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"Get down, stay down, put your hands behind you head and don't move". "Damn the bathroom has been locked, I will have to find another way in", "Son, what are you doing put the water gun down, what have you done to your brother? That’s it, I have had about as much as I can take from you, I am suspending your pocket money for 2 whole weeks and I am taking away that damn video-games console until you learn how to behave and converse in a civilised manner, do you understand?" "Yes Dad, Bu..." "No buts son you will have to learn the hard way, you need a break from that console and it’s about time we set a time-table so that you can only use it for a set amount of time each day"!
How many of you have been in a situation like that one? Probably not many of you I would suspect, but some-where along the lines you will have used either abusive language or used some form of abnormal behaviour that you have seen your favourite video-gaming characters do, some go further than others but the effects are the same and until researchers reveal the true Side-Effects of gaming we won't know what video-games do to our minds and how they effect the way we act towards others. It is a fact; games do affect our psychological state. Playing Mario for 3 hours will probably put you in a sociable mood, the images which would be stored in the brain would only be of bright environments, you might have a head-ache due to solving puzzles but the general state of you mind will be a happy one. Then try playing 3 hours of Max Payne, your adrenaline will be pumping and you will be on a non intoxicating high due to the rise in blood pressure and the tension which you have created whilst playing the game. The images you will get from playing Max Payne will be violent, possibly scary and definitely twisted; the results of Playing Max Payne are more likely to affect your social behaviour than playing a few hours of light hearted game.
Some people might laugh but Nightmares can be crated by anything which has unsettled your mind or it could be over something you are un-easy about. I will confess, playing Resident Evil: Code Veronica X on the PS2 did give me abnormal lapses which caused me to sometimes hallucinate. One night I woke up and I could see 3 giant spiders crawling up my wall, it was almost real and they weren't fading away. Due to my state of shock I went into my mom and dads room, my dad came back into the room with me but they were gone! My mind was playing tricks on me and I didn't like it, I was becoming the victim of a game which I played for a quick scare but mainly enjoyment, the Side-Effects were more frightening than the game itself.
As a little experiment I stopped playing Resident Evil for a while and decided to have a go on Gran Turismo 3. The adrenaline boost which I got from the game was a little less effective than the one I got from playing through Resident Evil, but the enjoyment level was still there, fast cars, great graphics and some great tunes, all this without the fear of yet another sleepless night. The images were still in my mind of the haunted mansion but they were becoming a distant memory, GT3 was like a medicine for the mind as it helped to rid my memory of the images which had haunted me over the previous 2 days, but somewhere along the line the game had effected me in a much deeper way, I felt uncomfortable with myself and I turned lights on where-ever I went, my friends laughed at me as I couldn't shake off the images I had witnessed, the game was effecting the way I reacted towards others and in some situations I had to walk away in order to clear my head.
This can be sometimes caused by pier-pressure, if your friends are all playing the latest horror survival game it puts pressure on you to play along with them, this pressure then effects how you mind processes the images from the games, this in short will alter your personality. Gaming has become a world-wide image portrayed by such characters as Lara Croft, Solid Snake, Mario, Zelda and Max Payne. As soon as you see these pictures you can identify what age these characters aim at and what console they are advertising, the gaming market is huge and is only second to the music industry for sales. Solid Snake, Lara Croft and Max Payne all portray violence, some stronger than others but they all have to kill people in order to continue on their journeys. When you push that button to kill you enemy the image which your mind creates is of a violent nature, some children in America try to emulate what they have seen their gaming hero's doing by acting violently towards their friends and families and the effects are devastating.
Look around your magazine collection, what do you see? I bet that for every 2 magazines you see one of them will have the image of a weapon on the front cover and for every single magazine you pick up there will be a gaming Idol on the front, it could be a soldier from the Medal of Honour series or it could be one of the many Nintendo icons used to advertise Super Smash Bros. Melee. Just like any Idol the characters give you the feeling of inspiration, you want to be like them, you want to act just as they would and you want exactly what they have got, but you can't have it. Every image you see affects your life, whether it be a movie-star, a pop-star, sports-star or your favourite gaming character they will all lay a part in your life.
The next time you read a computer magazine or play on a video-game, think about how this game is going to affect your life. If you like to play scary games then rationalise the images and bring them into context, this is something that I will have to do before I play the next Resident Evil or Silent Hill because I don't want a repeat of what happened with Code Veronica X. The Side-Effects of gaming can be mild but they can also be very strong, try to control you emotions by playing games that won't affect your mental state and express your inner feelings in a physical form. At the end of the day it isn't real, no matter how realistic a game may feel it is only what the title may suggest. Get behind your character and take on the role of your hero with anticipation, but when you turn the console off try to leave you feelings with the console and not with yourself but most of all, enjoy gaming!
Thanks for reading
How many of you have been in a situation like that one? Probably not many of you I would suspect, but some-where along the lines you will have used either abusive language or used some form of abnormal behaviour that you have seen your favourite video-gaming characters do, some go further than others but the effects are the same and until researchers reveal the true Side-Effects of gaming we won't know what video-games do to our minds and how they effect the way we act towards others. It is a fact; games do affect our psychological state. Playing Mario for 3 hours will probably put you in a sociable mood, the images which would be stored in the brain would only be of bright environments, you might have a head-ache due to solving puzzles but the general state of you mind will be a happy one. Then try playing 3 hours of Max Payne, your adrenaline will be pumping and you will be on a non intoxicating high due to the rise in blood pressure and the tension which you have created whilst playing the game. The images you will get from playing Max Payne will be violent, possibly scary and definitely twisted; the results of Playing Max Payne are more likely to affect your social behaviour than playing a few hours of light hearted game.
Some people might laugh but Nightmares can be crated by anything which has unsettled your mind or it could be over something you are un-easy about. I will confess, playing Resident Evil: Code Veronica X on the PS2 did give me abnormal lapses which caused me to sometimes hallucinate. One night I woke up and I could see 3 giant spiders crawling up my wall, it was almost real and they weren't fading away. Due to my state of shock I went into my mom and dads room, my dad came back into the room with me but they were gone! My mind was playing tricks on me and I didn't like it, I was becoming the victim of a game which I played for a quick scare but mainly enjoyment, the Side-Effects were more frightening than the game itself.
As a little experiment I stopped playing Resident Evil for a while and decided to have a go on Gran Turismo 3. The adrenaline boost which I got from the game was a little less effective than the one I got from playing through Resident Evil, but the enjoyment level was still there, fast cars, great graphics and some great tunes, all this without the fear of yet another sleepless night. The images were still in my mind of the haunted mansion but they were becoming a distant memory, GT3 was like a medicine for the mind as it helped to rid my memory of the images which had haunted me over the previous 2 days, but somewhere along the line the game had effected me in a much deeper way, I felt uncomfortable with myself and I turned lights on where-ever I went, my friends laughed at me as I couldn't shake off the images I had witnessed, the game was effecting the way I reacted towards others and in some situations I had to walk away in order to clear my head.
This can be sometimes caused by pier-pressure, if your friends are all playing the latest horror survival game it puts pressure on you to play along with them, this pressure then effects how you mind processes the images from the games, this in short will alter your personality. Gaming has become a world-wide image portrayed by such characters as Lara Croft, Solid Snake, Mario, Zelda and Max Payne. As soon as you see these pictures you can identify what age these characters aim at and what console they are advertising, the gaming market is huge and is only second to the music industry for sales. Solid Snake, Lara Croft and Max Payne all portray violence, some stronger than others but they all have to kill people in order to continue on their journeys. When you push that button to kill you enemy the image which your mind creates is of a violent nature, some children in America try to emulate what they have seen their gaming hero's doing by acting violently towards their friends and families and the effects are devastating.
Look around your magazine collection, what do you see? I bet that for every 2 magazines you see one of them will have the image of a weapon on the front cover and for every single magazine you pick up there will be a gaming Idol on the front, it could be a soldier from the Medal of Honour series or it could be one of the many Nintendo icons used to advertise Super Smash Bros. Melee. Just like any Idol the characters give you the feeling of inspiration, you want to be like them, you want to act just as they would and you want exactly what they have got, but you can't have it. Every image you see affects your life, whether it be a movie-star, a pop-star, sports-star or your favourite gaming character they will all lay a part in your life.
The next time you read a computer magazine or play on a video-game, think about how this game is going to affect your life. If you like to play scary games then rationalise the images and bring them into context, this is something that I will have to do before I play the next Resident Evil or Silent Hill because I don't want a repeat of what happened with Code Veronica X. The Side-Effects of gaming can be mild but they can also be very strong, try to control you emotions by playing games that won't affect your mental state and express your inner feelings in a physical form. At the end of the day it isn't real, no matter how realistic a game may feel it is only what the title may suggest. Get behind your character and take on the role of your hero with anticipation, but when you turn the console off try to leave you feelings with the console and not with yourself but most of all, enjoy gaming!
Thanks for reading
Come to think about it, i often see black shapes moving in my room at night just as im trying to get to sleep.
Probably aint the games, must just be some nig*a trying to knick my TV.
Anyhow, this is definately a GAD winning post. Any person that deals with that sort of stuff reading this thread. i seriously think this should be a winner.
Probably aint the games, must just be some nig*a trying to knick my TV.
Anyhow, this is definately a GAD winning post. Any person that deals with that sort of stuff reading this thread. i seriously think this should be a winner.
garbe123 wrote:
One night I woke up and I could see 3 giant spiders
> crawling up my wall, it was almost real and they weren't fading away.
> Due to my state of shock I went into my mom and dads room, my dad came
> back into the room with me but they were gone! My mind was playing
> tricks on me and I didn't like it, I was becoming the victim of a game
> which I played for a quick scare but mainly enjoyment, the
> Side-Effects were more frightening than the game itself.
I had that with Tactical Ops. I swear at school that whenever I walked past someone, their name came up in red, with a health gauge etc.
GAD contender, good luck mate!
One night I woke up and I could see 3 giant spiders
> crawling up my wall, it was almost real and they weren't fading away.
> Due to my state of shock I went into my mom and dads room, my dad came
> back into the room with me but they were gone! My mind was playing
> tricks on me and I didn't like it, I was becoming the victim of a game
> which I played for a quick scare but mainly enjoyment, the
> Side-Effects were more frightening than the game itself.
I had that with Tactical Ops. I swear at school that whenever I walked past someone, their name came up in red, with a health gauge etc.
GAD contender, good luck mate!
Great post Garbe, its true about games inserting images and thoughts into peoples minds. I once played Quake1 online straight for about 6 hours non stop. i got no sleep that night.
Its probably one of the most original posts ive seen whilst searching round these forums, its a change from people arguing about which console is the best and writing boring reviews.
Glad to read something that i have never read before but is also something i think about often. I dont think ive ever had those type of effects to such an extreme, but it is true our culture is gradually move evolved around the world of video games. Its also that its not just the mental effects produced from video games, but physical aswell. Instead of getting exercise or being outside getting all important vitamin D (*thumbs up*), people are evidently spending more time inside playing video games. Such effects created are: People getting fatter, People getting pastey white skin and all around weakning.
Keep it up.
Its probably one of the most original posts ive seen whilst searching round these forums, its a change from people arguing about which console is the best and writing boring reviews.
Glad to read something that i have never read before but is also something i think about often. I dont think ive ever had those type of effects to such an extreme, but it is true our culture is gradually move evolved around the world of video games. Its also that its not just the mental effects produced from video games, but physical aswell. Instead of getting exercise or being outside getting all important vitamin D (*thumbs up*), people are evidently spending more time inside playing video games. Such effects created are: People getting fatter, People getting pastey white skin and all around weakning.
Keep it up.
Cheers Nomad!
Great post garbe.
Fascinating gameworlds leave the biggest mark on me. Whether it's the spooky menacing abodes of Silent Hill 2 or the fun-packed cities of Crazy Taxi - but the only side-effects and influence they have on me are positive (I think).
Fascinating gameworlds leave the biggest mark on me. Whether it's the spooky menacing abodes of Silent Hill 2 or the fun-packed cities of Crazy Taxi - but the only side-effects and influence they have on me are positive (I think).
Cheers guys, I agree with what you say Sibs!
erm... yes...
The think about certain games getting you pumped up is true, but adrenaline and the like doesn't stay with you for a long time, it's a short term drug created by the body, it doesn't affect you physically in the long term, and I don't think it will affect your mood either except when it is actually in effect (ie. when still playing the game).
The thing about trying to emulate the gaming hero I don't believe at all. Most people wouldn't try to emulate a video game character anyway I don't think... Because while you do state that videogames sales are only second to the music industry (within the whole entertainment industry anyway) videogame characters do not become icons like musicians do. musicians can put across emotions, feelings, social and political views, etc. in their music. Sure some games may put across emotions to an extent, but they have yet to do so as much as music. Add to that the reality that video game characters are not real. Musicians are, so they can become more idolised. Plus, despite the fact that videogames are more accepted nowadays, it's still not perceived as 'cool' to be really into videogames to an extent of idolising characters.
I don't think I've ever had nightmares about videogames (although you don't actually remember most of your dreams, only the ones you wake up in the middle of...) but I have had a couple of dreams involving videogames or characters from them... wierdest one was a dream of a bit in Half-Life that wasn't actually out of Half-Life... and I tried to turn it into an actual level using the Worldcraft tool, but didn't have the skills to do it... I still view the Resi Series as more like those zombie B-movies. They're there to scare through shock value. Things that would be more scary that would actually play on your mind and suchlike I would think of things that are more psychological, maybe Eternal Darkness on GC when it comes out...
Anyway... interesting post...
The think about certain games getting you pumped up is true, but adrenaline and the like doesn't stay with you for a long time, it's a short term drug created by the body, it doesn't affect you physically in the long term, and I don't think it will affect your mood either except when it is actually in effect (ie. when still playing the game).
The thing about trying to emulate the gaming hero I don't believe at all. Most people wouldn't try to emulate a video game character anyway I don't think... Because while you do state that videogames sales are only second to the music industry (within the whole entertainment industry anyway) videogame characters do not become icons like musicians do. musicians can put across emotions, feelings, social and political views, etc. in their music. Sure some games may put across emotions to an extent, but they have yet to do so as much as music. Add to that the reality that video game characters are not real. Musicians are, so they can become more idolised. Plus, despite the fact that videogames are more accepted nowadays, it's still not perceived as 'cool' to be really into videogames to an extent of idolising characters.
I don't think I've ever had nightmares about videogames (although you don't actually remember most of your dreams, only the ones you wake up in the middle of...) but I have had a couple of dreams involving videogames or characters from them... wierdest one was a dream of a bit in Half-Life that wasn't actually out of Half-Life... and I tried to turn it into an actual level using the Worldcraft tool, but didn't have the skills to do it... I still view the Resi Series as more like those zombie B-movies. They're there to scare through shock value. Things that would be more scary that would actually play on your mind and suchlike I would think of things that are more psychological, maybe Eternal Darkness on GC when it comes out...
Anyway... interesting post...
Good post garbe! A Strong GAD Contender ;-)
"Get down, stay down, put your hands behind you head and don't move". "Damn the bathroom has been locked, I will have to find another way in", "Son, what are you doing put the water gun down, what have you done to your brother? That’s it, I have had about as much as I can take from you, I am suspending your pocket money for 2 whole weeks and I am taking away that damn video-games console until you learn how to behave and converse in a civilised manner, do you understand?" "Yes Dad, Bu..." "No buts son you will have to learn the hard way, you need a break from that console and it’s about time we set a time-table so that you can only use it for a set amount of time each day"!
How many of you have been in a situation like that one? Probably not many of you I would suspect, but some-where along the lines you will have used either abusive language or used some form of abnormal behaviour that you have seen your favourite video-gaming characters do, some go further than others but the effects are the same and until researchers reveal the true Side-Effects of gaming we won't know what video-games do to our minds and how they effect the way we act towards others. It is a fact; games do affect our psychological state. Playing Mario for 3 hours will probably put you in a sociable mood, the images which would be stored in the brain would only be of bright environments, you might have a head-ache due to solving puzzles but the general state of you mind will be a happy one. Then try playing 3 hours of Max Payne, your adrenaline will be pumping and you will be on a non intoxicating high due to the rise in blood pressure and the tension which you have created whilst playing the game. The images you will get from playing Max Payne will be violent, possibly scary and definitely twisted; the results of Playing Max Payne are more likely to affect your social behaviour than playing a few hours of light hearted game.
Some people might laugh but Nightmares can be crated by anything which has unsettled your mind or it could be over something you are un-easy about. I will confess, playing Resident Evil: Code Veronica X on the PS2 did give me abnormal lapses which caused me to sometimes hallucinate. One night I woke up and I could see 3 giant spiders crawling up my wall, it was almost real and they weren't fading away. Due to my state of shock I went into my mom and dads room, my dad came back into the room with me but they were gone! My mind was playing tricks on me and I didn't like it, I was becoming the victim of a game which I played for a quick scare but mainly enjoyment, the Side-Effects were more frightening than the game itself.
As a little experiment I stopped playing Resident Evil for a while and decided to have a go on Gran Turismo 3. The adrenaline boost which I got from the game was a little less effective than the one I got from playing through Resident Evil, but the enjoyment level was still there, fast cars, great graphics and some great tunes, all this without the fear of yet another sleepless night. The images were still in my mind of the haunted mansion but they were becoming a distant memory, GT3 was like a medicine for the mind as it helped to rid my memory of the images which had haunted me over the previous 2 days, but somewhere along the line the game had effected me in a much deeper way, I felt uncomfortable with myself and I turned lights on where-ever I went, my friends laughed at me as I couldn't shake off the images I had witnessed, the game was effecting the way I reacted towards others and in some situations I had to walk away in order to clear my head.
This can be sometimes caused by pier-pressure, if your friends are all playing the latest horror survival game it puts pressure on you to play along with them, this pressure then effects how you mind processes the images from the games, this in short will alter your personality. Gaming has become a world-wide image portrayed by such characters as Lara Croft, Solid Snake, Mario, Zelda and Max Payne. As soon as you see these pictures you can identify what age these characters aim at and what console they are advertising, the gaming market is huge and is only second to the music industry for sales. Solid Snake, Lara Croft and Max Payne all portray violence, some stronger than others but they all have to kill people in order to continue on their journeys. When you push that button to kill you enemy the image which your mind creates is of a violent nature, some children in America try to emulate what they have seen their gaming hero's doing by acting violently towards their friends and families and the effects are devastating.
Look around your magazine collection, what do you see? I bet that for every 2 magazines you see one of them will have the image of a weapon on the front cover and for every single magazine you pick up there will be a gaming Idol on the front, it could be a soldier from the Medal of Honour series or it could be one of the many Nintendo icons used to advertise Super Smash Bros. Melee. Just like any Idol the characters give you the feeling of inspiration, you want to be like them, you want to act just as they would and you want exactly what they have got, but you can't have it. Every image you see affects your life, whether it be a movie-star, a pop-star, sports-star or your favourite gaming character they will all lay a part in your life.
The next time you read a computer magazine or play on a video-game, think about how this game is going to affect your life. If you like to play scary games then rationalise the images and bring them into context, this is something that I will have to do before I play the next Resident Evil or Silent Hill because I don't want a repeat of what happened with Code Veronica X. The Side-Effects of gaming can be mild but they can also be very strong, try to control you emotions by playing games that won't affect your mental state and express your inner feelings in a physical form. At the end of the day it isn't real, no matter how realistic a game may feel it is only what the title may suggest. Get behind your character and take on the role of your hero with anticipation, but when you turn the console off try to leave you feelings with the console and not with yourself but most of all, enjoy gaming!
Thanks for reading
How many of you have been in a situation like that one? Probably not many of you I would suspect, but some-where along the lines you will have used either abusive language or used some form of abnormal behaviour that you have seen your favourite video-gaming characters do, some go further than others but the effects are the same and until researchers reveal the true Side-Effects of gaming we won't know what video-games do to our minds and how they effect the way we act towards others. It is a fact; games do affect our psychological state. Playing Mario for 3 hours will probably put you in a sociable mood, the images which would be stored in the brain would only be of bright environments, you might have a head-ache due to solving puzzles but the general state of you mind will be a happy one. Then try playing 3 hours of Max Payne, your adrenaline will be pumping and you will be on a non intoxicating high due to the rise in blood pressure and the tension which you have created whilst playing the game. The images you will get from playing Max Payne will be violent, possibly scary and definitely twisted; the results of Playing Max Payne are more likely to affect your social behaviour than playing a few hours of light hearted game.
Some people might laugh but Nightmares can be crated by anything which has unsettled your mind or it could be over something you are un-easy about. I will confess, playing Resident Evil: Code Veronica X on the PS2 did give me abnormal lapses which caused me to sometimes hallucinate. One night I woke up and I could see 3 giant spiders crawling up my wall, it was almost real and they weren't fading away. Due to my state of shock I went into my mom and dads room, my dad came back into the room with me but they were gone! My mind was playing tricks on me and I didn't like it, I was becoming the victim of a game which I played for a quick scare but mainly enjoyment, the Side-Effects were more frightening than the game itself.
As a little experiment I stopped playing Resident Evil for a while and decided to have a go on Gran Turismo 3. The adrenaline boost which I got from the game was a little less effective than the one I got from playing through Resident Evil, but the enjoyment level was still there, fast cars, great graphics and some great tunes, all this without the fear of yet another sleepless night. The images were still in my mind of the haunted mansion but they were becoming a distant memory, GT3 was like a medicine for the mind as it helped to rid my memory of the images which had haunted me over the previous 2 days, but somewhere along the line the game had effected me in a much deeper way, I felt uncomfortable with myself and I turned lights on where-ever I went, my friends laughed at me as I couldn't shake off the images I had witnessed, the game was effecting the way I reacted towards others and in some situations I had to walk away in order to clear my head.
This can be sometimes caused by pier-pressure, if your friends are all playing the latest horror survival game it puts pressure on you to play along with them, this pressure then effects how you mind processes the images from the games, this in short will alter your personality. Gaming has become a world-wide image portrayed by such characters as Lara Croft, Solid Snake, Mario, Zelda and Max Payne. As soon as you see these pictures you can identify what age these characters aim at and what console they are advertising, the gaming market is huge and is only second to the music industry for sales. Solid Snake, Lara Croft and Max Payne all portray violence, some stronger than others but they all have to kill people in order to continue on their journeys. When you push that button to kill you enemy the image which your mind creates is of a violent nature, some children in America try to emulate what they have seen their gaming hero's doing by acting violently towards their friends and families and the effects are devastating.
Look around your magazine collection, what do you see? I bet that for every 2 magazines you see one of them will have the image of a weapon on the front cover and for every single magazine you pick up there will be a gaming Idol on the front, it could be a soldier from the Medal of Honour series or it could be one of the many Nintendo icons used to advertise Super Smash Bros. Melee. Just like any Idol the characters give you the feeling of inspiration, you want to be like them, you want to act just as they would and you want exactly what they have got, but you can't have it. Every image you see affects your life, whether it be a movie-star, a pop-star, sports-star or your favourite gaming character they will all lay a part in your life.
The next time you read a computer magazine or play on a video-game, think about how this game is going to affect your life. If you like to play scary games then rationalise the images and bring them into context, this is something that I will have to do before I play the next Resident Evil or Silent Hill because I don't want a repeat of what happened with Code Veronica X. The Side-Effects of gaming can be mild but they can also be very strong, try to control you emotions by playing games that won't affect your mental state and express your inner feelings in a physical form. At the end of the day it isn't real, no matter how realistic a game may feel it is only what the title may suggest. Get behind your character and take on the role of your hero with anticipation, but when you turn the console off try to leave you feelings with the console and not with yourself but most of all, enjoy gaming!
Thanks for reading