Posted by dkidwell on February 4th, 2006 — Posted in ages 12 +, ages 9-11, console games, parenting
It’s early on a Saturday and my neice and nephew are over. Five kids have embarked on a raucus round of gaming on our game cube. With Mario themes at the decibal level that seems painful on a Saturday morning, the kids are haggling over who gets to play which character and what strategies to play.
On occassion, they can get really terse with one another. The oldest of the bunch, my son, is showing that ‘oldest child attitude’ and barking orders at the others. I listened from another room, until I went in to make a cup of tea.
I called him over, and pointed out how from the other room, he was barking almost as much as our Great Pyrenees. (Any Pyr owners out there will understand, but they can be quite the barkers when they’ve decided they have something to say.)
My kid looks at me, a bit hestitant as if he’s in trouble. He is not. Kids squabbling is part of working out dynmics of kid-dom, a place where Mom’s have little domain. But, he understood, and said “Oh, I didn’t realize that…ok.”
The last hour has been just as loud, but filled with more random singing and w00ts and hollars.
I won’t be around for most of the times when the kids have opportunities to interact with others their age. From the moment they are on the bus, I lose sight of how they treat others. As they get older, that is just more pronounced. So why not take a moment here, and now, to address it? Not in a confrontational way – the idea is not to model barking – but in a sensible “hey, I noticed this…” kind of way.
This isn’t solely a gamer mom tactic. You’ll have this opportunity with other things certainly. But games provide a unique cause for everyone to work together towards a goal. In multiplayer games, someone is likely to take on leadership and forge a strategy. Is a 12 year old too young to learn to be a strong leader that people like working with? Nah, the timing is perfect.
Now, if only the dog would stop barking…
Posted by dkidwell on November 30th, 2005 — Posted in console games, parenting, pc games
Where do ya even begin…
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator for New York: Senators Clinton, Lieberman Announce Federal Legislation to Protect Children from Inappropriate Video Games
“I have developed legislation that will empower parents by making sure their kids can’t walk into a store and buy a video game that has graphic, violent and pornographic content,†said Senator Clinton.
How exactly are parents going to be empowered by that? That’s going to enable me to…think less about what my kids are doing? Empower me to be less watchful of my kids purchases? Sorry? Did I miss something here?
Oh, and later on:
“This is about protecting children,†said Senator Clinton.
Whew, cuz my elementary school kids have been engaging in unprotected video game purchases.
But wait, there’s more:
This bill requires the FTC to conduct an investigation to determine whether what happened with GTA: San Andreas is a pervasive problem. It also includes a Sense of Congress that the Commission shall take appropriate action if it determines that there is a pervasive problem.
Excellent! Because I just sat in my office reviewing the travesty of health care options I have in 2006 to adequate take care of all those kidlets and darn it, we need time and energy spent on finding out whether game developers are pervasively loading sexy easter eggs in games. Furthermore, you can’t just go digging without expectation of taking action on what you discover – cuz what kind of leadership would that be? – so create a commission if you find evidence of degenerates.
Congress reconvenes in 2 weeks they say – which is the week before Christmas and likely to be a truly productive time. Might be a good time to set 2006 resolutions – ya know – be a better parent and all that. Or maybe not – maybe Congress will just take care of that for us.
Posted by dkidwell on November 23rd, 2005 — Posted in console games
AnandTech: Inside Microsoft’s Xbox 360
What a cool review of the next Xbox 360 – it’s guts! Well worth a look – this is a decent and fully functional PC that is spreading like wildfire. How many homes have xn Xbox 360 but don’t have a home pc? or have an older model than the guts of the xbox? Where exactly is that digital divide??!
Posted by dkidwell on November 16th, 2005 — Posted in ages 9-11, console games, parenting
Dubious Quality: Xbox Live Marketplace: I Stop Being Stupid
Bill Harris talks about an XBox theory where Microsoft uses the XBox currency and it’s online marketplace to address hacks of Xbox systems….
It’s not a bad dialogue to have with your older gaming kid. If you collected points in game, and the marketplace for spending your points existed online – in an enviroment controled by the creator of the game itself – why couldn’t they enforce software rules to enforce obedience?
“Thou shall not hack thy system, or thy reputation and wealth is lost. LOST, I Say!”
What a great talking point to discuss how software and systems can be used to encourage or discourage user behavior!
And why talk about that with your kid?
1. Get them to THINK and not simply be passive players being entertained by the game.
2. This is a great little example, but history is full of governments using economics to encourage or discourage behavior. Just look at interest rates over the past few years….
Posted by dkidwell on November 8th, 2005 — Posted in console games, parenting, pc games
Advertisers: Game On
Games have been, for the most part, ad free – fantasy environments where you could play and escape without addressing the media and a marketing blitz. And by the sounds of it, that’s all going to change.
Currently, my kids are exposed to marketing largely through TV and advergaming – Postopia and Nick.com with and endless march of simple games based around their latest products. At least that marketing is blatant. As a mom, I can remind them of the short lifespan of most toys that are heavily advertised.
IN GAME advertising is different tho. It’s likely to be awkward at the beginning, with in game billboards and such. But give them a few years, and it will be ubiquitous.
For our part, I’m going to use this as an invitation to a dialogue. We’ll start playing ‘spot the ad’ games (points for the carefully hidden logo spots!) We’ll definitely talk about what ‘brands’ are, and how companies wrap themselves in mantras and passions “Just do it!” Poor kids are likely to hear the story of the Converse High Top, and will have to articulate what ‘cool’ means before Santa buys that latest and greatest ‘cool’ thing.
Why all the torture? To be ‘in the game’ and not just on the sidelines….
