Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1173https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4121Today is my last game-log, and to be honest, while I was playing the game I was thinking: How in the world did these two guys get their weapons? So I start researching and I found out that before the Columbine Massacre it was not very complicated to get weapons. This really did surprise me because I thought it was much harder. For example, in Italy, if you want to have a gun, you have to go through so many steps that in the end you say: You know what?! Forget about it! This is why, when I found out about the gun laws in America, I was very surprised and disappointed. Consequently, like I mentioned in the first game-log, the problem is our society. I am saying that because a society which allows almost everyone (expect mentally ills people) to get weapons for “self-protection” is ridiculous. For example, I saw in the documentary movie called Bowling for Columbine that if you open an account in a bank, that bank would reward your loyalty by giving you a weapon! Moreover, the bank would also give you a reference book, so that you would be able to find the best weapon which met your needs. I personally thought that was very scary and unethical. Come on! A bank that emphasizes the use of weapons! Are we still in the far West?! Give me a break! So, Massacre Columbine RPG made me realize that the American Government should radically change the gun laws. I am saying that because if this law would have been more restrictive or even never created, these two guys most likely would have not ended up with so many weapons. In other words, maybe the Massacre could have been avoided or at least there would have been fewer victims. For example, try to sedate 20 students with just one knife. It would be very hard, especially if these 20 students would try to stop you all at once. This is why I am emphasizing that these gun laws are just ridiculous and that they do more harm than good. For these reasons, I strongly believe that these laws should be radically changed. The sad thing is that something terrible has to happen, such as the Columbine Massacre, to make the public realize that these laws may be wrong; this is also the scariest part. Consequently, after saying in my previous post that this game was bad, now I say that thanks to this game, it opened up my eyes about the problem with gun laws. I say so because before playing this game, and coming from Italy, I did not have any idea that in the USA there were such laws. In conclusion, after I “crushed” this game with my previous two game-logs, I am glad that this game exists. Thanks to it, I found out about gun laws and also that games do not make you violent (first game-log). Before playing this game, I was really pissed off and angry, but now I consider it to be informative because of what I learned about gun laws. In other words, this game is worth to be explored and played. (This entry has been edited4 times. It was last edited on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:18:48.)Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:59:05 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4121&iddiary=7727https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4121Today is my second game-log, and to be honest, now more than ever, I believe that this game should have never been created. I think this game is very unethical because it does not respect the students who lost their lives on that tragic day, and that tragedy is represented like a “funny” RPG. I know that we have the freedom of speech, but in this case, we should have made an exception. This game crosses a boundary that no game should ever cross. It took a tragic event and made it into a game. Now let me ask you this: What would happen if I created a game based on 9/11? In this game you are a terrorist and your main goal is to kill as many people as you can. Now suppose that your dad was one of the victims of 9/11. So, what would you think if I created a RPG based on it? I am sure you would be outraged, and you have all the reason to be. This is why I strongly believe that no one should ever create a game based on true events, especially tragic ones such as the Massacre at the Columbine School. Moreover, because this game is represented as RPG and “funny”, players do not really pay attention to what is going on. The only thing that they want to do is blow the cafeteria out and kill as many students as they can. In other words, instead of being sorry for the victims, players look forward to killing all of the students and this attitude makes me feel sick. This attitude is very common on the net by people who say that “the enemies” (students) were too easy to kill and that was not challenging for the players. At this point some of you would think: Ok Giuseppe, you said that games should not be based on true events. What about games based on history? I would not have anything against those games because history its part of our culture and we learn from our mistakes. I think Columbine Massacre RPG is too premature. Many people are still suffering and this is why this game raised controversy when it came out. Maybe, in the future, this game could be accepted, or even considered a piece of art by society, but not now. At least not for me. In conclusion, I believe in freedom of speech but there should be a limit on what video-games people can create when it comes to real facts. We are dealing with real people and a real event, so for God’s sake, we should respect their memory. (This entry has been edited3 times. It was last edited on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:17:51.)Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:21:57 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4121&iddiary=7708https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4121I just finished playing Super Columbine Massacre RPG and to be honest, I did not like the way the media, such as music and games are used in this game. In this game, you control Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold and to be able to improve their abilities, you have to use items such as Marilyn Manson music or the game Doom for making them better killers. Honestly, this really did bother me a lot because Columbine Massacre RPG could reinforce stereotypes that violence, especially in teenagers, is caused by video-games and music. For example, while I was watching the real footage of the Massacre of Columbine, people were commenting that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were influenced by Marilyn Manson. I am not a doctor or even a psychologist, but I know that games and music do not increase violent behavior in people. For example, I used to play Doom for more than 10 hours a day and I did not get any side effects. My friend Massimo used to listen to Rammstein, Marilyn Manson, KMFDM, Prodigy, Litfiba and other “Dark” rock music without getting crazy and shooting people. Another example that video-games are not related to violence is the 1927 Bath School disaster. According to Wikipedia, ”The Bath School disaster is the name given to three bombings in Bath Township, Michigan, USA, on May 18, 1927, which killed 45 people (38 grade-schoolers and 7 adults) and injured 58.” Sorry guys, but in 1927 there were no video-games. In addition to this, many European studies show that games do not increase violent behavior; they do the opposite. Games make people relax and get rid of tension and stress that they accumulate during the day. For instance, I used to play Bio Hazard (Japanese version of Resident Evil) every time I got mad with my boss. So, instead of crunching his head against a brick wall, I was using video-games to release my anger. On the other hand, as with most things, if you play too many hours video-games you could get side effects. For example, a kid from the UK played so often that he ended up thinking that he was living in a game. This happened because he used to play for more than 16 hours a day; but still, he did not become violent in any way. So my question is: If games do not increase violent behavior, why is the media, such as news and newspapers, saying the opposite? I think news and newspaper are spreading FUD (Fear, uncertainty, and doubt ) by saying that violent games are the cause of violent behavior. They do that because it is easier to blame video-games instead of searching for real causes. If some of you are still believing that violence comes from video-games, let me ask you this: If video-games are the cause of violent behavior, Why don’t Japanese people kill each other? Japan is one of the countries in the world with the highest video-games players. In conclusion, video-games do not increase or cause people to behave violently, and there are many studies that support what I am saying. So please let us stop this nonsense and start to find out who is really responsible for violent behavior in teenagers. A hint? Our society. (This entry has been edited20 times. It was last edited on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:17:00.)Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:02:44 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4121&iddiary=7700https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4098 (This entry has been edited2 times. It was last edited on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:53:28.)Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:36:38 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4098&iddiary=7659https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4096Today, like yesterday, I got disgusted once again because this game also stereotypes ethnicity and as well as genders. I noticed that most of the African-American women in San Andreas were prostitutes whereas, Caucasian women were middle-high class. I think this is a terrible discrimination of females because it might put down African-American women, especially black woman that are living in a poor neighbourhood. Consequently, black women and especially the ones that are living in degradated neighbourhoods could use this game as an escape from reality, giving up their dream. What I am trying to say is that San Andreas could facilitate to all of these women that are living every day of their life in poverty and financial problems. So, for those people the game could send the wrong message by telling them "Why are you working so hard? Why are you studying? You are just wasting your time! Sooner or later you will end up on the street and sell your body." I know this sounds terrible but it could happen. This is similar with people who start smoking or drinking because it looked cool in games. Stereotypes against gender is unacceptable because it could reinforce the stereotype that black women are good for nothing, expect for sex, and that Caucasian women are the essence of purity and perfection. Please, give me a break! In conclusion, my experience with GTA San Andreas was more a pain than real enjoyment, and honestly I cannot understand how in the world this game sold more than 20 million of copies. Also, as soon as I finished my last game session, I removed this game from my PC, and I will never install it anymore. P.S. Maybe, it is true what I say to myself once in while, that I am too good for this world.Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:34:20 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4096&iddiary=7658https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4096Today, once again, I got disgusted about GTA San Andreas because of the violence within the game. I am saying this because the only way to get money (at least for what I have seen) is by robbing people or even worse, killing them. Honestly, I did not do any of those things but I read on the Internet that you can kill practically everyone you want from a police officer to old people. This did really bother me a lot because the game pushes players to do unethical actions such as killing and stealing. Furthermore, the game forces players to be violent. For example, in one mission I had to go to my house, and instead of walking or stealing a car, I thought to get a taxi, and pay for the ride. But the game did not allow me to do that. Instead, as soon as I tried to enter the taxi, the game interpreted my action as if I wanted to steal the vehicle. Moreover, another reason that made me dislike this game is because it promotes violence. In addition, I think that players that play this game could become, in the long run, less sensitive about violence. For example, when I was 14 years old, my friend and I saw the movie "Warriors" which both of us enjoyed very much. The problem is what my friend asked when the movie ended. He said: "Pino, what do you think if we make a gang? Come on man! I know people that would be excited about this!! On top of that, your mother can sew our jackets!! And later we can go and break store windows and make graffiti! So? What do you think?!" I remember that I was astonished about his querying. I remember asking him if he was serious and he replied to me by saying: "Sure! Let's do it. We can be like the warriors in the movie and have our headquarter on the beach!" I am sure that not everyone after seeing the movie "Warrior" ended up in gangs, but still, it could happen. But, when it comes to video-games, I think the chances to do unethical actions are much higher because even though violent games have age restrictions, parents do not really pay attention to them. Consequently, many times violent games such GTA San Andreas are played by people much younger than 16 years old and it is much easier for them to distort reality. They could think that what happens in the game reflects the real world. Because of these reasons, I think GTA San Andreas is not a very ethical game because it pushes players to behave in unethical ways. This is my honest opinion and I am sure there are people out there that are not going to agree with my view. P.S. This link talks about Psychological Effects of Violent Media on Children and refers to GTA http://allpsych.com/journal/violentmedia.html (This entry has been edited3 times. It was last edited on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:43:58.)Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:57:19 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4096&iddiary=7657https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4088GTA San Andreas is the first game of the GTA series that I am playing and to be honest, this would be also the last one. The main reason that made me say that is GTA San Andreas' stereotypes about ethnicity. For example, I noticed by fooling around in San Andreas that most of the gangs and drug dealers were African-Americans or Hispanics, whereas police officers were mostly white. The only African-American police officers that I saw were the ones in the intro-cut scene and they were corrupted and abusing their power. For this reason, I think the game may send the wrong message to the players by letting them think that this is how San Andreas or even worse the USA is: a typical city/country full of corruption, gangs and drugs. For example, last year as soon my 16 years old nephew that lives in Italy played the game, he called me asking if drug dealers were mostly African-American. Moreover, while playing this game, I felt in some way disgusted because it was going against my moral beliefs.The game violates my beliefs by showing that the "holy" ethnicity is Caucasian by reinforcing the stereotypes that African-Americans and Hispanics are the bad ones, like a cancer that is affecting San Andreas. Maybe I am too picky, but being raised to consider everyone at my same level independently from their ethnicity, I really did get upset playing this game. Consequently, after my first game session, I believe that this game is distorting the truth by showing completely different events from the real world by stereotyping some ethnicities. I now finally understand why this game raised controversy when it came out. P.S. The real population in San Andreas, has a very small percentage of Hispanics and African-Americans (http://www.city-data.com/city/San-Andreas-California.html) whereas, in the game it looks the opposite showing that most of the population is African-American and Hispanics. (This entry has been edited7 times. It was last edited on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:32:42.)Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:57:05 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4088&iddiary=7637