THE BIG PICTURE Issue 14 March 2012 Game Talk FTB

What’s Inside

Audi Ad Page 3

Teens into Murderers Page 5

Interview Page 7

Blackberry Ad Page 9

Positive or Negative Page 4

Gillette Ad Page 6

Surgeon or Gamer Page 8

Columbine Page 10

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Positive or Negative Since the invention of video games, there has been a lot of controversy over whether or

not they have harmful effects on those playing them. Numerous studies have been done on

these effects, many with varying results.

There has been a lot of arguing and debate on the topic of video game violence, mainly

between the media and the so called “gamers”. These dedicated gamers believe that there is

no connection at all between violence in video games and violence in reality. However, sev-

eral studies and research done tends to disagree with the beliefs of these gamers. More than

70 percent of American teenage boys have played the violent and “M” rated video game

Grand Theft Auto, and those teens are more likely to have been in a fight than those who

have not played, according to a Gallup poll quoted in the Washington Post. In the past dec-

ade in the United States, the youth crime rates are through the roof and more and more chil-

dren and teens are being subject to anger management than ever. Currently in the US, a

whopping 97% of youths play video games and one can’t help but think that there is a con-

nection between the two.

With all the talk about the negative effects of video games and how they are causing

violence in teens, many positive effects of video games appear to be overshadowed. With the

invention of the Wii gaming system and now the Kinect for XBOX, video games are now a

source of exercise for those playing them. Video games, once known to be for only the lazy,

couch potato now have a different reputation with these games that are getting people off the

couch and working out. As many people know, growing up is a very difficult thing and for

many teens, video games act as a stress reliever to get away from it all. For a short period of

time, teens can just get lost in the video game and forget about the outside world.

Video games are a very powerful tool that can be used for good or for bad. However,

there should be no doubt in everyone’s mind that whether they be positive or negative, video

games have a huge impact on teens growing up in North America as well as all over the

world.---Greg Shillington

VIDEO GAMES TURN

TEENS INTO

MURDERERS

There are millions of adoles-

cents across the globe that play

video games. All of them will

grow to be violent and evil kill-

ers. This is because people who

play video games do not have an

option of being a good person. I

don’t know about you but I am

scared to leave my house.

Through a series of studies,

scientists have concluded that

“gamers” all become murderers

due to the content of video

games. Regardless of what kind

of games they are, people lose all

will power to do anything decent

and resort to criminal activity.

Since these habits can’t be

helped, I think all video games

should henceforth be banned. As

a teenager myself, I understand

why the older generations are

concerned, Mario Cart and Dance

Dance Revolution are such bad

influences to our youth.

The reasoning is obvious;

even though there were murder-

ers all through history the sole

reason nowadays must be some

sort of brainwash through tech-

nology (video games) tactic. For

example Wii Fit must be a secret

way of training killers.

In order to insure your exist-

ence on this earth, we must de-

stroy all video games and wipe

all memories clean of them.

Therefore no person on our plan-

et will ever have a mean thought

ever again. ---- Matt Blain

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Gamer Interview

Q: What game system do you own/prefer and why?

A: I both own and prefer the PS3 system. The important factor for this

decision was that the online component of the console was free. Also many

of my acquaintances owned the PS3 already and I am a conformist.

Q: On average how much do you play?

A: I would say I play PS3 for about 2.5 hours a day, this is because I excel

dramatically in English therefore I have lots of free time.

Q: Do you feel like the games you play can affect your mood?

A: Yes, there are times when I am not doing my best in Call Of Duty and

it’s borderline depressing. I think that your real emotions are affected by

the game play because you are putting a lot of effort into it.

Q: Speaking of C.O.D., what are your accomplishments?

A: Well, not to brag or anything but I am 4th prestige level 65 ( kinda a big

deal ) and I have unlocked numerous golden guns. Some might go as far as

saying I’m a prodigy.

Q: Would you say C.O.D. is an acceptable game for children to play?

A: In my opinion, no. I find that C.O.D. has some amount of violence that

should not be viewed at a young age. However, I do not think that a child

exposed to C.O.D. would solely make them a violent person.

--- Anonymous

Surgeon or Gamer?

Have you ever wondered if

the successful adults in life ever

play video games? If you have,

it’s your lucky day. It turns out

that some surgeons do. Some use

them for different reasons then

others but all seem to be useful. If

you’re trying to strike up a con-

versation next time you are hav-

ing an operation done, gaming

might be a subject you can chat

about.

In numerous articles, sur-

geons have talked about how

playing some video games actual-

ly increase their skills in the oper-

ating room. This is due to the fact

their hand-eye coordination is im-

proved. It is hard to believe at

first, but when you think about it,

gaming really could increase your

hand-eye coordination as well as

your reaction time.

Surgeons have also incorpo-

rated the use of the XBOX

KINECT in the operating room.

Instead of having to leave the

sterile room to look at images

such as MRI’s, they can now use

hand gestures to sort through and

zoom in or out of images while at

the operating table. This saves an

enormous amount of time be-

cause they do not need to re-

sterilize.

The typical stereotype of los-

er tweens being the only gamers

now stands obsolete. Game sys-

tems are a very effective means

of learning and can improve

many basic but important skills.

So the next time your parents tell

you you’re wasting your time

gaming tell them you’re training

to become a surgeon! --- Matt

Blain

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School

Shooting

Connected to

Video Games

April 20, 1999

appeared to be just an-

other day at Columbine

High School for those

attending. However for

Eric Harris and Dylan

Klebold, this was not

just another day. The

two had been planning

this day for months and

now they decided they

were ready. Just after 11

o’clock, the two entered

the cafeteria at their

school, opening fire on

their classmates as well

as teachers. For the next

hour the two high

school boys proceeded

to shoot and kill 12 of

their fellow classmates

as well as one teacher.

In addition to the 13

murders, 26 other stu-

dents were shot, nar-

rowly escaping death.

After committing these

atrocities, the then

turned the guns upon

themselves, thus ending

the massacre devastat-

ing many lives.

Many people are

aware of these horrible

events that occurred at

Columbine High School

but what many do not

know is why. What

could cause these seem-

ingly normal teenagers

to turn into cold blood

killers and how could

no one see the signs be-

fore it were too late?

Jerald Block, a re-

searcher and psychia-

trist seems to have the

answer. “They relied on

the virtual world of

computer games to ex-

press their rage and to

spend their time, and

cutting them off in 1998

sent them into crisis,”

he said in an article with

the Denver Post.

Klebold and Harris

were known to play

“Doom” a video game

featuring a lot of virtual

violence. Shortly before

the massacres the two

boys parents took away

their video game privi-

leges supposedly caus-

ing them to go through

withdrawals and even-

tually snap.

Playing violent

video games doesn’t

necessarily mean that

you will become a vio-

lent killer but in the cas-

es of Eric Harris and

Dylan Klebold it

seemed to be a huge

contributing factor. ---

Greg Shillington