"Nothing is true, everything is permitted."

-Hassan-i Sabbāh

I enjoy to read or listen to people opinions about something, that's one of my way to learn new things, by looking at things in another person's point of view, although I don't always end up agree with them. I'd like to share my opinions about anti gamers negative thought on video games. Based on what I heard myself, here's what they think

"Video game is pointless waste of time and money"

My friend said this to me loudly in front of my other friends when I was playing around in Unity Engine to learn how to use it. Did I try to tell her about my opinion on this? Yes I did.

If we enjoy the game and gain happiness out of it, then doesn't it means the time and money we spent on video games isn't for nothing? I know everything has the positive and the negative side, but when there is a bad side of something, it doesn't need to be stopped or removed from our life. We can do something to prevent this 'bad' side from affecting our everyday life, and enjoy the 'good' thing, right? 

You could spend your money on expensive stuff that you don't really need, or spend your time watching movies and endless TV series, isn't that the same thing as spending our money to buy a game and then spend our time playing it? That means we waste our time and money on our hobby, on things that we love, It wasn't pointless. As I said in this post (oops, accidentally promoting my other post) video game is also a media to deliver stories. So for me, instead of buying books, I buy video games to enjoy the story and have a role in it.

 

Img src

We waste our time on everything we do, even reading this post. But the question is, do you enjoy that or not? Do you love that or not? Do you gain something out of it or not? 

Did she still think that game is pointless waste of time and money? I don't know, I guess not. Because she turn around and not talk to me again after I told her that.

---

"Video games makes you violent"

This.. The most overused negative statement about video games. If Lionhead Studio get $1 everytime someone said that, they could fund that cancelled game that I mention in this article. Oops, accidentally promoting my other post again. 

I heard this a lot from the internet, and someone said this to me when I was talking about a game with my buddy at school break. A few moments later this guy stopped by and just jump in and said "Dude, enjoy that too much and you'll be a psychopath like that too. Games teaches violence, remember?". I was talking about Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance that time, telling about how Raiden slices and rip out those glowing cyborg spine. And he said I'm going to be like that? Okay, being an acrobatic cyborg with always-great looking hair is fine by me. 

Img src

Did I try to tell him that is not true? Yes I did. I gave him some easy explaination about why video games don't make us violent. I finished Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance 3 times (I was bored) and I don't feel the urge to rip someone's spine out of their body. And if games makes us violent, then thousands GTA Online players would go out and shoot each other. Real violence and virtual violence we play in games are different, and we have our common sense, our sanity that prevents us from doing that in real life. So unless you are already a psychopath, no, games will not makes us violent. 

Img src

Is he still think that games makes us violent? Yes. Well, if that is what he wanted to believe to be true about video games, that's fine. As long as he is not try so hard to stop me from playing video games, otherwise.. I'll rip his spine out of his body. 

---

"Video game is the modern form of slavery"

I laugh at my friend when I heard this, but then I hold my laughter because I remember a line from some book I never read says "respect other's opinion". 

Img src

This happened to me when I was browsing The Witcher fanart in school. A friend of mine popped his head in from the window to see what I'm doing. He seems to liked the artworks that I was looking at, until he found out that it based on a video game. I thought it would be fine if I tell him a bit about The Witcher 3, since I like to talk about games that I love to anyone, so I told him a bit about Geralt and how badass he is and how awesome the game is. Turns out he didn't like it so much. 

Img src

He said; video game is the form of modern day slavery created to make us forget and leave our real life responsibility, social life, and so they (the slaver, or in this case the developers) can manipulate our lives, compel us to play and keep playing video games. That sounds pretty silly to me, but "respect other's opinion" popped in my head again. I was speechless and confused what to say other than "wrong", but I sure am know that is 101% not true. 

Did I try tell him about that in my point of view? No, because I was holding my laughter, remember? Video game is a digital art, and being a game developers is a profession too (or at least that's how I see it), creating video games where we can have remarkable experiences in another world to make money, that's their job.  Not to brainwash us all and all that. Even they enjoy playing games themselves, so how's that a slavery? They have slaves but they are also slaves? Slave-ception. 

Img src

These Geralt arts belongs to Patrick Brown, by the way. I really like his stunning artworks, check it out if you like.

Video games is for everyone who wanted to have different kind of amazing experience in another world. But, for those who don't want to have that, no one force them to buy or download games and play it whether they will like it or not. This is just my opinions, correct me if I said anything wrong in this post.

---

Img src of the top pic
Follow me for daily dose of gaming stuff.