I don't have any inherent dislike for social (facebook flash) games but I do think I should point one thing out.
Real games require learning, strategy, hand-eye coordination, or at least some other skill that can be improved by playing them. Just like a good piece of literature, film, or any other activity playing a good video-game stimulates your mind.
Social games remind me of Reality T.V. They have no literature value, lack any real story to be digested, and lack any kind of intellectual stimulation.
Even an FPS at least requires you to strategize your positioning and work on your reflexes/hand-eye coordination. Games like Farmville don't stimulate a person's mind at all, they put your mind on auto-pilot and consume time by having you click things. THAT is the biggest difference between a real video-game and a social game (or a real Tv show and a Reality show, ect).
Very nice post, interesting to see how having a dedicated laptop per student is working out for you.
One thing I thought about is if a kid has even a single laptop he takes to school, and a smarthpone in his pocket that auto-connects to available wifi networks, then that's two devices every time he turns on his laptop. And most kids that would bring a laptop to school have a smartphone, so this is honestly a very likely scenario.
Why would anyone actually be dumb enough to post their phone number, address, and email on their facebook profile?
I swear some people just don't make sense to me. You can't post thing on the internet and expect privacy from them. In my mind Facebook is no different than any other forum or website that has comments. I won't post anything that I wouldn't be willing to let anyone see.
I actually don't mind the advertisers having my not-so-private information that I enjoy video-games. I actually see some barely relevant adds sometimes. To be honest, I'd much rather see video game adds than adds for the wonderbra and botox all the time. If someone doesn't have the mental fortitude to resist buying every little thing they see in an add that is geared towards them then they are a fool and should probably avoid the internet entirely.
Totally agree. The only people I know that actually buy desktops still are gamers. Everyones else uses a laptop and a smartphone as well.
Linux is still doing well in the netbook market as far as I know, and as you said, when you consider phones linux is probably more popular than it ever was with desktops.
What? A tiny niche? I'm a ps3 and a wii owner myself (with no 360) but you've GOT to be kidding me. The 360 has a huge share of the market, and it's especially huge when you consider it's only Microsoft's second console.
The vast majority of people who own a 360 use it almost exclusively to play games on xbox live. You can trust me when I say the ridiculously huge sales for MW2 and Halo:Reach were not for the single player portions of the games.
Seriously I don't understand why anyone would care about any of these online TV things. How hard is it to plug a $10 cord from your laptop into the back of your tv?
I'm in college and I can assure you that very few college students actually want to pay for a computer, AND an ipad AND a smart phone.
I have only seen two students with ipad's this entire year, and most of my classes have at least 100-200 people in them. About a quarter of the students have laptops or netbooks on their desks in classes that allow them.
Most of us already have a smartphone that can do most of what the ipad does. By your own concession you need both an ipad and a regular computer to do work, so why would we buy an ipad if we can just use the laptop do all the work by itself?
My laptop cost me 500 dollars and I can do anything I want on it. An ipad costs 500 dollars and needs a computer to supplement it. That's 1000 dollars instead of just 500 to do all the same stuff.
If they break the law? Please cite me the law that specifically states it's illegal to make a video game that someone wants to play for 11 hours a day.
And I didn't bring a single argument huh? Well I thought it was common sense but I'll explain it to you.
The best way to see if something makes at least a little sense is just to compare it to other areas where the same thing could apply.
If you replace mmorpgs with anything else, "Cable tv, Netflix, Internet browsers, chat programs, facebook, any online game such as COD, Slashdot, your isp, ect" All of these are in the same exact boat. They all can easily monitor your usage.
What it really comes down to is who's responsibility it should be to monitor how I spend MY time. Is it my ISP's responsibility? The game company? My parents? Should my operating system monitor how much time I spend on my computer in general?
If I'm an adult, what I do with MY time should be my own responsibility. That is my argument.
What If I'm rich as hell and decide to retire and devote the rest of my life to playing mmorpgs. All I do is sleep, eat, and play games. Shouldn't that be my own decision?
How about the fact that it's not their responsibility? Will Slashdot suddenly fail to load if the system decides I'm spending too much time on it?
What If it's the middle of summer, I'm on vacation (or I'm not an adult and don't have a job yet), and I want to play Lineage for 16 hours a day? Shouldn't that be my own personal choice?
Or should the US switch to China's system and legally mandate the amount of time people can play video games?
Not to mention, how is this any different from television? There are people who I know for a fact spend over 10 hours a day watching T.V. I'm sure it would be fairly easy for the cable or satellite company to track how long you have the cable box on, and automatically force you to stop watching after a certain amount of time. Do we really want a world where we can't choose how long to enjoy our own hobbies?
In Guild Wars (another ncsoft published game) the game lets you know every hour how long you have been playing with a little message, "You have been playing for x hours, please take a break." Maybe every mmo could simply make a similar message, but should they really be required to?
If this lawsuit succeeds all mmorpgs, and hell, all video games can have their creators sued. This could honestly mean the end of the video-game industry if lawsuits like this one actually succeed.
I swear saying anything that someone uses too much is a physical addiction and they can sue over it is a completely ridiculous claim.
I think I'm going to go sue Acer, Windows, and Mozilla for not restricting my internet access, causing me to become addicted to surfing the web.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't have any inherent dislike for social (facebook flash) games but I do think I should point one thing out.
Real games require learning, strategy, hand-eye coordination, or at least some other skill that can be improved by playing them. Just like a good piece of literature, film, or any other activity playing a good video-game stimulates your mind.
Social games remind me of Reality T.V. They have no literature value, lack any real story to be digested, and lack any kind of intellectual stimulation.
Even an FPS at least requires you to strategize your positioning and work on your reflexes/hand-eye coordination. Games like Farmville don't stimulate a person's mind at all, they put your mind on auto-pilot and consume time by having you click things. THAT is the biggest difference between a real video-game and a social game (or a real Tv show and a Reality show, ect).
That's the photographer's.
Very nice post, interesting to see how having a dedicated laptop per student is working out for you.
One thing I thought about is if a kid has even a single laptop he takes to school, and a smarthpone in his pocket that auto-connects to available wifi networks, then that's two devices every time he turns on his laptop. And most kids that would bring a laptop to school have a smartphone, so this is honestly a very likely scenario.
Ya I didn't know about that either. Thanks!
Why would anyone actually be dumb enough to post their phone number, address, and email on their facebook profile?
I swear some people just don't make sense to me. You can't post thing on the internet and expect privacy from them. In my mind Facebook is no different than any other forum or website that has comments. I won't post anything that I wouldn't be willing to let anyone see.
I actually don't mind the advertisers having my not-so-private information that I enjoy video-games. I actually see some barely relevant adds sometimes. To be honest, I'd much rather see video game adds than adds for the wonderbra and botox all the time. If someone doesn't have the mental fortitude to resist buying every little thing they see in an add that is geared towards them then they are a fool and should probably avoid the internet entirely.
So basically restricting First Amendment rights is only okay when someone is lying and that lie may cause a "clear and present danger."
Sound a lot like advertising to me.
I must say, that was one of the most obvious uses of sarcasm I've ever read.
Totally agree. The only people I know that actually buy desktops still are gamers. Everyones else uses a laptop and a smartphone as well.
Linux is still doing well in the netbook market as far as I know, and as you said, when you consider phones linux is probably more popular than it ever was with desktops.
I recommend that in order to decide whether something should be legal or not the government puts a poll on slashdot for each offence.
What? A tiny niche? I'm a ps3 and a wii owner myself (with no 360) but you've GOT to be kidding me. The 360 has a huge share of the market, and it's especially huge when you consider it's only Microsoft's second console.
The vast majority of people who own a 360 use it almost exclusively to play games on xbox live. You can trust me when I say the ridiculously huge sales for MW2 and Halo:Reach were not for the single player portions of the games.
The only difference between Republicans and Democrats is that the Democrats do a better job of hiding the fact that they are power hungry and greedy.
Seriously I don't understand why anyone would care about any of these online TV things. How hard is it to plug a $10 cord from your laptop into the back of your tv?
I disagree. I know multiple people who bought a PSP for the sole purpose of jailbreaking it and loading emulators on it.
Why is Google regular rated as the best company in the entire USA to work at then?
I'm in college and I can assure you that very few college students actually want to pay for a computer, AND an ipad AND a smart phone.
I have only seen two students with ipad's this entire year, and most of my classes have at least 100-200 people in them. About a quarter of the students have laptops or netbooks on their desks in classes that allow them.
Most of us already have a smartphone that can do most of what the ipad does. By your own concession you need both an ipad and a regular computer to do work, so why would we buy an ipad if we can just use the laptop do all the work by itself?
My laptop cost me 500 dollars and I can do anything I want on it. An ipad costs 500 dollars and needs a computer to supplement it. That's 1000 dollars instead of just 500 to do all the same stuff.
I can do all that stuff that you use an ipad for on my phone.
Not to mention my netbook that was half the price can do all that stuff and more.
I also thought of Heavy Rain the second I read this headline.
WTS 1 Concept of Freedom.
Ideas can be bought and sold right?
Ya, because we all know playstation was the FIRST video game console EVAR RITE?
If they break the law? Please cite me the law that specifically states it's illegal to make a video game that someone wants to play for 11 hours a day.
And I didn't bring a single argument huh? Well I thought it was common sense but I'll explain it to you.
The best way to see if something makes at least a little sense is just to compare it to other areas where the same thing could apply.
If you replace mmorpgs with anything else, "Cable tv, Netflix, Internet browsers, chat programs, facebook, any online game such as COD, Slashdot, your isp, ect" All of these are in the same exact boat. They all can easily monitor your usage.
What it really comes down to is who's responsibility it should be to monitor how I spend MY time. Is it my ISP's responsibility? The game company? My parents? Should my operating system monitor how much time I spend on my computer in general?
If I'm an adult, what I do with MY time should be my own responsibility. That is my argument.
Wow, that's an important bit of insight on the case.
Someone mod this up.
What If I'm rich as hell and decide to retire and devote the rest of my life to playing mmorpgs. All I do is sleep, eat, and play games. Shouldn't that be my own decision?
How about the fact that it's not their responsibility? Will Slashdot suddenly fail to load if the system decides I'm spending too much time on it?
What If it's the middle of summer, I'm on vacation (or I'm not an adult and don't have a job yet), and I want to play Lineage for 16 hours a day? Shouldn't that be my own personal choice?
Or should the US switch to China's system and legally mandate the amount of time people can play video games?
Not to mention, how is this any different from television? There are people who I know for a fact spend over 10 hours a day watching T.V. I'm sure it would be fairly easy for the cable or satellite company to track how long you have the cable box on, and automatically force you to stop watching after a certain amount of time. Do we really want a world where we can't choose how long to enjoy our own hobbies?
In Guild Wars (another ncsoft published game) the game lets you know every hour how long you have been playing with a little message,
"You have been playing for x hours, please take a break." Maybe every mmo could simply make a similar message, but should they really be required to?
You're fucking retarded aren't you?
If this lawsuit succeeds all mmorpgs, and hell, all video games can have their creators sued. This could honestly mean the end of the video-game industry if lawsuits like this one actually succeed.
I swear saying anything that someone uses too much is a physical addiction and they can sue over it is a completely ridiculous claim.
I think I'm going to go sue Acer, Windows, and Mozilla for not restricting my internet access, causing me to become addicted to surfing the web.