Columnist Calls Videogames "Close To Evil"

[Andy Chalk]

Columnist Calls Videogames "Close To Evil"

A new column in the National Post [http://www.nationalpost.com]has leveled a broadside of criticism at videogames of all stripes, saying that while they are not intrinsically evil, "they are close."

Reported by Tetris [http://gamepolitics.com/2007/12/13/columnist-games-are-crack-cocaine-of-electronic-world/]during his university years as the basis for the article.

"It would not be fair to blame my second-year troubles - my worst academic performance in 12 years of post-secondary education - on Tetris alone, but it was a contributing factor. My capacity to waste time with Tetris was prodigious; how many hours were lost is unknown," he wrote. Since deleting the game in 1991, "I have never played another videogame. It's too dangerous. Videogames take what is most precious - time and thought. And they are making kids fat."

"Did I mention that far too many videogames celebrate graphic violence, multifarious delinquency and borderline pornography?" he concludes. "I don't have to. Tetris had none of that, and it was deadly enough. This Christmas, do the poor kids of all economic levels a favor: Don't buy them videogames."

De Souza, a regular National Post columnist, is also a chaplain and teacher at here [http://www.queensu.ca/].


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[Anton P. Nym]

Meh, it's the National Post... y'know, the newspaper started by convicted fraudster Conrad Black as a monument to his ego (before moving on to successfully purchase a Lordship) and because he felt he couldn't leave the national newspaper market in Canada to the Globe and Mail, whose dreadfully leftist policies leave it on the wrong side of the political axis from Ghenghis Khan.

More to the point, it's the paper that loudly proclaimed the Halo 3 "Believe" campaign to be a heinous insult to all veterans everywhere, last spring.

It's what they do. Just keep walking and don't make eye contact.

-- Steve

 

[MGG=REVIEWS]

Ye a world without video games would be a world without fun or anything fun. That is like telling microsoft to stop selling 360 and sell barbie dolls.
i mean comeon if they just tried to play a game once maybe they would enjoy it.

 

[Easykill]

Unfortunately, most newspapers in Canada are corrupt. After a while, theyre bound to get worse because the good writers all abandon them for foreign papers.

 

[the_carrot]

Somehow the idea that the same kind of thing probably went on with the advent of cinema and television. I sort of doubt this kind of thing will ultimately matter. Though we will see.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Wait, this guy got addicted to Tetris? Wow, major thickie alert.

Anyway, being part of a religious organization voids almost anything this guy can say (unless he wants to say he's weak willed and helplessly stupid), so take no notice.


Besides, I don't really see "1 wuz stuupid s0s donts play gamzes" as a good explanation for games being evil (and evil is subjective anyway).

 

[misfit278]

haha i bet teh_guy was a right n00b ^^ rofl, bet he culdnt get past like 100 point on tetris lol , he wasted his college years trying to get good but failed, i play games like loadz an i am doin fine at skl ^^

 

[Seano95]

It's just sad. Ignore him, don't make eye contact, and keep walking.

 

[Morphix84]

What buddy doesn't seem to understand is that people will find ways to burn their time regardless. Nearly all actions are ultimately pointless in the grand scheme of things, but damn few people devote every living moment to the furtherance of our species. In short, STFU.

 

[Andy Chalk]

If any paper in Canada was going to publish this kind of thing, it'd be the Post. I'm not a fan of the paper, or its right-leaning ways, or of Conrad Black, but neither do I begrudge them (and him) the right to expound upon their views in a national forum. It's the political flip-side of the Asper media empire. What caught me a bit by surprise is the heavy-handedness of the article, the absoluteness of the guy's views. There's no room for compromise: Games are addictive, time-killing, mind-numbing, and they're making you fat. And I could be wrong about this, but I don't think even ol' Jackie-Boy has ever come out and all-but-said that games are evil.

Naturally the article has been generating loads of negative commentary on gaming sites, but I wonder if the article will attract much feedback through "conventional" channels, ie., letters to the editor. Be interesting to keep an eye on this one.

And on another note, Conrad Black may be convicted but I remain unconvinced that he's done anything wrong, or at least anything justifying six-and-a-half years in jail. I think he's an over-privileged ass as much as anyone, but I've yet to see where he's committed any crime greater than refusing to knuckle under to overzealous, blood-hungry American prosecutors.

 

[jezcentral]

Next, expect similar reports on Jigsaw puzzles and Rubik's cubes.

They're EVIL, EEEEEEVIL, I tell you!

J

 

[Copter400]

Wow, Tetris. That's a new one. It must be that Tetris is too addictive, and not that you have poor self-control or anything.

Here's a wacky idea, chaps and chappettes. Someone introduce this guy to the joy of cigars. He should smoke himself into oblivion within a few days.

 

[ErinHoffman]

Wow. I live about an hour from Kingston. If I thought this guy was doing anything other than waving the anti-game flag for the purpose of free easy publicity I'd go and have a talk with him.

Hasn't played a game since Tetris but feels qualified to pass judgment on them. That's journalistic integrity and good Christian "cast out the beam" spirit right there. I wonder if he knows about the use of video games in church youth groups.

 

[swift tongued]

Meh, it is true that games kill time and parents should probably figure out how the fucking ESRB system works so people will shut up about kids with violent videogames, but i play games and have a sport, sides, his example is bullshit since plenty of gamers are nerds that do ridiculously well in school, take me for example, nerd and proud

 

[jason615]

Huh- you think if he had somehow got addicted to- lets say- Origami- would he be saying paper folding art was evil? -_-;

 

[Booze Zombie]

See, if he got addicted to porn, he'd just be called an ex-wanker and no one would take him seriously. They'd probably forget the "ex" part, too.

Ha! Ha! Ha!

 

[ErinHoffman]

Folks, if this stuff pisses you off, you can always do something about it.

Just sent this letter to the editor. Given what's being said about the publication above I doubt if they'll print it, but you all can enjoy it here. Or not, I suppose.


Dear Mr. Kelly,

I am a videogame designer from Clayton, New York -- just across the St Lawrence from Kingston -- and I am writing regarding Father Raymond De Souza's article referring to videogames as "the crack cocaine of the electronic world".

It is unfortunate for our modern society that uninformed opinions such as Father De Souza's should find a place in mainstream media outlets, but they often do. I hope that your newspaper is open-minded enough to allow my voice to be heard in response. I must first say that I found it particularly odd to read such a column in a Canadian publication, when Canada itself expresses a national interest in bringing videogame business into its economy, through recruitment and educational efforts at major game development conferences. I assure you that one rarely sees so large a national flag at these events.

I have been working in videogames for the last eight years, most recently on children's titles, including one that won an iParenting Media Award and another, out this January, that promotes social connection through friendship and the care of animals. Earlier this year I drafted a proposal for a handheld game to teach nutrition to kids aged 10-16. The proposal won the open storyboard section of the Games for Health Competition, an initiative of a consortium of medical professionals, researchers, and videogame developers that share the goal of making the world a better place through this new medium.

The motivational potential of interactive media is one now widely recognized by the medical profession and educators as one of the most powerful educational tools of our age. Games currently exist to educate children suffering from cancer on the importance of taking their medication, to help stroke victims recover motor control, and to demonstrate interactively the effects of the violent response to terrorism on local communities. We have come a long, long way since Tetris, which itself has been historically recommended by doctors to their older patients as a method of maintaining cognitive acuity to prevent Alzheimers. My grandparents have played it for over a decade for this reason.

When Father De Souza projects his heavily stereotyped and uninformed opinions he is dismissing and disenfranchising people like myself and my colleagues, who believe passionately in the positive potential of our art. I have in the past and likely will in the future work on games that depict violence, but I can assure you nowhere near the content or graphic nature of what you can see daily on evening television. Opinions such as Father De Souza's, so aggressively expressed and with pride in their ignorance, injure real people.

It has become popular for media outlets and politicians to attack my profession as though it were a single unit, individisble, that one videogame is the same as another, and that all are detrimental and dangerous to our youth. This practice of willful disinformation distances parents from their children and contributes to a culture of fear.

The proper response, as with so many things, is education. Parents should certainly educate themselves on the ESRB game system ratings, and TALK to their children about what they play and why. Games should be an opportunity for a child to connect with their parents, not an excuse to refrain from parenting. The fault, dear editor, is not in our stars, but in our selves.

I would recommend that parents, rather than depriving their children of entertainment and learning opportunities without research, seek out Common Sense Media or GamerDad.com when deciding on gifts for the holiday season. And for the record, I came into hardcore gaming while in college, and graduated with honors.

Thanks very much for your attention. I am happy to discuss this or other issues pertaining to videogames with anyone bearing an interest and an open mind.

Cordially,
Erin Hoffman
Clayton, NY

 

[Arbre]

Courtesy of the S.A.P.S.

 

[PurpleRain]

Ye a world without video games would be a world without fun or anything fun. That is like telling microsoft to stop selling 360 and sell barbie dolls.
i mean comeon if they just tried to play a game once maybe they would enjoy it.

Barbies boarderline closer to pornography then video games do. The most pornographic I've seen a game was Mass Effect (I haven't seen those hot coffee GTA ones) and it was more artistic like a movie sex scene then porn.

 

[Geoffrey42]

Folks, if this stuff pisses you off, you can always do something about it.

But I doubt many of us could do it as eloquently, or as cordially. If their editors do have an agenda, I imagine they would refuse to publish your letter on the basis that it makes you sound far too intelligent, and far too reasonable, to be the boogeyman they want you to be.

@Arbre: S.A.P.S? Qu'est-ce que c'est? Vas ist das?