I've been keeping quiet for a long time on the subject of video games, online gaming and games in general. I've always just let people say what they wanted and smiled without agreeing or disagreeing. I was brought up to never cause trouble and to behave myself but there are some things that are really getting to me and I can't be impartial anymore.
For years people have been using games as an unjustified scapegoat for the dysfunctions of the reality that we live in. Video games have been blamed for the senseless violence that has occured within our society for years, as a way of explaining why.
I have been playing games since I can remember, so have all my friends and family. My Cousins Matthew, Micheal and my uncle David, introduced me to my first game which was Sonic The Hedgehog, a game which I have followed and still play, I even have the theme tune on my phone. Ever since then I became addicted, video games gave me the escape that I needed growing up. The games never judged me because my dad wasn't around or didnt make fun of me because I loved superheroes and asked my mum for a Superman costume for my sixth birthday. They were always there when I needed time to think or de-stress. If it wasn't for gaming I don't know how I would be able to relax and take my mind off of any stressful situations. While I was at university, constant dealines and pressure could be pretty hard to deal with sometimes and I would always end up playing a game to stop any of the pressure getting to me.
Just like me, the people I know have been playing video games or years and have never been in any trouble, they have never hurt anybody intentionally and never would. We all play games that include violence, weapons, women wearing hardly anything and gang crime. Games such as GTA(Grand Theft Auto), Metal Gear Solid, COD(Call Of Duty) and Tomb Raider all include violence and weapons but they also all come with a age guide whether it is a 15 rating or an 18 rating and these are often ignored causing a whole new realm of problems.
I've had numerous 'discussions' with people who have bought games for their children, brothers and sisters and then moan about how violent they are and that they don't condone violence nor do they like their children or sibling playing these games. All I ever say to them is, "Why buy them the game?"and I always get the same answer back "Because they wanted it". This is why I do not understand why these people are complaining, because if they chose to buy a game, rated higher than they childs age and that includes a warning about the violence then they are to blame not the companies. Some people just like to moan and can't face the blame in case anything goes wrong in future because of the myth of video games having a bad influence on people.
Games don't influence people to kill others or hurts other people, I would never dream of even pinching someone to hurt them, I love to find the good things in everything and always try to be as happy as I can be. I have never been in trouble with the police and yet as soon as I say I love video games people make judgements about me and around 90% of the time they are never good judgements. They assume that I dont't have friends, a boyfriend, a social life and that I just go around copying what I see in a game. If someone does decide to copy something they see there is obviously something wrong with them to begin with to be able to think that way and have the ability inside them to harm another person.
Many events in recent years that have been reported here and in america, video games always come up as a way of explaining why this terrible person done this terrible thing, when in reality the individual had some deep psycological issues and believed what they were doing was right. If they could look at a game; a fictional world with fictional characters, that go on unrealistic quests or missions to obtain a fictional object or to save the world, and choose to think that they should do that, then im sorry but they are not 'right in the head'. They need help, yes I understand that sometimes a mental anomoly is hard to recognise and diagnose but that does not mean the video games created that anomoly, it had to of already been there for an individual to think they were they did.
I had to write this because I am just getting so fed up of people putting gamers in a bad light and using games an an excuse.
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