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Gaming is Brain Fuel |
| August 24th, 2005 |
Every time there is a school shooting in the western world the media descends on visible members of our industry, like me, looking for some deep dark psychological reason that links computer gaming to violence. Note that this kind of reporting sells papers and increases network ratings and therefore will continue to be a newsy story line for any hot shot reporter regardless if there is a school shooting or not.
Cries of content control, reform and yes, even censorship have been raised by the press, politicians and members of our judicial system.
Frankly, I’m sick of listening and reading journalistic rhetoric like “gaming leads to violence”, “playing too much isolates us and makes us socially inept”, “the only good thing about gaming is improved hand and eye coordination”, etc., etc.
Anyone actively involved in this industry over the last decade knows that this is a load of crap. With the exception of the rare supportive parent, there exists a wide generation gap that creates concern over the lifestyle and activity of playing games … and I’m not only talking about just the professional gamers.
In my humble opinion, this major misconception of gaming and gamers must change before the far-out right of this nation (and other nations) legislates anymore censorship against the best form of pop-culture in the last 30 years.
There are four areas that computer gaming helps to expand our minds, abstract reasoning, problem solving, pattern recognition and spatial logic. To support my hypothesis over the last ten years IQ test scores have increase by 14 points. Why do you think that this has happened? Our education systems are worse – our school text books haven’t changed – our teaching curriculum still fosters the belief that there are only right and wrong answers and that there is no ambiguity in the real world.
Look at other forms of pop-culture today – movies, music, television and books. If anything every one of these forms has become ever more conservative and predictable. Look at the limited approved music play list on the radio, movie remakes, television sequels and mind numbing array of pop-culture mystery and romance novels as examples of dumbed-down culture.
The broadcast news, once the bastion of non-partisan information, has been sanitized and politicized to the point where real news is often overlooked (like environmental issues) because they just don’t increase ratings.
The only significant cultural change over the last decade is computer gaming and I hold that this is the only reason for the dramatic increase in IQ development.
So how does this work you ask? What’s going on in our brains when we play games and how is that a good thing for society?
Watching television, radio listening, movies and even reading chronically under stimulates the mind. After all, these alternative forms of culture are quite linear and the story cannot be altered by the viewer or reader. The user is seldom required to solve problems and the story is never interactive.
I just completed reading “Everything Bad is Good For You” written by Steven Johnson. This book should be mandatory reading for every gamer’s parent, all politicians, educators, lawmakers, gaming critics and members of the press. In this book the author goes into much more detail on this very subject than I can cover in this limited space.
He writes, “Neuroscientists have drawn a crucial distinction between the way the brain seeks out rewards and the way it delivers pleasure … with specific receptors called the nucleus accumbens.”
Where our brain wiring is concerned, the craving instinct triggers a desire to explore. In the gameworld reward is everywhere. Expansive games allow for exploration. Games offer both rewards and exploration and human brains are drawn to those systems, even if they are virtual characters.
Games engage the full range of sensory and motor cortices of the brain. Johnson continues, “No other pop-culture form directly engages the brain’s decision-making apparatus in the same way”.
Almost all other forms of entertainment are passive in direct comparison to games. While other cultures can be immersive, they do not require the decision-making and problem-solving interactions of games.
What we are creating is a generation of neurologically “wired” opposed to physically wired athletes. This also supports my personal theory regarding eSports or as the CPL accurately refers to them as cyberathletes. The Gaming community needs to step up and take credit for the unprecedented increase in IQ scores over the last decade. We haven’t gotten that much smarter as a culture watching reality TV.
Admittedly the subject matter in this blog is a little heavier than my usual banter. I believe that it is important to carry this positive message to the over 35-year old non-gamer citizenry. Trust me, most of them don’t have a clue as to what is going on and are either cautiously concerned or hoping you will outgrow this “phase”.
I certainly welcome supporting and opposing views from gamers, parents and other interested parties. Bring it!
Neuroscientists are discovering more about the brain everyday. For more information on the brain, visit www.brain-fx.com.
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August 25th, 2005 at 3:39 am
I must say that I agree with what you say, although perhaps I am luckier than most. I’m 24 years old and a webdesigner by trade and since I was little I have been playing video games.
I can’t say my parents over the years have encouraged the activity of gaming in our home but they certainly haven’t rejected it and more often than not have joined in.
I remember sitting down to the Ocarina of Time which came out while I was at college and we all; Mum, Dad and sister played the game, with advice being shouted from every corner of the room. Now were not a fat bunch of couch spuds, we all excersise regularly and socialise with friends and relatives but i’m under the impression that if you have a hard day at work then you want to go home and just relax. i find a wonderful cure for stress to go onto a CS:Source server and get a few headshots, or pop up from behind a treeline in a commanche and rocket pod an unsuspecting tank in Battlefield 2.
I think if guided correctly the computer/console can be a remarkable teaching tool.
I do think some games are a little over the top not necessarily for me but I have seen kids playing GTA:SA and when I say kids I mean 8 - 15 and then adopt the language, and attitude that the game portays. I think for someone who has perhaps finished developing their mind then a game like this is fine but for an 8 year old to play the game is absurd but again I guess this is down to the parents of the kids.
Its a good article and I thought all of your points were valid with the exception of eSports.
August 26th, 2005 at 1:03 am
Man thats so true! I’ve got so much more inteligent since I started looking into PC stuff and video games “mostly First Person Shooters”. Of course that +15 IQ pts doesn’t come from the dumb TV, radio or from stupid school. Would be fun to have more cyberarthle like Fatal1ty and game show on the TV, just like there would be a basketball game. Adults like our parents knows totaly nothing about games and think they get us crazy etc… Pff, all my mom have played is Pacman, then she thinks she can say today’s game are stupid…
August 26th, 2005 at 3:51 pm
haha, all my starcraft friends are expert poker players.
August 29th, 2005 at 4:27 pm
Why does the front page direct me here to find info on the releas of the Copperhead? There’s exactly zero info here on that.
August 29th, 2005 at 5:16 pm
It probably shouldn’t send you here, however on August 24th, 2005 at 12:35 pm in the Forum or Fiction comments i wrote the following:
Release dates are impossible to predict anymore. In North America we have to contend with US Customs delays. These have grown in time since 9/11 and there is no way to predict how long a shipment can sit waiting for clearance. The official ship date from Hong Kong is August 29 and by boat and to clear customs can take 2 to 4 weeks. As soon as we know we will post a firm date on our site.
This is now August 29th and the same information is still as accurate as we can learn. Remember that variables like shipping and customs clearance are outside of our control.
August 29th, 2005 at 6:20 pm
Here’s an interesting article you might enjoy. It’s about how the author went to the website for the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Statistics and while studying the various graphs, realized that youth violence is at the lowest levels ever recorded. He has some very good points about this issue and uses many different sources to back them up. You can read the article here: http://gr.bolt.com/articles/violence/violence.htm
August 29th, 2005 at 6:55 pm
August 29th, 2005 at 6:59 pm
It seems a large part of your argument is based on “To support my hypothesis over the last ten years IQ test scores have increase by 14 points.” This assertion is obviously untrue by definition. IQ is a normalized score of an individual in a population of their age group. All age groups have average IQs of 100, and it is impossible for any age group to have a different IQ than any other age group, by definition.
(There is an effect called the “Flynn effect” that shows later generations to score higher on previous generations’ IQ tests. However, this is not the same thing–and James R. Flynn, the discoverer, does not beleive this means people are actually any smarter. Further, there is little generally accepted evidence that younger populations are “smarter” than their predecessors.)
You complain that some reporters seem to exhibit rather low journalistic integrity for the sake of making a likely-well-received point, yet how can you claim to be doing anything different? Where are your sources? Where is your logic and reasoning?
If you, like I, intend to stop censorshop and the generally oppressive tide of the “we’re old and grumpy and we hate anyone who finds new ways to have fun” power club, you need to hold yourself to a higher standard. Stop spreading misinformation, and try not to sound like Timothy Leary selling LSD. Seek the truth, ignore your inner illogical soapbox, and heed well your critics.
August 30th, 2005 at 12:42 am
Just wanted to say that the “far-out right” are not the ones responsible. If anything the “far-out” left are the ones that are trying to legislate censorship and stop the sales of games. Just look at Leiberman and Clinton.
August 30th, 2005 at 8:26 am
For more information on the effects of environment on IQ, please refer to William T. Dickens and James R. Flynn, “Heritability Estimates Versus Large Environmental Effects: The IQ Paradox Resolved,” Psychological Review, vol. 108, no. 2 (April 2001). A summary can be found at http://www.brookings.edu/views/articles/dickens/200104.htm.
I would ask the commenter Aaron Reese where he gets his information about the beliefs of James R. Flynn? IQ tests are normalized to have the average score read at 100 points, but IQ tests are periodically revised and updated. The 14 point increase becomes evident when people take the earlier versions of the tests.
August 30th, 2005 at 12:02 pm
While it is true that IQ tests are normalized so that the average is a score of 100, the tests are revised every few years. The creators and administrators of standard IQ instruments ensure that a person of average intelligence scores 100 on the test. According to the scientific literature, without realizing it, the test publishers were increasing the difficulty of the test in order to keep average scores at 100.
According to James Flynn and William Dickens, environment contributes much more to intellect than previously thought. Since gaming is a relatively recent contribution to our environment and our culture my belief is that there is a direct correlation of increased IQ within the under 35 population.
For more information, please refer to William T. Dickens and James R. Flynn, “Heritability Estimates Versus Large Environmental Effects: The IQ Paradox Resolved,” Psychological Review, vol. 108, no. 2 (April 2001). A summary can be found at http://www.brookings.edu/views/articles/dickens/200104.htm.
There is an effect called the “Flynn effect” that shows later generations to score higher on previous generations’ IQ tests. However, this is not the same thing–and James R. Flynn, the discoverer, does not beleive this means people are actually any smarter. Further, there is little generally accepted evidence that younger populations are “smarter” than their predecessors.
[You complain that some reporters seem to exhibit rather low journalistic integrity for the sake of making a likely-well-received point, yet how can you claim to be doing anything different? Where are your sources? Where is your logic and reasoning?]
I will admit that it may very well be true what you’re saying about Flynn, I have no knowledge about that. You can read the above reference and comment. Do you have personal knowledge of what Flynn believes or not?
I don’t hold myself out to know everything there is to know about the intricacies of IQ test, and whether the Flynn effect is indeed true; but it is a factor that supports my point. Therefore it is logical and correct, and I can cite site my sources.
August 30th, 2005 at 12:52 pm
Ah yes i agree fully, Had it not been for my desire to get more out of my systems to play the games i wanted to play, i would not be a pc tech today.
August 30th, 2005 at 3:15 pm
U tell em’ razerguy! Im sick and tired of people always judging gamers. I get great grades in school but am an avid gamer at the same time. I hate when people always say things like “video games turn your brain into mush” and phrases like that. The people who use them are so tangled up in the cliche that they dont even bother to think about what it means and what they are actually saying. I usually just respond with something like this: “So are you trying to tell me that the interative and creative aspects of video games; which differentiates them from any other form of audio/visual media, is what actually makes them worse? Just think about that for a moment and come back to me.”
Also, I am fairly upset at the over-genaralization video games being too violent or over-the-top for younger kids. Stories of people killing others because they played GTA is like you said razerguy just media fluff to get ratings. If ur upset that your 12-year-old is swearing after he played GTA, then complaining to the video game industry isnt gonna help. The first problem is you as a parent for letting your child play a game that couldn’t have more violence written on it, and the second problem is the child. I understand kids are kids, but as a kid myself I do get rather annoyed at how since one child was too imature to handle a game, the situation that the media portrays is this: The video game industry is forcing violent and mentally destructive video game on innocent, unsuspecting, and vernable children all around the nation. Aparently when it comes to video games, we cant make decisions for our selves and we are just being swept away in a world of violence, becoming more agreessive and violent ourselves. Meanwhile, kids 14 and 15 years old can be tried as an adult for crimes such as murder robbery, no matter if we commited the acts on our own will or the video game industries “made” use do it. (yeah, right)
So in conclsuon, Thumbs up razer and long live gaming!
August 30th, 2005 at 4:44 pm
Hey, great blog. I know shipping can be somewhat unpredictable however it is possible to know where in the process of things the product is. I.E. if its on the boat, or at customs then those of us that are hopping up and down for it to get here can be somewhat passified with the toss of that bone of information.
Also, the programmability of the mouse buttons seems somewhat vague on the website. Is this going to be a mouse where we can specifiy macro-like commands to incoporate keystroke/mouse-click combinations into single clicks. Would be great if I could switch to my grenades, toss one and then switch back in a single mouse click.
If not, is this something your guys would consider putting together in a future mouse. Now that the copperhead has memory, it seems like it would be a natural evolution to allow combination functions programmed into a single mouse click or to even shift between a regular mouse click versus a combo click.
Thanks,
~Chris
August 30th, 2005 at 5:37 pm
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.05/flynn.html
August 31st, 2005 at 2:57 pm
To Aaron Reese, “I just completed reading ‘Everything Bad is Good For You’”
That’s his source. Thats where he derived his logic and reasoning.
Please, before insulting or arguing against someone else, make sure you know what they said, as you dont.
You sound a little confusing yourself. First you say your on his side, to stop censhorship and the wrong view of what video games do to people, then you say to “Heed well your critics”. That’s playing both sides, and doesnt make a whole lot of sense.
September 1st, 2005 at 11:15 am
Where do you get your statistics about the raise of 15 IQ points?
September 1st, 2005 at 4:30 pm
Rather than get hung up on sources, methology and political rhetoric, my points are 1) that playing games is a healthy activity for the brain and 2) there is no more correlation to increased violence to gaming than there is to increased violence associated with eating cheese or doing cartwheels (add your own analogy here). Note the crime stats submitted by Nate above.
To get side tracked from the issues is very similar to what tends to occur on most forums (see my recent blog “Forum or Fiction” below).
September 2nd, 2005 at 12:20 am
Nice blog Robert
I agree with most of what you said as most of the readers will because there are only gamers reading this
I’m a gamer with friends that are not and with time and patience they are reallising what gaming has became now. So all together we can make a big takeover on TV channels . We just need to keep on fighting for some years
“gl hf” to us ^^
September 5th, 2005 at 9:11 am
Hey Robert,
Yep, it’s totally true. I play a lot of CS:S, and you really train your brains by everytime thinking about the next tactic to use
Also, gaming really improves your Eye-Hand Coördination and your reflexes. Would I be so fast if I wasn’t a gamer? Certainly not.
Regards,
Martijn Evers
September 6th, 2005 at 7:11 pm
I thought this article applies perfectly to the subject matter:
The continued battle of the “games are good” “games are bad” war plays on with a recent article in Discover Magazine that examines the growing body of research suggesting that video games exercise the mind similar to the way physical activity exercises the body.
Laparoscopic surgery, also known as keyhole surgery or band-aid surgery, involves manipulating controls/joysticks to control a fiber optic camera and surgical tools to perform minimally invasive surgery with only tiny incisions in the person’s body. Laparoscopic surgery has been around for many years now, but doctors have only recently begun to notice a stirring correlation between the top surgeons and video gamers.
Surgeon Butch Rosser, directory of minimally invasive surgery at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, read a reporter’s comments about one of his procedures that referred to him as a “Nintendo surgeon”. This started his thinking that perhaps his apparent gift among many of his peers was because he was a gamer.
Rosser set out to see if there was a correlation by using a standardized laparoscopic training exercise called “Top Gun” to test laparoscopic surgeons that had never played a video game and those that were gamers. “The results were really astounding,” he says. “First of all, if you played video game [at any time] in the past, it was found that you were significantly faster and, more importantly, you created fewer errors than people who had no previous video game experience. Then when we looked at whether you were a current video gamer, we found that if you played video games currently, you were over 30 percent better — faster, and created fewer errors — than someone who did not play video games at all.”
Alan Castel, psychology professor at Washington University of St. Louis, performed another study where people from different groups are given a series of standard visual tests looking for a particular object (e.g. a letter) among a group of other objects on a computer monitor. “Video game players had faster reaction times on the order of 100 milliseconds, which might not sound like a lot but in this domain it’s quite a strong finding,” says Castel. “And you can imagine, when driving, a difference of 100 milliseconds could really help you avoid accidents.”
Mental improvements from video games
The research showed that gamers used the same search patterns as non-gamer, “but video game players were faster and more efficient when carrying out this search,” says Castel.
“Previous research has shown that video game players have more attentional capacity and can carry out search functions in more efficient manners,” says Castel. “Our research was interested in examining whether there were differences in how video game players and non-video game players search the visual environment, how they carry out visual search. We were interested in whether video game players would carry out visual search in a different way relative to people who don’t play video games.”
Castel suggests that not only are video games good “practice” for many mental tasks around activities like military flight training and surgery but that they may also be a good tool for rehabilitation of people recovering from brain injuries.
The mental improvement from video games is clearly there. However, Rosser does point out that surgeons perform better with just three hours of video game play per week. Rosser goes on to say to kids “That Butch Rosser would not be here in this capacity if he played video games and did not have good grades, did not develop perseverance. And I would say to that child out there that thinks that they got a free pass to play video games carte blanche, I say ‘Nooo, sadly mistaken.”
With the current talk from politicians, trying to get “airtime”, of banning video games, imposing regulations beyond other entertainment mediums such as books or movies, and the “detriments” of video games, the work of organizations like the International Game Developers Association, who advocate for a more balanced and fair look at games, is needed more now than ever. Research has shown the positive effects of playing video games and has shown very mixed results of any ill effects.
Those in positions to regulate the video game industry need to take a fair look at the studies in the area before attempting to impose any unfair requirements on the industry. With that said, not all games are appropriate for all ages. Parents need to know what their kids are playing. The industries ESRB ratings are a great first step for this, as are many of the review sites online.
To the kids out there, do you homework, but please play your video games. You may be the one operating on me one day…
September 6th, 2005 at 8:00 pm
Those of us in the industry are concerned with the direction of censorship in the US and around the world. It is possible that the decisions that are being made are by non-gamers who don’t have more than a political or power agenda in mind. Gamers, generally being under the age of 35 are not being represented in this argument. That leaves a select few of us to raise this issue and stand up for our beliefs and our industry.
I’m certain that there will be more on this subject in the months and years to come.
September 7th, 2005 at 8:02 am
When the heck would copperhead be released???
September 7th, 2005 at 10:27 pm
firstly.i do not have a decent computer.my keyboard has 4 missing letters.im trying to show off by buying this so called legend,the copperhead.why hasnt it popped out in singapore yet?i saw it on ebay,but i wanna buy it FRESH.so uh…….dates?
September 9th, 2005 at 9:21 am
Check the other recent blog comment ( I think “too Much Fun in Singapore” may be the one) and razerguy gives the answer.
September 10th, 2005 at 2:01 pm
kalo, in answer to your question, read the postings above. Having said that, the estimated date in my mind is going to be sometime at the end of september, going by what razerguy said. I’ve been wondering for quite a while now, the answer to that question, and today I finally did something about it, and I got my answer. I’ve been checking the blog every day for over 2 weeks for new posts by razerguy and a final release date, and I’m in the same boat as all of you. Moreso, I have a personal vendetta against my nemesis, Ray….. I’m going to ITT and he is the program chair for my degree, and we’ve been meeting every week to learn level design in UT2k4, and Every week, he beats me in LMS. The thing is, I know I’m better than him. Consistently I come in 3rd place, and he’ll come in 2nd. I’ve been practicing at home, but the school mice suck, and we’re not allowed to hook up personal computers to the school network. The mice will CONSTANTLY report over 127, making my mouse do what I’ve dubbed ‘psycho mouse’. Now, the Only reason he consistently beats me is because he brings his own Logitech 815 mouse. If you were ever to meet me(or better yet, play against me) you’d say, hands down, I’m the most competitive person you’ve ever met. I’ve bought over a thousand games, and beaten a vast majority of them(still working on one or two….) What I’ve realized, however, is that the mouse is just a tool. It doesn’t actually improve your skill. It improves your game, because it’s a better tool, but it doesn’t actually make you any better. It’s like creatine: it doesn’t make you any stronger; it Does LET you make Yourself stronger. So bring on the Copperhead!!! We’re all drooling in anticipation!!!
September 11th, 2005 at 1:03 pm
Nice blog, it’s just a shame that every parent, politician and old fart around the world cant read what has been written here, it’s time they woke up and realised that gaming is a good thing. Hopefully something will come on the Discovery channel soon about this subject so that non-gamers will be able to see it and realise what good can come of games. Nice points by Angel as always, I’m looking forward to the next blog
- dTm
September 11th, 2005 at 6:26 pm
Razerguy, you’re so right. I’ve never really studied growing up, everything came naturally for my sucess in School. I tend to believe gaming has something to do with this as you said “Gaming is Brain Fuel”. Thank you for speaking on behalf of us gamers 8^).
I also wanted to add, gaming also keeps the kids around my age out of trouble. What kind of trouble ? Well, more Teen’s are interacting in the PC - Gaming enviroment opossed to doing sensless things on the streets, such as partying with friends, which usually leads to drugs, alcohol and other things. I know for a fact I myself have kept away from all this thanks to PC Gaming. My family finds it to be better I’m behind my PC with my down time and not outside in the nightlife world geting in trouble. Many critics fail to mention the good things, such as I just stated.
September 12th, 2005 at 4:56 pm
September 12th, 2005 at 8:03 pm
Very nice article Rob, keep it up
Look forward to talking to you sometime soon!
September 12th, 2005 at 8:37 pm
John Caleca, you are indeed correct regarding the fact that gaming keeps youngsters out of the street; this was the reason for my dead to encourage gaming in the family, and it worked well. Not only have I never been in trouble for drugs, hooliganism, prostitution, and so forth, I had 4.0 GPA during all years of high school and college and now have a great job and am a very polite and happy citizen. If I do get angry, I use that energy to get more headshots in CS:Condition Zero or CS:S, or to hack the corps in Dystopia on the Punks team (newest Source mode, came out September 9 2005, http://www.dystopia-game.com). At the same time, all but one friend of mine have not achieved anything with their lives and are in trouble with both their parents and their friends, or even with police. They drink heavily, smoke profusely, and sleep with whoever they meet, they probably rob people too, and their likely future is in the gangs and, very soon from that point, in the grave. So I am very very very thankful to gaming for keeping me straight. Plus, school has never been a problem, like I said, and I think gaming DID attribute to my IQ and overall development. Like maps: I learned how to use maps myself and can INSTANTENEOUSLY orient on a map and remember new city very quickly. I can imaging the whole map of the city in my head and how I am driving through the streets on it. My mom can’t even imagine a map of 2 streets. I think Doom and Quake and CS and Warcraft and C&C and KKND and Red Alert, etc., helped me with that
Kudos to overview maps, haha!
September 12th, 2005 at 8:39 pm
Oh yeah, that one friend I mentioned in the previous post - he was coming to my house regularly since the age of 10 or so to play computer games. He still visits my brother and plays with him. He, too, gets good grades in school and seems to be a very nice guy overall. Draw conclusions!!
September 13th, 2005 at 6:15 am
Bravo… bravo…
September 13th, 2005 at 9:45 am
We don’t really have to worry here about danger in the night, as I live in a small village, but still, gaming is an excuse that could keep you from alcohol, drugs etc. just like John Caleca said. And that people ( especially those worrying parents ) say that gaming makes one violent, it’s plain nonsense. To mimic games in real life, you would have to be mental or something, and none of us is.
Gaming is Just 4 Fun, you don’t do it because you want to see how you can fire guns and so on. It’s like fencing, you do a competitive sport, but you don’t really hurt your opponent. Now it is that you usually kill the other players in games, but ofcourse you don’t hurt them in real. You wouldn’t even think about doing that.
I’m doing good at school, and I know that if I wouldn’t have started gaming, I would not be as clever and problem-solving as I am now. ( Not trying to brag or anything. ) It’s getting clearer and clearer that it gaming is rather good for you than bad for you.
September 13th, 2005 at 12:29 pm
Well, I brought the Royal Smackdown to Ray this past weekend, and I’d just like to share an experience that relates to razerguy’s comment about sportsmanship and competition. I have never seen ANYone in athletic sports more competitive than those I see playing online and at LAN parties. I have also rarely gotten a rush playing athletic sports that I get on a regular basis at LAN parties. It’s definitely a workout. Not as physically exerting as aerobics and athleticism, but…anyone who’s ever come within an inch of death right before scoring the winning goal on a hectic CTF map knows what I’m talking about.
And relating to Angel’s article on responsiveness and reflexes, I can tell you from personal experience that is no less true than the principle of Gravity. I practiced for about an hour or so every day for a week, and I must have improved my reflexes by almost 200%. I’m sure that’s not a compounding improvement, but it sure proved to me that playing games is not simply a waste of time. Why else would the military be so interested, going so far as to make many of their own training simulations in the computer game environment, if they didn’t think it improved the soldiers’ reflexes and snap judgements in the field?
And I say the argument that violent games desensitizes people(kids) to violence is a load of hooey, for lack of a less offensive term. If I were to go on a rampage right now at the office and mow down a bunch of people, sure I’d be more accurate than the average psycho, but it would still scar me on a deep psychoemotional level that can’t be circumvented simply because I play violent games. Nor was I any more desensitized when I played Doom 2 when I was 13. The responsibility of not exposing kids(or teaching them the difference between fantasy and reality) to violent games at too young an age falls on the parents. That was ultimately the conclusion I arrived at for my thesis I did in college on whether violent games affect young children. I also found no conclusive evidence that they do affect young children. I do, however, agree that parents should play a MUCH more active role in gatekeeping the games their kids play. Ok, I’m done ranting.
September 14th, 2005 at 12:57 pm
Well, my first game what included some violence was Rune. I played it the first time at the age of 11, which is 4 years ago now. Even though I managed to reach place 91 in the world’s CTF ranking, I never thought about taking a sword and go killing about O.o
That’s all I can think of to say now.
September 14th, 2005 at 4:58 pm
I wouldn’t care if every underage shooting from now until the end of time is blamed on video games by the media, IF they would determine just two things: WHERE the child got his hands on a loaded weapon, and WHY their parents allowed this to happen. Those two pieces of information would be enough for the nation to figure out–on their own, which is no small feat– that we have a country full of apathetic, gun totin’ hillbilly parents that don’t give a Crap if their kids take their guns to school….
September 14th, 2005 at 7:18 pm
last week in the news (king5) seattle
a man was shot by his friend because he stole his friends razer mouse. I think it was a diamondback.
September 15th, 2005 at 2:13 am
I wonder how this kids been educated,. Long time ago the TV was considered the resource of the kids violence, and then the video game, that’s real bullshit!
September 15th, 2005 at 2:20 pm
I know this is slightly off the beaten path, but I am adding it anyways…
Great mice. We (my online gaming clan and I) have bought them all and am sure we will continue to buy them.
I am a Disabled Vet. My most significant injury is the loss of use of the fingers on my right hand, and yes I am right handed. The Viper was awesome with the sensitivity adjustment on the wheel. The Diamondback is a great mouse but placing sensitivity on the side button prevents me from ever pressing it. I have chosen an in between sensitivity and make adjustments in game based on circumstance.
Again, these mice are great. Definitely the best thing going. To date, none of us have had any problems and all now swear by them. Please, however, take some sympathy on those of us without two good meat hooks and allow for the sensitivity to be moved to another button.
September 15th, 2005 at 2:22 pm
Here’s a great reply to Hillary Clinton from my new favorite author Steven Johnson:
I’m writing to commend you for calling for a $90-million study on the effects of video games on children, and in particular the courageous stand you have taken in recent weeks against the notorious “Grand Theft Auto” series.
I’d like to draw your attention to another game whose nonstop violence and hostility has captured the attention of millions of kids — a game that instills aggressive thoughts in the minds of its players, some of whom have gone on to commit real-world acts of violence and sexual assault after playing.
I’m talking, of course, about high school football.
I know a congressional investigation into football won’t play so well with those crucial swing voters, but it makes about as much sense as an investigation into the pressing issue that is Xbox and PlayStation 2.
Your current concern is over explicit sex in “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.” Yet there’s not much to investigate, is there? It should get rated appropriately, and that’s that. But there’s more to your proposed study: You want to examine how video games shape children’s values and cognitive development.
Kids have always played games. A hundred years ago they were playing stickball and kick the can; now they’re playing “World of Warcraft,” “Halo 2″ and “Madden 2005.” And parents have to drag their kids away from the games to get them to do their algebra homework, but parents have been dragging kids away from whatever the kids were into since the dawn of civilization.
So any sensible investigation into video games must ask the “compared to what” question. If the alternative to playing “Halo 2″ is reading “The Portrait of a Lady,” then of course “The Portrait of a Lady” is better for you. But it’s not as though kids have been reading Henry James for 100 years and then suddenly dropped him for Pokemon.
Another key question: Of all the games that kids play, which ones require the most mental exertion? Parents can play this at home: Try a few rounds of Monopoly or Go Fish with your kids, and see who wins. I suspect most families will find that it’s a relatively even match. Then sit down and try to play “Halo 2″ with the kids. You’ll be lucky if you survive 10 minutes.
The great secret of today’s video games that has been lost in the moral panic over “Grand Theft Auto” is how difficult the games have become. That difficulty is not merely a question of hand-eye coordination; most of today’s games force kids to learn complex rule systems, master challenging new interfaces, follow dozens of shifting variables in real time and prioritize between multiple objectives.
In short, precisely the sorts of skills that they’re going to need in the digital workplace of tomorrow.
Consider this one fascinating trend among teenagers: They’re spending less time watching professional sports and more time simulating those sports on Xbox or PlayStation. Now, which activity challenges the mind more — sitting around rooting for the Packers, or managing an entire football franchise through a season of “Madden 2005″: calling plays, setting lineups, trading players and negotiating contracts? Which challenges the mind more — zoning out to the lives of fictional characters on a televised soap opera, or actively managing the lives of dozens of virtual characters in a game such as “The Sims”?
On to the issue of aggression, and what causes it in kids, especially teenage boys. Congress should be interested in the facts: The last 10 years have seen the release of many popular violent games, including “Quake” and “Grand Theft Auto”; that period has also seen the most dramatic drop in violent crime in recent memory. According to Duke University’s Child Well-Being Index, today’s kids are less violent than kids have been at any time since the study began in 1975. Perhaps, Sen. Clinton, your investigation should explore the theory that violent games function as a safety valve, letting children explore their natural aggression without acting it out in the real world.
Many juvenile crimes — such as the carjacking that is so central to “Grand Theft Auto” — are conventionally described as “thrill-seeking” crimes. Isn’t it possible that kids no longer need real-world environments to get those thrills, now that the games simulate them so vividly? The national carjacking rate has dropped substantially since “Grand Theft Auto” came out. Isn’t it conceivable that the would-be carjackers are now getting their thrills on the screen instead of the street?
Crime statistics are not the only sign that today’s gaming generation is doing much better than the generation raised during the last cultural panic — over rock ‘n’ roll. Math SAT scores have never been higher; verbal scores have been climbing steadily for the last five years; nearly every indicator in the Department of Education study known as the Nation’s Report Card is higher now than when the study was implemented in 1971.
By almost every measure, the kids are all right.
Of course, I admit that there’s one charge against video games that is a slam dunk. Kids don’t get physical exercise when they play a video game, and indeed the rise in obesity among younger people is a serious issue. But, of course, you don’t get exercise from doing homework either.
September 15th, 2005 at 4:00 pm
Not that I’m trying to sell you another mouse:), but in reply to your question about mapping on-the-fly sensitivity setting to other buttons, the new Copperhead will offer that button functionality. Will there be a similar update to the Diamondback drivers? Win 64 is our next project and then??? Thanks for the suggestion — I’ll pass it on to the proper team.
September 15th, 2005 at 4:34 pm
Sir,
I can assure you, Bad Karma will be outfitted with Copperheads as soon as you can ship them. Thank you for the products and attention.
September 15th, 2005 at 4:46 pm
Razerguy, that last post needs to be stapled to the forehead of every politician and lazy parent and every other bozo who refuses to look at the big picture. Many argue nowadays that IQs are rising across the nation. I’m not going to refute that. However, the real problem here is everyone ELSE remains just as stupid and gullible as ever. Therefore, those of us who are of above average intelligence are seeing just how incompetent the average american is becoming. So, as the cream rises, the vacuum is filled with more stupid people. But what I Really wanted to talk about was Steven’s last paragraph, concerning exercise. There is a company that makes exercise bikes that are hooked up to the motocross game of the old Atari days, that takes input directly from how fast the “player” is pedaling. The faster you pedal, the faster your character goes. This, I’m convinced, is the future of gaming. Well, of one arm anyway. And it could be the solution to this country’s epidemic. Within the next 10 years, they will have perfected the ‘HUD’, so all you’d need to play whatever game you wanted, with other people in your neighborhood, is to put on a pair of glasses, and step outside. I’ve always been tinged slightly by combat strategy games not having a “getting tired” factor. They have a sprint function, but your player should run slower right after a sprint for a couple seconds. Not to turn this into a game developer’s forum or anything, but the answers to video game’s shortcomings are ironically provided BY video games. You just have to know where to look. And it’s not as if the 50 years of this country vegging in front of the boob tube has helped any.
Just this past Tuesday I combed through all my old school papers trying to find my thesis I did on whether violence affected children. Unfortunately I didn’t find it, but I did find all the paperwork and original sources I used for my paper, and over and over through the(very limited) studies, it said that video games are an outlet for children, often reducing, rather than increasing aggression in those children succeptible to violence.
I remember a rather nasty fight I got in way back in the fourth grade. As a matter of fact I was a real problem child in my elementary years. The Principle’s office was my second home. I think I knew the principle better than the majority of the teachers. But it wasn’t until I was 13 years old that I was turned into a serious gamer. After that point, sure I had trouble with my grades, who didn’t? But I never got into a fight, hardly ever showed aggression and once I hit my Junior year my life had never been better. I never really made that connection until today, and I am positive all my anger and aggression I was feeling growing up, the majority was released through playing games. By the time I joined the wrestling and football teams my Junior year, frankly I sucked! Not because I was bad at sports, but because I didn’t have any aggression to release on the opposing team! The coach would lament and beat and yell and repeat over and over that I needed to get MAD!!!!! But I never could, simply because I just didn’t have it in me. Wow…..games have helped me in my life more than I ever realized….no wonder game development is so clearly my destiny…we have an opportunity here people! We CAN make a difference!! Video games are GOOD for you!!! HAL-lelujiah!!! …not that I haven’t known that all along…or any of you didn’t either… ^_^
September 15th, 2005 at 6:43 pm
I concur with Houdini. Since we’ve introduced the Razer Diamondback to our squad, the results have been tremendous. Most of the Diamondback owners are eagerly looking forward to the day that the Copperhead becomes available in North America.
September 16th, 2005 at 9:18 am
I was wondering why you guys don’t have a pre-order option. I would slap down $70 RIGHT NOW if it meant getting one of the first mice. And speaking of, how much of a….’warning’ are you going to give us before the mouse is actually released? I mean, are you going to tell us one day before, or will you know a week or more in advance?
September 19th, 2005 at 7:46 am
Hopefully it’ll be out by the end of the month. I’ll be building a new, modern PC then (I built this one in 2001, so I’m about due for a new computer.) and would like to order a Razer Copperhead. I’ve never used a Razer product, but this mouse has really caught my eye so it’d be nice to get.
September 19th, 2005 at 12:36 pm
Zipper, same here! I couldn’t be more excited about the technology that’s just on the horizon. I was hoping the release of the Logitech G5 would push up the release of the copperhead, but only time will tell…
September 19th, 2005 at 1:09 pm
We don’t want to seem arrogant about dates like some of the software developers, but when the Copperhead meets our rigorous specifications it will be released … not before.
You can’t imagine how hard it is for us to have to wait either.
September 19th, 2005 at 2:52 pm
Wait a minute…I thought you said you’d already had a shipment over from china or wherever…doesn’t QA usually happen BEFORE any mice are mass produced?? I’m not trying to bust your hump or anything, I guess I just wasn’t clear on the whole process…I just see the release date getting pushed back further and further than I had thought previously, and it’s…well, depressing. So is the copperhead going to be exclusively USB?
September 19th, 2005 at 7:20 pm
Razer has not made a PS/2 connection in over 2 years. USB is the only way to play games and all of our mice are optimized toward USB. Many system makers have eliminated PS/2 ports from their systems. It’s history much like the serial port.
September 19th, 2005 at 10:20 pm
Well, i have to say that i’m about as sick of this Bullshit about Games turning you into a dumb zombie that runs wild shooting everyone in sight.
I have played numerous Shooters and Games like that and i never ever once started a fight or anything like that, i’ve not gotten agressive or shit like that, even if this Sentence here may sound like i am.
Being from Germany (remember the School Shooting here ? dunno if it was in your News as well) i have heard many Stories about censorship of Games and Movies.
Censorship is forbidden by Law (or Constitution, or both) and yet every TV-Broadcasting Company here is doing it.
The first Game i played that was censored was “SIN” by Ritual Entertainment… the Installation Routine checked my System to see in which Country i reside and automatically set a parental lock on everything related to bloodshed (and i mean everything).
I’m 23 now, i live on my own and have a regular job… it’s not my dream job but hey, i need the cash
On occasion i repair the PC’s of my buddies when they’re in trouble with something going wrong inside the Box.
I don’t think i would have become so computer-savvy if i had not played various Games and upgraded my Rig in the Process of playing the newest Games.
September 20th, 2005 at 8:24 am
lol, speaking of the wave of the future(And ultimately cool), do you guys have any plans to make a firewire mouse???
September 20th, 2005 at 12:42 pm
November 25th, 2005 at 3:50 pm
Well, if we didn’t have online gaming, or any gaming for that matter, they (the media) would blame it on something esle. Heaven forbid they actually take responsibility for thier own actions.
December 30th, 2005 at 7:15 pm
So why not use the brain to directly control video games?
January 27th, 2006 at 9:37 am
One of the things i’ve always told myself is alot of the things i’ve leard i’ve learned from video games. Being mostly a RTS, FPS, and RPG player, i started playing games like age of empire. this taught me ALOT of early ancient history, kinda the who’s who in history, great background for starting about 6th grade and on. Also the complex langauge in other games have helped alot to.
April 21st, 2006 at 5:47 am
That is sooo true gaming is not making me anymore violent and i have been playing for like 5 years acctually my grades is higher then b4
and counterstrike =)
like in english i would never been this good if i wouldnt have played Runescape
April 28th, 2006 at 9:24 am
yes so true, somewhat hardcore video games can be a nice boost to the abstracts and a bit on the strategical insights and oversights reasoning parts of the thinking processes as i can see into it.., though about the pattern recognition and spatial logic i really don’t know.. as for pc overusing is certainly is not a boost.. somewhat pc overusing meaning you staying indoors too much. what i mean is staring at a flat screen with all kinds of 3d action on it is not that much of 3d for your brain.. basically it gets bored by that screen even if most of you wouldn’t admit it it’s not so entertaining anymore to spend 8 hours a day playing as it was when u first bought your pc or went to a cafe..
so now for you guys which wanna know more about why your iq gets that boost.. i mean it’s my opinion anyway but i think i’m right. there’s a test called the Bonneh test, or Bonneh’s Illusion.
http://www.uq.edu.au/nuq/jack/bonneh.html
check it out..
now the background for that test is that the human brain hemispheres work by themselves at the same time, some other part in there, maybe the cerebellum, i’m not really sure didn’t go that much into it at the time i read about it,.. recieves signals from both and synchronizes them somehow to make them do a good job, each of it needing info from the other almost constantly.. anyway this is my crappy psychological explanaiton but whatever.. the point is harcore gaming makes your brain go faster at the time you are playing, even if it’s not that much it processes for whatever game you guys or anyone out there may be playing.. because i tell you there might be players who make the most they can about the action in the game when they are playing but those guys don’t play that much[i mean loads a day] i think, and any game so far released, isn’t that much of a genius challenge itself, any game out there.. basically.. make sure u don’t screw your life up drowning in computer games.. there are folks that make more bucks out of it more than they ever could with a day-to-day job i know, and it can really be fun getting a pro moneymaking gamer with your friends but i don’t really know how much fun that can be making a life out of it.. think of all the girls, fun waiting for any of you out there.. i don’t wanna get all teachery about this because i would hate it but it’s really not that nice to see that children totally waste loads of time and opportunities to learn stuff with this crap plastic metal box with periphericals on it:P. it’s nice, it’s loads fun for me too at times but.. butt.
http://community.sparknotes.com/iq/
here’s a nice iq test i got 168 on, is my max so far, though i even got 129 once.. post your score here.iq tests aren’t really that relevant anyway because..just because ‘people just change’.meaning lifestyle[crappy word but here it is], friends and family, schools, jobs, towns, cholesterol ups and downs[meaning exercise,(un)healthy body changes], sex life ;)P, healthy/unhealthy food regime switch both way round etc..
now i’m really sick and tired of this black and white window..
great job with that neat copperhead razer dudes..