The grimly predictable media farce over Modern Warfare 2 continues to trudge on. This time, Washington Times culture columnist Marybeth Hicks has decided to demonstrate her complete lack of acceptance for things that she doesn't understand, urging America to reject "barbaric" videogames like Modern Warfare 2.
"Tuesday was one of those days when the news can confuse us," says Hicks. "We ought not be surprised, but we ought to be concerned. Another immersive first-person game offering players the chance to vicariously participate in acts of violence for the sole purpose of ... entertainment.
"America's children are surrounded by senseless violence on TV, in movies and worst of all, in videogames that enable them a realistic experience of 'the thrill of the kill.' It's not maturity that's needed to play these games. It's maturity that rejects them as barbaric and harmful to the psyche of anyone who would play them."
I think it's very sad that a self-styled "culture columnist" wants us to reject a part of our culture, and would choose to put her fingers in her ears rather than sensibly research and rationally engage this topic. Simply writing off violent games and pointing to "thousands" of incredibly flawed "studies" has become so easy, and I wish I could expect more than this kind of lazy, pathetic swipe at a successful industry. It seems I can't, and Marybeth Hicks has no wish to provide her readers with a challenging and intelligent take on videogames, instead playing it safe and retreading the tired, half-assed "Videogames be bad" path.
If her idea of maturity is denying the validity of anything we don't personally like, then I'll gladly consider myself immature. I'd rather be immature and open-minded than mature and willingly ignorant.
Contest:
1:20 PM on 11.11.2009
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*Snobish response* HOHOHOAHAHAH, Are you crazy my dear sire! These videogames are for kids , of course not.
In fact, can someone do an image search for me? I'm on the toilet (edition) and need something to whack my boner to.
Now, what was she saying about immaturity?
Go to her site.
No really.
It'll be the biggest laugh of your whole day.
Sure was mine.
Telling your readers that videogames are immature and should be rejected without having the good grace to try them is wrong and pathetic.
Don't confuse frames per second with CALCULATIONS per second. There are millions calculations per second just to display those 30-60 frames.
Personally I can't wait for the MW2 news stuff to pass, but then I can't be arsed with the game.
Did you ply the level? I did, even though I originally was going to skip it.
It's LAME. It COMPLETELY redefines "much ado about nothing". Hell, I didn't even do anything until the police showed up, which is when I switched in to GTA4/Saints Row mode. Now that I've played it, I just can't believe that people are so offended by that level.
She is just a columnist writing her opinion, I think it's very easy to see how video games and their surrounding culture would seem very immature to an outsider.
I'm curious to see what the various contributors to the New York Times will say. As laughable and crippled it is as a news source, its the only mainstream, national, printed publication that openly discusses games with the same respect as books or movies, (their review of GTA4 saying the discussion should be about whether or not games are an artform, not a pollutant.)
Nobody should be allowed to talk about the content of a game unless they've played it, or at least seen and understood it enough to see why so many people want to play it, regardless of one's personal approval. I mean jesus christ its been 8 years since GTA3 and these idiots keep repeating the same stupid anti-gaming dialogue they were using in 2001 like a broken, antiquated record. Games have grown up a helluva lot since then, now its the media's turn.
i love freedom but these people don't. fuck the media. fuck the government. but most importantly, fuck me.
(B) "Barbaric and awful"? I think the word you're looking for is "realistic." Because, you know, actual war is barbaric and awful. Go play your Wii.
(C) Stop assuming that games are solely for screwing around and having a good time shooting people's heads off. Much in the same way that movies aren't that simple, neither are games. Many people went to see Saving Private Ryan and probably laughed their heads off at the violence. Those with brains saw something deeper. Learn to see both sides, not just the idiots'.
I completely agree. Great response to an idiotic demonstration of the conservative's lack of culture and acceptance.
Whether writing about culture and family issues for my weekly Washington Times column, blogging about the day's news, or talking with parents about how to do a better job on behalf of our children, it's common sense that drives my opinions and commentary."
ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's basically what I got from the article. Another "author" looking for their 5 minutes of fame, going after the "oh my god, think of the children" angle.
Moving on...
If you want to be fucking anal about it...
60fps x 1280 pixels wide x 720 pixels high = 55,296,000 ones and zeroes per second. So my original statement still stands.
Don't be such a self-righteous ass because I *dared* to reply that you miscontrued my original statement.
Fuck humanity.
Won't someone think of the children?
Does this mean if that if spit out the same rhetoric about video games I can be a paid columnist.
Also, Merry Beth Hicks is a IRL alt account of Jack Thompson
"I could expect more than this kind of lazy, pathetic swipe at a successful industry"
Oh you mean like the whole thing you just wrote. Why are you so hell bent on spreading the slander that anyone who doesn't like the level is somehow an idiot, or uninformed? Because the only information I need as a human being is to watch the level and know. There is no expertise needed to judge it. I've showed it to groups of my co-workers in a compeltely unbiased way. I simply say, "what do you think of this?" and play the video. NOT A SINGLE PERSON HAS SHRUGGED IT OFF AS NO BIG WHOOP. The lack of disgust with this level says a lot more about gamers than it says about war.
I happen to agree with her statement with a slight edit, "It's maturity that rejects this level as barbaric and harmful to the psyche of anyone who would play the level and enjoys it."
I've watched the level 3 times (showing it to coworkers), played and finished the campaign last night, and I still feel sick wacthing it.
You whine daily about FOX NEWS and their impending tide of smear stories, but I think you need to look over the last two weeks and see how many stories you've written about the level. Maybe you and FOX NEWS have a lot more in common than you would like to admit. I did read you explination of why you support it, and that was very level headed and straight forward. Even though you are on the oppisite side of the line, I thank you for explaining why in a thought out and respectful manner. But the rest have been slanderous, as someone on the other side of the line I'm getting sick of you attacking me and those who share the same view. If you disagree that is fine, but stop resorting to slander and insults to make your point. I love DTOID, but it's getting to the point where I don't want to read anymore of the website because of the constant disrepect that fills the articles.
That being said wanna play some Spec Ops or Multiplayer? Because on the whole I feel your a pretty smart dude, and will take what I say with a grain of salt and would enjoy talking with someone who doesn't always just agree with you.
But what gets me most is that why so much genuine anger and disrespect to Russia in this game? What have we done wrong to USA recently? They claim they won Cold War - ok, they won, we don't give a shit now, it's past, time to live in a new world. But they insist on making enemies of us. Every part of this game is a direct insult. First, they portray Russian as terrorists, then they make the terrorist an icon of the country, then the plot THICKENS and we see Russians landing on the East coast of USA. How the fuck they got there? Like you know Europe doesn't exist anymore, or EU and UK just let us use their military bases to transport all these expensive troops? And the most prominent question - how come that Russia is still not lying in radioactive ruins by the time the first russian soldier lands on american soil?
I can't understand why you need to cultivate hatred when you make the game? Aren't there not enough real enemies in the world other then former superpowers with decaying economy? Like drug cartels in Columbia for example or may be some of the Middle East terrorist groups, which actually openly threat USA every day? No! It's better to make completely out-of-this world situation, offend the whole nation by suggestion to burn its capital down (the soldies says it in Washington mission) and make young kids shoot unarmed people in the airport. And don't tell me it's M-game, it's audience consists mainly of teens and even kids sometimes - and 8-year old often can't make the difference if it is a terrorist or not, he just shoots unarmed civilians and the game doesn't punish him for that. And then ten years later Michael Moore have a plenty of material for award-bound films.
I usually pro-american but this shit is ridiculous. I can't understand why this country is constantly trying to make more enemies, like it's not enough hate for USA already. But I guess some people think it's cool to hate, cool to kill, unless the war is for real and it's your ass on the frontlines. And I guess USA deserved this economy fuck-up of lately. The only problem if it is not USA then someone else would act like shit.
You can flame me, don't really care, just had to say this.
Whoa! Steady on, mate! We're all friends here!
I don't see any anger or hatred at Russia in the game. Keep in mind, the whole crux of the game is that the U.S. got successfully blamed for an incident to which Russia responded the way they did. So, when it comes to "bad guys", in truth the Americans are the bad guys with respect to the story line. The US view in the game is one of defense more than offense.
Besides, can you really say that if the roles were reversed and the game was created by Russian developers that no one there would think, "This is just so unfair against the Americans"?