Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

User:DigitalPhr33k

2009-05-28T22:17:30Z

DigitalPhr33k: Created page with 'The name DigitalPhr33k (digital freak) is a parody of the name DigitalPh33r (digital fear), a machinima director with a strong liberal bias.'

The name DigitalPhr33k (digital freak) is a parody of the name DigitalPh33r (digital fear), a machinima director with a strong liberal bias.

Video game controversy

2009-05-27T04:37:10Z

DigitalPhr33k: I love Mass Effect, so I thought I'd write an article about it.

[[Video game|Video games]] are often a controversial subject, particularly where children are concerned. Graphic depictions of [[sex]], [[violence]] and/or [[occult]] themes in popular games are often cited by [[conservative]] and [[liberal]] groups alike (especially anti-gun and anti-violence groups) as contributing to children engaging in premarital sex or committing horrific acts of violence.

== Violence ==
Some argue that [[Columbine High School Massacre|Columbine High School]] mass-murderers Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were driven to violence partially because they were fans of violent video games such as ''[[Doom (video game series)|Doom]]'' and ''[[Duke Nukem 3D]]''.<ref>http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/320331.html</ref> Others disagree, pointing out that the only verifiable evidence of this is that the two happened to be fans of the games in question, and arguing that, while video game usage has been increasing in recent years<ref>http://www.betanews.com/article/Nielsen_Video_Game_Usage_Up_18/1173124761</ref>, a similar trend does not appear in violence statistics.<ref>http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/frmdth.htm</ref> [[Cho Seung Hui]], the man responsible for the [[Virginia Tech]] shootings, was reported to have played games such as CounterStrike on his computer prior to the shooting, as well, but this was later clarified as being that he was seen occasionally playing the game at a cyber-cafe, whilst he was in high school, and it is not known whether he played the game during the three and a half years he had been at college.<ref>http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/18/wapo-writer-talks-vt-shooter-counter-strike-connection-removal</ref> In addition, this link was actually first made just hours after the events at Virginia Tech by [[Jack Thompson]] in a [[Fox News]] broadcast despite the fact that, at the time of the broadcast, it was not even known who had carried out the shootings<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weG7A4lTGtg</ref>, and claimed that 'Cho was an obsessive player of the game Counter-Strike', in a later broadcast after his identity became known<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nvbhrCl5Ew</ref>, despite the fact the original Washington Post article only describes him as a 'fan' of Counter-Strike<ref>Original article no longer available, but [http://kotaku.com/gaming/washington-post/washington-post-links-shooter-to-counterstrike-253117.php this one] quotes the relevant paragraph</ref>.

== Grand Theft Auto ==

In June of 2005, an independent modder created a hack for the PC version of the popular 'Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' game. This unlocked a normally inaccessible mini-game of two of the characters having virtual sex in the game as a side-part of the gameplay. This did not actually feature any nudity, at first, but a mod, based on the original hack, replaced the bitmaps of the characters with flesh tones. The mod, named 'Hot Coffee', soon spread throughout the internet and the console versions using 'game enhancing' tools separate from the game.

'Hot Coffee' soon spread through the internet, and came to the attention of critics. Those who were critical of the game soon attacked Rockstar Games (The developers) the [[ESRB]], responsible for rating game content for the inclusion of the mini-game into the main game's code, even though it could not be accessed without subverting the original programming.

At the height of the scandal, Sen. [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]] and [[Jack Thompson]] worked to ban GTA: San Andreas, as well as many other games, such as ''Killer 7'' and ''Bully'', going as far as starting investigations upon the ESRB and Rockstar Games. Rockstar Games soon stopped sales of the original GTA:SA, removing the original 'Hot Coffee' coding from the game build, then re-released the 'clean' version after the game was altered. A 'Cold Coffee' patch, released to address various problems in the PC version, also removed the code.

The impact of the scandal also reached past the original title, hampering the production and sale of other controversial games, including ''Manhunt 2'' and ''Grand Theft Auto 4''.

== Mass Effect ==
''Main aritcle: [[Mass Effect]]''

Before its release, Mass Effect was the subject of much controversy at the hands of blogger Kevin McCullough, who claimed that the game was pornographic. Among his claims were such statements as: “Mass Effect can be customized to sodomize whatever, whomever, however, the game player wishes”, which was far from true. In truth, the game allows the player character to form a romantic relationship with a computer-controlled character, and if the player so wishes then he could sleep with him/her (depends on player's gender), before starting the final portion of the game. Doing so triggers a brief scene where the player makes love to the other character, which is less than 10 seconds in length and features no frontal nudity.

== Left Behind: Eternal Forces ==
''See: [[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]].''

In May of 2006, Jonathan Hutson of the "Talk To Action" website began writing a series of scathing articles regarding the then unreleased "[[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]]" PC game. In articles with titles such as "the Purpose Driven Life Takers," Hutson made several claims about the game's alleged violent content, which supposedly had players "convert or kill Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays, and anyone who advocates the separation of church and state - especially moderate, mainstream Christians." Hutson's accusations of "convert or kill" in the game became a hot topic among several liberal media outlets and countless liberal bloggers, all of whom repeated Hutson's claims for months without ever having seen the unreleased game.

Left Behind Games, which created the game, completely denied these claims. When the game was finally released in November of 2006, some reviewers mentioned that the claims made about the game's violence were wrong. Even the Anti-Defamation League admitted, "Conversion to Christianity in the game is not depicted as forcible in nature, and violence is not rewarded in the game," while otherwise condemning the game for its exclusionary treatment of non-evangelical Christian religions.

Still, for several months after the game's release, the rumors of the game's content circulated uncritically and were repeated by both major and minor sources. This unrestrained rumormongering resulted in attempts to have the game removed from the shelves at Wal-Mart and caused the Christian pro-troop organization "Operation Straight Up" to remove the game from care packages for troops in Iraq.

== Manhunt 2 Ratings ==

In August of 2007, [[Manhunt 2]], a stalk-survival game released by Rockstar Games, was originally set to be released for an Adults Only 18+ [AO 18] label by the ESRB, due to some of the more gruesome torture scenes present in the game. Some compared the game's bloody aesthetic to movies such as the ''Saw'' and ''Hostel'' series of films, depicting copious amounts of blood, gore, and partial nudity. The game was soon backlashed by retail sellers such as [[Wal-Mart]], Electronics Boutique, and GameStop for the AO rating, which made it prohibited to be sold in retail stores. The game was soon toned down, and after months of edits and changes to the game, it was released with mild fanfare in October of 2007.

== References ==
<references />

== See Also ==
[[Jack Thompson]]

[[Category:Video Games]]

Video game controversy

2009-05-27T04:15:31Z

DigitalPhr33k:

[[Video game|Video games]] are often a controversial subject, particularly where children are concerned. Graphic depictions of [[sex]], [[violence]] and/or [[occult]] themes in popular games are often cited by [[conservative]] and [[liberal]] groups alike (especially anti-gun and anti-violence groups) as contributing to children engaging in premarital sex or committing horrific acts of violence.

== Violence ==
Some argue that [[Columbine High School Massacre|Columbine High School]] mass-murderers Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were driven to violence partially because they were fans of violent video games such as ''[[Doom (video game series)|Doom]]'' and ''[[Duke Nukem 3D]]''.<ref>http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/320331.html</ref> Others disagree, pointing out that the only verifiable evidence of this is that the two happened to be fans of the games in question, and arguing that, while video game usage has been increasing in recent years<ref>http://www.betanews.com/article/Nielsen_Video_Game_Usage_Up_18/1173124761</ref>, a similar trend does not appear in violence statistics.<ref>http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/frmdth.htm</ref> [[Cho Seung Hui]], the man responsible for the [[Virginia Tech]] shootings, was reported to have played games such as CounterStrike on his computer prior to the shooting, as well, but this was later clarified as being that he was seen occasionally playing the game at a cyber-cafe, whilst he was in high school, and it is not known whether he played the game during the three and a half years he had been at college.<ref>http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/18/wapo-writer-talks-vt-shooter-counter-strike-connection-removal</ref> In addition, this link was actually first made just hours after the events at Virginia Tech by [[Jack Thompson]] in a [[Fox News]] broadcast despite the fact that, at the time of the broadcast, it was not even known who had carried out the shootings<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weG7A4lTGtg</ref>, and claimed that 'Cho was an obsessive player of the game Counter-Strike', in a later broadcast after his identity became known<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nvbhrCl5Ew</ref>, despite the fact the original Washington Post article only describes him as a 'fan' of Counter-Strike<ref>Original article no longer available, but [http://kotaku.com/gaming/washington-post/washington-post-links-shooter-to-counterstrike-253117.php this one] quotes the relevant paragraph</ref>.

== Grand Theft Auto ==

In June of 2005, an independent modder created a hack for the PC version of the popular 'Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' game. This unlocked a normally inaccessible mini-game of two of the characters having virtual sex in the game as a side-part of the gameplay. This did not actually feature any nudity, at first, but a mod, based on the original hack, replaced the bitmaps of the characters with flesh tones. The mod, named 'Hot Coffee', soon spread throughout the internet and the console versions using 'game enhancing' tools separate from the game.

'Hot Coffee' soon spread through the internet, and came to the attention of critics. Those who were critical of the game soon attacked Rockstar Games (The developers) the [[ESRB]], responsible for rating game content for the inclusion of the mini-game into the main game's code, even though it could not be accessed without subverting the original programming.

At the height of the scandal, Sen. [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]] and [[Jack Thompson]] worked to ban GTA: San Andreas, as well as many other games, such as ''Killer 7'' and ''Bully'', going as far as starting investigations upon the ESRB and Rockstar Games. Rockstar Games soon stopped sales of the original GTA:SA, removing the original 'Hot Coffee' coding from the game build, then re-released the 'clean' version after the game was altered. A 'Cold Coffee' patch, released to address various problems in the PC version, also removed the code.

The impact of the scandal also reached past the original title, hampering the production and sale of other controversial games, including ''Manhunt 2'' and ''Grand Theft Auto 4''.

== Left Behind: Eternal Forces ==
''See: [[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]].''

In May of 2006, Jonathan Hutson of the "Talk To Action" website began writing a series of scathing articles regarding the then unreleased "[[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]]" PC game. In articles with titles such as "the Purpose Driven Life Takers," Hutson made several claims about the game's alleged violent content, which supposedly had players "convert or kill Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, gays, and anyone who advocates the separation of church and state - especially moderate, mainstream Christians." Hutson's accusations of "convert or kill" in the game became a hot topic among several liberal media outlets and countless liberal bloggers, all of whom repeated Hutson's claims for months without ever having seen the unreleased game.

Left Behind Games, which created the game, completely denied these claims. When the game was finally released in November of 2006, some reviewers mentioned that the claims made about the game's violence were wrong. Even the Anti-Defamation League admitted, "Conversion to Christianity in the game is not depicted as forcible in nature, and violence is not rewarded in the game," while otherwise condemning the game for its exclusionary treatment of non-evangelical Christian religions.

Still, for several months after the game's release, the rumors of the game's content circulated uncritically and were repeated by both major and minor sources. This unrestrained rumormongering resulted in attempts to have the game removed from the shelves at Wal-Mart and caused the Christian pro-troop organization "Operation Straight Up" to remove the game from care packages for troops in Iraq.

== Manhunt 2 Ratings ==

In August of 2007, [[Manhunt 2]], a stalk-survival game released by Rockstar Games, was originally set to be released for an Adults Only 18+ [AO 18] label by the ESRB, due to some of the more gruesome torture scenes present in the game. Some compared the game's bloody aesthetic to movies such as the ''Saw'' and ''Hostel'' series of films, depicting copious amounts of blood, gore, and partial nudity. The game was soon backlashed by retail sellers such as [[Wal-Mart]], Electronics Boutique, and GameStop for the AO rating, which made it prohibited to be sold in retail stores. The game was soon toned down, and after months of edits and changes to the game, it was released with mild fanfare in October of 2007.

== References ==
<references />

== See Also ==
[[Jack Thompson]]

[[Category:Video Games]]

Video games

2009-05-27T03:02:05Z

DigitalPhr33k: Undo revision 664011 by Purereagan (Talk)

'''Video games''' are electronic games commonly played by a wide portion of the population.<ref>[http://www.pan-o-matic.com/blog/?p=45 Only a third of videogamers are under 18]</ref> A large number of young adults, having grown up in the era of video games, also play. Some video games such as [[sports]] games and educational games are harmless [[fun]] and can actually be beneficial to a child's development, especially if they allow more than one player. Some games though are violent and sexually explicit and have attracted the attention of family groups and [[conservative]] [[Christian]]s. Games such as ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' are very violent, sexually explicit, feature [[criminal]] behavior and some even encourage it. [[Law]]s have been passed to limit young people's access to these violent games but these laws are either rarely enforced or overturned by judges due to the [[First Amendment]].<ref>http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/148962.html</ref> Some people argue that violent video games cause violent behaviour in some children, especially those under 16 whose mind is still not fully developed, but such a link has yet to be conclusively proven.
Serious crimes, including murder, have been associated with video games. For example, a 14-year-old brutally murdered a video arcade employee one morning and his cousin stands trial for murdering the store manager when he entered the store shortly thereafter.<ref>http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-5/1212467732102240.xml&coll=1</ref>
In the [[United States|USA]], the majority of games carry ratings from the [[ESRB]], a video game ratings organization.

== Various genres ==

Video games in the course of their existence have grown from the simple arcade style games, and have become more detailed and separated from one another. Genres can now include [[first person shooters]], [[racing]], [[Simulation game|simulation]], [[role-playing]], [[sports]], [[action]] and many others. Even then, games can combine genres, such as ''[[Mass Effect]]'' (Role Playing and Third Person Shooting), or not fit nicely into any genre, like ''[[Katamari Damacy]]''.

== Popularity & Controversy ==

Games have risen in popularity over the years, as is shown in the rise of video games sales from the 1980s until today. This has brought with it a various amount of controversy as the video game industry continues to grow with its original player base.

===Violence===

Most of the controversy comes from the rising trend toward violence in video games, as pioneered by ''[[Doom (video game series)|Doom]]'', ''[[Quake]]'', and the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series.

At least one study has shown that, contrary to the position mentioned above, kids who don't play video games at all seem to show more violent tendencies. Of course, as expected, those who played violent video games for large amounts of time also showed violent tendencies, however the study claims that this is a "risk marker", not an actual cause. <ref>http://wii.qj.net/New-research-reveals-kids-who-don-t-play-videogames-at-all-are-more-at-risk-of-violent-tendencies/pg/49/aid/118505 New research reveals kids who don't play video games at all are more at risk of violent tendencies</ref>

Multiple studies have shown a correlation between violent video games and levels of real life violence, caused by playing some of the aforementioned video games.<ref>http://www.apa.org/science/psa/sb-anderson.html</ref>

===Sexuality===

Although nudity is not prominent in [[western]] video games, there are various products containing sexually-suggestive material. One reason for the relative lack of explicitly sexual material in western games may be the refusal of [[Wal-Mart]] (the leading distributor of video games in the United States) to sell games carrying an "Adults-Only" rating.<ref>http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=440903</ref> However, a large quantity of games still contain overly-sexualized characters (for example, female characters wearing revealing clothes) or references. One notable target of controversy is the ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series after a third-party mod was released that allowed the player to engage in a mini-game containing explicit sexual material. Other sources of this criticism relate to the game ''[[Tomb Raider]]'' as it was one of the first games where a female character (the protagonist) is depicted and advertised as a sex symbol.<ref>Ashley, Robert. "The Secret History of Videogame Sex." Official Playstation Magazine Feb. 2006: 96-99.</ref>

== Video Games & Society ==

As video games become more popular, their impact on society becomes ever more present. A prime example of this is the massive ad campaigns for the [[Halo (game)|Halo]] series, as well as [[Grand Theft Auto]]. Advertising, merchandising, and even social pressures have changed in the ever-growing influence of video gaming.

Due to their popularity, various corporations have begun placing advertisements for their products within the context of the game. [[Second Life]], an Internet-based virtual world, has blurred the lines between real-world and virtual world, and companies such as Adidas, Reebok, and Dell have set up virtual stores selling real-world products within the game. [[Reuters]] also operates a news bureau reporting news in the game.

== Faith in Video Games ==

Faith in Video Gaming has, as a rule, either led to the creation of new and dynamic antagonists, or video games that are mediocre, such as ''Spiritual Warfare'' and ''Bible Adventure'' for the Nintendo, or ''The Bible Game'' for various systems. ''Bible Adventure'' in particular is infamous for it's poor design and playability.

The Bible, or other such religious texts, tell a story spanning many different viewpoints. Turning these ideas into a video game, however, most often leads to games that tend to bore most video game audiences.

Religion has, however, taken a prominent place amongst the various heroes and villains in video games. The [[Breath of Fire Series|''Breath of Fire'' series]] and the ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]'' games, in particular, use a god as a main antagonist in many of its incarnations. Other games to use religion in some way include the ''Final Fantasy'' series, ''[[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]]'', ''[[Black and White]]'', ''Heaven and Hell'', ''[[Xenogears]]'', ''[[Okami]]'', and the ''[[Tales]]'' series, particularly ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]''. Unfortunately, many (not all) of the aforementioned games present religion (or it's respective church and followers) as evil, fake, or having ulterior and nefarious motives.

Games may include a fictional religion as part of the setting if the use of a real religion may invite undesirable controversy.

Video game reviewers have sometimes unjustly attacked and reviewed games where real-world religion plays a notable role. One of the most prominent examples of this is the game ''[[Left Behind: Eternal Forces]]''.<ref>http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/pc/left_behind</ref>

==Popular Video games==
*''[[Assassins Creed]]'' - Taking place, after a fashion, during the [[Crusades]]. Play as Altair, and kill leaders from both sides to stop a deadly plot.
*''[[Age of Empires]]'' - An [[Real-Time Strategy|RTS]] in which the player leads an ancient civilization.
*''[[Call of Duty]]'' - A series of [[first person shooters]] in which a player is either a soldier in World War II or a soldier involved in the [[War on Terror]].
*''[[Civilization]]'' - A strategy game in which the player leads a civilization from it's birth, and into the future.
*''[[Donkey Kong]]'' - An early platform game in which [[Mario]] (then known as "Jumpman") tries to save his girlfriend Pauline from a barrel-flinging ape named Donkey Kong. Both Donkey Kong and Mario went on to star in many other successful video games.
*''[[Final Fantasy]]'' - A very popular and long running [[RPG]] series in both the [[United States]] and [[Japan]]. Earlier games were rather child friendly, but the series has become more mature over time.
*''[[Gears of War]]'' - Mankind has been annihilated by an underground race of beings.
*''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' - A game series about gangster like characters who perform missions to rise to the top by killing, stealing, and other, sometimes violent, missions.
*''[[Guitar Hero]]'' - A game where players play the role of the [[guitar]]ist in a band. Uses a special controller in the shape of and played similarly to a guitar.
*''Half-Life'' and ''Half-Life 2'' - First Person Shooter series about Gordon Freeman, a luckless scientist turned hero-from-desperation. This game uses one of the leading physics engine in first person shooters, the Source engine.
*''[[Halo]] - A trilogy of games following a super soldier during a fictional future [[war]].
*''[[Harvest Moon]]'' - Farm life simulator, with many sequels spreading from various platforms. Character runs a farm, raises animals, and can eventually marry.
*''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' - A popular series of fantasy action-adventure games.
*''[[Mass Effect]]'' - A science fiction RPG for mature players.
*''[[Medal of Honor]]'' - A first person shooter series usually taking place in the front lines of World War II.
*[[Mortal Kombat]] - Multi-player fighting game which is famous for violence, blood, and gory finishing moves called "fatalities".
*''[[NHL]]'' series - A series of Hockey games produced by EA Sports.
*''[[Pac-Man]]'' - An old maze game. It was very popular with kids and adults back in the eighties.
*''[[Portal]]'' - A popular first person shooter/puzzle game using the same game engine as ''Half-Life 2'' involving inter-dimensional travel through portals in an abandon testing facility. This game is known for its deadpan sense of humor.
*''[[Resident Evil]]'' - Survival/horror video game series, revolving around viral zombies and the survivors of the zombie attacks.
*''[[The Sims]]'' - A life simulator produced by EA.
*''[[Super Smash Brothers]]'' - Series of Nintendo fighting games. It mixes characters from different [[Nintendo]] franchises [with some exceptions] in wide environments.
*''[[Soul Calibur]]'' - A weapon-based fighting game. Revolves around the tale of two weapons, Soul Edge [Cursed] and Soul Calibur [Blessed], and those who fight for control or destruction of the weapons.
*''[[Street Fighter]]'' - One-on-one [[martial arts]] fighting game series, where a player selects one of various martial artists and battles other players or against computer-controlled characters.
*''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' - Side-scrolling platform game series by [[Nintendo]]. Players play as Mario and Luigi, two Italian plumber brothers, who explore the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Peach from the evil Bowser [called Koopa in Japan]. Possibly the most well known game in the world.
*''[[Tomb Raider]]'' - Series of games following the adventures of Lara Croft.
*''[[Pong]]'' - the first real video game, resembling 2-d ping-pong.

==See Also==
*[[Video game controversy]]
*[[Jack Thompson]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.whattheyplay.com/ What They Play - the parent's guide to video games]

==References==

<References/>

[[Category:Entertainment]]
[[Category:Video Games]]
[[Category:Computers]]