Electronic Crack

[Taqwa11]

Here's my own guidelines for games my ten-year-old son can play:

No gratuitous sex scenes. Dead or Alive 3 is fine because although those pixel chicks are pretty damned hot, you don't see them getting it on after the fight.

No killing innocent people or cops just for the fun of it (GTA2 is out).

Any game where the killing is in self-defense is acceptable--including RTS war games because survival depends on taking out the enemy before he kills you. (Max Payne, Emperor, No One Lives Forever 2, and even Unreal Tournament are ok with me--the key is that the killing must be in self defense, not murder.)

My wife's standards are a bit higher than mine. She is a woman. She never played Cowboys and Indians, Soldiers, Mock Fighting or Smear the Queer (throw a football in the air, someone grabs it and runs like hell, repeat) as a child--games almost all boys play. She'd rather have them play Teletubbies or Winnie the Pooh, etc.

I don't believe in game censorship by a Government entity. I do strongly believe in responsible parenting.

[Taqwa11]

Check out this website. Incredible.

http://www.mavav.org/

Then look specifically at this link:

http://www.mavav.org/resources/

[DukeLeto]

OMFG! lol! ::) None of those things are "facts". Take a look:

Fact: Videogames aren't just for "fun" anymore, the videogame industry made a net income of $6.3 billion in 2002, surpassing even the movie industry. Developers profit and continue to take advantage of today's youth with cute, loveable, addictive, and recognizable franchise characters. A practice and strategy similar to those used by the tobacco industry.

Hmm, good point...A wonder how many of these people do smoke? ::) And it seems to be something harder than cigarettes. :P 6.3 Billion dollars? I think Star Wars alone made more than that. ::) Some "fact." ::)

Fact: Videogames have been proven to prevent the development of the proper social skills and interaction needed for a long happy and enjoyable life. Young gamers are prone to being burdened with depression and sadness all throughout their life

Is that so? OK, let's vote! Who here has depression? Anyone? Anyone? Didn't think so.

Fact: Health studies have found that even those casual gamers suffer from low self-esteem and self-pride compared to their athletic and more socially accepted peers in their same age group. Young gamers were found to be more likely to become lifetime gaming addicts and becoming social outcasts.

Isn't this basically the same argument twice in a row? I'm still not depressed by games, but these morons are starting to dpress me. ::)

Fact: Hardcore gaming not only leads to videogame addiction and abrupt lifestyle changes, but to crime and felony as well. Hardcore gamers never buy computer videogames. Instead, downloading illegally copied videogames or

[ethan]

that killing one, yeah right, you just dont know how to shoot a gun or beat the shit out of someone until you do. the other stuff CAN happen, but it doesnt happen to me. my grades went down about 3%, thats all. you have to be trained to know how to kill, not just take a shotgun like of DOOM and just shoot in their general direction, that might work, but i doubt it. on GTA3, you dont know how hard to hit them and where until you experience it. people who think they're really doing it themselves, should be locked up. if you cant determine the line between games and reality, you shouldnt be playing violent games.

[rogue1896]

and i suppose just b/c i hit the box button on the ps2 controller i automatically know how to use a Stinger Rocket Launcher. huh? lol

[ethan]

or clicked a mouse... ;D

i found this 9.99 a month game. its like Final Fantasy (original, with bad grafix, great story & spells & stuff), mixed with Emperor( GREAT grafix and gameplay). IM me if you want it, i dont want it populated with lagers, it really screws the game for the whole community.

[Navaros]

owning is quite addictive. it's fun to usurp power from those who came before you, and beat them silly; then laugh at them about it.

one of my first few games in Emp, Sarb was on my team when i was a total n00b and i used to think he was one of the greatest ATRs ever, then one fateful day I beat him in QM and was so proud of myself. i even patted myself on the back like 5 times.

i don't see how Emp can be addicting anymore though. of course, you'd have to be addicted to *something* to still play it (LOL) since it takes 3 hours just to get a QM and 90% of all "players" are n00bs these days. guys like me will typically have Stats of 100 kills for me, 7 kills by the enemy at the end of the QM which I've just been staring at the screen for 3 hours just waiting for the match to start; pressing the "QUICK" button every 30 seconds the whole time, of course ::). and to make matters worse, WOL even disconnects you if you tab out to another window for over 60 seconds: so you are stuck doing nothing while you stare at the black screen. Emp is deader than dead, but it coulda been addicting back in the day.

[SurlyPIG]

No, owning is not addictive. It becomes very, very boring. I would kill for a game with earedil or d3k right about now. Nowadays I play on strange foreign settings to keep things interesting.

[rogue1896]

i know how you feel ace. on the few occasions i do play now, which is usually with FEW, i like teh settings as random as possible. it gives the game a certain pizzazz when you don't have a set build order for the settings. it also allows for more interesting gameplay. it's never a good sign if someone plays 5k games or 30 pre built etc. etc. all the time. You gotta mix things up from time to time

[Elite47]

No, owning is not addictive. It becomes very, very boring. I would kill for a game with earedil or d3k right about now. Nowadays I play on strange foreign settings to keep things interesting.

EXACTLY EXACTLY EXACTLY

[Navaros]

IMO Emp was way too few maps to make it interesting beyond the QM Tournament for any measureable length of time. Almost all of the 4-player maps are wayyyyyyyyyy too small to make for interesting custom games in 2v2 (oh yay another cradle game; let me move all my units two inches outside my base and watch as they engage my enemy 1 minute in the game as he does the exact same thing, how *exciting! NOT) and playing the same 2 or 3 big maps in custom gets REAL old, real fast. playing 1v1 in Custom is just plain dorky since that's what QM was designed for.

owning is boring in custom 'cause all custom games are meaningless. i meant that it's was addictive on the ladder, in *real* games, back when there was some good players left

[Anathema]

Yeah, you need a ladder, otherwise you wouldn't be able to show off your huge ego lol.

[Taqwa11]

Nav, as they say, "You talk the talk, but you don't walk the walk." Where ARE you on the QM ladder? Where ARE you in custom? Blab, blab, blab, yak, yak, yak, yada, yada, yada. If you own almost everyone and you have such a hard time finding any competition against all the "noobs," put your name on the line and let's see what you've got, "number one ATR gangster." LOL. If I were anywhere near as good as you say you are, I'd be out there taking on Ace, brennq, skum0men, arespower and the like until I could own THEM. As it is, you aren't worth paying any attention to, so I don't know why I do. Maybe it's because I get some kind of pleasure out of watching you make a total ass of yourself once again.

Oh, and one more thing: WTF does all of this have to do with my post on Electronic Crack. Talk about spamming other people's threads!

[DjCiD]

hahaha he did just spam your thread didn't he ;D

but back to the crack...

Games can be very addictive ... just ask the dead rotten heap of broken console controllers I have gone thru just trying to make that one damn jump that I made that one time and cant anymore.... But if you play in moderation the addictiveness isn't so bad.

What I feel is worse is all the parents and offical ppl saying games are to violent and shouldnt be allowed cause its to mature. Well, you know there is a rating system for a reason. If these parents would review the games before letting their kids play then maybe the problem wouldn't be so bad. Believe me I know my dad wouldn't have let me buy Max Payne if I was a kid, nor would I let my children. If I'm playing a violent game and my kids come in I will pause it or turn it off. Game companies are targeting more adult audiences so parents need to be more careful. Its just like the movies ... don't send them to a rated R movie if you don't want them to mimic the stuff they see in it (language and such), then don't buy them Dead To Rights either and expect a lovely Christmas dinner. Parents need to be the ones to make the call, and if they allow their young one the access to the games then the Parents are the ones to blame not the game makers.

[Anathema]

Some games are too violent, I agree. But I get sick of those guys who say children shouldn't play videogames at all. Before you enforce that, first try to solve the problem of children smoking cigarettes, and the problem of kids shooting their teachers, then do something about those horrorible videogames. ::)

[rogue1896]

yeah, don't they have something better to bitch about? we got all those other problems in the world. why not worry about them instead of video games.

[DjCiD]

In total agreement with Earth and Rogue, let the parents handle their children and the issue with video games. Its the parents responsibility in the first place to monitor (I guess thetas an ok way to put it) what games/movies there children are playing/viewing, not some government official or company spokesman.

[Taqwa11]

I repeat what I said about how I, as a parent, view violence and adult themes in video games:

No gratuitous sex scenes. Dead or Alive 3 is fine because although those pixel chicks are pretty damned hot, you don't see them getting it on after the fight.

No killing innocent people or cops just for the fun of it (Grand Theft Auto is out).

Any game where the killing is in self-defense is acceptable--including RTS war games because survival depends on taking out the enemy before he kills you. (Max Payne, Emperor, No One Lives Forever 2, and even Unreal Tournament are ok with me--the key is that the killing must be in self defense, not murder.)

[Navaros]

taq my post was relevant as you'd know if you had bothered to read all of it. instead you just read bits and pieces and then you yourself posted irrelvant stuff addressed to me LOL

to answer your comments:

1. almost all of those guys you mentioned have been proven to cheat and hence they suck more than any n00b has ever sucked before

2. go check the ladder winners back when there *was* somewhat-of a real ladder and you'll find my walks. { supporting, colorful adjectives censored so as Gob doesn't freak :) }

3. pardon me for not having 3 hours to spend, constantly clicking at a QUICK button on a boring black screen, every 30 seconds for all of those 3 hours, just to finally be matched up with someone and have *ONE GAME*. sorry, i'm not gonna waste my time like that. the other month i was well on my way to being number 1 and as soon as i ravaged an ATR who ACE said was one of the best ATR players period, namely ipiphoura, he DC cheats me and steals most of my points while simultaneously failing to lose "his" 64 points that my Win would have bit out of his illegitmate, cheating "rank". so screw the farce that is now masquerading as the Emp Tournament. enough is enough. takes way too long to find a match since hardly anyone plays, and the ones who still do are all n00bs and/or cheaters {most are n00bs *AND* cheaters all rolled into one}

btw i can't beat ACE because he knows and uses all of the impossible-to-counter strats vs. ATR. i might be able to beat him in ATR vs ATR though i've never played him as ATR vs ATR. not that it'd be easy, just to say that that would be the only possible way i'd be on an even playing field with him since there is no possible way to counter his impossible strats when he is using Hark or Ordos

[Anathema]

Stay on topic for a change >:(

[Taqwa11]

Well, if your ultimate goal in life is to beat Ace, I admit it would be a pipe dream for someone like you with mediocre RTS skill as House Atreides. The best chance you have is to learn House Harkonnen and use Ace's own strat or brennq's strat on Ace when he's playing as Harkonnen. At least that way you are using one of the best Hark player's strats against him and mirroring the great tactics he himself will be using.

Now, if it's true that you were so good just last month as Atreides on QM, what name were you using? No one believes you, Nav, because you make claims no one can verify.

Oh, and since this is MY post, after all, I will say when it becomes too crowded with your spam, and I will decide what replies you should get from me on MY post.

By the way, electronic crack could just as easily apply to people with a chat habit or a forum habit. You've obviously got a forum habit you can't break. Your forum habit is your addiction to making an ass of yourself and ruining the forum you love so much.

[Navaros]

was just answering your Q's Taq. next time if you don't want a truthful answer from me posted in your thread, then don't *ask* me Q's in your thread. ::) I don't even know why i bothered even acknowledging your existence since you became all chummy with hobbtz and FEW etc etc. LOL

i understand you've always been jealous of me because i could easily beat you even though you've had Emp way longer than me and I use ATR just like you.

i only ever use one nick, only played about 5 qms last month and i was already number 14 on the ATR ladder just as a result of those Wins (this was at the very *END* of the month even!) ROFL. just underscores how much of a joke the ladder is now. the ipiphoura scandal happened a few months back and i know you saw those threads and the proof so don't go using that "selective memory" on me again.

i don't need to hide behind multinicks as you freely admit to doing. funny how someone as mediocre as me has always ravaged you in the game Taq, and probably with several of your QM multnicks over the months when I played QM , of which I am not even aware what your nicks were. i am not a coward so i don't need to hide my identity as cowards do with multiple nicks.

i can tolerate your personal attacks about my private life. i can tolerate your "selective memory" about the games in which i beat you. i can even tolerate your lies about having beaten me, something which you have not ever done. but now that i come to think of it, i can *not* tolerate the fact that you fraternize with hobbtz and FEW cheaters and think they are "cool" and even that they are "good" at Emp - which they most definitely are NOT. LOL for this immoral act, Taq, for your turning to the dark side, you have forfeited all benefit you will ever have known from communication with me. as far as i am concerned, you no longer exist to me. you join the ranks of d3hobbtzmonger on my perm ignore list. lie about me all you want, *you and i* both know it's nonsense, i'm not gonna be witness to it anymore.

[rogue1896]

was just answering your Q's Taq. next time if you don't want a truthful answer from me posted in your thread, then don't *ask* me Q's in your thread. ::) I don't even know why i bothered even acknowledging your existence since you became all chummy with hobbtz and FEW etc etc. LOL

i understand you've always been jealous of me because i could easily beat you even though you've had Emp way longer than me and I use ATR just like you.

i only ever use one nick, only played about 5 qms last month and i was already number 14 on the ATR ladder just as a result of those Wins (this was at the very *END* of the month even!) ROFL. just underscores how much of a joke the ladder is now. the ipiphoura scandal happened a few months back and i know you saw those threads and the proof so don't go using that "selective memory" on me again.

i don't need to hide behind multinicks as you freely admit to doing. funny how someone as mediocre as me has always ravaged you in the game Taq, and probably with several of your QM multnicks over the months when I played QM , of which I am not even aware what your nicks were. i am not a coward so i don't need to hide my identity as cowards do with multiple nicks.

i can tolerate your personal attacks about my private life. i can tolerate your "selective memory" about the games in which i beat you. i can even tolerate your lies about having beaten me, something which you have not ever done. but now that i come to think of it, i can *not* tolerate the fact that you fraternize with hobbtz and FEW cheaters and think they are "cool" and even that they are "good" at Emp - which they most definitely or not. LOL for this immoral act, Taq, for your turning to the dark side, you have forfeited all benefit you will ever have known from communication with me. as far as i am concerned, you no longer exist to me. you join the ranks of d3hobbtzmonger on my perm ignore list. lie about me all you want, *you and i* both know it's nonsense, i'm not gonna be witness to it anymore.

not a very smart thing to do right b4 you get judgement...again. shouldn't you probably just shut up and pray to god you don't get kicked again. insulting someone as well respected as taq...you never cease to surprise do you. taq is like every1's best friend. lol. personally i hope you get fed to the sand worms, as gob put it.

[Taqwa11]

Thanks, Rogue. So, Nav, what name were you using for those five wins you claimed on QM last month? You definitely were NOT playing as Cyrenius or Navarosx. I may never play QM--and never have played more than three or four QM games in any month--but I keep my eye on the ladder to see how some of my friends are doing, and your name was not on there, FOOL. You have never "ravaged" me in QM because I have never played you in QM, at least not that I know of, unless you were using a name I don't know. And one thing I have NEVER done is use multi-nicks on QM, but I'd bet my house that you have.

Oh, and when was I "chummy" with HOBBTZ? And don't say "Well, you are friends with Emprworm," because I don't remember him ever being in HOBBTZ. If he was, then I never saw it by his name, and even if he were in HOBBTZ, he would have been a white sheep amongst the black sheep there. As for FEW, I do have some friends there. They have always played me fairly. They like those damned 5k, no pre-built settings (LOL), but they play fairly.

As for ignoring me, you don't have the willpower to ignore me. You may not reply because we both know--and most people on this forum know--that most of what you have said is bullshit, but you WILL read what I say.

Finally, stop the crap about "owning," "ravaging," and being "number one Atreides gangster." You won't take on any of the best players under your known names. You won't even say what name you have been using on either QM or custom, and we both know why: You want to talk like you own everyone while hiding behind your unknown names, and then if, by dumb luck, you beat someone good at Emperor, THEN you will tell them who you really are, and THEN we'll all have to hear about it on this forum. I can see it now: Dumbshitz beats Acelethal, and lo and behold, Dumbshitz is really Nav. Man, would you rub it in Ace's face then, and we'd all hear about it, no doubt! For your information, I have beaten some of the best players in custom games, and quite recently, yet you'll never, EVER see me come on this forum and brag about it. I know that eight out of ten games, especially on QM settings, those guys would own me, so why would I brag about one custom game where everything went right for me and wrong for them? You can't pry the details out of me, yet you get on this forum and brag about one game, a long time ago, where you supposedly beat an old clanmate of mine when he played as Atreides (his worst house, I believe), a game in which he says he was disconnected through no fault of his own. The fact is, you are nowhere near as good as you say. You are only about as good as I am--maybe only slightly better--but you're too chickenshit to put your mouse where your mouth is, sucker.

Now, back to the electronic crack topic, please. And I apologize to other readers for this unfortunate sidetrack.

[Elite47]

Nicely put Taq :)

U know i dont think video games have anything to do with most kids violence/drugs/murder etc...

If they do affect those few kids, its not really the games fault. kids above 4 know right and wrong pretty much. if they could imitate a murder from a video game, the kids got some problems already! Same with movies. If a kid watches 'Half Baked' and decides to try some weed and buys a 20 bag, that kid woulda tried the weed anyways some other time. If he was weak enough to be convinced by a movie,then he could prolly be convinced by anyone. now with like grand theft auto... killing innocent ppl for fun there i have 2 opinions on:

1)I dont have a personal problem with it because i know it will not influence me in any harmful way; its just a game.

2) killing cops and innocent ppl is not a very positive message, but then again... its just a game to me.

hmmmm.... time to go play some MK:deadly alliance ;D