Thanks for the nice reply. I understand where you are coming from. My post was intended to point out some of the problems with going the route you suggested, but then I think you see some of the same problems with that, that I do.
As for current video games out there, I am not able to specificly address the issue. I do see games advertised on the tube and the ones I do seem oriented toward killing the enemy. If that perception is flawed, then I’ll take my limps for stating an untruth.
Am I being inaccurate here? Are the video games you’ve seen firsthand in line with the morals you want to see adopted by your kids? Perhaps they are. I sure don’t get that impression from the limited exposure I have these days.
“...I do see games advertised on the tube and the ones I do seem oriented toward killing the enemy.”
“Are the video games you’ve seen firsthand in line with the morals you want to see adopted by your kids?”
Video games are like movies, and so they have to be judged on a case by case - child by child basis. Video games are also like models or sports. The very best thing you can do is to play the games with your child. Sit with him as he plays and watch the action. Play together if it is a two player game. Share time with him in his hobby, develop an interest in it yourself. Play it when he is not around so that you understand what it’s about. Discuss the game’s characters and plot with your child as if it were a movie. He will see how you experience each game when you play together and it will influence him in how he experiences it. If you find a game immoral, be disgusted with it and tell him why it’s bad. You are the single most influential earthly force he will ever have in his entire life. He will be permanently impacted by your morals, but even more importantly he will be permanently impacted by the love you show him by sharing this experience with him. It is like the days of old where a boy would play catch with his father. This is simply a different kind of game. It is something that you could share with each other for a lifetime.
If you are just starting your child out with video games, go into a video game store and read the backs of the games there that catch your eye. Go with your child and watch which games he looks at and then look at them yourself. Ask him what he likes about the games he says he wants. If he rattles off game jargon you don’t yet understand, don’t panic, it will all become clear once you play it yourself. Almost every game has Disneyesque morals where you are the hero out to save the day. The scant few exceptions to this rule are easy to spot, as you can figure games where you play as a gang member or mobster are probably not good for your child. On the way out, maybe pick up a video game magazine. Reading though just one of those will bring you right up to speed.
If your child already plays games at a friend’s house, ask him which ones he’s playing and then look them up on gamespot.com and see what they are about. If your child has games at home already, play them yourself and see what you think of them. Read the box, read the manual, watch him play, play it yourself.
Remove the mystery from video games. Learn the names of the different consoles (PC, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, GameCube, Playstation 3, Playstation 2, PSP, DS) and be able to identify them by sight. Learn the different genres of video games (Action, Adventure, First-Person-Shooter, Role-Playing Game, Strategy, Puzzle, Sports, Platform, Simulation, Fighting, Rhythm, Massive Multiplayer Online) and be able to tell which one a game is by sight. Play your child’s favorite game all the way through (read it’s box and it’s manual all the way through as well). Learn how the video game console works (it has an instruction book too). Think of it like memorizing and understanding the rules of football. It’s just another kind of game. Someday you will be rattling off video game jargon as easily as sports statistics.
If your child is in the stage where he resists your entry into his hobby, just be gentile and persistent. It’s his hobby, so he loves to talk about it. If you know about games he will engage you. If the console is in his room ask him if he wants to move it into the family room (you know, where the big TV is). If he resists, just buy another console and put it in the family room. Get another copy of his favorite game and play it out there. This kind of action will melt his heart for sure. Don’t worry if learning about video games seems alien at first. There is no way to fail in this kind of thing. Just making the attempt will form a bond between you two, and that is the only point of it.