Okay, this discussion is very quickly degrading into complete nonsense. So, I’ll try to correct and address the mistakes that I can spot.
First, to everyone that says that everyone should avoid videogames because of X (X = games are addicting / too much fun / whatever): typical mind fallacy. There is nothing inherently wrong with the concept of games. There are people that can play games in a reasonable manner, even with friends.
Point three: if you pick a game that you want to play, then having a community and friends who play it too is very beneficial. If you want to play DDR to stay fit, then having other people who play DDR and compete/play with you is great.
Point four: games are a time-sink/Skinner box and don’t offer anything in return. Again, not all games. Figure out what you want from games, and then find games that offer it. It’s possible that what you want can’t be fulfilled by games, and that’s fine; then games are just not the right tool for the job. But if you want to relax, if you want to spend some time with friends, if you want to have a fun shared experience, games offer a pretty good way to do so. And the fact that they are virtual is not a detriment. People still read science fiction (or HP:MoR), see movies based on fiction, etc...
Point five: a thousand times more people can die from video games, and you are still astronomically more likely to die while driving your car. Stop this line of thought. “Those are rare, but they do happen” is rationalizing. People die from pretty much everything you can think of.
Seconded. As someone who plays a fair amount of First Person Shooter games, I can tell you that there are all types of games and all types of players. The popular Call of Duty games are pretty good examples of life-wasting time sinks. They require little skill and less strategy. However, the recently released Halo: Reach is a deep game with satisfying multiplayer combat that continues to surprise me as I progress in skill. Anyone who is interested in competition and outside the box thinking should definitely take up playing games online. They require speed, accuracy, strategy, teamwork and most of all creativity.
Okay, this discussion is very quickly degrading into complete nonsense. So, I’ll try to correct and address the mistakes that I can spot.
First, to everyone that says that everyone should avoid videogames because of X (X = games are addicting / too much fun / whatever): typical mind fallacy. There is nothing inherently wrong with the concept of games. There are people that can play games in a reasonable manner, even with friends.
Which brings me to my second point: Zynga and Facebook. When I think ‘games’, those are the types of games that come last. Everyone who attacks them is attacking a straw-man. Consider real games like Dreamfall for those who love stories and adventure, Dance Dance Revolution for those who like active/physical games, and The Incredible Machine for those who like puzzles and lego-like games. And I am not even going into the more mainstream games that have a lot of positive features of their own. If you find that a game isn’t fun/educational/interesting enough for you, don’t play it.
Point three: if you pick a game that you want to play, then having a community and friends who play it too is very beneficial. If you want to play DDR to stay fit, then having other people who play DDR and compete/play with you is great.
Point four: games are a time-sink/Skinner box and don’t offer anything in return. Again, not all games. Figure out what you want from games, and then find games that offer it. It’s possible that what you want can’t be fulfilled by games, and that’s fine; then games are just not the right tool for the job. But if you want to relax, if you want to spend some time with friends, if you want to have a fun shared experience, games offer a pretty good way to do so. And the fact that they are virtual is not a detriment. People still read science fiction (or HP:MoR), see movies based on fiction, etc...
Point five: a thousand times more people can die from video games, and you are still astronomically more likely to die while driving your car. Stop this line of thought. “Those are rare, but they do happen” is rationalizing. People die from pretty much everything you can think of.
Seconded. As someone who plays a fair amount of First Person Shooter games, I can tell you that there are all types of games and all types of players. The popular Call of Duty games are pretty good examples of life-wasting time sinks. They require little skill and less strategy. However, the recently released Halo: Reach is a deep game with satisfying multiplayer combat that continues to surprise me as I progress in skill. Anyone who is interested in competition and outside the box thinking should definitely take up playing games online. They require speed, accuracy, strategy, teamwork and most of all creativity.