"Video Game Misconceptions"

Video games are just for kids...

Sure there are many great titles available for kids, however, there are also many titles that are geared towards a more mature crowd.

Immersing yourself in a good video game can be just as satisfying as reading a good book, watching a well written movie/television show or even listening to your favorite song. If you remove all the mental road blocks and biases you have towards video games and truly allow yourself to be transported to the games world and into the storyline, you will find yourself in a virtual fantasy world full of lots of different emotions and wonders.

There's nothing like playing a good video game, and I'm not talking about games like Pong (even though Pong does rock), I'm talking about "AAA" titles such as Skyrim, Borderlands and Dead Space. It's like a book and movie rolled into one. You get the visual appeal and the excitement of a movie and you get transcended into the games virtual world like as if you would if you were reading a good book.

Video games aren't art...

Anyone who would make this argument obviously has never really watched a video game being played, let alone played one for themselves, which in my opinion is a very ignorant thing to do.

How can you play games like Crysis, Journey and/or Darksiders (just to name a few) and claim they aren't a form of art, of course not all, but some of these games are beautiful and ascetically pleasing to the eye and mind. I really believe that the whole "video games are just for kids" mentality is what keeps people from truly appreciating them for what they are.

I honestly can't see how some critics can say that video games aren't a form of art; if they actually took the time to experience what they really had to offer I believe they would be blown away and have a change of heart. I mean if those stupid Magic Eye pictures from the early 90's can be consider art, then why can't video games? Honestly, I only think they're stupid because I could never see the picture within the picture...my eyes were never magic enough I guess.

Video games cause violent behaviour...

This is another one of those cases where people are looking for a scapegoat, something to blame their troubles on instead of taking responsibility themselves. Granted, there are impressionable people, not just kids, that play video games who may attempt to act out what they play and/or see on the screen, but that is the minority not the majority. 

There are plenty of well adjusted people who play these games and never feel it necessary to act of what they've seen and/or played within the game.

Chris Rock said it the best, "Everybody is wanting to know what music were the kids listening to, or what movies were they watching. Who gives a (bleep) what they was watching! Whatever happened to crazy? What, you can't be crazy no more? Should we eliminate crazy from the dictionary?"

For the parents who let their kids partake in gaming, there is a rating system in place to help you decipher what is appropriate for your kids to play...so use it.

A gamer is a nerdy immature manchild who still live with their parents...

First off, believe it or not, there are female gamers...some of which who can get down and dirty with their male counterparts without ever breaking a sweat.

Next, gamers come from all walks of life, there's a wide assortments of us. We're like shoes, we all basically do the same thing, but we come in all kinds of different shapes, sizes and colors. Who knows, your next door neighbor could be one of us, or even your significant other.

We also don't all go to conventions dressed up as our favorite video game characters either. Honestly, once was enough for me, once I got my ass kicked coming home from a convention dressed as Link from Zelda I vowed never again.

Playing video games will rot your brain...

Please, this couldn't be any further from the truth! They are just a form of entertainment and are no more harmful then say watching a movie and/or television show. There are many thought provoking games that require you to use your brain to figure out puzzles, strategies and solutions to various situation you could find yourself in. Believe it or not, it is not just zombie fun...which would be mindless for you people unfamiliar with zombies.

If anything, while playing some of these games you may actually learn something. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you will become smarter than a fifth grader, but you could end up a little more wiser then when you started.

These are just a few of the misconceptions I can think of, I'm sure there are more, but unfortunately by playing video games my whole life I have fried too many brain cells, so I can't remember the rest.

MJM