Opinion on gaming?

[bobhikes]

One of my friends tried to get one of the teachers at my school into gaming but the teacher said he doesn't want to be associated with kids who kill. Is that how people view gaming? If so the video game industry needs a massive PR campaign.

This is one teacher and there are people that think much worse of gaming. In general if you are happy with something and not hurting others don't bother worrying what others think. The video game industry is a money making machine and as long as your buying they will keep producing. No matter what a teacher or others think.

Personally, I'm against most people killing games and prevent my children from playing them but I'm not going try and stop the games from being made.

 

[BSM1]

As kids we constantly played games like "cowboys and indians" or "war" in real life (pre-vid games..hell, pre-FM radio). Kids were always being "killed" only to be revived and "killed" again. We never had a problem of separating reality with fantasy. Granted, the video games are extremely graphic and violent but kids (especially boys) are going to play games that reflect the most exciting and dramatic aspects of their everyday lives.

 

[DreadFish]

Dude, the Genesis port is the one that had all the blood put back in! The Super Nintendo is the one that took out the blood. It was a major component in that console war, being one of the primary influences of the notion that the Super Nintendo was for kids and the Genesis was for adults.

...granted, you had to turn the blood on with a code, but still.

I was just a young kid when we played that game, I had no idea there was a code for it I had another friend who had the Sega port on his Game Gear, and it didn't have blood either. It wasn't until some Mortal Kombat game on N64 that I saw all the blood. I don't remember if it was in the arcade versions.

...I'm a bit surprised that CoD is constantly getting brought up here. I'm a gamer, but I never got into those games. Is such a bland, mediocre series so big that it's basically the public face of gaming?

With that kind of franchise holding the monopoly on that title, no wonder so many people are loath to identify as "gamers" nowadays.

Yeah, this is why I said the games that appeal to non-gamers are the shooting games. They're easy to get into, because there's nothing to them, and they interest people who wouldn't otherwise be gamers. I don't consider anyone who only plays CoD and/or Halo or Battlefield to be a gamer. It's like reading The Da Vinci Code or Twilight and saying your a fan of literature. I guess before them, it was the fighting games that took that place.

Im going to risk sounding like a hipster and say that the mainstream console stuff on PS and Xbox are generally lacking in good content and just aim to appeal to these casual players who only want good graphics and action. I got an older friend who has been ruined by CoD. Like seriously, he can't play other games that have dialog and take time because he's so conditioned by the quick, run-shoot-die-repeat crap CoD has. He couldn't even stand playing LA Noir because it was slow and dialog heavy.

On the other hand, and referring to a graphically violent game that still had good content, I really liked Dishonored. It had good gameplay (except when you're trying to grab somebody from behind and accidentally take your sword out and alert them), a very cool aesthetic, and an interesting world. The hitch to that one, though, is that you don't have to be violent, and there's even incentive to avoid fighting and killing altogether.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

...I'm a bit surprised that CoD is constantly getting brought up here. I'm a gamer, but I never got into those games. Is such a bland, mediocre series so big that it's basically the public face of gaming?

With that kind of franchise holding the monopoly on that title, no wonder so many people are loath to identify as "gamers" nowadays.

I've always enjoyed that game. The zombies were my favorite, and so was online.

But I did like the game Battlefield 3 and 4 the most

 

[Kilgore Trout]

One of my friends tried to get one of the teachers at my school into gaming but the teacher said he doesn't want to be associated with kids who kill. Is that how people view gaming? If so the video game industry needs a massive PR campaign.

That's weird. I'd think he'd be more interested in not being associated with people who waste all their time playing inane video games and thinking it's actually a lifestyle.

 

[Riverwolf]

Yeah, this is why I said the games that appeal to non-gamers are the shooting games. They're easy to get into, because there's nothing to them, and they interest people who wouldn't otherwise be gamers. I don't consider anyone who only plays CoD and/or Halo or Battlefield to be a gamer. It's like reading The Da Vinci Code or Twilight and saying your a fan of literature. I guess before them, it was the fighting games that took that place.

Platformers were the king back then, actually. Fighting games are, and always have been, fairly niche. The big difference is the fact that Mario/Sonic aren't super-violent or make any pretensions to being "realistic". But trust me: in that genre, there is plenty of absolute GARBAGE.

Im going to risk sounding like a hipster and say that the mainstream console stuff on PS and Xbox are generally lacking in good content and just aim to appeal to these casual players who only want good graphics and action. I got an older friend who has been ruined by CoD. Like seriously, he can't play other games that have dialog and take time because he's so conditioned by the quick, run-shoot-die-repeat crap CoD has. He couldn't even stand playing LA Noir because it was slow and dialog heavy.

On the other hand, and referring to a graphically violent game that still had good content, I really liked Dishonored. It had good gameplay (except when you're trying to grab somebody from behind and accidentally take your sword out and alert them), a very cool aesthetic, and an interesting world. The hitch to that one, though, is that you don't have to be violent, and there's even incentive to avoid fighting and killing altogether.

I have heard good things about Dishonered, and might pick that one up at some point. For my money, the absolute KING of stealth-action games is the indie game Mark of the Ninja. The ONLY GAME IN EXISTENCE WHERE YOU GET TO ACTUALLY, TRULY GET TO BE A REAL FREAKING NINJA!!! :ninja: Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden? Ayane from Dead or Alive? Yufi from Final Fantasy VII? Ibuki from Street Fighter? Strider from... Strider? POSERS! (Especially Ayane.) The guy from Mark of the Ninja is the sole genuine article in gaming that I'm aware of, and a big reason is that his name is never revealed.

It came to mind because, even though you can kill enemies in that game, you get MASSIVE bonus points for not killing anyone, and taking just one life (unless the level's main goal is a target's death) forfeits that bonus. But if you have no choice, you can use the environment to get the job done, but if you don't hide the bodies, guards will start looking for you. I prefer to go non-death. As the game progresses, you unlock different outfits with different abilities and restrictions to continue the game in, or replay old levels in. I prefer the Shadow outfit, because that muffles most (not all) of the noise you make but you can't carry your sword (you can still cause environmental kills).

...I kinda had to gush, methinks. I just love that game and everything it stands for. It's only fault is that the story is somewhat unpolished.

 

[Riverwolf]

That's weird. I'd think he'd be more interested in not being associated with people who waste all their time playing inane video games and thinking it's actually a lifestyle.

Well, I'd argue that one, too, since apparently kicking/throwing/bouncing balls back and forth counts as a lifestyle, as does mindlessly typing meaningless data into a computer all day every day on someone else's command.

Besides, it is a lifestyle, because it involves exactly that: living (necessary for playing), and a certain way that living is carried out (playing). 'Course, I'm mainly referring to professional gamers here, not gamers like me. I game a lot, but I don't directly make any money off it, so while my life revolves around video games to one degree or another (and I'm not ashamed of that fact), it's not a "lifestyle".

I've always enjoyed that game. The zombies were my favorite, and so was online.

But I did like the game Battlefield 3 and 4 the most

To each their own. The Battlefield games interested me even less, 'cause at least the first Modern Warfare apparently had a good story. (And I do admit that the infamous Airport scene from MW2 is a fantastic example of non-fun interactive story-telling that was apparently perfected in Spec Ops: The Line... I say apparently because I don't have the guts to play that one).

I'm also not really an online player, of any kind. I do try periodically, but never for long stretches of time. Playing with complete strangers, some of whom can be real jerks to put it mildly, just doesn't compare to local multiplayer with friends. (Which, by the way, board games have been fantastic at lately; gaming need not always involve microchips ).

Of course, I look back on the old Sonic games, and while I still absolutely love them, if they were released now with a 60 USD price-point, I would be so calling RIP-OFF! Much as I love them, I can easily see that lots of people would find them as bland and mediocre as I find most modern war shooters.

No such thing as an objectively "good", "mediocre" or "bad" game.

But at least I can't be accused of "feeding the machine", because I never buy those games. Don't even have an XBox One (don't ever plan to get one, either), or a PS4 (maybe for Kingdom Hearts III FREAKING FINALLY!), and one of my favorite 360 games is Kameo: Elements of Power. I'm trying to feed the Wii U some money, too bad I don't have enough for Mario Kart 8 and Monster Hunter 4 is pretty much set as a 3DS exclusive.

 

[Riverwolf]

I don't mind violent games...it's just the gamer culture that I can't stand.

As a fairly non-active member of that culture, I do understand the sentiment. I don't let their behavior keep me from my chosen identity as a gamer, though.

However, I will point something out: gamer pan-culture has its own group of sub-cultures, generally centered around franchises or genres, and not all of them are festering pits of bile.

 

[ametist]

I like RPGing. you cant do mindless killing in RPGs. It damages your karma or a similar thing to the same affect which leaves you bruised at some point.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Sometimes I just want to being a kid again and go back to the days of N64 and Gamecube, when consoles were actually good and the major developers were actually trying.

NES games were still made when I was a little kid, and I was 5 when SNES came out. The SNES had alot of fun games, but gaming has never been as hard as it was on the NES, which really sucks. I would love to see more new games that are on par with the difficulty of Ninja Gaiden, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the first one), Battle Toads, Castlevania, Punch-Out, and other games that took alot of patience and skill to beat.

 

[Father Heathen]

It doesn't help that CoD is so damn popular.

I have a problem with CoD being popular, too. Not because it's a violent shooter, but because there are so many other violent shooters that are vastly superior.

 

[Father Heathen]

One of my friends tried to get one of the teachers at my school into gaming but the teacher said he doesn't want to be associated with kids who kill. Is that how people view gaming? If so the video game industry needs a massive PR campaign.

Why would the students want to be associated with such a, heh, pecksniffian?

 

[DreadFish]

Platformers were the king back then, actually. Fighting games are, and always have been, fairly niche. The big difference is the fact that Mario/Sonic aren't super-violent or make any pretensions to being "realistic". But trust me: in that genre, there is plenty of absolute GARBAGE.

I just mean that I remember fighting games to be the games that people who didn't play a lot of video games liked a lot.

I have heard good things about Dishonered, and might pick that one up at some point. For my money, the absolute KING of stealth-action games is the indie game Mark of the Ninja. The ONLY GAME IN EXISTENCE WHERE YOU GET TO ACTUALLY, TRULY GET TO BE A REAL FREAKING NINJA!!! :ninja: Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden? Ayane from Dead or Alive? Yufi from Final Fantasy VII? Ibuki from Street Fighter? Strider from... Strider? POSERS! (Especially Ayane.) The guy from Mark of the Ninja is the sole genuine article in gaming that I'm aware of, and a big reason is that his name is never revealed.

It came to mind because, even though you can kill enemies in that game, you get MASSIVE bonus points for not killing anyone, and taking just one life (unless the level's main goal is a target's death) forfeits that bonus. But if you have no choice, you can use the environment to get the job done, but if you don't hide the bodies, guards will start looking for you. I prefer to go non-death. As the game progresses, you unlock different outfits with different abilities and restrictions to continue the game in, or replay old levels in. I prefer the Shadow outfit, because that muffles most (not all) of the noise you make but you can't carry your sword (you can still cause environmental kills).

...I kinda had to gush, methinks. I just love that game and everything it stands for. It's only fault is that the story is somewhat unpolished.

Given the way you describe that game, I think you would really enjoy Dishonored. The way you play affects the way the game unfolds a bit; you get different endings depending on your "chaos level". You can go super violent and cause chaos everywhere, but there will always be more guards and soldiers in the next levels making it more difficult. Or you can try for never being detected for the entire game and never killing anyone (which is really tough). You have an assassination target for each level and you can, you know, assassinate them (in a theatrically violent way), or find an alternative way of getting them out of the picture without killing them. You also have magical powers which you can get throughout the game

I've beaten the game once and I was just sorta in the low chaos level without achieving "ghost"; some people dead, some more people not dead, just whatever got the job done easiest.

 

[DreadFish]

NES games were still made when I was a little kid, and I was 5 when SNES came out. The SNES had alot of fun games, but gaming has never been as hard as it was on the NES, which really sucks. I would love to see more new games that are on par with the difficulty of Ninja Gaiden, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the first one), Battle Toads, Castlevania, Punch-Out, and other games that took alot of patience and skill to beat.

Just sayin', my friend and I almost beat Ninja Gaiden. You know each level has 3 stages. If you get game over on the boss, you just go back to the beginning of the 3rd stage. On the last boss, if you get game over, you go back to the beginning of the entire level, which means about 30 minutes of work until you get to try the final boss again. My friend and I got to the last boss and as soon as we got game over, hit continue, and saw where we were, we just said "**** that" and turned the thing off.

I have no desire to touch that game again. EDIT: Back in the day, games were work, god damnit!

I have a problem with CoD being popular, too. Not because it's a violent shooter, but because there are so many other violent shooters that are vastly superior.

Yeah, I don't have a problem with the violence either, just with people letting their 8-year-olds play it without any guidance.

CoD is definitely sub-par, IMO. There's not even time for tactics or strategy. It's run and see who's got the fastest reaction time and shortest attention span. I think nationalism is why CoD is so popular.

 

[Thruve]

If anyone plays League add me : Crittermorph. I need a duo partner to carry me out of silver 5 -.-

Im on right now... somebody add me and lets duo lol

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Just sayin', my friend and I almost beat Ninja Gaiden. You know each level has 3 stages. If you get game over on the boss, you just go back to the beginning of the 3rd stage. On the last boss, if you get game over, you go back to the beginning of the entire level, which means about 30 minutes of work until you get to try the final boss again. My friend and I got to the last boss and as soon as we got game over, hit continue, and saw where we were, we just said "**** that" and turned the thing off.

I have no desire to touch that game again. EDIT: Back in the day, games were work, god damnit!

You should try the original Castlevania. You beat it, let the credits roll, and then hard mode starts with your remaining lives and continues carried over.
And the cool thing, you put the work in and you make those games look easy.

CoD is definitely sub-par, IMO. There's not even time for tactics or strategy. It's run and see who's got the fastest reaction time and shortest attention span. I think nationalism is why CoD is so popular.

It's really not even fastest reaction time. Pretty much anytime I get killed it's because someone ran up behind me, and when I kill I ran up to them. Or you can have a high level and have access to equipment that crushes lower level players. There is no real advantage to being accurate. And everybody more or less ends up in the same spot in the maps trading bullets. No doubt nationalism sells that game, because that's about all it can offer. And it's simple enough for the masses. It's not like Goldeneye where you have non-linear objectives that you have to find to beat the level, or go back and do it again if you missed anything.

 

[Glaurung]

If anyone plays League add me : Crittermorph. I need a duo partner to carry me out of silver 5 -.-

Accused apostate.

 

[1137]

One of my friends tried to get one of the teachers at my school into gaming but the teacher said he doesn't want to be associated with kids who kill. Is that how people view gaming? If so the video game industry needs a massive PR campaign.

Video games are strangely misunderstood. I can only speak for myself, but I don't know and haven't met many people who outright associate video games with violent acts.

By the way, you should play Dark Souls.

 

[Thruve]

Accused apostate.

Why am i an accused apostate.

 

[Glaurung]

Why am i an accused apostate.

I only just saw that now, I meant accursed.

And you are an apostate because DotA 2 is the authentic apostolic MOBA tradition. LoL is a schism