Gaming: Last pre-07 thoughts

Okay, so maybe this piece find you a little too early, but what the heck. We’re going to be celebrating Christmas dinner and ripping up presents in a few hours or minutes (depending on what part of the globe you’re in), with a fresh new year waiting for us in six to seven days. You know what that means, people…consider this a bit of quiet time for some of the older among us.

It’s been a crazy year for a lot of us, and we’re not even getting to the part of the console launches. For one, we’ve been looking at congress attempt to wangle new (and queer) legislation, like the ill-fated “Truth in Video Game Ratings Act” from way back. Good thing that never took off. Then there’s the ESRB…which has enough coverage that we won’t be mentioning ’em any more.

Moving on to the more stranger side of the year, there’s our all-time favorite lawyer, Phoenix Wright Jack Thompson. We’re at a loss of how to describe him. On one hand, he’s been dissing off anything that is Rockstar, be it the GTA franchise or Bully. On the other hand, though, we found ourselves agreeing ever-so-slightly to some of his points, along with the other surveys that say violent gaming might spur violent behavior (Key word: might).

How is this so? It shows in our language, and most prominently, in the way we’ve balked at Thompson’s statements in the blogs – by way of flaming. “Violence begets violence,” as the old saying goes, and maybe the more intolerant we are of his statements, the more fired up his kind gets. With over six billion people (correct me if I’m wrong) on earth, you can’t expect everybody to agree with you.

Well, now that we’ve gotten some of this bad karma off our chest, let’s look at the brighter side of things, after this jump

Okay, so maybe this piece find you a little too early, but what the heck. We’re going to be celebrating Christmas dinner and ripping up presents in a few hours or minutes (depending on what part of the globe you’re in), with a fresh new year waiting for us in six to seven days. You know what that means, people…consider this a bit of quiet time for some of the older among us.

It’s been a crazy year for a lot of us, and we’re not even getting to the part of the console launches. For one, we’ve been looking at congress attempt to wangle new (and queer) legislation, like the ill-fated “Truth in Video Game Ratings Act” from way back. Good thing that never took off. Then there’s the ESRB…which has enough coverage that we won’t be mentioning ’em any more.

Moving on to the more stranger side of the year, there’s our all-time favorite lawyer, Phoenix Wright Jack Thompson. We’re at a loss of how to describe him. On one hand, he’s been dissing off anything that is Rockstar, be it the GTA franchise or Bully. On the other hand, though, we found ourselves agreeing ever-so-slightly to some of his points, along with the other surveys that say violent gaming might spur violent behavior (Key word: might).

How is this so? It shows in our language, and most prominently, in the way we’ve balked at Thompson’s statements in the blogs – by way of flaming. “Violence begets violence,” as the old saying goes, and maybe the more intolerant we are of his statements, the more fired up his kind gets. With over six billion people (correct me if I’m wrong) on earth, you can’t expect everybody to agree with you.

Well, now that we’ve gotten some of this bad karma off our chest, let’s look at the brighter side of things. Violent gaming aside, the last few months have been like some strange war for us. And like all confrontations, with every act of senseless violence we witness, there comes the moments we see the compassionate side of our fellowmen.

For one, we’ve seen fellow gamer groups go out of their way to help the less fortunate among us, raising funds and endorsing charities like Penny Arcade‘s Child’s Play program. And the charity flows into the individual level – like the dude who gives a kid a PSP after his original was stolen.

And it’s not just the story of the guys who gave. The lighter side’s about the survivors. Guys like World of Warcraft‘s Awemane, who’s got a chance at living a happy life despite his handicap thanks to WoW. Or how about the story of Gus Luna, the cancer patient who’s learning to grit it out with his painful therapy thanks to gaming?

We’ll be ending this article at this point, and we’re hoping it doesn’t leave you in a sour note. Good or bad, we’re simply reiterating that gaming’s a culture and lifestyle in it own right. And while we don’t always agree with how people will look at the industry, or how other people handle it, remember the golden rule: “Be the change you want in the world.” Merry Christmas, fellow gamers, and may you have an equally happy new year!

Note: Quote taken from Mohandas Gandhi. He’s no gamer, but he’s still cool.