Young Gamers

[Scarecrow38]

I reckon we, as a global community, treat younger players very unfairly. They may be annoying, sometimes very annoying but we give them way more crap then they deserve.

It's not like racism, sexism and swearing are limited to younger gamers. The world has a near endless supply of varyingly aged people with sickening opinions and an internet connection.

 

[Annoying Turd]

Frankly, young players in Xbox Live don't bother me at all even if they are teabagging my dead self. I have reached a point of enlightenment where I simply don't give a damn, and I don't get why everyone else cares so much about these people.

Too much video game time can be harmful for everyone, not just kids, but it's the parents' duty to parent their own children therefore I shouldn't be concerned about other people's children playing 'inappropriate' games. We do not need games to be censored for every single one of us, parents should already be able to censor real life from their own poor children.

 

[ironmace2.0]

When I was 12 playing on xboxlive people thought I was 16 (I am now) So if they dont swear like you f**king etarded S*it faces I will DESTROY YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!! f*CKERS Then they are all right but my friends at the time were like that...

 

[Colodomoko]

I just use the mute button, problem solved, screw it if they're on my team.

 

[WlknCntrdiction]

Maturity and age are not mutually exclusive. I say it should be upto the parents to decide if their kid is mature enough to handle the game they want, but then most parents nowadays give into their kids whining and will buy the game just to shut them up, bad parents. So really the entire purpose is defeated.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

Being a "Young" Gamer *I'm 15*, I think kids are entitled to play M-Rated games. As long as they're mature enough, sure. I played Halo CE when it released, and I was, what? 7-8 years old?

They just shouldn't be put online. Although I do have a Gold account, and I never yell or scream in the mic.

 

[Scrythe]

I generally avoid them like the plague, but what I really hate are the hackers script kiddies who insist that the current game sucks unless you cheat. You see this a lot on free games with high populations like MapleStory or Grand Theft Auto Online.

Another pet peeve with young gamers is when they can't admit they suck at a certain part of a game and claim that their opponent was cheating, as if it was impossible for them to have lost under normal circumstances. This one you see more with FPSs and MMOs.

 

[BolognaBaloney]

I'll just say that most kids I knew since 12 could handle M-rated games just fine. They really aren't that bad.

Annoying voices and immaturity abound in the online gaming world, age regardless.
But as far as younger kids, yes they should be kept away from M-rated games.
I don't believe it influences them, but I do believe it can desensitize them.

And what's wrong with that? I never got why desensitization's such a bad thing, especially if it doesn't influence them.

But I agree with you about online gaming, it doesn't really matter how old they are, people will be idiots, especially on Xbox Live.

Because there are some things, namely child-like innocence, that doesn't need to be stripped away by gaming. For once, I agree with the government, I'm glad we have rating systems, because most 12 year olds shouldn't be playing gta 4. With age comes better understanding, and more time to realize your own choices and preferences, when it comes to life or games.

The childhood innocence thing is what gets to me. Childhood innocence is ignorance, plain and simple. People stop being so "innocent" when they're older because they know more about the world and reality. As for the age thing, you have the right idea, but it's experience and learning that gives you a better understanding of yourself, and those don't simply come from age.

But like you say, understanding comes with experience and learning, and these things typically come with age, but when kids can access m rated games and r rated movies at younger ages, they begin to experience things they don't quite understand, and it could, not saying always, but could leave them confused, especially regarding moral ambiguity. I'm not saying 17 is a magical age where children begin to understand the world, it differs for most people. But as you have said, understanding takes experience, which comes with age, so parents need to know what age their children are emotionally. I guess it boils down to, if parents were more involved, this wouldn't really be much of a problem.

 

[BolognaBaloney]

I'll just say that most kids I knew since 12 could handle M-rated games just fine. They really aren't that bad.

Annoying voices and immaturity abound in the online gaming world, age regardless.
But as far as younger kids, yes they should be kept away from M-rated games.
I don't believe it influences them, but I do believe it can desensitize them.

And what's wrong with that? I never got why desensitization's such a bad thing, especially if it doesn't influence them.

But I agree with you about online gaming, it doesn't really matter how old they are, people will be idiots, especially on Xbox Live.

Because there are some things, namely child-like innocence, that doesn't need to be stripped away by gaming. For once, I agree with the government, I'm glad we have rating systems, because most 12 year olds shouldn't be playing gta 4. With age comes better understanding, and more time to realize your own choices and preferences, when it comes to life or games.

The childhood innocence thing is what gets to me. Childhood innocence is ignorance, plain and simple. People stop being so "innocent" when they're older because they know more about the world and reality. As for the age thing, you have the right idea, but it's experience and learning that gives you a better understanding of yourself, and those don't simply come from age.

Also, don't mean to double post, but that's why it's childhood innocence, yes children loose it as they get older and experience more, but as children, they are innocent until they learn otherwise.

 

[Fraught]

This was in skate.

Annoying kid: *talks to himself, uses alot of profanities to talk about nonsense I can't remember, then, all of a sudden says* I'm winning, I'm winning! (although he's the last on the scoreboard)
Me: Hey, you're not first, so shut up.
Annoying kid: You shut up!
Me: No, I've only talked once.
Annoying kid: Well, you're mom. I'm totally first!
And it went on and on.

I know it's not as worse as some others have had experiences, but I usually don't listen to what any of them say, so I don't have any other examples.
I do hate them though, and it's ironic, considering I was probably at the same age as that kid, though my voice is a bit deeper than most of my age.

 

[Valkyira]

Because they have squeaky voices and insult you for no reason. They try to make out that they are amazing at whatever game you are playing, and they have a habit of playing awful music down the headset. I don't really have a problem with kids playing games they are too young for but it pisses me off when they start talking shit or being annoying

 

[Soxafloppin]

I played mortal kombat for most of my childhood... im perfectly fine *twiches*

 

[DazZ.]

I dont mind children playing games that are aimed for older audiances (I grew up on such games), and I dont mind playing with them if they know what they are doing and dont spam voice chat.

Recently on Left 4 Dead I had a kid running around straight forward going "come on keep up" in a voice which only my dog could hear properly. (Running forward fast as possable on your own is a pretty fail plan in L4D)
Then when firing his gun going "bam bam bam bam bam bam bam... YEAH!".
Then shouting at everyone for not being able to save him. (not that I tried to be honest, thought if hed die hed shut up, but no...)

Its not because he was a kid I had a problem, if an adult did that id have been just as annoyed, but it seems to be kids that do it more.

 

[FoOd77]

A lot of those young gamers can be annoying, but not all of them, I once had a friend on LIVE who was VERY young, I think under ten, but was the most polite, laid back kid I've ever met. So now I know that they aren't all bad, that some are actually more mature than the people above 18.

And really, I think all this hatred towards young gamers only makes the problem worse, it's like we're causing them to develop a Napoleon Complex, they feel like they've got something to prove.

 

[Prowers]

(studies have shown that hand deformations are actually quite possible from too many games).

Well, any musician would have a quite interesting one; Brass tubes and valves are not formfitting, they manipulate your fingers until they are...

 

[NotAPie]

I played mortal kombat for most of my childhood... im perfectly fine *twiches*

You know I played Mortal Kombat too.
As a matter of fact it was the game that I first played.
D:< AND DON'T YOU TWICH.

 

[Soxafloppin]

I played mortal kombat for most of my childhood... im perfectly fine *twiches*

You know I played Mortal Kombat too.
As a matter of fact it was the game that I first played.
D:< AND DON'T YOU TWICH.

I actually still play MK2 and MKT

 

[Manhattan2112]

Ok, I've got a response to this:

First of all, the 'M' Rated games thing. Children who are immature obviously can't handle the violence. But that doesn't mean you should outlaw the whole thing. When I was 6, I played my first videogame. Resident Evil. I'm not scarred for life, or anything. I can differentiate between fantasy and reality. However, most unfortunately, many children in the world cannot do this. But the responsibility should lie with the parents. If little Billy goes on a killing spree because he saw it on Grand Theft Auto, the parents don't have any right to sue Rockstar. No company can make sure that there aren't any children playing their game. And I think Yahtzee said it best in one of his videos, (I'm paraphrasing, 'cause I don't know what he said word for word) that "they try to keep these games away from 12-year-olds, but nobody's really into this kind of thing except for 12-year-olds anyway". It's not the game manufacturers fault, OR problem if little kids are playing their game. They just make it. If the parents know the emotional limitations of their children, then they should know what's right or wrong for them in the videogame world.

And about the kids with squeeky voices, that's not exactly an age thing. I'm 14, and people say I sound like I'm in my 20's. I can put up with the voices of the 12 year olds. It's the REAL little one's that I hate. I met this kid on Team Fortress 2 the other day, swear to God he had to have been 7. AND retarded.