12 steps to making gamers not look like social outcasts who like guns
As I read at Ars today...
12-step plan for the games industry (Game Marketing Conf Keynote)
1. Talk up the rating system. The goal here is to inform people that videogames are rated just like movies, and no one is suggesting that the federal government start regulating those.
2. Extol the virtues of video gaming. Let your friends and neighbors know all the wonderful things that videogames can do for you. Geohegan used examples from the book Everything Bad is Good for You to make his claim that videogames can boost reflexes and intelligence.
3. Do research. Game developers should partner with respected universities to conduct accurate testing on the good and bad effects of videogames and publicize the results. (If you're wondering why the step comes after the step in which you tell everyone about the benefits of videogames, you're not the only one.)
4. Remind people that youth culture is often opposed by those in authority. The obvious example of this is rock 'n roll, and Geohegan believes that videogames are just the latest example of the trend. His point is that new forms of culture usually don't turn out to destroy society after all.
5. Encourage both moderation and good parenting. Just because people like to game doesn't mean they should do it round-the-clock. Parents who are concerned about what their children are playing ought to get involved and start making decisions about what is and is not appropriate; in other words, they should start being parents.
6. Benchmark against sex and violence in other media. Gamers should point out the frequency of sex, violence, and profanity on television and in the movies, thereby proving that videogames aren't so bad after all.
7. Embrace the Constitution. Gamers need to wrap themselves in the flag and start talking more about freedom of speech.
8. Lobby. Find some willing congressman and start throwing cash their way.
9. Get good spokespeople. Find gamers who are also respected for their work (like Peter Jackson) to helped promote the industry and change the stereotype of gamers as children.
10. Show people the best games. Make sure people know that there's more to video gaming than dropping opponents with head shots. Tell them about the wonders of Guitar Hero, Mario Kart, Katamari Damacy, etc.
11. Put the issue in perspective. Eighty percent of all games are not rated M, so the extreme violence so often referenced when talking about videogames only occurs in a small section of the market.
12. Be proud. Gamers should not feel shame about their hobby, and they should get better at explaining to friends and neighbors just why they enjoy it so much.
Games aren't different than any other form of entertainment, except its the scape goat for anytime a kid goes apeshit in a white neighborhood.
12-step plan for the games industry (Game Marketing Conf Keynote)
1. Talk up the rating system. The goal here is to inform people that videogames are rated just like movies, and no one is suggesting that the federal government start regulating those.
2. Extol the virtues of video gaming. Let your friends and neighbors know all the wonderful things that videogames can do for you. Geohegan used examples from the book Everything Bad is Good for You to make his claim that videogames can boost reflexes and intelligence.
3. Do research. Game developers should partner with respected universities to conduct accurate testing on the good and bad effects of videogames and publicize the results. (If you're wondering why the step comes after the step in which you tell everyone about the benefits of videogames, you're not the only one.)
4. Remind people that youth culture is often opposed by those in authority. The obvious example of this is rock 'n roll, and Geohegan believes that videogames are just the latest example of the trend. His point is that new forms of culture usually don't turn out to destroy society after all.
5. Encourage both moderation and good parenting. Just because people like to game doesn't mean they should do it round-the-clock. Parents who are concerned about what their children are playing ought to get involved and start making decisions about what is and is not appropriate; in other words, they should start being parents.
6. Benchmark against sex and violence in other media. Gamers should point out the frequency of sex, violence, and profanity on television and in the movies, thereby proving that videogames aren't so bad after all.
7. Embrace the Constitution. Gamers need to wrap themselves in the flag and start talking more about freedom of speech.
8. Lobby. Find some willing congressman and start throwing cash their way.
9. Get good spokespeople. Find gamers who are also respected for their work (like Peter Jackson) to helped promote the industry and change the stereotype of gamers as children.
10. Show people the best games. Make sure people know that there's more to video gaming than dropping opponents with head shots. Tell them about the wonders of Guitar Hero, Mario Kart, Katamari Damacy, etc.
11. Put the issue in perspective. Eighty percent of all games are not rated M, so the extreme violence so often referenced when talking about videogames only occurs in a small section of the market.
12. Be proud. Gamers should not feel shame about their hobby, and they should get better at explaining to friends and neighbors just why they enjoy it so much.
Games aren't different than any other form of entertainment, except its the scape goat for anytime a kid goes apeshit in a white neighborhood.
posted by Marc at
5:10 PM
1 Comments:
This is really a one step plan: "Make people less dumber." And good luck with that.
Not that the advocacy is a waste, but the scapegoating of video games will pass just as the scapegoating of rock 'n' roll did. (The people who come out of the woodwork to blame violence on Marilyn Manson look like crackpots these days. I'm betting the same will soon be true for those who get all outraged about video games.)
By
Mustapha Mond, at 9:34 AM
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