Monday, June 30, 2008

PC Gaming (Please Cease Gaming)


Apologies!!Apologies!!for the long sabbatical from the blogosphere.
All, I'll say is that I was reduced to the state of a Palestinian refugee while my brother(read:world's most irritating guy)became the Israeli conscript.
And in our case the bone of contention not being the GAZA Strip,but my HCL beanstalk PC..which remained under the seizure of the conscript all the while..
Needn't mention the role of US diplomats being played by my parents who let my bro take control of this holy territory..while their constant efforts to assuage me failed..
I tried to tell them the real WMD(in this case Weapons of Mental Destruction) were the GAMES installed in the PC..so first these WMDs needed to be contraband,then should one go for the rest of the grease..
Our residence resembled some war-prone battlefield with guns firing and mortar roaring..all virtually on the PC
Down memory lane
It all started way back with the Little Master video games we had got
back then were mario,tetris and my super cool man ..the pacman.
Game cartridges and highest levels attained remained the topic of discussions in birthday parties..
And now the only conversation that is broached up in labs.,canteens,events in college and even at home is CS..CS..CS and other games like something called DOTA,HALO and what not..
while guys shouted Counter Strike i wondered how about countering this with a strike??
Not that I'm playing the Devil's Advocate:there are just a few facts I'd like to share..
Agreed that such Games provide recreation and at times can also be attributed to developing logic and skills..
But the staggering extent to which they've been lionised and are being practised in the same way,is what is the cause of concern
They seem to have become objects of obsession,insanity..
* A recent report showed that 45% of heavy video game players and nearly a third of avid gamers are in the 6 to 17 year old age group (NPD Group Inc., 2006).
*It leads to aggression and belligerent attitude the players after all that "headshot" after all that "camping in Terrorist-spon and CounterTerrorist spon".
God knows what vicarious pleasure does it give to such gamers by firing guns virtualy??The Indian Army suffers from a dearth of soldiers!why not try the real life battle?
* Many games only offer an arena of weapons, killings, kicking, stabbing and shooting.(Research by Anderson & Dill, 2000; Gentile, Lynch & Walsh, 2004).
* Over-dependence on video games could foster social isolation, as they are often played alone.Why not hit the football ground or tennis court for recreation and stop complaining about poor state of sports in the country??But no..EA Sports is a better option for such sloths..after all"its in the game"
* Women are often portrayed as weaker characters that are helpless or sexually provocative.
* Many games do not offer action that requires independent thought or creativity.
* Games can confuse reality and fantasy.
For more on Fundas log on http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/17694.html
"ALL RIGHT LET's MOVE ON..."(CS crap again!)
so if Microsoft Xbox says "Game on"..I say "No game"

Let me start with what ROALD DAHL had to say about TV a few decades ago.
It is as true for PC/Video gaming today as it was for television in the yester years.
With all due respect to Mr. Dahl i've taken the liberty of contorting(read:tampering) his poem Television...
so let me call it
THE VIDEO GAME
The most important thing we've learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your Moniter set --
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been,
We've watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone's place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they're hypnotised by it,
Until they're absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink --
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK -- HE ONLY SEES!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'

P.S.Ministry of Health(Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss) are you listening??

26 comments:

Thor said...

Well, speaking as a dedicated and die hard gamer, i am amazed that u actually believe in those stupid surveys.

Games are popular because they are competitive. They pit one man against another and there you can decide who among them has the bigger bullets/more spells/better spells/more bullets/or rarely, more talent.

Women are often portrayed as weaker characters that are helpless or sexually provocative.
well, are movies any different?
i say that games treat women with more respect than movies do. Remember the Tomb Raider series? Man that was some game....


Many games do not offer action that requires independent thought or creativity.
lolz...try playing Age of Empires series or Warcraft strategy games. U really need to be creative and smart to win against a competent player in these games.

Well, i do agree that u do have a point. There are some people who are not 'responsible gamers'. They forget that there is a wide world outside of the screen and live in the same repeated scenarios of shooting/stabbing/winning/losing.
But in reality, it is not always mindless shooting, no it isnt. It is also FUN. It is a challenge to be overcome. and it is a way to blow of some steam.

Anonymous said...

Bit of a letdown really... Coming after a long interval.
Uncontroversial, plain and far less opinionated than i expected.

(The above comments maintain a neutral perspective)

And coming to the real thing.

"Women are often portrayed as weaker characters that are helpless or sexually provocative."
Very very rarely. umm... out of the thousands i cant think of even three such characters. (i wish though)

"Many games do not offer action that requires independent thought or creativity."
Like how do you play without independent thinking? Pressing start and letting the game take over.?

"A recent report showed that 45% of heavy video game players and nearly a third of avid gamers are in the 6 to 17 year old age group"
Who expects a group of 60 year olds playing diablo or world of warcraft. If games such as build you own saas-bahu epic were released maybe this it change... Its like saying 95% of those who wear diapers are between the ages of 0-5.

"Games can confuse reality and fantasy."
The same can be said about reading Enid Blyton or watching winnie the pooh.

(The above comments maintain a neutral perspective)

deepexperience said...

hmmm.... for once I am not sure if u'll get many backers on this one, but u have me with u for sure.. PC gaming is no match for REAL sports and it never will be... I hope ur blog makes some talented sportspersons think of returning back to the field and not waste their precious talent...... cheers...

luvtheedragon said...

wel m =ly apologetic 4 being d 1 2 shater ur chimerical delusions....
who wud hav thought that gamers wud bcome sane whil non-gamers wud suffer halucinations ?

here is a quote from pc world :
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,147711-pg,1/article.html

Is that a Video Game -- or Therapy?
New games purport to make it fun to lose weight, stop smoking, and get healthy with the help of a console.


this is where the world stand on the issue...
wel some say its waste of time ... tel me is enjoying ur life a wastage of life?? its lik gwad saying : u can live but u cant enjoy ....wats lif worth if not the fun out of it ...( not @ anothers expense though ... so i guess ur brother ought 2 giv u a chance here n ther ) ....
and CS is like te cliche of the gamers world ... sorry to say that the current state of bitians is like the jurasic era but ther r things better bigger grander and mre astounding than real life out there in the world of gamin... try things in the stategy lik Rome total war or medieval 2 total war.... u wud actually b able to understand the minds of the gr8s of the by gone eons like napolian n alexander if u wer 2 master these games ....
AND FINALLY
THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING IS IN ________ thts upto u 2 fil if u wish 2 !!!and now m clihced

Anonymous said...

Girls are pissed off with computer games becoz nowadays boys spend more time playing games than flirting with them....ROFLMAO

FYI some of the best players of AOE, CS are women

Thor said...

@luvtheedragon

dood, i dont think u should belittle any game or the people playing that game. People have different interests and they follow it they way they want to. No one has the right to say that this game is good or bad. Just becoz u have played 'grander' games like Rome and LotR dosent mean that others who play 'sucky' games like CS are a sorry crowd. It is all personal choice and perspective man. No one can argue with those.

btw, looks like the author has left the discussion after posting the topic. lets have some rebuttals here!

siddhant tewari said...

i guess the way u started with refernce to all gaza and plaestine refugee was all unsual..i eman i read ur blog topic and then i reda palestine...no realtion whatsoever...its better u maintain the flow rite from the start of the topic to the end...srry just felt that way s just let u knw...
and no comments on your views about gaming and all

you are a good painter...sw ur paintings on orkut

luvtheedragon said...

@ thor...
u mistake me dear frd...
i didnt mean tht the neolithic man was a miser or unhappy... jus that he is primitive...
a person playin pacman cud b havin mor fun than me on medieval2 tw

Manish Kumar said...

Agreed that such Games provide recreation and at times can also be attributed to developing logic and skills..
But the staggering extent to which they've been lionised and are being practised in the same way,is what is the cause of concern


I think more or less I agree with ur view Shrill ! But this trend also reveals the fact that today young boys r not finding other options for entertainment & relaxation say movies, gym outdoor sports etc that exciting.

Unknown said...

THe other guys above me have ranted enough about games and thr pros(sorry, dnt see any cons..... and wht does a couple of backs matter if u cream the opposite team the night before ur mup end sems, rite???)...and i dont wanna subject u to another dose.

Just want to point out some typos..
Btw, its terrorist spawn and ct spawn... i.e the area whr u start at the beginning of the level...

Waitin for more.... U been dormant for long enough.

Bring it on.....

Pi†ViP3r said...

Woah.....so sad...a puny little girl who is so frustrated with her life that she has to scribble down her feelings on a pety BLOG.....and after that feel cool about herself.....with way too many insecurity issues that any human would want this NON-MALE has finally entered a ground which she was warned not to enter.
Now firstly, she has no clue what so ever about gaming.....she has only taken her frustration out because her more capable and intellectual brother who is younger than her and has a greater mentality to comprehend the scene of gaming has overpowered her tiny and useless blogging capability which any 5th standard student possesses today! no no make that 4th standard.....So as i was saying this non comprehension of something(the spirit of a true gamer) is definitely out of her league, just to spark out some flames so that people take interest in blog which was not being read by anyone...she now thinks its cool to be a fool.....y making a wonderful idiotic helpless puppet of herself that is in such a dilemma that IT CANT EVEN SHOW AUTHORITY TO A YOUNGER AND GREATER MORTAL(her brother). With out entering the field of gaming and seeing experiencing the thrill and the adrenaline rush i feel she has no right whatsoever to insult gaming and gamers world wide.....Inspite of all her life and love struck prolems there are many other places where she could have taken out her frustrations...(for example...teachers or institutions...) but no ....someone here needs that extra negative publicity that can finally fulfill the attention void that has been created in her from when she was a child!!!!!!
So as an apreciative gamer....i would seriously ask the writer of this log to take to gaming first...indulge in it and then think the same way of how she thinks..(but that is a road that she will not tread as she is mentally incapale of handling it...). So for the well being of your blog please edit your gaming section in a suitable manner!!!
If you are seriously interested to get negative comments there are other options....(EXPLORE THEM) so enough is said from my side.....
"Now for all your surveying shit.....We dont give a |= |_|( |<, girls nowadays are also heading into gaming, old and young alike, check out the MMORPG scene....so get a life and stop poking ur puny nose into a business that you will never(I REPEAT NEVER) BE ABLE TO COMPREHEND!" From all gamers and gaming enthusiasts...with love!

Zerob[EV] said...

Ingenious idea to get lots of hits to your blog, leave her alone people, and this blog.

Anindya said...

It seems your bro is playing rather outdated games. Instead of bitching about it you should feel sorry for him that he doesn't have a good computer to play modern games like Crysis. Have you seen how beautiful Crysis is? Anyway if Ankan is right, if you posted this to get hits, then I think you should buy a new high end PC for your bro with the money you earn from adsense.

Hemant said...

IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK -- HE ONLY SEES!

I think it has all occured 2 U.I must also point out that gaming business is apprx. $4.2 billion and is expected to cross $20 billion by the end of this decade..the 1 comented jst b4 has,acc 2 me left nothing more 2 be said...The only +ve dat cud be drawn is Ur immaculate literature & language..BAKI sab BAKWAAS.....

ELEVEN said...

[smack]........[smack] again(guess I'm not delusional)...........You ACTUALLY wrote that!!!!!!!!!
You are sure as hell narrow-minded; oh wait;actually Dumbass personified.......seriously!


FOE.........just another pathetic excuse for you I guess.

shrill said...

@all the aforementioned
folks!!
contentious as the topic is
u have full right to pour down ur scorn as i have full right to dole out my opininon here on my blog...
as far as the criticism is concernd a blogger/writer definitely knows to take such things in his/her stride..
@ELEVEN
Dude!!i expect mortals and "gamers" to participate in healthy debates decently where they prove their point and at least dont resort to desperate imprecations..

ELEVEN said...

If I come across as rude........I'm least bothered................
@Shrill-seriously gal;GROW UP!!

SummerDiary said...

So if from now on my wingmatesask me the familiar question -'Why don't you join our hub ?' , I have some concrete points against their hub(ris).

Nicely built discussion, also nice to see this from a Ranchi blogger :)

Please write more often.

Audreza said...

blogs are ur vent so u ve used it well..but wht i find here more dominating than ur actual dislike(read:disgust) for the game's/gamers is more like the pre-determined attitude maximally al gals have 2wrds violence n evrythin..i agree cs might appear mundane but its as precise a version of a norm military attack plan..fps lik assasin's creed has gt such an intense plot interlinked that 1ce on understandin d gravity of d story it'll send shivers dwn ur spine at random tims of d day..nt2mention d beautiful graphics.strategy games like AOE/dota/warcraft make u think in ways perhaps unimaginable for a normal non-player,but once it gets to u..its an addiction..of course maintainin parity n sanity b/w ur daily schedule n hobbies is of course ones own duty but aint v all adults??
n as far as violence is concerned i think they have an age limit enforced fr d same..anyway i guess..different folks, different strokes.

KewLDudEatBIT said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
KewLDudEatBIT said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
KewLDudEatBIT said...

Yaar tumhe gamin se itna gussa ki apne itne acche blog mein iski WAAT laga di.... dekho to CS premiyo ko kitna zhatka pahucha hai...yaar tum BIT ki student ho ker CS ko bura mat bolo.... bas BIT mein rehne ka sirf ek hi maksad reh gay hai aur woh hai CS....ladkiyan to humlogo ko milne se rahi, aab tum hi batao "Jiye to Jiye kaise, bin CS ke"...PITVIPER ko mat kehna ki tum usksi classmate ho, he'll be definitely carvin 4 ur HEADSHOT..hehe..

nyway ur blog rocks.....
....an admirer :)

The Thoughtful Philosopher said...

@Shrill
I understand your dislike for gaming and your inability to appreciate the joy it brings. But you have NO right whatsoever to even SUGGEST that people cease gaming.


@Pi†ViP3r
Your comment probably amounts to uncivilized blogging.......but I thoroughly enjoyed it nontheless

Deepak said...

Personally Being on both ends of this discussion, Die-Hard-Gamer and No-More-Games ..

games are fun relaxin and like every other hobby, great time pass.
But they are also addictive.. i have seen people wastin sems for games and friends fightin over games.. friendships breakin due to game quarrels..

Just think for a moment before gaming if all this is worth then gameon if u please

p.s. my gaming nick - dj

happy new yr sneha

Anonymous said...

Nobody listened to roald dahl about the tv.
And just coz u arent a part of the gaming world don try to belittle it

Anonymous said...

something which is worse in my opinion than gaming -- quizzing
bunch of people learning by rote some facts without gaining any deep level of understanding in any subject
Just so that they can then show off to others how good there power of memorising stuff is and feel good about themselves.
Gaming is the same , except gamers actually apply brains ... have a deep sense of competition (losing in quizzing is just something that i forgot to memorise, gaming its much more deeper)
learn a lot from losses.