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When I was in Bacolod last weekend, I made talks to around a couple of thousands college kids.
One of my slides had the picture below. This image is often what parents and teachers see about gaming. My job was to prove to them that  this was all a MISCONCEPTION.
Misconceptions occur when people are fed wrong or inadequate information. For example, we often judge food which is presented to us by our eyes first. But only when our other senses confirm – like our taste and smell, that it is indeed delicous, can we make final judgement on it.
More when you make the jump…
GAMING IS EVIL
In one of my slides, I told the students that gaming is EVIL ONLY IF:
- You play TOO MUCH and NEGLECT your studies – “balance” here is the key. Fulfill your duties as a student and as a son/daughter then you can do whatever you want with your spare time.
- You spend more than you can afford – Gaming will be evil if this prompts you to steal or even skip meals just so you can have a couple more hours in an internet cafe for your MMORPGs.
- You become addicted – anything is excess, even food, is dangerous and wrong.
- You have no more time for families or friends – Again, the key word is “balance”. Time management is important. You have to devote equal time to family and that “special someone”. Neglect them for too long and you’re in for the short end of the stick. You wouldn’t want this, right?
- It controls you – YOU should be the one controlling it, not the other way around, alright?
So, remember… gaming will only be evil if you allow it to be. If I were the Surgeon General of online games, I’d tell you to do it in moderation, okay? Remember, there are other things more important.
But life is boring without entertainment. And for me, online games and MMORPGs are one of the best ways to have fun. So, devote equal time to your family, studies and other responsibilities and you’ll have a cool and balanced lifestyle.
Cheers,
GM T
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GM T, question lang. Bakit ganun nangyayari sa scoring ng Agit Lords. Maski hindi GLORY agits ang nakukuha nagkakaroon ng points? Kala ko ba GLORY agit lang ang may points. Kaya naman pala biglang naging ganun ang scores e. Paki-ayos po ang bilang. Dinadaya yung scoring sa freya e.
i think gaming is just the scapegoat for parents and teachers. if they’re kid is underperforming in school or neglects responsibility, they blame it on GAMES! it would be better if parents/teachers teach the value of responsibility and consequences of one’s actions. if your kids play too much games or is addicted, don’t give them allowance. parent’s don’t be afraid of bribing your kids, “give me A+ on your credit card and you can play games for once an hour”. this is the currency for making deals, i know people won’t agree with me on this stand, but it just might work. i advocate responsible gaming. maybe GMT can give us tips on how to be responsible gamers…
sorry typo “once a day for an hour” on “once an hour”
@chardy. ok will check ASAP
it used to be The Beatles. then TV. now it’s videogames. it’s always this NEW thing.
people who say games are evil are those who don’t play games. IMO, games are actually better than books, movies and TV. these feed you and you can’t do anything about it, be it gold or garbage. it limits us to just taking information.
games actually stimulate our mind a whole lot more than TV because it implores our constant input… it’s interactive. you are part of the story. you ARE your story. look at kids today, they are more “involved”. more open to new ideas and technology. it’s because the internet and games give them more opportunity to interact, not just absorb.
parents think this way because they don’t know it. they fear what they don’t know. a priest in my hometown even said games like Diablo (which my father plays a lot btw, and he’s a lay minister) is evil and children become sinful when they play it. WTF?
some people need to grow young.
@levin
i think books are still good, i still encourage people to to read. i however, agree that gaming is not evil. to continue your statements, sin is just a weird concept about morality, but what is good or bad? i believe that parents believe gaming is evil because of the consequences that can be brought upon by gaming if taken to the extreme. sorry, i sort of don’t believe in sin, i just believe in consequences of one’s action.
like i said, we should educate people on this. Nice discussion going on. Kudos
yep yep… educate people. Let’s promote responsible gaming. Because I’ve had a lot of friends who got addicted to games, literally had no more money to feed themselves. they also got kicked out of UP, sadly.
Another quick question, who are the target audience of Level Up? Is it college students, working singles, or 35-40, etc…?
I love your blog GMT!!! haha.. can’t keep my hands off of it. I’m an occasional gamer, but I still love games. I have great memories of gaming in the Philippines and in here too.
well, in this day and age, gaming has evolved to a different level… look at what second life is. this year’s E3 even had a new category – “non-game” ironically.
games like Rock Band, and Guitar hero raise awareness to people who know squat about music. MMORPGs have become very effective social hubs. i have stumbled upon white papers at gammasutra, propositions of gaming as a medium in corporate management(imagine undergoing job training in a game environment, how fun could it get?) the possibilities are endless…
gaming is just a medium, a very fun medium. it’s scope is growing and not just hack and slash and shoot them up stuff. soon it will be integrated into society so deep, we will be looking for more stuff to brand evil.
i didn’t say books were bad. i’m saying gaming (or interactive multimedia) is a stronger, more versatile, more effective medium, because it implores you to learn; it requires your response. books still have their place, but i know i can find “ragnarok” faster on wikipedia than i can even find the “R” volume.
and with up-to-date info and pop culture references. besides, not all books are actually good. it’s the medium i was talking about not the content, for it is very possible (if you followed the link above) to put education in games. it’s just a medium. people should just understand it’s potential.
people should adapt to the new age… grow young like i said. or be the old fart who doesn’t even know what the interwebs is . or what they say at hackenslash…everyone’s a gamer..
P.S. LOL @ the replies not related to your articles. you should make a customer support section for RO rants
hah… and they say dnd is for the devil…
I’m encouraging my kids (4 and 6) to play games (online or offline). Infact playing games becomes our bonding activities. I believed that it helps them learn to focus more. Of course like what you mentioned too much of everything is bad.
I hope new-turned parents won’t be stereotyping games as a medium of the devil ~_~ really is annoying.
@levin3d
omg! the non-games are so impressive!!! i thought it was just some random digital sodoku, but i was wrong.
@Alwell: That’s nice to know. What are you letting them play?
@gyl, on the contrary, I’ll prolly let my kid/s (when I do have my own) to use the consoles. I’ll lavish their gaming needs and wants (and in the process satisfy MY gaming needs and wants) lol.
Nice post GM T, hwehe, all I can say is that I could relate to this. Seriously. Haha.
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If your elders think gaming is evil and prevent you from playing it, you should meet my grandma. She burned ALL my magic cards after watching that stupid segment on TV relating card games to the devil all those years ago! My Ancient Recall card.. nuuuu!
@GM
since I’m a khan online player I allowed them to play the same game. We usually play khan together almost every weekend at our shop for an hour or two. Of course i’m there giving some parental advices. At home they play DOTA since we have only 1 desktop and a laptop.
My kids also asked for educational games like blue’s clues and Dora explorer hehehe.
A+ just for an hour a day?? No wai. lol
a good way to regulate kids is to make them “earn” their playing time. doing chores, assignments, good grades, can make them earn some sort of “token” they can spend to play their games.
…Then again, we have to agree that although it can’t be called evil, it has bad effects on some people too. Most especially the younger ones. I see six year olds curse while playing. Sad to say, only a few of the gaming population are responsible players.
It’s not the game that’s evil, it’s the people’s influence over the community.
i gave my 5 year old a gameboy, and i had to take it away from him because he gets excited and tries to imitate power rangers and punches another kid by accident. i’ll probably give it back when he understands the consequences of his actions.
Letting them “earn” their game time is a good way. If they also have good grades, parents should reward them too
\m/ {– rock on.. evil toh.. sign of the devil.. sa pRO prti gngmit yan.. @_@ baphoment sa pRO.. un ung opposite ng lamb.. ung cast ng mga mage/wizard atbp.. ung circle n may star.. i forgot the meaning.. bsta mdmi sa pRO p lng..
baphomet* sorry typo hehe
They used to say tabletop roleplaying games were as bad. At least now the heat is off. Too bad we don’t have time for them anymore.
To refer to Levin3d’s example, the Beatles were something of a disruption to the starched collar parents of the Sixties and Seventies. Now, they’re considered classic icons for their contribution to music as an art and an industry.
Already, Shigeru Miyamoto (the creator of Mario) and Hironobu Sakaguchi (the maker of the Final Fantasy franchise) are considered visionary for their efforts in the video game industry.
Soon, even MMORPGs will become an accepted form of entertainment. It can’t be stopped.
To those who say gaming is evil, I point my raised middle finger skyward in defiance.
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