gaming
Cary
My 7 1/2 year old plays Halo3, Halo Reach, and just started Modern Warfare 2. The latter has me in need of reading some threads about young kids playing war games of this kind. I don't even know exactly what my questions are in this arena, so if anyone can find a thread they can point me to that it would be great. It has something to do with "Is he too young for what he is playing?" (meaning the call of duty one.) He doesn't seem to be bothered by anything he is playing and he really wanted to get the game because he has some new on-line friends who play it. They are ages 8-12 I believe. SOme older I'm sure. (But I'm feeling like age has nothing to do with this-necessarily. That feels like a rule and not a principle.) I keep thinking of the box that says "M17+" It's bugging me. Seems like he would walk away if it was too much, no? ALso, I keep thinking that what he gets and what I get are different. I just need to read a little more. Maybe flesh this out for myself. I can feel the desire to make the game go away but I can see it comes from all things fear related.
What I really want is to find what the fear is, get that to go away and keep the game because it's what Oliver likes. I think he likes the game more than his Mom's fear. Just a guess.
Also, a couple of months ago he said after playing Halo Reach, "I wish this were real!" I asked him what he meant. He repeated, I wish this were real! Duh Mom. I could use some more ideas on what he might be experiencing that is so terrific. I personally don't feel joyful gaming and never have but Oliver clearly does which is terrific. So what does he wish were real? Which aspect? What does he want to "do" in real life? It's thrown me for a loop and I suspect some of my own fear comes from this. Does he want to slaughter aliens or enemy soldiers? Or is he saying he wants to be this powerful and successful in real life? Or something else?
Cary
What I really want is to find what the fear is, get that to go away and keep the game because it's what Oliver likes. I think he likes the game more than his Mom's fear. Just a guess.
Also, a couple of months ago he said after playing Halo Reach, "I wish this were real!" I asked him what he meant. He repeated, I wish this were real! Duh Mom. I could use some more ideas on what he might be experiencing that is so terrific. I personally don't feel joyful gaming and never have but Oliver clearly does which is terrific. So what does he wish were real? Which aspect? What does he want to "do" in real life? It's thrown me for a loop and I suspect some of my own fear comes from this. Does he want to slaughter aliens or enemy soldiers? Or is he saying he wants to be this powerful and successful in real life? Or something else?
Cary
plaidpanties666
These might help:
http://sandradodd.com/videogames/
http://sandradodd.com/peace/guns
Have you played or watched him play? That might help you get a sense of what he finds enjoyable about the game. Would he like to do something similar that involves moving around in real space? Like paint ball or air soft games?
When I'm enjoying a video or computer game I often find myself wishing it was real - that my real body could interact with the things I'm seeing, rather than being held down to the controls. I'd like to experience some of the momentum and actually use some of the gadgets in my games, feel the actual textures of things.
Ray likes playing a skateboarding game and also likes to skate and one of the things he likes about the game is he can crash over and over and over. Sometimes he'll comment that he wishes real life were that simple - smash into the wall and get up, board miraculously in hand, and go again. That kind of wishing is "just" wishing - wouldn't it be neat if? Even though its not possible and the real cognate (falling while skateboarding) isn't pleasant and never will be.
---Meredith
http://sandradodd.com/videogames/
http://sandradodd.com/peace/guns
> Also, a couple of months ago he said after playing Halo Reach, "I wish this were real!" I asked him what he meant. He repeated, I wish this were real! Duh Mom. I could use some more ideas on what he might be experiencing that is so terrific.****************
Have you played or watched him play? That might help you get a sense of what he finds enjoyable about the game. Would he like to do something similar that involves moving around in real space? Like paint ball or air soft games?
When I'm enjoying a video or computer game I often find myself wishing it was real - that my real body could interact with the things I'm seeing, rather than being held down to the controls. I'd like to experience some of the momentum and actually use some of the gadgets in my games, feel the actual textures of things.
Ray likes playing a skateboarding game and also likes to skate and one of the things he likes about the game is he can crash over and over and over. Sometimes he'll comment that he wishes real life were that simple - smash into the wall and get up, board miraculously in hand, and go again. That kind of wishing is "just" wishing - wouldn't it be neat if? Even though its not possible and the real cognate (falling while skateboarding) isn't pleasant and never will be.
---Meredith
BRIAN POLIKOWSKY
My son is 8 and has been playing Halo and Fallout games for a year.
They are great!
I suggest going to Lazer Tag or Paintball place and doing it with a group!
Its like being on the games ( sort off)! <g>
Alex Polikowsky
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They are great!
I suggest going to Lazer Tag or Paintball place and doing it with a group!
Its like being on the games ( sort off)! <g>
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Joyce Fetteroll
On Feb 14, 2011, at 11:25 AM, Cary wrote:
the ships had what they called holodecks where you could physically
enter, move around and interact with a virtual world. It looked, felt,
smelled, tasted, sounded like reality. You could shoot things that
moved as if they were real things. And things could shoot you. What
you couldn't do was die. (Well, as long as those safety protocols were
working ;-) And, since what you were shooting wasn't real, they
couldn't die either. And since it was a program, you could reset it
and everything would be back to the way it was at the beginning.
That's what I bet he wants even if he's never seen the shows ;-)
He knows and he wants you to know that he's totally completely not
confusing reality and fantasy. He knows he's not hurting anything.
He's pointing at bits of light on the screen and causing reactions.
*He* knows this. And I'm sure he's baffled why that would make you
squeamish!
I think it's because there's intellectually knowing and then there's
knowing from experience. There's also an in between stage where you've
gathered enough of other people's experience in the form of stories so
that it feels more certain. Hopefully Sandra's pages help!
http://joyfullyrejoycing.com
decided you didn't like them before you tried them?
Are there areas on any of those 3 games that allow you to do target
shooting? The more you can connect through what he loves, the stronger
your relationship. I do understand how shooting what looks like humans
might be a big hurdle to get past to enjoy his games! Do you have
Gamefly? (Like Netflix for games.) Are there games he'd like to play
with you?
Joyce
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> Does he want to slaughter aliens or enemy soldiers? Or is he sayingDid you ever watch any of the Star Treks after the original? On board
> he wants to be this powerful and successful in real life? Or
> something else?
the ships had what they called holodecks where you could physically
enter, move around and interact with a virtual world. It looked, felt,
smelled, tasted, sounded like reality. You could shoot things that
moved as if they were real things. And things could shoot you. What
you couldn't do was die. (Well, as long as those safety protocols were
working ;-) And, since what you were shooting wasn't real, they
couldn't die either. And since it was a program, you could reset it
and everything would be back to the way it was at the beginning.
That's what I bet he wants even if he's never seen the shows ;-)
He knows and he wants you to know that he's totally completely not
confusing reality and fantasy. He knows he's not hurting anything.
He's pointing at bits of light on the screen and causing reactions.
*He* knows this. And I'm sure he's baffled why that would make you
squeamish!
> This makes sense to me. SO I'm not sure why I haven't completelyEmotions tend to be a bit slower than the mind at grasping things ;-)
> made the shift to knowing it in my bones. Maybe I just need to
> simmer a bit. deschool my societal message. ?
I think it's because there's intellectually knowing and then there's
knowing from experience. There's also an in between stage where you've
gathered enough of other people's experience in the form of stories so
that it feels more certain. Hopefully Sandra's pages help!
> so if anyone can find a thread they can point me to that it would beIn addition to Sandra's there's also several pages at:
> great. It has something to do with "Is he too young for what he is
> playing?
http://joyfullyrejoycing.com
> I personally don't feel joyful gaming and never haveBecause you never found the right games? Because you had already
decided you didn't like them before you tried them?
Are there areas on any of those 3 games that allow you to do target
shooting? The more you can connect through what he loves, the stronger
your relationship. I do understand how shooting what looks like humans
might be a big hurdle to get past to enjoy his games! Do you have
Gamefly? (Like Netflix for games.) Are there games he'd like to play
with you?
Joyce
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