Being an older gamer I thought I would put together a little guide for those well matured folk out there that are a little scared and confused about how a fat plumber with a mushroom addiction can not only be fun, but be one of the biggest entertainment phenomenon’s in human history.
Myth 1 – Playing games is for kids.
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| If this doesn't say fun for everyone, nothing does. |
Well technically this is true, it is for kids but (and there is always a but) it is for adults too. Gaming is a genuine family pastime and something that even my really really old parents are now starting to enjoy. In this wonderful day and age instead of the family crowding around the Monopoly board, rolling dice, counting fake money and loosing pieces this can be done in front of the TV with with nothing more than a console and a controller. No more arguments over the rules, no more kids eating the pieces and no more cheating bankers. What can be bad about that?
Myth 2 – Playing games leads to an increase in violent tendencies.
For a gamer the reverse is the actually true. If you ever see a person at work who is loud, irritable, sweating and prone to bouts of Tourette’s syndrome this person may not be coming down from the latest designer drug or recovering from a late night session at the local but be a gamer who hasn’t gotten a chance to unleash his worries on an unsuspecting pirate/ninja/gangster. Therapeutic violence is something that everyone should get behind, after all who doesn’t feel better at the thought of unleashing some of that pent up tension on a virtual representation of the telly tubbies (ok that game doesn’t exist, but it should, instant bestseller).
Myth 3 – Games are only played but antisocial nerds in their parent’s basement.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. In a recent survey that I just made up, 100% of sports stars used their first pay cheque to buy a gaming system. But in all seriousness (not really) gaming is a wonderful social experience. With the success of multiplayer games like Guitar Hero, Call of Duty and Mario Kart people are increasingly enjoying their gaming time with others. Another recent discovery is gaming goes well with alcohol (as proven by the success of the Mana Bar) and alcohol goes well with friends. Drunken singstar sessions is something that everyone should experience at least once in their life, after all how can you say you know someone until you experience their drunken attempt to bring soul to Ke Shan. Yes the antisocial roleplayer does exist but everyone else is having too much fun playing Rock Band with their drunken mates to notice.
Myth 4 – Games will rot your mind.
If there is anything more incorrect than this statement I am yet to see it. Games make education fun, easy and exciting as well as offering life lessons not available anywhere else. For example, with the inevitability of the Zombie apocalypse where are people going to get survival training? Educational documentaries such as Dawn of the Dead and Army of Darkness will only get the potential Zombie survivor so far. Without the interaction given to people by video games how will people know how to use common household items to create weapons of undead destruction.
Not only will video games assist your survival in this situation, they will teach you how to drive a million dollar sports car, build and manage a large scale army bent on planetary conquest, use a portal device to escape an evil AI contruct and the ins and outs of the economic structures within a large scale drug operation. All of these skills are essential for a rounded education experience and until the government realises this and Zombie kills 101 becomes a compulsory course in all high schools, video games are the only source of this vital knowledge.
So hopefully my guide has helped you folks in the blue rinse brigade understand this scary movement and to all the gamers reading this, I sincerely hope my article hasn’t made things worse for us.
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