Quote from: J ArcaneSo, is it wrong to deliberately raise your kids to be ignorant?

What's your position on the teaching of creationism in schools?  How about purely religious education?  Sex education?

Okay... videogames stuff I can see as almost on topic, but come on already. Dude's ignorant... so let's talk about... shit that has nothing to do with RPGs?

Quote from: beejazzOkay... videogames stuff I can see as almost on topic, but come on already. Dude's ignorant... so let's talk about... shit that has nothing to do with RPGs?

The mental connection between the two is quite solid I assure you.  It's exactly the same mindset, whether it's denying your kids a form of entertainment, or an education, and just as ignorant in any form.

Quote from: J ArcaneThe mental connection between the two is quite solid I assure you.  It's exactly the same mindset, whether it's denying your kids a form of entertainment, or an education, and just as ignorant in any form.

Okay, ignorance=ignorance is fairly obvious, but uh... ignorance!=what rpgs will still be around in 20 years

a discussion on child rearing and education? off topic.

Quote from: J ArcaneThe mental connection between the two is quite solid I assure you.  It's exactly the same mindset, whether it's denying your kids a form of entertainment, or an education, and just as ignorant in any form.

So should i start giving them porn?

Quote from: AosSo should i start giving them porn?

I saw my first porn when I was no older than 13, and my parents had nothing to do with it.  

And I didn't even had the Internet then.

Kids have a way of finding all the stuff you don't want them to have anyway.  They're very resourceful.  

So barring essentially forcing them to stay at home 24 hours a day and barring all access to the outside world like my mother does with my mentally retarded younger sisters, the only thing that all this mindless conservatism does is instill them with an unhealthy sense of guilt and resentment towards their parents.

is that a yes?

Quote from: Aosis that a yes?

You don't read too good do you?

I take it your parents were especially harsh in regards to the evils of readin'.

I'm amused that it's all "mindless conservatism" that must be at fault here - when Aos is talking about getting stoned while his kids are in his care..

They biases floating around here are amazing.

J is right that video games are no more or less at fault than any other medium.  My son is sitting next to me playing his DS (Lego Star Wars II).  Yestereve, in the beautiful weather of Spring in Chicago, he and his friends were running around the back yard with plastic machine guns (blasters) and home-made foam swords (a double-ended light saber!) pretending the Gazebo was a force field room in which they were trapped and then breaking out to fight the bad guys by the play set.

What influenced whom in what ways in that scenario?

Some kids will have imagination, some will not.  Some kids will use video games as a substitute, some will use it as a spring board. Some kids will like reading, some will like playing football.  Most will fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. To claim you know how your kid is going to turn out is the height of arrogance.  All you can do is the best you can do.

Oh..and I started on the Odysey 2000 - it was yellow and played Pong. And it was amazing.  And the first BASCI computer program I wrote on my TRS-80 was an attempt at an adventure game - saved to an external casette "drive"!

After crapping on the thread with everyone else, I thought I'd try to find a way to draw something productive from this diversion...

OK.  So we're on the subject of video games and computers.  Think about where they were 30 years ago when RPG's were coming on-line.  Look at the increase in power and capability: Odyssey -> Wii/PS3; TRS-80 -> Pentium 4 Wintel/Mac Powerbook.

Is there a comparable increase in RPG's? Is there a way to base the theory of what will happen in 20 years based on what it looked like 30 years ago given that 30 years ago computers were a hobby?

Just curious...

Quote from: J ArcaneYou don't read too good do you?

I take it your parents were especially harsh in regards to the evils of readin'.

Nice way to double dodge the question.  When all else fails, there's always personal attack to fix the problem. Your arguement is completely self-contradictory by the way. Read through it and see if you can work out where that happens- maybe you can clear that up with another quote from Douglass Adams, or perhaps something pithy from Garfield will help you out.
Don't worry, though, everybody who disgrees with you is an idiot. Differing opinions are bad and should be savagely attacked and insulted at every turn. Only you know the turth.

Quote from: James J SkachI'm amused that it's all "mindless conservatism" that must be at fault here - when Aos is talking about getting stoned while his kids are in his care..

everything I say on the internet is true- you can tell because its the internet.

Quote from: J ArcaneYou don't read too good do you?

Well.  "You don't read too well, do you?"

Man, and I thought you were crawling your way out of this thread.

!i!

Quote from: James J SkachOh..and I started on the Odysey 2000 - it was yellow and played Pong. And it was amazing.  And the first BASCI computer program I wrote on my TRS-80 was an attempt at an adventure game - saved to an external casette "drive"!

Kids, behold the mighty Odyssey.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnavox_Odyssey

Console gaming circa 1972.

I will state that this piece of machinery fundamentally rebooted my mind in ways RPGs never managed to do. That said, I haven't played a computer game in years. Except for pixel sizes and the Wii there seems to be no real innovation any more?

So, it's not like I feel I can't keep up with video games and civilization is going to hell, it's more like they've gotten really boring and I'd rather play a cool RPG.

Yeah, mine was the one they talk about in that article that's Odyssey Pong - no cartridges and, IIRC, the controllers were in the console.

And all it played was Pong - and we were happy, dammit....


I stand corrected - it was the Odyssey 300.

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaWell.  "You don't read too well, do you?"

Man, and I thought you were crawling your way out of this thread.

!i!

Aw see, now you've gone and destroyed my delivery.

Maybe I should've put that bit in quotes.  

It's not like I was gonna respond directly to his pathetic attempt at a trap.

I answered his question, but he wasn't interested in an answer, so he didn't see it, too busy trying to be clever.