Bio-Warriors and Implant Freaks

k-hell writes "There's a very interesting article on Anarchy Online's web site about a father's observations in watching his twelve year old daughter interact within the world of Anarchy Online. He tells that his daughter now knows, in very simple terms of course, what nanotechnology and implants are. He goes on and states: '..there is no denying that these games have certain integral qualities that very many so-called "educational games" lack.'"

No substitute

[E1v!$]

At 12 I could tell you all about plate tectonics, geography, archeology, etc etc...

Games should be educational. On-line communities can also be a force for good, but in the end THIS world is the one we live in.

Books and real humans are the answer.

Ethics

[swat_r2]

At this point in the game Alice has no qualms about resorting to such means, be they medicaments, poisons or other weapons. Resolutely, she does her best to ensure that her side emerges successfully from the perilous operations engaged in and to this end ruthlessly injects poison into the enemies the techno-elite have sent her out to overcome..

So little "Alice" is learning that the end truly does justify the means, no matter how many ethical boundaries she has to detroy in her mind, all in the name of success?

Is she also pre-programmed to think that these enemies she is fighting are inherently evil and thus must be vanquished? Has she given up free will and just accepted that fact that she is the "good one" and all others who are different must die?

I really doubt that this article was legitimate and nothing more than a clever marketing ploy to draw more people into the game. Wouldn't it have been more believable to have a "son named Jack" who is a reclusive teenager with poor social skills, and is so addicted to MMORPG's that he only has a shower once a week?

That being said, I think MMORPG's are the devil and I'm avoiding them like SARS. Especially with that violent little "Alice" out there... -shudder-

Some musing

[grasshoppah]

The author states that, undoubtably, the number of MMORPGs will expolode in the coming years, and I am inclined to agree. I am not sure if this is such a good thing however. I for one have always enjoyed a good single player game such as Marathon, Baldurs Gate, and Warcraft. Suddenly games are being created that have either a very weak single player component or none at all. Will single player games be phased out completely? I certainly hope not because at some times I simply do not want to be interacting with others while playing a game. This leads to an interesting question; will single player games become taboo and seen as anti-social? After the next school shooting will the media report that the kids were fans of "single player games" instead of focusing on the violence factor and thus justifying their disconnection from society? I havn't enjoyed a MMORG yet, although I used to be a huge fan of MUDS. I for one hope single player always has a strong presence.