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