VIDEO GAMES...good or evil?

[Domeguy]

When I got divorced in 1995, and was awarded full custody of my son, our first place we moved into didn't have any cable tv of any kind. At that time sattalite tv wasn't available in the area, and down in the holler we were in, an antenna would not work. So we rented a few VHS tapes from time to time, but mainly for intertainment, we played video games. I'm color blind, so I mostly stuck to the racing type of games where I could see what was going on. And as video games have progressed, they have become more complex, and with the internet now involved, the sky is the limit. So my rambling no brings me to ask all of you this, do you play video games, what types of systems do you have, do you play on the Internet, and what types of games do you play? Because I'm wondering if video games can play a small part in out prepping abilities? Can they help us to get any kind of practice of things we may run into out there in the real big bad world...or are they just setting us up and making us think we will always have extra ammo if we look in the back of a truck, or no matter how many times we get shot, we will always have extra lives. I know nothing will ever replace real planning and training...but sometimes I just don't want to break a nail!

[realist]

I would think that video games would be great if you were in a bunker underground with nothing to do. However if you are above ground then I would think there would be other things to do. Many moons ago I too dabbled in video games when they were far from what they are today. One night I started about 1900 and after a while I realized the wife had gone to bed and it was now 0300 in the morning. So after that experience I decided I was too involved and put them up. You can get lost in them if you are not careful, I would imagine with the newer games it would be even easier.

If you get a chance to see Col. David Grossman he talks about video games and their relationship with violent tendencies. There have been studies which shows how the video games can cause the user to develop a very aggressive violent behavior. What is even more interesting is they have found music does not do anything. He said the reason it people who listen to the different types of music are already interested in the genre.

Obviously I would imagine there are some games out there which are educational but since we are not sitting around eating fudgsicles in our bunker and we have graduated from kindergarten I vote they are evil.

[Gunfixr]

We have a game system, an xbox 360. We've had for 6 or 7, maybe 8yrs.
It does go online, and we use it for several things. We cut cable off not long before we got it.
We have Netflix, with which we watch various shows and movies. It had lots of apps, some of which we use, like YouTube, a history channel app, nat geo, etc.
And we play games on it sometimes, mostly me. The kids did for awhile, but they tried to constantly dominate the system (it's in the main room, on the big TV and surround system), and we ran them off it. They have their own now. My wife used to play, but not much anymore. Kind of a shame, we used to play as a team on this one game, and really dominated.
While the kids mostly play online, I do not. I mostly play some kind of shooter game, and online, it's 12yr Olds running around like nutcases just shooting everyone, taking hits to score kills, just dumb shit. Even if it's an "objective" game, where scoring the most kills is not the goal, that's what they do. I don't have my whole life to devote to being as good at insanity as they do, plus I play it more realistic, ie., I sneak around, try not to get shot, etc, while they just run around shooting like crazy, perfectly willing to get shot to death, so long as they kill the other guy, for the points. I got bored with that real quick.
I play campaign, offline. This limits my game titles, as several seek only online players, and put a real short campaign on the game. I look for what my son calls "an interactive movie". It has a plot. There are times when killing everybody is not the answer, times when stealth is much more successful than going in like John Wayne.
I play off and on, because as realist mentioned, you can easily get lost in them. I might play several days, every other day, for a week or so, for several hours at a time, then not touch it for several days or weeks, sometimes months.
What can you learn? Maybe to spot things quickly, since in shooters there aren't many friendlies. Reaction time. In a way, alignment, but it's not the same as real shooting, so I don't know that it will make you a marksman, since you're hands aren't doing the same motions. Personally, I try not to get shot in these. I seek cover, maneuver for advantage, as I would for real. Most of these, you can adjust settings. You can make it where you almost instantly die if hit.
I like far cry. I have 2, 3, and am working through 4. They are long games. I like sniper elite, I have 2, and am working through 3. This is a stealth game. If you go in guns blazing, you will lose every time. If you get stupid and just sit in the same spot shooting, they will hunt you down. In both games, the ai enemies are somewhat free. Your actions can change their behavior. In far cry, they are unscripted, they can do anything, totally unexpected.
I do some others. Call of duty I don't much mess with anymore, the campaigns are so short, I won't pay new price for them. World at War was good, it's set in ww2, and pretty long. I liked fable as well, have 2, partly through 3. It's more swordplay, but there are muskets, and crossbows. Had fun with fallout 3 also, played a little with fallout new Vegas. There are a few others, but these are the main ones.
I absolutely suck at video game driving, so I don't do racing games. I don't know, I think it is the total lack of any "feel" to the driving.

I don't use it for training, just entertainment. I do get satisfaction from the total annihilation of my enemies. I am cold, ruthless, and without mercy to all non friendlies.
Sometimes on Sundays, when I do laundry, I get shitfaced and play something while getting the laundry done.
Adds to the challenge.

For prepping, I don't know. It does require electricity. I don't know that I'd burn gas I don't know if I can replace just for that. But then, I've always planned without electricity. It will occupy all the time you need occupied.

Evil? I dunno. I'm not in the camp that video games make serial killers, but I do agree that a mind sufficiently immature does not need the influence of some of them. I believe that once right and wrong are well cemented in your mind, and the difference between reality and fantasy, then you are in a position to not take things like movies and video games too seriously.
I refused to let my 12yr old play grand theft auto, because it glorifies a criminal lifestyle. Just like deciding that some movies or shows should not be seen by them at that age. As a parent, it is up to us to know where our children are mentally, and what they are ready for. And what they are not. As an adult, I am not so concerned.

At least that's my take on it.

[Sniper-T]

predominantly evil!

They waste a huge amount of time that could be better spent.

That said, we do have a wii, that gets turned on occasionally during our long winters, or in a prolonged period of rain.

We have mainly the fun games that get your heart rate up, and the sweat flowing.

This type of games I see as ok, cause it does serve a purpose (fitness), but for the most part, I prefer to be outside playing/working.

[Gunfixr]

That's the main reason I don't get on it for periods of time, got other things to do.
However, it is a stress reliever. I do things there I should never do to people.
Even though some of them make me want to.

[Katrina]

We don't have any game systems as DH and I don't play them. When the grand kids come we play board and card games and have a blast. Personally I thinks it's the attention they get when they are with Son1 and DIL as opposed to at their mother's house.

[Domeguy]

My take is they are just like the microwave, something used in the home, but has its limitations. I would never say you should just let your kids, our yourself, be locked up in a room for long periods playing on one. But like Gunfixer, they are a fun diversion. I don't play the more popular shooter games, as I have a hard time tracking all the movement with my color blindness. But I was curious if others that did thought it might help in their real life experiences they may find themselves in. If I am ever asked to land a large passenger jumbo jet, I feel I well have a better chance than any other random passenger, or if Jeff Gordon ever needs a ride now that he is retired, I've got a shot. And I've learned to survive in snow covered Canada for up to 22 days now, and would still be alive if I hadn't pressed the wrong button and eaten the raw rabbit before cooking it.

[Stg1swret]

They are neither good, nor bad. Kind of like anything else in life, it depends on how you use it. They have there purpose. They can build skills of one type or another. The user is responsible for the eventual good or bad derived from their use.