In part 1 we talked about
online gaming and your children, including FPS games and exposure to
violent content. We wrap up this week by talking about RTS games,
MMORPGs and the additional threats of addiction and social predators.
RTS stands for Real Time Strategy. Strategy because these games
generally take a much larger perspective, casting the player as a
general or commander of an army or even the leader of a civilization
rather than as a single person. Real Time because the action moves
forward whether the player acts or not. The alternative to Real Time is
turn-based strategy, where each player moves in turn, taking whatever
time they need. Turn based games tend to have deeper strategic
components and complex non-military progressions that make them less
popular with children. RTS games are a relatively benign genre, as they
abstract the violence and conflict out to at least the unit level,
removing much of the graphic gore found in FPS games and reducing it to
numbers and lost units. They also tend to have complicated decision
structures, making playing them a good exercise in critical thinking.
Those same quick, complex decisions make this type of game difficult to
look away from, particularly if the player is competing online where
there may not be a pause button. Due to the less graphic content, this
type of game doesn't require as intense parental scrutiny as some others
may, but it's a good idea at least to casually observe a game and
possibly to learn what the loading screen looks like so you can tell
when "Just a minute" means "I'm in the middle of something," and when it
means "I just don't want to do whatever you want me to do."
MMORPG stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.
They are descended from older, single player, RPGS. In this context, an
RPG is a game that tells an evolving story using characters defined by
various skills, attributes, and professions. The Massively Multiplayer
part of the name comes from the fact that there can be upwards of
several thousand players in a game world that may have surface area to
rival small states. It is difficult to express how large and complicated
these games can be. Accept that your children will talk about things you
don't understand, often about equipment or items they've acquired or
battles they've fought. Put on your best "That's nice dear" face and let
it go. While it never hurts to try out the games your children play, you
wont get nearly as much benefit from logging on to a MMORPG for a bit to
see what its like, as they require a sizeable time investment to even
get a feel for what's going on.
That time investment gives rise to one of the biggest problems with
MMORPGs. A gaming writer once suggested that MMORPG should be pronounced
Morgue, because once you go in, you never come out. If your children are
starting to get heavily into this type of game, watch how they spend
their time. The game will always present something new to do, some
greater hill to climb, and it can be easy to get caught up. Talk with
your kids, make sure they know the limits on how much of their time they
can spend playing, and what they need to get done first. That said;
understand that they are often going to be playing the game with other
people, to whom they may have made some degree of commitment. Be
flexible and use your judgment when deciding whether to let them keep
playing. Generally, it's better not to let them start if you aren't sure
then to try to get them to stop once they've begun. Lean toward get your
homework done first over quit in time to get your homework done.
Playing a game with thousands of others will expose your children to
a wide variety of people. Most of them will be harmless, some will be
helpful and a few will likely come to be good friends. However, there
are a select few with malicious intent, just as there are in any large
group. The fear here is much like that felt in letting your children use
chat rooms or instant messaging service. The good news is that the type
of real social predator parents fear are far less likely to in a game
world, because the game itself is much more complicated than simply
logging on to a chat room. Make sure your kids know that the danger
exists, that they shouldn't let anyone know anything more than
generalities about whom they are outside the game, that there are bad
people in the world. Ask them about their friends online, see what they
know about them, watch for the same warning signs you would with any
stranger that spends a lot of time with your kids. Again, most players
are harmless or better, but you're far better off being informed and
watchful than complacent and hopeful.
We've barely touched the surface of the possibilities of online
gaming, but hopefully you are better informed about what your children
may be doing. Gaming is as good as any hobby and better than many. It
has a lot of positive developmental benefits, but as with any activity
out of your control there are things to watch for. Make clear,
knowledgeable decisions about what's right with your kids and stick to
them. In the long run, they'll thank you for it.
Steve is a member of the GrandMatrix team. They provide a broad range
of games and puzzle articles and reviews. Read more articles and play
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