Gaming, Gamer, and Man-Child

GP: "Prof: Game Industry Barbaric, Continually Chooses Violent Themes"

You know, more I read people's comments on game-related stories, more I get dissappointed with the people who call themselves "gamers." Why? Read on.

While vast majority of people follow news around their area, politics, sports, or world news to keep track of hot issues that may be more important than entertainment, I follow news and blog entries on game industry most of the time (the only non-game related news, I get from Newsweek). One of the source is Game Politics.com (GP in short), a blog by ECA (Electronic Consumers Association), which covers on political issues surrounding game industry. They report mainstream news to legislation relating to games, and so on. And because we're living in a time when "game" is such a new and hot thing, it's inevitable many of GP's posts relates to someone's negative view at games in general. It is very informative, yet can be very annoying.

The actual posts are good by themselves, although sometimes it consist of flame-starters. However, the response people write to such articles..are obnoxious.

Ok, some articles do deserve to be shot down, like the despicable Fox News' coverage on "SeXBox", or this "Customizable Sodomy" (this is about BioWare's respectable Mass Effect, BTW) but there are plenty of reasonable and well-thought-out opinions on current states of games. Yet, to any story involving anyone saying anything negative about today's games, people are just busy bashing the authors, talking about how ignorant and stupid they are, citing a single or two examples to counter their views (when there are tons that do support them), instead of actually heed the words and reflect on them. I am generalizing the gamer-crowds and do know there are mature and respectable people among the crowd, but looking at the comments and boards, I do find more of one-sided, so-utterly-biased, and irresponsible gamers who simply like to talk shit to those opposing games. And then, they immediately turn around and praise game devs who says practically the same thing.

I guess I can blame this on the anonymity of interweb, but this picture is not encouraging. Maybe "game" is what game is: a toy for people's entertainment. Maybe gamers really are man-child. Maybe gaming is something to grow out of.