media is to inform consumers about questionable content, but leave the decision of whether or not the content is appropriate in the hands of the consumer. The ESRB's rating program is comparable to those of regulatory bodies like the Motion Picture Association of America, which rates movies, and the Recording Industry Association of America, which places parental advisory notices on music albums, rather than the FCC's standards of decency.

The FoxNews.com article implies that the ESRB is to blame for exposing children to mature content. The fact that a game like Bulletstorm receives a Mature rating indicates that the ESRB, and society more generally, believes that some video games are not appropriate for young children. Experts and politicians are directing their anger toward the ESRB and the video game industry, but ultimately parents decide what games their children play. The FTC's studies reveal that most parents understand and use the ESRB ratings when deciding what games to purchase for their children.

Parents who purchase M-rated games for their young children are either part of an under-informed minority of consumers who do not understand ESRB ratings or they deem the content of these games to be appropriate for their children. The ESRB is not responsible for the former and the latter actually suggests that the ESRB is erring on the safe side and applying a standard to video games that is more conservative than the standards held by consumers.

California recently passed, and later overturned, a law that would impose a $1,000 fine on any retailer that sells an M-rated game to a minor (the FoxNews.com article suggests the law is currently in place; however, it is currently under review by the Supreme Court). Although this may sound on the surface like a reasonable measure on face value (after all, studies have shown that it's tough for children to get their hands on M-rated titles), the Supreme Court's decision on this case will determine if video games will continue to receive the same protections that other forms of entertainment like books, movies, art, and music enjoy.

The tenor and content of the Bulletstorm article illustrates the problems that currently plague the gaming world. Misinformation abounds and half-formed objections, sensationalist claims, and knee-jerk reactions define the public's perception of gamers and gaming. Only time, experience, and explanation can help the general public to understand that gaming, like rock music, speed limits, and free speech, influences society in both positive and negative ways.

[YorkshirePud]

Infinites can you tell me where you got that from? id like to link to it in my blog

[InfiniteStates]

Sure

I would suggest you link to it on the Mess Hall to increase traffic, but if you want the horse with the mouth, it's over on IGN.

BTW, I got around to playing the Bullet Storm demo at last and it's all right. I wouldn't buy it though, because I can't be arsed to keep constantly thinking up various ways of killing people... I just want to shoot them in the face and move on - not leash them, kick them then shoot them, then think of a different way of dealing with the next 100 guys.