PixlBit

I know it was a tangent at the very end, but the Silent Hill movie is actually a good video game movie that's mostly true to its source material. I didn't think Prince of Persia was too bad in terms of video game movies, but it wasn't all that great either. Kind of on par with the Resident Evil movie in that regard.

Also, I'm very excited for Assassin's Creed III. I'm glad that it's a real sequel unlike the last two, so I'm hopeful that it brings a bunch of new stuff.

I don't think it's just gamers, I think the problem is internet culture in general.  Honestly, I don't see this personality in adults, mostly teenagers.  I think it's just an extention of High School personality and I hope most people outgrow it.

For what it's worth, if I ever caught my kids behaving that way, there'd be hell to pay for it.  I find it completely insane that parents would just let a kid run wild on the internet like that.  There's just too much trouble they could get into.  You might think I'm a little too stern, but none of our kids have TVs or game consoles in their room.  They play games in the living room in full view of the rest of the family.  There is a wii in the playroom, but that TV isn't hooked to cable and the Wii isn't hooked to the internet.

Anyway, I'm trying to do my part to stop this nonsense.  My kids will eventually make their own choices when it comes to their own behavior, but they'll know where I stand on things and how to behave properly.  I can assure you that as long as they are in my house, they won't be part of the problem.

Yea I agree, unfoturnately not all parents are as vigilant as you Angelo or even worse, they just dont care.

It's probably harsh to for us to pin this just on video games, but the problem is other mediums have interactions outside of the internet. Video game culture/community almost totally resides on the internet. Thus, if we ever want to develope as a medium and be taken more seriously in mainstream society, something needs to change.

Very good episode. I'm not sure if people will see this as a good or bad thing, but I can't remember the last time I referred to myself as a gamer. I don't want to be associated with the kind of gaming that pop culture cares about and knows about. Even though I think the movie is really funny, in Grandma's Boy the lead designer is a prodigious genius, trench coat wearing, Matrix wannabe, loser that nobody likes. All of the other people on the team are just bums who play games all day, get high, and then go home to party without ever getting real work done. That's what many people think gaming is. Nobody ever sees the sober person, the kid getting a degree, the engineer putting in code that nobody understands, the artist doing concept work, the level designers making top down drawings and trying to figure out what they want to do, the testers looking a giant bug list, and all the education, collaboration, creativity, and crunching that is involved. If I mention video games and all that comes to mind for a person is sociopathic kids in matchmaking lists, or a sack of weed, than fuck me I just give up. Honestly I can't hope to get somebody up to speed on the current state of gaming, there's just way too much to cover.

The vocal minority makes us all look so bad, and people don't realize it's the minority. Plus people in the media only want to focus on the negative side of anything. If I go to my room to play an amazing session of Portal 2, I love it, and nothing bad happens, nobody will notice. However if I go on a shooting rampage at school, and people see I own violent video games, suddenly the whole world wants to talk about gaming and gamers as if anybody knows a damn thing about either. Nobody wants to talk about the whole story, they just want to see stoners, violence, sex, and controversy. I agree with Mike in saying I hate the gaming communities I see and hear. I hate the vocal minority, online communities, and the VGAs. It's one of the reasons I don't call myself a gamer and I don't associate with gaming as people know it. In pop culture right now if I wanted to tell people I'm a gamer or that I'm going to make games people would probably say, "So you'll be able to go to the Spike VGAs and hang out with Kanye West? You'll be able to get stoned all day? You'll own noobs?" Lol, pathetic. I'd rather hang out with John Carmack, be sober, and play co-operative as opposed to competitive.

I relish the fact I can sign in here everyday and be in contact with the people here. This is a real community and it's one I'm happy to be a part of. I feel safe here as if I'm tucked away in a oasis where nobody is telling me they're going to rape me, tell me to make a sandwhich for them, or call me racial slurs. When it comes to offensive people online, I just avoid online play. I think online play is really fun, but it's not worth it in any sense. In my case personally, trolls have won and I've decided to just not play. Trash talking people, cursing, being psycho, and even winning don't make me feel better when I'm online. People say things online that you can't unhear. The experience of trash talking and winning doesn't balance out, let alone negate, the horrible things people say. For example way back in 08' when I played Gears of War 2 online there was a guy terrorizing everybody in the playlist before the match. Guess what, I don't remember anything about the match or who won, but I remember everything that guy said.

I don't have children but if I did I don't even think I'd let them play anything online. They'd be playing Portal 2 co-op with me and plenty of other single player and co-op games. I just can't imagine bringing a child into this world, loving her so much, getting her some games, seeing her go online to play something, and have her be told she needs to get raped or make a sandwhich. Literally in under a minute of being online you could potentially be emotionally torn apart and see your child get ripped to shreds for no reason, and no amount of console family filters or mute buttons will be able to fix that. I'd just avoid it, I'd be too afraid and paranoid. Online services sell you with this idea that everything is family friendly and you'll be able to connect with your friends and everything will be swell. Truth is, it's the damn wild west and there's no accountability. The culture is broken, littered with trolls, and the best explanation anybody can give is, "This is just the way things are, develop tough skin!" Some people might be willing to settle for that, get use to it, and just adapt. I choose not to.

I for one do not play online and one of the biggest reason is because of the community. I just rather not deal with it. I enjoy online play when I can play with someone I know, as it allows me to do that without them being here on my couch. Otherwise, I usually don't bother.

Same here. Online play holds nothing for me at this point. I prefer the good old days where you could hop into any game on PC and play without microphones or anyone harassing you.

I do enjoy the rare occasion I can play with friends, but it's so infrequent that I could really live without the online play. Honestly, when I do get the opportunity to play with friends, I'd rather they just come over, but god knows it's only a matter of time before local multiplayer is gone for good.

Sometimes the state of gaming makes me really sad. I wish we could go back to a simpler time.

I love playing online with friends, but I completely understand where all of you are coming from. I hope online gaming becomes more amiable in the future, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

I miss local play too. Hell I miss when it was called "two player" or "four player" and not "multiplayer" or "split screen". However, I do think it could improve so I look forward when I can enjoy games online like Mike.