Thats the worst argument. Not everything in life that isn't work is a waste of time, and not everything you do outside of work should solely be to entertain yourself. Lets take socializing for example. Socializing with other people not only entertains you, but helps you build stronger relationships with others, while at the same time improving your social skills. Exersizing makes you healthier and more physically fit. Reading improves your vocabulary, and makes you more intelligent.
There are so many activities that you could better spend your time on than videogames. Learn to cook, learn to play an instrument, build something, talk to some one, go outside, watch a classic film, go to a concert etc.
Entertainment such as TV and Videogames are fantastic, but in moderation. And MMORPGs by nature aren't something that lend themselves to moderation. If videogames are the only thing you do in your free time then that just makes you a very one dimensional and boring person.
On a positive note, Take Two is going to use this as inspiration for the next iteration of the Grand Theft Auto franchise.
In GTA4, gamers will assume the role of a thug from the streets who will take part in such illicit activities as insider trading and innacurate reporting.
So you assumed drinking some beers and socializing with friends = alcaholism.
Whatever, anonymous nerd. I'm guessing my original post hit a little close to home making you a little defensive, didn't it?
Thats not true at all, at least in my experience. From what I've seen, WoW goes far beyond cutting into what would otherwise be TV time / comparable entertainment time. It cuts into socializing time, it cuts into studying time, it cuts into eating healthy time and much more than any other similar activity because the very nature of MMORPGs is an addictive one.
I have one friend that comes to mind who I didn't see for a semester or so, because any attempt to get him to come out on a weekend would go down something like this:
Me: Hey man we're going to get together and drink some beers, you in? Him: Nah, my guild is doing a 40 man raid tonight and they need me because I'm a:insert class: and I have:insert item: and I want:purple item that is marginally better than purple item I already have:
The way his guild functioned (and I'm not huge into the WoW culture so I don't know if this is common) is that those who participated in more raids got presedence in future raids, so if he wanted to be high on the raid list he'd have to attend every major raid.
I've known of kids who dropped out of school because of MMORPGs because they basically stopped studying, along with many other important daily human tasks and just started failing classes left and right. And it wasn't like they were exceptionally dumb or lazy - the semester before they got whichever MMORPG they got they were doing fine, semester after they were on academic probation and two seconds away from getting kicked out. I've never heard of a kid getting kicked out because they started watching ESPN a lot.
So if you're going to sit here and tell me that World of Warcraft or MMORPGs are no more addicting than watching tv or other videgames, then I can draw one of two conclusions:
1. You're hopelessly addicted and you're trying to justify your addiction. 2. You've been able to manage your WoW time well so that it doesn't cut into more productive and important activities.
However, I'm going to hazard a guess that it's #1.
Thats not the point though. This means that developers will be hesitant to include any interesting features that require a hard drive, which means that it will pretty much serve just as a giant memory card.
First of all, I agree that the whole violence in video-games issue is greatly exaggerated by an overzealous media and politicians who think they can gain support by attacking an easy target.
However you can't make the blanket statement that video-games don't affect kids.
First of all your example of eating mushrooms is totally ridiculous because it has no connection whatsoever with reality. Mario is totally incomparable to a game like GTA in terms of immersion and mimic-ability. There are no floating mushrooms in real life, but there are guns, cars and the like.
I don't know about you but I've had moments where I've had the slightest urge to drive into oncoming traffic after playing something such as Burnout 3. However these urges are the smallest of smallest fleeting urges, and my ability to separate reality from fantasy and not act on them is what separates me from some dumb-ass kid who shoots his friend with his fathers gun because he saw some one in GTA do it.
In the end, parenting or genetics or whatever you want plays the largest role in shaping kids, and video-games (or angry music, or friends who are bad influences) act as a catalyst to push an already messed up kid into doing something truly stupid.
This is a preemptive post because whenever Islam or Arabs or the Middle East are brought up, you can guarantee that there will be a flurry of ignorant comments. So for future reference:
An Arab is a person who speaks Arabic. This a linguistic characterization. The majority of Iranians, for example, speak Farsi and therefore are NOT Arabs.
A muslim is a person who follows Islam. This is a religious characterization.
You can have a Non-arab Muslim. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the majority of Muslims are not Arabs. Likewise, you can have a Arab Christian. The Egyptian Copts are an example of this.
A Middle-Easterner is some one who lives in the Middle East. This is a locational characterization. This also applies to nationalities (i.e Pakistani or Iraqi)
It was bad enough that this "joke" was repeated over and over again throughout the comments for the last article, but now we have to deal with it again in this article.
Yeah we get it. Apple released a two button mouse. Omglol.
Oh wow what a well thought out post you've created.
First of all you haven't actually used the mouse, so you're complaining about problems that you THINK the mouse will have. Do you honestly think that no one at Apple while designing or testing the mouse thought about these extremely obvious issues like accidental Clicking and unintentional horizontal scrolling?
And where are these 50 functions you're talking about? I see a 4 button mouse with a scroll ball, which is really no different then the tilt wheel that Microsoft puts it its mice.
If you're not going to RTFA you could at least read the comments posted before you, because all the points you just brought up have been brought up 100 times before, most of them in less of a rambling manner.
And for the record, as stated before, Apple credits viacom for the Mighty Mouse trademark.
Slashdot Mirror
Have you ever played a video game based solely on the My Lai massacre? Let's try to stay on topic here.
Thats the worst argument. Not everything in life that isn't work is a waste of time, and not everything you do outside of work should solely be to entertain yourself. Lets take socializing for example. Socializing with other people not only entertains you, but helps you build stronger relationships with others, while at the same time improving your social skills. Exersizing makes you healthier and more physically fit. Reading improves your vocabulary, and makes you more intelligent. There are so many activities that you could better spend your time on than videogames. Learn to cook, learn to play an instrument, build something, talk to some one, go outside, watch a classic film, go to a concert etc. Entertainment such as TV and Videogames are fantastic, but in moderation. And MMORPGs by nature aren't something that lend themselves to moderation. If videogames are the only thing you do in your free time then that just makes you a very one dimensional and boring person.
How can you say that when Date Movie and Final Destination 3: This Time it's a Rollercoaster are now playing at a theatre near you?
He had his laptop in the back seat, duh.
On a positive note, Take Two is going to use this as inspiration for the next iteration of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. In GTA4, gamers will assume the role of a thug from the streets who will take part in such illicit activities as insider trading and innacurate reporting.
Around 600 crispy chicken nuggets according to Wendies.
So you assumed drinking some beers and socializing with friends = alcaholism. Whatever, anonymous nerd. I'm guessing my original post hit a little close to home making you a little defensive, didn't it?
Thats not true at all, at least in my experience. From what I've seen, WoW goes far beyond cutting into what would otherwise be TV time / comparable entertainment time. It cuts into socializing time, it cuts into studying time, it cuts into eating healthy time and much more than any other similar activity because the very nature of MMORPGs is an addictive one.
:insert class: and I have :insert item: and I want :purple item that is marginally better than purple item I already have:
I have one friend that comes to mind who I didn't see for a semester or so, because any attempt to get him to come out on a weekend would go down something like this:
Me: Hey man we're going to get together and drink some beers, you in?
Him: Nah, my guild is doing a 40 man raid tonight and they need me because I'm a
The way his guild functioned (and I'm not huge into the WoW culture so I don't know if this is common) is that those who participated in more raids got presedence in future raids, so if he wanted to be high on the raid list he'd have to attend every major raid.
I've known of kids who dropped out of school because of MMORPGs because they basically stopped studying, along with many other important daily human tasks and just started failing classes left and right. And it wasn't like they were exceptionally dumb or lazy - the semester before they got whichever MMORPG they got they were doing fine, semester after they were on academic probation and two seconds away from getting kicked out. I've never heard of a kid getting kicked out because they started watching ESPN a lot.
So if you're going to sit here and tell me that World of Warcraft or MMORPGs are no more addicting than watching tv or other videgames, then I can draw one of two conclusions:
1. You're hopelessly addicted and you're trying to justify your addiction.
2. You've been able to manage your WoW time well so that it doesn't cut into more productive and important activities.
However, I'm going to hazard a guess that it's #1.
Alphabet lol!
Ease up buddy or you're going to hurt yourself
Yeah powering a spotlight with my PowerBook really drains the battery.
Some, however, are definetly soft and chewey.
Thats not the point though. This means that developers will be hesitant to include any interesting features that require a hard drive, which means that it will pretty much serve just as a giant memory card.
I'm happy they didn't follow Flickr's "fuck vowels" attitude or we could have ended up with something like YuTub or YoTbe or Tb
But my dance moves are so much fresher this way
After OSS crosses the moat and gets past the dogs, all thats left is the patent.
High five for social commentary!
Who is also remote controlled.
I didn't say that it happens all the time, nor did I say that it was a large problem. THANKS FOR READING MY COMMENT LOL!
First of all, I agree that the whole violence in video-games issue is greatly exaggerated by an overzealous media and politicians who think they can gain support by attacking an easy target.
However you can't make the blanket statement that video-games don't affect kids.
First of all your example of eating mushrooms is totally ridiculous because it has no connection whatsoever with reality. Mario is totally incomparable to a game like GTA in terms of immersion and mimic-ability. There are no floating mushrooms in real life, but there are guns, cars and the like.
I don't know about you but I've had moments where I've had the slightest urge to drive into oncoming traffic after playing something such as Burnout 3. However these urges are the smallest of smallest fleeting urges, and my ability to separate reality from fantasy and not act on them is what separates me from some dumb-ass kid who shoots his friend with his fathers gun because he saw some one in GTA do it.
In the end, parenting or genetics or whatever you want plays the largest role in shaping kids, and video-games (or angry music, or friends who are bad influences) act as a catalyst to push an already messed up kid into doing something truly stupid.
This is a preemptive post because whenever Islam or Arabs or the Middle East are brought up, you can guarantee that there will be a flurry of ignorant comments. So for future reference:
An Arab is a person who speaks Arabic. This a linguistic characterization. The majority of Iranians, for example, speak Farsi and therefore are NOT Arabs.
A muslim is a person who follows Islam. This is a religious characterization.
You can have a Non-arab Muslim. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the majority of Muslims are not Arabs. Likewise, you can have a Arab Christian. The Egyptian Copts are an example of this.
A Middle-Easterner is some one who lives in the Middle East. This is a locational characterization. This also applies to nationalities (i.e Pakistani or Iraqi)
None of these are interchangeable.
Well thats cause you can't have much fun just by picking up a PS2. I even tried to shake it heavily but nothing exciting happened.
It was bad enough that this "joke" was repeated over and over again throughout the comments for the last article, but now we have to deal with it again in this article.
Yeah we get it. Apple released a two button mouse. Omglol.
I read your post. Then I read your sig. Then I lauged.
Oh wow what a well thought out post you've created.
First of all you haven't actually used the mouse, so you're complaining about problems that you THINK the mouse will have. Do you honestly think that no one at Apple while designing or testing the mouse thought about these extremely obvious issues like accidental Clicking and unintentional horizontal scrolling?
And where are these 50 functions you're talking about? I see a 4 button mouse with a scroll ball, which is really no different then the tilt wheel that Microsoft puts it its mice.
If you're not going to RTFA you could at least read the comments posted before you, because all the points you just brought up have been brought up 100 times before, most of them in less of a rambling manner.
And for the record, as stated before, Apple credits viacom for the Mighty Mouse trademark.