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.'"

See the Microsoft icon

[AtariAmarok]

See the usual Slashdot Microsoft icon for a visual example of the results of this.

Oh Please...

[tha_mink]

Sounds like a thinly vailed advert to me. We get it, your daughter learned about life and you learned about your daughter all wrapped up in a half an hour of gaming. Just like "Happy Days" [sitcomsonline.com]

Good for you.

Re:Spelling nazi strikes again

[tha_mink]

Ok. So I spelled veiled wrong. You got me. But advert is a perfectly cromulent word.

Echeb, American-style

[AtariAmarok]

"He tells that his daughter now knows, in very simple terms of course, what nanotechnology and implants are"

Perfect way to introduce young future drones to the Collective.

I wonder if the father speaks Klingon [cnn.com]?

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.

Re:No substitute

[samael]

Why are the experiences in books any more real than the expdriences in a computer?

Re:No substitute

[thebigmacd]

Because YOU build the picture from the description from a book. The picture isnt built for you by someone with a different imagination.

memories

[andy_fish]

Damn straight video games can be educational. One of the most important lessons I learned as a kid: never try to cross that deep river in a wagon that is carrying your family and all your belongings.

I learned

[swat_r2]

I learned that eating big moving mushrooms can make me grow up to be big and strong, and that if I eat those big red pulsating flowers I can throw balls of fire!

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.

Re:Some musing

[PurplePhase]

I'm also concerned about the loss of single-player games/parts of games. Quality of most any sort has gone out the window and thought to be replaced by the chat functions. Ugh.

The simple solution to not wanting to interact with ppl during a game is use the AFK flag, though in the on-line games I've tried it's actually been fairly difficult to *start* interacting - have to find others either in your class or near your level, besides them wanting to interact.

The article, though, is disturbing to me as to