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Microsoft Seeks Patent On Shaming Fat Gamers
theodp writes "A newly disclosed Microsoft patent application — Avatar Individualized by Physical Characteristic — takes aim at fat people, proposing to generate fat avatars in gaming environments for individuals whose health records indicate they're overweight, limiting their game play, and even banning them. From the patent application: 'An undesirable body weight could be reflected in an overweight or underweight appearance for the avatar. Only requisite health levels are allowed to compete in a certain competition level. A dedicated gamer could exercise for a period of time until his health indicator gadget shows a sufficiently high health/health credit in order to allow reentering the avatar environment.' Linking one's gaming avatar to one's physique, explains Microsoft, will produce healthy and virtuous behaviors in individuals. Microsoft also proposes shaping gaming experiences by using 'psychological and demographic information such as education level, geographic location, age, sex, intelligence quotient, socioeconomic class, occupation, marital/relationship status, religious belief, political affiliation, etc.'"
Brilliant idea. Take people who don't measure up to everyone's expectations, and heap shame on them in the one place where they can take a break from it all. Microsoft should also file for a patent on a method to lose money.
Does this mean I won't be able to play as a 36-24-26 blonde woman anymore? If Microsoft starts actually checking players appearance and gender, I predict there will be absolutely no "hot chick" avatars in the Microsoft MMORPGs! Is this "sausage fest" environment really the result they are looking for?
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
I thought one idea of games was to escape various aspects of the real world, by pretending to be somebody we aren't (like a would-be ruler of the world)?. Why do we want to be dragged as ourselves into the game enviornment????
Where, exactly, does Microsoft think it's going to get this stuff from? The summary actually makes reference to health records.
Heck, I'm not sure most government agencies should have access to most of that information. Microsoft sure as fsck has no business with it.
Welcome to the dystopian future, fat boy. This is actually kind of scary.
Cheers
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
So I want to play games, so I have to exercise. Exercise releases chemicals causing pleasure in my brain.
Eventually, I enjoy the exercise more than video games. I stop buying new games, and EA/Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo go out of business, and thousands of people lose their jobs.
Thanks a LOT, Microsoft!!
Thats right. Nothing says progress like granting a extortionate monopoly on a drug that could save millions, if only they could afford it.
funny you should mention that. When I read the summary my main response was something along the lines of it being impossible to implement even if the stupid patent was approved simply because:
NO GOD DAMNED GAME COMPANY SHOULD BE ABLE TO ACCESS YOUR FUCKING MEDICAL RECORDS TO FUCK WITH YOUR GAMING TO BEGIN WITH. (For ANY reason really.)
I seriously think I would be busting a gut laughing no matter who came out with it.
So... lets just forget all about HPAA or whatever other health record privacy regulations you may be subject to. Lets just assume they can get around all that in a reasonable way.... and figure out how to get all the data that they want from health records....
So now, I can diet all I want, but my avatar wont get skinnier until I go in for a checkup? Will my insurance be expected to cover extra checkups to keep my avatar current?
Wouldn't people who are overweight, just.... not play the game. It seems a lot easier. Especially since, there are many other games that wont force them into a suck gaming experience.
This smacks to me of the drug war. "Look kids, drugs are bad, because if you do them, we will throw you in jail". That doesn't make drugs bad, it makes you a dick. Its "I don't approve of your condition and the negative impacts that it has on your life, so I am goin gto impose new negative impacts to help you".
Its exactly the sort of attitude that you resent when your friends and family take it with you... and you expect anyone is going to put up with it from Sony?
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
Or one could say her life was made miserable because of her weight. The grotesquely obese (of which i am a member) are such by choice. There may be genetic traits that can lead one to being overweight, but so what. There are also genetic traits that make certain people's breath smell like death, or make people gravitate toward alcoholism. We are not animals. We are not slaves to every wisp of DNA-inspired urge or weakness. I, for one, am still fat because I have not yet chosen to make the lifestyle changes needed to lose weight. I am not a victim.
I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
I used to think this until I realized that I was paying Blizzard for the simulated experience of waiting for public transportation.
I could get a more immersive experience by putting on a troll mask and riding the subway. There are even some dialects of Chinese that sound a little like murloc. On the other hand I'd love for my IRL military training to count in call of duty.
Nope. We just assume that taking away the multimillion-dollar monopoly incentive won't have any effect on pharmaceutical developments and the drugs available (outside of patents) for your children's generation, or even your generation when you retire in 40 years. No effect whatsoever.
I mean, come on, dude, is a little bit of a balanced perspective on a nuanced issue too much to ask?
The World Wide Web is dying. Soon, we shall have only the Internet.
Friend, my logic is not flawed. Both ones race and ones religion are federally protected in all democratic societies an the planet (at least on paper). People are not born fat (as black people are born black). And are no forms of worship that I know of that demand (or even encourage) obesity. There is no Constitutional protection for being fat. It's easy to point at the fat guy and laugh, sure. But it's also easy to point at the stumbling drunk or the teenager with raging BO. People are mean to other people sometimes. That is not a discrimination; that is life.
Maya Anjelou once gave a great statement on this concept. She said (among other things) "The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about yourself."
I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
1. "Everyone" "knows" that video games are unhealthy and are the reason why kids are fat nowadays.
2. Tell the politicians that you've developed a way for video games to help prevent kids from getting fat.
3. Tell the parents that you've developed a way for their computer/video games to *automatically" help prevent their kids from getting fat.
4. Get a "Save the children!" law passed requiring that this Anti-Fat-Kid-Rights-Management software be mandatory.
5. You have a patent on the Anti-Fat-Kids-Rights-Management idea.
6. Profit from the monopoly.
You mean the reason why Europe has fewer fat people is because europeans don't treat the obese like fucking monsters? No way! Thats crazy talk.
I have long believed that is the American obsession with image and sexuality that has aggravated the problem of obesity. Nearly every 'good' cure to obesity (omitting dangerous diet pills or starvation diets) involves social interaction of some kind. Lampooning people who suffer from obesity only furthers their isolation and in no way is productive towards recovery.
I was an overweight, acne-ridden, isolated kid all through middle school - but it was the social interactions I made through multiplayer gaming on the internet (specifically, MUDS - yeah... mega dork) that gave me the confidence to approach people in real life (high school), and later lose weight with their encouragement (senior year).
Also, isn't there a beauty to anonymity? Do we really need to see everyone's physical appearance to judge if we want to kill some mobs and grab some lootz with them? I personally would prefer not to. If I'm looking for women, I go to a supermarket, mall, or bar. On the net, my intent is otherwise focused, and I don't need to see what my digital comrade looks like to figure out if I'm having a good time playing my game. That much is usually implied.
I hope that the photo of the overweight dressed with Nintendo garb is from someone you know, and that they gave permission for you to humiliate them in front of thousands of other people.
What makes you think the picture is humiliating?
If you think the picture is humiliating, aren't you the problem?
If we all thought there was nothing wrong with the picture, then there wouldn't be anything humiliating about it, would there?
paintball
Well for one; HIPPA regulations (in the US).
Tis a slippery slope down to MegaInsCorp refuses to let you buy that bag of Doritos. The car didn't start as the CORP tells me I need to lose a few pounds.
Actually, if you know body fat and muscle mass, BMI is kinda useless. BMI is used to estimate how 'fat' you are (so I guess it tries to predict your body fat), but having a lot of muscle will give you a high BMI even if you are not fat. Now I'm not one of them BMI-haters, I believe it is quite useful for the average person to give an indication of how healthy their weight is, but if you have better data (body fat and muscle mass) by all means ignore BMI.