Help with a survey for a School project on Video Games

[Spartan448]

Well, it's that time of year again: In English class, our teacher assigned us to do research papers on a subject of our choosing. This can be any subject you can get stuff for. I chose to do my paper on how Video Games affect culture. The thing is, I need to do a survey. And one of the demographics I wanted to go after were, gamers, of course! So, Escapists, I humbly request that you help a guy who left a really important part of a project to the last minute, and take some time to answer these questions for me. No information other than your answers will be shared. Thank you in advance.

In what ways does gaming affect your day-to-day life?

How do you think gaming fits into society?

In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields?

What is your opinion on Violence in Videogames?

What is your opinion on ESRB (Entertainment Service Ratings Board) ratings of games?

Do you see gaming as a positive or negative influence on society?

In your opinion, are games art?

 

[DANEgerous]

In what ways does gaming affect your day-to-day life? As a hobby, it is just fun.

How do you think gaming fits into society? same way any hobby or activity does I suppose

In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields? Yes they tend to be real world simulators you can test you actions in a game to get a very general sense of what you would like and do in real life. They also have greatly improve my ability to read, they tend to use a verity of dialects you are not exposed to and almost all have text biased feed back or instructions

What is your opinion on Violence in Videogames? Other than it is to be expected not a lot, they are interactive storytelling and violence has always been a part of story telling.

What is your opinion on ESRB (Entertainment Service Ratings Board) ratings of games? as reasonable as the rating for TV and movies yet sadly far more ignored. I think most of the negative feedback come from this ignorance aprrent not knowing what is in a gam wlike it is printed on the label. It is just sad like an R rated movie than being shocked it was violent.

Do you see gaming as a positive or negative influence on society? positive, they generally are a social activity. Think sports or perhaps something like competitive Chess

In your opinion, are games art? Only in the way movies are art, for instance most of the Oscar nods are art but many movie are not.

 

[werty10089]

<font color=green>In what ways does gaming affect your day-to-day life?

<font color=teal>If I want to read a book, I'll read a book. If I want to play a videogame, I'll play a videogame. I guess it stops me from becoming bored enough to uncover government conspiracies or whatever.

<font color=green>How do you think gaming fits into society?

<font color=teal>The same way any other form of entertainment does. People use it as a scapegoat because no one likes things they don't understand. But, shortly, over time, it is understood and deeply cherished.

<font color=green>In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields?

<font color=teal>As it brings greater immersion than that of an instructional film, it is probably the best way we currently have of teaching how to use new tools, outside of actual practice. It's interactive element makes it a great way to train soldiers without risk and pilots without crashes.

<font color=green>What is your opinion on Violence in Videogames?

<font color=teal>Violence is overrated. By making kids think violence is the worst-thing-ever, they become violent because it's rebellious. The best thing to do is introduce concepts to children when they are ready. Who knows what age that is, it varies from child to child. That's also my answer for the question below.

<font color=green>What is your opinion on ESRB (Entertainment Service Ratings Board) ratings of games?



<font color=green>Do you see gaming as a positive or negative influence on society?

<font color=teal>Videogames have the same affect any other form of entertainment has. Of course people who shoot up schools play videogames, everyone plays videogames. Before that, it was listening to heavy metal. Before that, it was reading non-religious texts. There's always a small percentage of people who will obsess over the darker elements in any story, and they'll still be there when we start playing with holograms or alternate dimensions or any other new medium.

<font color=green>In your opinion, are games art?

<font color=teal>Any medium can be called 'art'. Just because something is a painting, doesn't specifically mean it's 'art'. Paintings CAN be art. Films can be art. Plays can be art. Videogames can be art.

 

[Rawne1980]

In what ways does gaming affect your day-to-day life? - In no ways at all. It's just a pass time. Something to fill in a few hours when I have nothing else to do.

How do you think gaming fits into society? - It's a hobby. Some people take it seriously while other don't. It makes money. It fits in the same way as films/books and movies. It passes the same kind of time.

In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields? - They can be used as a learning tool.

What is your opinion on Violence in Videogames? - It's a game. I hardly class pixels shooting/punching/stabbing other pixels as violence.

What is your opinion on ESRB (Entertainment Service Ratings Board) ratings of games? - means very little to me, i'm too old for ratings to bother me.

Do you see gaming as a positive or negative influence on society? - Neither, I see them as a hobby. If people take gaming so seriously it starts to ruin their lives (i'm looking at you World of Warcraft) then that is down to the person not the game.

In your opinion, are games art? - In my opinion, no. They are a product I buy to use until i'm done with it then I sell it on. I don't take it seriously enough to consider it "art" nor I do care about how other people view my hobby to want to justify it as such.

 

[Xenowolf]

In what ways does gaming affect your day-to-day life?
-It's just a hobby of mine

How do you think gaming fits into society?
-Right now, people are attacking it as it's a relatively new form of media that most people over the age of 40 (and may I remind you that most politicians are aged 40+?) don't understand. But after a while, new forms of media gain respect, which is gradually happening to video games.

In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields?

-They could be used more in education or for training simulations.

What is your opinion on Violence in Videogames?

-As long as kids don't play overly violent games, then I'm fine with it.

What is your opinion on ESRB (Entertainment Service Ratings Board) ratings of games?

-I think most rating systems need to be more lenient, as most parents let kids watch films or play games that are higher than their age anyway (even when they do pay attention to ratings). Also, get rid of the AO rating, a rating that's only purpose is to force games that have explicit sex to be unprofitable.

Do you see gaming as a positive or negative influence on society?

-Don't really make any difference.

In your opinion, are games art?

-Sometimes they can be, but art is subjective.

 

[Xan Krieger]

In what ways does gaming affect your day-to-day life? I play them for over 10 hours a day and they reduce my stress.

How do you think gaming fits into society? Same way as TV does, something to keep us entertained.

In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields? The military uses them for training and they can help kids with disabilities as a form of therapy. Many also encourage heavy thinking and can help someone think faster.

What is your opinion on Violence in Videogames? I LOVE it, almost to a crazy degree.

What is your opinion on ESRB (Entertainment Service Ratings Board) ratings of games? I think they do a good job, it's the parent's fault for not reading the labels.

Do you see gaming as a positive or negative influence on society? Positive

In your opinion, are games art? Yes and anyone who says otherwise is wrong. Why? Because the Mona Lisa is considered art and it doesn't look half as good as 99% of games. If that painting is art then by the same logic games are art and I doubt you'd find anyone who would say that that painting is not art.

 

[Durgiun]

In what ways does gaming affect your day-to-day life?
It affects how much of my free time I stretch out and how much of my workload I leave off until the very last minute. That and it creates brand new topics to talk about with my gamer friends which sends us spiraling down into fanboyish arguments over damn near anything. Good times.

How do you think gaming fits into society?
It's a medium like any other, but it's still got a ways to go to prove it's not just infantile entertainment. At least to the general public. If comics could do it, so can video games.

In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields?
I guess that thanks to things like Kinect we'll be having a scree we can manipulate like in Minority Report. Or something.

What is your opinion on Violence in Videogames?
It makes certain games fun if you want to vent your frustrations on some 1s and 0s, but it doesn't mean you can't make good games without it. For instance: the Monkey Island series, Grim Fandango, Shadow of Destiny, Katawa Shoujo, Clannad and so on.

What is your opinion on ESRB (Entertainment Service Ratings Board) ratings of games?
I have none on it.

Do you see gaming as a positive or negative influence on society?
I see it as a mostly positive, sometimes neutral influence. The closest thing to a video game that I can think of is a book. Both entertain us for long stretches of time, both can have deep, fully fleshed out characters, philosophical themes and topics, a comment on the nature of humanity, and both can be just mindless action-packed gore-fests that amuse you for a while.

In your opinion, are games art?
Yes. If you get together visual artist, musicians, writers and people who are especially chosen to create worlds that will have a specific effect on our psyches to make us have the most fun possible work on a single project and have the guts to not call it art then you are not a human being. You are a rock.

 

[derintrel]

In what ways does gaming affect your day-to-day life? It's something that I consistently do everyday. Even my other hobbies don't get attention every single day.

How do you think gaming fits into society? In a much larger way than most of the populace realizes. It's a huge industry that is quickly overtaking the film industry, for better or worse.

In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields? Minimally. But at least some. I watched a documentary once about game programs designed to help people overcome phobias.

What is your opinion on Violence in Videogames? It's there for a reason. It sells. I don't think it's any worse than any typical movie or show.

What is your opinion on ESRB (Entertainment Service Ratings Board) ratings of games? It helps. While I would consider it a little flawed. I think it's extremely underused by parents that buy games for their little ones.

Do you see gaming as a positive or negative influence on society? Neutral. A lot of enjoyment for a lot of people is a good thing, however it does seem to cause headaches with some.

In your opinion, are games art? Some games are, some aren't.

 

[Xannidel]

In what ways does gaming affect your day-to-day life? If I do not have any plans for the day then I will probably be playing video games to distract myself from the inevitable boredom I will receive if I didn't play games.

How do you think gaming fits into society? I believe gaming can be fit very nicely but some people may have difficulties adjusting because we all know what CAN happen in MMORPGs when someone who is underachieved can easily get hooked into a false sense of accomplishment.

In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields? I suppose simulation games can be used to help train recruits in various skills. But overall it is better to receive real training from real jobs, games can't simulate the feeling you might have if you get fired or if you screwed up.

What is your opinion on Violence in Videogames? Violence is just that, some kids might need to be supervised so they can learn that life is not like a video game and if you or anyone dies in real life then they do not respawn.

What is your opinion on ESRB (Entertainment Service Ratings Board) ratings of games? For some families who take that seriously and do not research the game properly, then it is a nice system.

Do you see gaming as a positive or negative influence on society? It can be both, some cases where video games can help people with certain issues is a good influence but hearing that someone lead a mass shooting because they played too much Halo or Call of Duty is a negative influence.

In your opinion, are games art? Yes, some games are better at showing that then others but yes. Games have cameras that let you zoom around the hero and observe your environment and in many cases, those environments are breath taking and unique to the game you are playing. Dear Esther is a clear case of an environmental game.

 

[Scarim Coral]

In what ways does gaming affect your day-to-day life?
It help me to to pass the time and have fun to get rid of boredom.

How do you think gaming fits into society?
Pretty much serve as a talking discussion like how people talk about tv or books.

In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields?
It can help to improve hand eye coordination, solving thinking to problem.

What is your opinion on Violence in Videogames?
I am fine toward it just as long children don't get their hand on games not meant for them and the parent letting them play it without proper guidence from them.

What is your opinion on ESRB (Entertainment Service Ratings Board) ratings of games?
Need to be reinforce to the parent as some parent do not understand it (the type who complain that there is no way to prevent kid from playing violentgames).

Do you see gaming as a positive or negative influence on society?
Posistive and it had becoming more mainstream than it was in the 90's.

In your opinion, are games art?
Yes and no. I mean some games have artistic views while others don't. It sort of like how I don't see anime can be consider art (the highly polish image of a anime character) however a few can be consider to be art (if that anime has a artistic flare to it).

 

[VeryOddGamer]

In what ways does gaming affect your day-to-day life?
Well, even though I play a lot, it's just a hobby.

How do you think gaming fits into society?
Well, just like other hobbies and methods of entertainment.

In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields?
Well, I guess you can learn some skills from them.

What is your opinion on violence in video games?
I am absolutely fine with it. Okay, maybe you shouldn't let a too young kid play extremely violent games, but that's it.

What do you think of ESRB ratings?
Well, they work reasonably well as guidelines for parents who don't feel like doing any background work on the games they buy their children.

Do you see gaming as a positive or negative influence on society?
In general? Positive, even if the gore-fests undermine it.

In your opinion, are games art?
Well, if movies, books and the like are considered art, I think that video games can be art just as well.

 

[Deathmageddon]

In what ways does gaming affect your day-to-day life?

Mostly just eats up my weekends and keeps me from having to *shudder* meet people.

How do you think gaming fits into society?

Like a boss? honestly, not really sure how to respond to this.

In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields?

There was an interesting Extra Credits episode about applying video game - style reward system to education.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN0qRKjfX3s

What is your opinion on Violence in Videogames?

Parents need to know what their kids are playing and exercise some control over what they are exposed to. 8-year olds should not be playing CoD. For the rest of us, violence is fine. Splatterhouse didn't make me want to go out and eviscerate some people, after all.

What is your opinion on ESRB (Entertainment Service Ratings Board) ratings of games?

They're great. Like I said above- parents need to read the ESRB rating before buying their kids a game.

Do you see gaming as a positive or negative influence on society?

Nothing is ever exclusively good or bad. For instance, Gaming is a great way to pass the time, but it's also a potential distraction from more important things, like work or dating. Plus, at least one person has died from playing WoW nonstop.

In your opinion, are games art?

Yes. Without a doubt.

Hope that helped, good luck on the project.

 

[Geeky Anomaly]

In what ways does gaming affect your day-to-day life?

Games influence my sense of humor, introduce me to new music, and help me find like-minded people more easily.



How do you think gaming fits into society?

I think gaming is not fully embraced yet. 20 years should change that. I think the stereotype right now is largely negative. Women reject men for being gamers, but not for being into cars or sports; when they are all the same...they are all hobbies.


In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields?

Games have already pushed the fields of processor innovation as well as 3D rendering which in turn; has yielded us wonderful things such as CG movies like Toy Story, and The Adventures of Tin Tin.


What is your opinion on Violence in Videogames?

Violence in videogames should be treated just like violence in movies. If a child is introduced to violent games, it is the parents decision as to when and how they are introduced. Otherwise, Violent games should only be purchaseable by persons of 17 years of age or older, the same age needed to see an R-rated film in America, unsupervised. There are MILLIONS of ADULTS who play violent video games every day, and never commit acts of violence.


What is your opinion on ESRB (Entertainment Service Ratings Board) ratings of games?

It has done more good than harm.



Do you see gaming as a positive or negative influence on society?

I see gaming as a positive influence; and its positive effects are increasing every day.


In your opinion, are games art?

Yes. Though sometimes controversial, games are no less art than a controversial film or book.

 

[Spartan448]

In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields? Minimally. But at least some. I watched a documentary once about game programs designed to help people overcome phobias.

If you could find that documentary and put up a link to where I can find more info about it, that would go a long way towards my research.

Also, The responses so far have been great! Thanks, everyone!

 

[derintrel]

In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields? Minimally. But at least some. I watched a documentary once about game programs designed to help people overcome phobias.

If you could find that documentary and put up a link to where I can find more info about it, that would go a long way towards my research.

Also, The responses so far have been great! Thanks, everyone!

This is an article on it, but I can't seem to find the actual video. It was pretty old.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4292-computer-games-can-treat-phobias.html

 

[Cheesus333]

In what ways does gaming affect your day-to-day life?

How do you think gaming fits into society?

In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields?

What is your opinion on Violence in Videogames?

What is your opinion on ESRB (Entertainment Service Ratings Board) ratings of games?

Do you see gaming as a positive or negative influence on society?

In your opinion, are games art?

1. Pretty heavily, I spend a lot of time playing games, reading game-related articles or whatever, looking at game fan-art, talking about games... it's reasonable to say that gaming actually influences almost everything I do.

2. It's a good distraction for a lot of people, a way of life for some. Be they the MLG crowd, developers, journalists - anyone whose life essentially revolves around gaming rather than the other way round.

3. The whole 'games as art' debate is impossible to ignore, and if you're for that argument then obviously it's a cultural phenomenon. Either way, it's also a technological one and a massive aspect of the modern media.

4. I think it's a good stress-reliever, and though I don't doubt some people can take it too far I very strongly oppose the view that there is any kind of causation between violence in a game and violence exhibited by the player in real life.

5. They can get it wrong sometimes, and at the end of the day if a kid wants to play a game, they are going to play the game, but I understand the idea behind not wanting to sell it to them. As for game bans, I think that's way out of order. It's just another form of censorship.

6. Positive. A decent chunk of the gaming crowd is bad; it's torn between advancing too quickly and outright regressing back to its roots; it's mired so deep in the waters of controversy that you can almost hear it choke, but I still believe that human beings need entertainment and emotional release, and interactive media (of which I believe gaming is the best example) are somewhat essential to that end.

7. Are all games art? Hell no. Are some games art? Yes, I believe so. Nailing down a single definition of a word like art is tricky (nigh impossible) but personally I believe some games can tell a story, create a place or invoke emotions in such a way as to be truly artistic.

Hope that helps, but I enjoyed it nonetheless if it did not. Good survey, OP, best of luck to you.

 

[Littaly]

Reading through my answers it occurs to me how incredibly vague they are. I apologize for that, anyway, here they are ^^

In what ways does gaming affect your day-to-day life?
In much the same way most people are affected by their interests. I spend a fair bit of my free time playing or discussing or just thinking about video games. It has made it easier for me to connect with people of a similar mindset and maybe a bit harder to connect with people who don't. I'd like to think that it's just a way I spend time and that it hasn't shaped me in any significant way, but I couldn't tell you to what degree that is true.

How do you think gaming fits into society?
I... really don't understand the question. It fits into society as a form of entertainment I guess. Much the same way movies do. A bit more niched and associated with nerd culture, but less so for each year that passes.

In what ways do you think gaming can be used to make progress in other fields?
No idea. Not much I guess. Depends on what you define as gaming. I can see interactive experiences and programs being used in various forms of research, maybe as a learning tool? But do those kinds of things classify as games? I don't know, it's kind of hard to predict that sort of thing. I can see interactivity becoming a bigger part of how we do things in the future, but that's a guess more than anything else.

What is your opinion on Violence in Videogames?
It's a very frustrating debate. A lot of people speaking with a lot of certainty in a field where very little is certain. Do I believe interactive violence has no effect whatsoever on anyone who plays it? No. Do I believe violent video games are dangerous, or make anyone who plays them aggressive? Certainly not. I believe the truth lies somewhere in between, but I'm in no way qualified to even make a guess as to where.

What is your opinion on ESRB (Entertainment Service Ratings Board) ratings of games?
They're necessary and for the most part do a decent job. People need an easy, reliable way of determining what kind of content the game they are buying contains, and the ESRB (or PEGI, over here in Europe) do a good job at that. You can debate the details of the way they go about it, and some individual cases are a little sketchy, but overall they're OK.

Do you see gaming as a positive or negative influence on society?
Definitely not positive, probably not negative. I can't think of any significant way society would have been worse off without video games, but neither can I point to any bad trends or phenomenons in society with a clear, obvious link to video games.

In your opinion, are games art?
That's a damn hard question to answer since there is no clear definition of what art is. But if you see "art" as a contrast to "entertainment", as an expression of thought, feelings, and ideas in contrast to something that is just there to amuse us, then I would say for the most part no. That's not to say that some games don't have artistic merit, or that the medium doesn't allow for art to be created within it, but most of the games I see coming out today, I would (partially or entirely) classify as "entertainment".

Still, if you're routing for games to be art, I think the future looks pretty bright. With the increasing number of tools available to to people to express themselves with, the more varied demographic, and the rise of the indie scene the last couple of years, we're definitely headed in a good direction.