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I'm sure it comes as no surprise that the mainstream media misunderstands and fears the video game industry. News reports are bad enough, but when TV shows and movies give a highly negative impression, it's worse. Far more people view TV shows and movies than read or watch the news.

The reason I'm bringing this up is because I happen to catch an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent the other day. I never watch the show, but what caught my eye this was the name of a 2004 episode: "F.P.S." That alone wouldn't be enough, but the summary described "crime and violence due to video games."

The Wikipedia article I linked to above describes some of it (and has a few quotes), but leaves out the most important parts -- what was said and implied of video games by the writers.

The idea is that some company created an online multiplayer game (I forget the name) where the objective is to hunt and kill the enemy as brutally as possible. Whoever stacks the most heads on their stake is the winner.

I'll admit that such a game is possible and could exist. However, that wasn't my problem. My issues are described below...

1. The entire gaming company consisted of TWO individuals. Somehow I find it doubtful that any modern game company -- even fan-based ones -- can operate efficiently with only two people.

2. The game -- supposedly a First-Person Shooter -- was played entirely with a laptop and NO mouse. I'd like to see someone do that and actually stay alive.

3. The police's "tech guy" was a young nerdy-looking guy who resembled Andy Dick and spouted off pseudo-technical nonsense. While investigating the game, he even proclaimed, "Nice gibs!"

4. Hacking is something that can be easily done within a few minutes. In the show's defense, hacking was displayed a little more realistically than in movies like Swordfish. But that's not saying a whole lot, is it?

5. The police requested -- and received -- a list of all players.

Battlefield 2 was released in 2005 (a year after this episode was shown on TV) and that game allows for up to 64 players per server. How many servers are there? Thousands.

I'd really like to see them get full player lists with games like Guild Wars or World of Warcraft. They could try and maybe succeed, but whoever is investigating it shouldn't make any plans for a few weeks.

6. An eight year-old kid was shown developing an interactive game by himself. The game featured cartoon-violence, but the message presented was all the same: games are made by and for kids and all games show some sort of violent activity.

I'm sure there's more, but I can't remember it right now.

I fully realize that some games can be extremely violent. But not all games are for kids. There is a rating system in place. The name of the game should also tip parents off -- a game entitled Grand Theft Auto probably isn't for your 5th grader. Even more telling are online/magazine reviews and if nothing else, the information and pictures on the game box.

The irrational fear so many have of video games is preyed upon by the media. The average person's idea of a video game is probably Super Mario Bros. Never mind the fact that SMB was released between the years of 1985 and 1987 (the exact dates vary upon location) and for a console system that's been out-of-date for nearly two decades!

One day the average person won't fear video games -- or at least, nowhere near as much as they do now. Unfortunately, it'll take time. Comic books and rock & roll took years to get fully accepted. Even today so-called "watchdog" groups sometimes complain about those subjects. So I think it'll be a good thirty years (likely more) before video games become widely accepted as a medium for both children and adults.

There will always be something.

Forget Rock & Roll.

Look at all the negative hype DUNGEONS & DRAGONS got.

Turned kids into Satanists, it did.

Or so they claimed.

Really? Because I have played D&D since it first came out. And up till about five or six years ago.

I think anyone who knows me I am far from a "Satanist."

For this episode - You would have to back track and look at the news as to what was happening. Was it cliche' for the news back then to blame video games for violence? Was there some people who did violent things back in 2004 that got blamed on by violence in video games?

Games like MORTAL KOMBAT used to drive people crazy because of the blood and Fatalities.

Simple fact is - if your child can't tell the difference between a video game and real life - that same child should not be watching Tom & Jerry where they blow each other up with dynamite and hit each other over the head with huge hammers.

Sadly, most shows cater to the masses and will show them what they expect to see or whatever fits in with the story, no matter how unrealistic it is. Way to propagate stereotypes.

Sometimes I think the complainers about these things are the ones that have something wrong with their head. They read way too much into it and they assume kids are morons. I watched somewhat violent shows when I was younger, heard swearing, etc. and yet I still knew that wasn't acceptable behaviour. Maybe if the complainers would spend a bit more time instilling values into their kids, they wouldn't need to be so worried that they will develop their core values from media.

I can sort of understand the problem many parents had with Mortal Kombat. The original MK (which bred all the controversy) was released in 1992.

Video arcades were still popular (with kids) and MK was one of the most frequently played. The two main consoles -- the Sega Genesis and SNES -- were primarily used by children. Many games were violent, but very few had anything close to the same level of blood and gore as in MK.

While Sega kept the blood, Nintendo wouldn't ALLOW it in their version. They recolored the blood (making it white/gray) and referred to it as "sweat." Oddly enough, the fatalities remained on the SNES. I guess that goes to prove that while blood is bad, setting someone on fire and blowing them up isn't.

Interestingly enough, Nintendo allowed blood in Mortal Kombat II on the SNES. I suppose the poor sales of MK1 (when compared to the Genesis) made Nintendo rethink their strategy.

Nowadays gaming is a little different. There are lots of adults playing on both consoles and the PC. It'd be nice if the "general population" could understand that and move away from "video games are for kids or slackers."

As a side-note, Senator Joseph Lieberman, who originally called for the formation of the ESRB (primarily due to Mortal Kombat and Night Trap), approved of the standards the video game industry has adopted. To paraphrase his statement: "The video game industry has done a good job of policing itself and except in rare circumstances, doesn't require any further government interference."

So if he can understand that, why can't others?

Because people who think in terms of "video games are for children" and "D&D players are all Satanists" are actually morons?

Sheesh. I've been gaming since I was very young, and I've played violent games like Doom, MK, Unreal: Tournament etc. All they've done was made me slightly nauseous due to the very sensitive controls that meant that my camera view was spinning around like a top. I never confused what I saw on the screen with real-life, though. I might have a hard day at work sometimes - so I'd come back home and kill orcs on NWN or something. Gaming for me is a form of releasing hostile feelings, not propagating them in real-life.

Unfortunately there are a lot of crybabies out there, fundamentalist types mostly, who think something like this:

a. kids = untutored morons;
b. gamers = kids;
c. therefore, gamers = untutored morons;
d. therefore, gamers must be saved by the light of the Lord, etc. etc.

Sigh. Give me a break! If it came down to a choice between those guys trying to "save me" or a nice cup of tea with Cthulhu, it'd be the Tentacled One every time.

(I'm not kidding... I've been placed in that situation (i.e. some fundamentalist trying to "save me") about two or three times. Someone actually tried to proselyte to me on the train on the way to work. How's that for creepy?)

These people piss me off. We should go jump on their heads and collect the money that falls out of them.

Whenever I'm really annoyed about people, I usually shout out loud:

"They should have their eyes poked out!!!"

"To the pain!"

We sound like a mob!

"Shouldn't those be pitchforks?"

We can string'em up by the keyboard and mouse chords!

Wait. What do you mean everyone's got wireless keyboard and mice these days?

Well that's going to make things a little more difficult...

Keyboards can be good bludgeoning devices and mice are projectiles! (Not the animals, because that's just mean.) Mice them!

*hands out the flaming torches*

To the secret lab, where we will plot to TAKE OVER THE W-- er, NARF!

Seriously though, I still use a corded keyboard and mouse, and have a couple of extra corded keyboards and mice stashed away somewhere if anyone needs any... *whistles innocently*