Gamers Are Good People, Too

The Ticktockman writes "For years, gamers have been looked down upon by the media. We are said to be crazy lunatics who, given the chance, might decide to shoot up our school because of the games we play. Well, the game-themed webcomic Penny Arcade has had enough. They have now started a little something with the Seattle Children's Hospital called 'Child's Play', where gamers can buy videogame and non-game-related gifts for patients there. So if you feel like showing the world that gamers are compassionate people too, then head on over to the Penny Arcade 'Child's Play' page for more details."

Comments

Not just kids!

[Chodak]

This a great idea, and I hope a lot of people give thier support, but remember that there are lots of other ways to help, too. My girlfriend's father was recently in the hospital for several months awaiting a heart transplant. He couldn't do any sort of physical activity, and so I brought him one of my old NES systems and a few games. He told me later that they helped him stay sane since he was stuck in his hospital room all day. He was tired of watching TV, but Mario and Link were great company!

Re:Not just kids!

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, nothing like a little NES to get the weakened heart pounding with adrenaline, and the stress and blood pressure levels high. Your father is leaving you HOW much, exactly?

'Child's Play'

[ThumbSuck]

...called 'Child's Play'...

Now chucky be good..

People are the same all over

[Saint Stephen]

Ever notice how the things you like are never harmful, and they are always misunderstood by society?

Whereas the things you don't like are unprecedented levels of chaos, evil and destruction never before witnessed in the history of man?

It doesn't matter what the issue is, or what side you're on: play this to your advantage and you'll win ever time :-)

Re:People are the same all over

[Anonymous Coward]

People are inherently xenophobic. In the past 100 years, society has advanced at a rate far faster than the individuals that it is composed of. It is difficult for the less socially aware groups to keep up.

Rather than expanding their horizons - it's much easier for them to limit it. They place themselves in a box with everything else that they *do* understand. And then they fear or ignore everything else that doesn't fit into their limited world view.

This is the cause of virtually every major human conflict in the modern world. Particularly the religious ones.

Parental role?

[shakamojo]

While I think that what Penny Arcade is doing is a wonderful attempt to change the public perception of gamers, I think that the core of the problem is that parents just aren't spending enough time with their kids. When the only interaction and respect that children get is through television, the Internet, and video games, what do you expect?

I'm certainly going to contribute to what the guys are doing with Child's Play, but what I'd really like to see is some sort of media backlash against the parents who are neglecting their duty to our future! Our children should be viewed as a responsibility, not a liability, and we should stop looking for scapegoats and step up to the plate!

Re:Parental role?

[switched4OSX]

You hit the nail on the head. The problem today is that more and more kids are not taught that they will have to answer for their actions. When I was young, I knew that when I screwed up I was going to have to face my father- which might just entail a whipping. To those of you out there that think paddling damages a kid, you are wrong. Let me clarify something- there is a big difference between a paddling and a beating. At no time in my life have I ever been scared of my dad, but I sure as hell respected him.

As a parent, you need to teach your kids right from wrong, and that a price may be paid for you wrongs. They need to learn how to respect others and their opinions, even if they differ from yours. If you bring your child up in a sound, moral environment then they will learn to know the difference between real life and fiction. Parenting is a big responsibility, and unfortunately it seems like more and more people are not willing to take the time to do it right. It's just too easy to blame someone else.

Re:Well...

[Riff10111]

Clean them? I just throw them away when they're empty -- there's always another in a nearby crate or something.

problem with reality

[Anonymous Coward]

I have one statement about violence in video games: it is not reality.

now I'll elaborate with further statements.

I've played my fair share of bad games, watched faces of death, rotten.com, goatse.cx....*shiver*
so I'm not a stranger to horrific things.

But at the age of 18 when I saw a dead man it was different. way different.

He had suffered a heart attack behind a gas station in bakersfield.

Then there was the late night car drive back from san fransico with my sister when we saw the flipped minivan and the grotesqe result of ejction and head vs pavement.

Both of those incidents were nothing like the movies or even the video accounts of similar events. This was real.

When someone's experience in reality is the same as one imagined, there is something else wrong.

Re:Has this worked for anyone else?

[Pingular]

If you are going to do something like this, do it because it makes you feel good.
Alternatively, you could do it for the kids...

Ah, I don't believe this

[wiwo]

> Gamers Are Good People, Too
They just behave like good people, they call it Role Playing.

Re:no offense

[t0ny]

I thought about going on a shooting spree, but I realized that all those guns and ammo are hard to aim without a keyboard/mouse.

Also, being able to switch from a handgun to a rifle was much slower than pressing the "4" key. Hell, who ever thought a rocket launcer could be so heavy... And dont even get me started on reloading ammo!!

Direct link to the wish list

[while(true)]

Here's the wish list. Now get over there and buy something for the kids!

Re:Well...

[Jack Zombie]

Well, here's a hopefully insightful quote, taken from the comments on this article at Game Girl Advance, about how, when people spend too much time playing a realistic videogame without breaks, they subconsciencely blend elements of the gaming reality into their perception of the mundane world (for a short period of time):

-------------
(...) I was playing GTA 3 obsessively since the day I bought it. And usually, I am a careful, courteous, safety-conscious driver.

One night, on the way to a gig, we approached an intersection. The lights were green, but someone in front of me slowed, waiting for oncoming traffic to abate so they could turn.

A car in the lane next to me was barely behind me, almost right in my blind spot. What I should have done is stopped, waited for them to pass, then continued. But I didn't. On a sudden impulse, I sped up towards the stationary car, then suddenly cut between it and the unsuspecting vehicle beside me, leaving a space of what must have been inches between the corners of the 3 cars, a move that if only a split-second mis-timed, would have been a 3-car pile up.

My passenger said "JESUS CHRIST, DUDE!!!". The driver I cut in front of braked loudly and honked reproachfully. And then I realised -- that dangerous move was something I often did in the videogame. I had actually risked the lives of real people, by unconsciously using a learned behaviour from an action game.

I was shocked, and chastened. I now drive ultra-responsibly with an extra layer of "thought censorship" on my impulses. Because I don't trust my mind anymore.

I don't believe the game would drive people to violence, in fact I don't even blame the game for what I did. Rather, it's a more an aspect of my own dizzy perception of reality. However, I am giving serious thought to leaving the more "realistic" games out of my gaming time from now on.
-------------

I think everyone has already heard the "if Pacman affected us as kids, we'd all run around in a darkened room munching pills and listening to repetitive music" quote, but the fact is realistic videogames affect us in more ways than we want to admit. People need to gripe the fact that videogames are an interactive audiovisual experience that can be used to manipulate one's senses in order to achieve alternative mind states. Otherwise, how could videogame technology be used to cure people suffering from acute phobias by showing them a computer simulation of their fears, or to help train pilots and military personnel?

It isn't just a game anymore.