I Just Had a Video Game Debate With my Parents

[Creator002]

My parents were never strict with games. I owned Mortal Kombat 4 for N64 by the age of 10. They don't believe gaming is harmful in anyway and the only debate I've had is about the R rating, because I live in Australia. They think it should stay as it is, but we hardly ever see eye to eye on anything. Mainly due to knowledge on the subject, I think. I usually educate myself first.

 

[Scythas]

I played Duke Nukem 3D, Doom, Crusader: No Remorse, Metal Gear Solid, the works throughout my childhood, and I've never killed anyone. Or been in any trouble with the law.

Blaming poor parenting on violent video games is such a cop out.

 

[SixWingedAsura]

My mother plays Tomb Raider (almost all of them), loves Legend of Zelda and plays Rock Band (drums.)

My father isn't interested in them, but doesn't have any problem with me playing them.

I think I got off pretty good.

 

[ShadowsofHope]

My parents are more or less completely fine with my gaming, as long I get my other stuff such as schoolwork done first. My dad moreso, but my mom rarely complains at all. I got my first mature rated game at 13, but I started playing Halo at my friends place at 12. There was controversy at first over the violence Halo has in it, but it got simmered down around a few years later when I actually let my dad watch my video games for his own reasoned interpretation. Went uphill from there consistently.

 

[Nahhnbah]

When I was 4 years old my mum gave me my first game and console: A PS1 and Abe's Oddysee. When I am defending my passion and my future career (games, if you didn't guess), if my mum is within earshot, when it's all over and my opponent is a smoking husk of a person, their argument crushed into the dust by superior logic, she says "I'm proud of you". She has encouraged me from start to finish -from when I first picked up a controller to when I designed my first game character and wrote my first story, she knew that I would grow up to live, breath and think games. Despite her own personal views she knows that this is my life, and has supported anything I do that is game related. I have never argued or debated with my parents over games because they know I know exactly what I'm talking about and they trust what I say.

This is why I have the best parents ever.

 

[helldragonX]

My mother crusaded against games when I was younger. She blamed everything from me being anti-social to bad grades to not doing chores around the house on me gaming. The only reason I had games at all was because of my grandma and she only really did it to spite my mom. She has turned my entire family against gaming(Still really haven't forgiven her for that). It continues to this day, they wont even give me cash for Christmas just in case I MIGHT buy a game with it. >.<

 

[Iandiaeufaieubfeuihfi]

wow, starcraft? Not even my parents would fuss about that. And they don't even let me play the final fantasy series back then. I played all the m-rated games by going to my friend's house. I went there so many times, my friend's parents aren't even surprised about it. Moral of the story: parents who ban children from their passion is only setting them for temporary adoption.

 

[MrGalactus]

Parents never cared. Played Manhunt when I was 10, my dad thought it was fine. He also thinks Crazy Taxi is the most hilarious thing in the world.
It's funny, cuz these days I honestly feel really genuinly guilty when I hurt things, even if its just a bug hitting my windshield.

 

[mhitman]

my mom only cares if i have evaluations coming up, or if I havent left my basement for 3 days which is understandable

 

[Merkavar]

my parents didnt really mind the swearing and violence in games. like if my grandma came to stay i wasnt allowed to play gta with the sound up etc

 

[Biosophilogical]

Starcraft?

Yeah, 'cause that'll turn you into a murderer -_-

I know right? And by 16, I already knew I was a pacifist. Still am. Always will be.

As in, full-blown no violence? So not even the 'friendly arm-punching' or whatever you do in your district/country/planet to express friendship in a manly (read: non-verbal and subliminal) way? Personally I'm just the 'No matter how angry I get I'm incapable of genuinely trying to cause harm to people' type of person.

OT: I've had censorship debates with my mum, and it's generally boiled down to "I don't trust the government to do it right" and mum going "Australia is very child-orientated, so censorship is merely just that side of our democracy getting political power". We understand each other, so while we can see the reasoning of the other's view, it simply comes down to a different set of values (I'm a left-wing 'educate the people, effectively curing the disease' person, and she's a left-wing 'get rid of the symptoms as the top-priority, the disease should be secondary', so, in a way, it's kind of how I view the psychologist/psychiatrist difference).

 

[CoL0sS]

Mine parents never took much interest in games, nor did they limit my game time as long as i had decent grades. Sometimes I find myself wondering, would it be better if they had, because either I got bored with games, or they are just not good as they used to be, but I don't enjoy them as I did before. Would be awesome if I could talk to them about this subject though.

 

[MrShowerHead]

My parents just think video games are a waste of time and money. They don't ban video games or anything, thank God.

 

[Samwise137]

Starcraft?

Yeah, 'cause that'll turn you into a murderer -_-

I know right? And by 16, I already knew I was a pacifist. Still am. Always will be.

As in, full-blown no violence? So not even the 'friendly arm-punching' or whatever you do in your district/country/planet to express friendship in a manly (read: non-verbal and subliminal) way? Personally I'm just the 'No matter how angry I get I'm incapable of genuinely trying to cause harm to people' type of person.

OT: I've had censorship debates with my mum, and it's generally boiled down to "I don't trust the government to do it right" and mum going "Australia is very child-orientated, so censorship is merely just that side of our democracy getting political power". We understand each other, so while we can see the reasoning of the other's view, it simply comes down to a different set of values (I'm a left-wing 'educate the people, effectively curing the disease' person, and she's a left-wing 'get rid of the symptoms as the top-priority, the disease should be secondary', so, in a way, it's kind of how I view the psychologist/psychiatrist difference).

Yep. Full blown non-violence! It gives me something to feel good about myself. I'm known as the high-five guy and/or the hug guy depending on the social circle I'm interacting with.

 

[phoenix352]

played my 1st video game when i was 3-4 years old it was the 2nd teenage ninja mutant turtles game for the nes it was awesome. since then i play what ever game i got my hands on and my mom didnt care she has common sense she knows its fun.

 

[Macgyvercas]

My dad doesn't like to talk about games because he has little to no interest in them outside of computer backgammon, and mother doesn't like to talk about them with me because:

a) She doesn't particularly care for them
b) The only games she does care for are the Donkey Kong Country games and computer solitare
and c) She knows she would completely lose any and all arguements about games due to my knowledge of the subject being years ahead of hers.

 

[Th37thTrump3t]

Well... Considering me and my dad are avid gamers, and my mom really doesn't give two shits whether I go killing some terrorists or aliens unless my grades are bad or I don't do my chores, I really can't say I relate to your little predicament. Well at least not directly anyways. I spent the night at one of my friend's house about 2 weeks ago and I brought my Xbox. (He doesn't own any game systems other than his DS) Well his mom decided to inspect my entire library of games. Pretty much anything higher than a T rating she confiscated until I went home, stating that "These kind of games are only good for inducing violence and anarchy." (This left us with like two games out of my 30 games that I brought over) My friend tried explaining that he has played these kind of games before and that he has yet to go on a massive killing spree but his mom still had the mindset that those kind of games turn you into a mindless killing machine.

 

[Biosophilogical]

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-snip-

Yep. Full blown non-violence! It gives me something to feel good about myself. I'm known as the high-five guy and/or the hug guy depending on the social circle I'm interacting with.

I love hugs! But I have very few huggy friends (though we high-five a lot). The huggy people are all the 'drinking, partying, dry-humping each other in drama' popular kids, and my friends are the ... well actually, apart from very few huggers, my group is quite varied. But anyway, I'm getting side-tracked, the point was, the only person who hugs me back (in my group, there's this ... sorry sidetracked) is a short asian fella with patchy stubble; the thought is nice but his hugs creep me out a little.

 

[Citrus]

My mom used to care a ton. When I was younger, I got to pick out a game from Blockbuster, and I really wanted to try out Tomb Raider but it was rated T so my mom wouldn't allow it. So I lied and said it was rated E (she didn't see the case) and took it home and plugged it into my Gameboy. Yeah, that was back when you could rent GBA games. She looked at it, said "Is she holding a gun?!" and then took it away and grounded me.

Thankfully, she one day realized how ridiculous she was being and eased off.

 

[GenericAmerican]

My Grandmother's interest in Video games goes as far as, "wow, they look so real now." And then she plays all those stupid hidden object games from Big Fish. But don't you dare show her anything violent. I shot a zebra on Far Cry 2 and she saw it, and she flipped the f#*@ out.

My grandfather thinks they are...'cool' is the word I guess. Whenever he is around he will sit and watch, just have to be careful what it is; war games make him upset, he has PTSD and it reminds him 'Nam.

My mother has no real opinion on them unless its Farmville...*hate*

My...*ahem* Father, He considers them massive wastes of time. But it turns out he is a master at all things strategy or simulation wise; especially if it comes to something like a Silent Hunter game. He used to play this old Tom Clancy's SSN game. It's a submarine game, he was goooood at that.

I let him 'play' Silent Hunter 4 once, I actually played it but he told me everything to do. We took on a Task Force; the Japs lost 2 battleships and a heavy Cruiser and the destroyer escorts never found us. Ingenious plan he came up with...I think that's the only good father/son memory I have with him...*cries*

But have I ever debated with any of my parents, not really. I used to have to argue/lie through my teeth, with my grandmother about some games. I swear I will be 50 years old and her ghost will still try and tell me what I can and can't play. Which doesn't matter anymore anyway since it's been many a year since I had to rely on my parents to buy games.