January 23, 2008 -
A web-based game which pits the major presidential candidates against one another in cartoon combat has raised concerns.The Smoking Gun reports on Presidential Paintball:
For the aspiring young assassin, a popular online games site offers kids the opportunity to assume the identity of a leading presidential contender and then shoot their political opponents in a series of armed confrontations in the White House.
While the ammo is paintball, the game on the highly trafficked miniclip.com site allows kids to train a rifle scope on six presidential aspirants and squeeze off a hail of shots...
Of course, the imagery of Obama and Clinton, both of whom have been the target of threats and receive Secret Service protection, being targeted in such a manner--by children, no less--might be seen as troubling in some quarters...
Florida's ABC-7 has a video report, including reaction from a psychologist:
With the violent games, their concern needs to be if their children demonstrates more anger and aggressive behavior. As with all violent video games what happens is, it tends to desensitize people from real life violence.
Kotaku has more.
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While it's often exciting to shoot a stream of paintballs as fast as you can pull the trigger, sometimes it's nice to slow things down a little bit so the focus is on accuracy and positioning rather than the speed of your fingers. The simple way to slow things down is to remove all hoppers and play one shot at a time.
I remember reading that crap up. Patricia Pulling was the Jack Thompson of Dungeons and Dragons during that time. It finally got to the point where everybody told her she was wrong and she should shut up. The only reason her organization didn't last was because she died of cancer and was apparently its only member.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Pulling
I mean... you know someone is heading towards Epic Fail when they think Necronomicon is an actual book...
I think it's because paintball is too mainstream. People see it for what it is, harmless fun (as long as you wear your goggles!) I think a lot of parents don't see any harm in paintball. But why so many people insist that video games are a problem is beyond me.
on a more serous note, this is just absolutely retarded that people are getting up in arms about this, and to the lady wanting the site closed down for hosting it, if you don't like the rules regarding the freedom of speech in this country your welcome to leave and move somewhere where they might accommodate you with censorship laws
But to be honest i dont see something really alarming in the game, its just paintball, but i suppose in candidate camping, any "images" with "guns" its a threat
PAINTBALL!
They're probably worried that you can load red pellets.
Ugh, blaming paintball and saying this is "training" "future assassins" due to a "sniper" scope.... What next, blaming carny games, outlawing water balloons and guns...
I'm hoping they didn't bother reporting this web game to the FBI and etc, like a certain someone did.
For years I've wondered why real paintball has never been targeted like video games are (ignore the pun).
Anyways, they are asking the question up on their site, "Why is it acceptable to take shots at our president & candidates?"
Please folks, write in politely and tell them why the "uproar" about this is ridiculous.
http://www.dailybuzz.tv/watercooler/index.php
Seriously though, I've lost what little faith i still had in America now.
It's not just you.
"With the violent games, their concern needs to be if their children demonstrates more anger and aggressive behavior. As with all violent video games what happens is, it tends to desensitize people from real life violence."
Key words are "their" in the first sentence and "tends" in the second sentence. That's very reasonable and I agree with it. People need to be concerned with their children and they are in a position to know if their children are demonstrating "more anger and aggressive behavior." If they are then stop them from playing violent games - it's called parenting. Violent games to tend to desensitize people - that's not to say that it's true in all cases, that it's substantial or that it's the cause of violent acts but there is a tendency to desensitize.
So it's not just you, people around here tend to knee-jerk.
"While the ammo is paintball, the game on the highly trafficked miniclip.com site allows kids to PLACE A MOUSE CURSOR on six presidential aspirants and CLICK A BUTTON to squeeze off a hail of IMAGINARY, ANIMATED shots (which are accompanied with a rat-a-tat sound)…"
"Of course, the imagery of Obama and Clinton, both of whom have been the target of threats and receive Secret Service protection, being targeted in such a manner–by children, no less–might be seen as troubling in some quarters, THOSE QUARTERS BEING THE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND GAMES AND HAVE AN AGENDA TO PUSH…"
"With the violent games, their concern needs to be if their children demonstrates more anger and aggressive behavior. As with all violent video games what happens is, SOME FLAKY AND CONTENTIOUS RESEARCH INSINUATES THAT it tends to desensitize people from real life violence."
Stupidest line in the history of the world ever.
How was this one?:
""Why is it acceptable to take shots at our president & candidates?"
First off, the game in question is not to the death. Secondly, the candidates have no problem "taking shots" at various American citizens. Bigotry, hate, and ignorance are prevelant throughout the political system. A lack of research on many issues, a desire to dictate personal and religious beliefs upon others that don't believe the same and don't want such beliefs exposed to their children, misinformation, deceit, and many attacks on whole groups of citizens based on gender, race, religion (or lack thereof), sexuality, etc, have shown these supposed "superior" candidates to not have a problem "taking shots" at those they will be governing soon. So why SHOULDN'T they accept being depicted in a fictional setting in a negative way? The specific format of the Expressive media doesn't necessarily deal with the issues, but it is still a form of Expression. "
Nightwng2000
NW2K software
Actually, in that case "train" is referring to " to aim at an object or objective ". Not "train on" that you're thinking.
@nightwing
Hey thanks! Yep, pretty good. Though the sentence in the middle runs a little long. But the point still shines through.
I wrote them an e-mail myself, but I didn't think to save it. It was early ^^;.
ABE LINCOLN WAS KILLED BY VIDYAH GAMES!!!! JFK HAS PONG TO BLAME FOR HIS UNTIMELY DEMISE!!!
Here is my response to that question:
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
INSTANT FAIL
*delayclose.jpg, Facepalm.jpg & headdesk.jpg*
seriously, what?! who, in their right minds (therefore excluding he who must not be named) would possibly consider this a training game for assassins?!
you cant just play the blame game on video games, media does desensitise people from violence, all forms, and in many cases, puts a positive shine over it.
i'm for balance on this issue. i'd like to see a report that compares these effects between games and other media sources, including the general pervasiveness in society today.
once we have that, we can make some sensible decisions.
Jack asses.
Also I find it amusing that video game paintball = kill training. While the outrage over REAL paintball which could feasibly provide some REAL combat training has relatively no outrage about it.
YOU CAN'T TRAIN TO DO JACK FUCKING SQUAT WITH A FUCKING COMPUTER MOUSE!
In all seriousness, has anyone noticed that extreme violence in games is the only thing given a free pass? Something non-violent like paintball or a sideboob stir controversy, while every other shooter, regardless of violence, gets a free pass. Honestly, what the hell is going on here?
And tell me if the new Batman movie is any good when you get back.
Nowhere in the game do you actually have a rifle scope, nor can you "train" (meaning "aim") it on someone. You have a mouse. You click. It's funny as hell. The critics of the game need to grow up and realize that the freedom of the press is primarily to allow this type of political humor.
Batman Begins was awesome, IMO. I'm a bit worrried about The Dark Knight, though. First they lost a camera man to a car accident during filming, now they have lost the Joker mid-production with Heath Ledger's death.
I don't know if we'll see Dark Knight for quite a while.
There is however, another political game I saw on bluesnews.com a few days ago. Its cartoony, its amusing, and it sort of keeps politcal backstabbing where it should remain. The name of that game escapes me at the moment.
"With the violent games, their concern needs to be if their children demonstrates more anger and aggressive behavior. As with all violent video games what happens is, it tends to desensitize people from real life violence."
If this is from a professionally trained psychologist, I will have to cry "bullsh*t". A psychologist, is a scientist, who should know better, then to make sweeping generalizations on things. Video games desensitize people at a lower rate then living in an area plaqued by voilence (whether from gangs vs other gangs, or warfare, i.e. Iraq). Frankly, if you become desensitized to violence from video games, your mental willpower and fortiude were weak to begin with.
(they do have a tendacy to do as such)
The problem with that argument is that the game, from what I understand, doesn't lead to the death of the candidate "victim". It's paintball. Whether you're using a paintball gun, a water gun, or a spit ball shooter, technically, in real life or not, the "victim" isn't killed. So the form of Expression is even less serious because of the nature of the "weapon" used.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Maybe these critics should learn to pick their fights.
Furthermore, none of us have the urge to go out and kill anyone. Not one of us. Imagine that!
"Video games desensitize kids to violence-"
Srsly, I'd like to see the medical proof on that, because I almost hurl if I see a RL injury bigger than a small papercut!
All I ask is a day where someone in the political field doesn't say something that makes me want to throttle them...