Growth from gaming

[Flying-Emu]

I've been curious for awhile to see if anyone has ever grown, or matured, in a sense, by playing video games.
I know that I have, although it's a little hard to explain how. I didn't grow up playing games like Gears of War or those bloody-type games. I grew up playing things like Super Mario Brothers, and The Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, you know. Simple, straight-forward games.
When I was, oh, 13-14, a friend got me to play my first M-rated game. I don't quite remember what it was, but I do vividly remember a scene in which a supporting character was tortured.
This scene frightened me so much that I sorta stopped EXISTING, in a sense, for awhile. I sat in my room, scared of what could happen to me if I left my house.
Yes, I was sheltered. No, I don't think like that any more; I've become a bit more tough-skinned.
But back to the question on hand; has a game changed your opinion/views on life? Changed you in any way? If so, what game? Why/how has it changed you?

 

[Katana314]

You won't grow up from those games. Most of the ones that mature you are the ones where you really have to warp your mind around the story, to understand that it's not a world of black and white evil that you're fighting. I'd go for Deus Ex, but that one's rated M anyway, so...

The problem is, these days when a game says "Mature", it doesn't mean "This game is very mature, and handles life in the bleak way it is," but rather "You must be mature in order to understand that all this excessive blood is merely for presentation, and not to give you any ideas."

 

[Flying-Emu]

You won't grow up from those games. Most of the ones that mature you are the ones where you really have to warp your mind around the story, to understand that it's not a world of black and white evil that you're fighting. I'd go for Deus Ex, but that one's rated M anyway, so...

The problem is, these days when a game says "Mature", it doesn't mean "This game is very mature, and handles life in the bleak way it is," but rather "You must be mature in order to understand that all this excessive blood is merely for presentation, and not to give you any ideas."

I sort of meant that it prepared me for the seas of blood and gore I'd have to wade through during my gaming career. If that makes any sense at all.