In response to "Inside Job: Kids and Games, Part Two" from The Escapist Forum: Parents absolutely should be mystified by ESRB components and why a game receives a certain rating. The only thing that separates Onimusha 3: Demon Siege and Manhunt is "Strong Language." The actual content of those two games is very different in terms of what each asks a player to do, yet if one were to compare the backs of the boxes, only the "F-bomb" would seem to separate them.
As for automatically limiting time, I've longed for a machine to plug quarters into that keeps the console going just like in the old days. Kids want to play? They put down their hard earned cash just like we used to. (Goodness I've just aged myself!) By attaching value to their time, I think gaming could be placed in perspective with other desires/needs. Too much of children's entertainment is "on demand" and it's so pervasive and available it's very hard for parents to create limits effectively. When I was a kid, we had ONE television set. Now I'll wager most home's sets outnumber individuals in the house. And don't get me started on the unlimited programming now available. :P
(That, of course, is another issue, but I can't help but feel that in our affluence we have let the cat out of the bag and no one really wants to put it back in themselves. They want someone else to do it for them.)
- LisaB1138
It's so relieving to read something from "the trenches", as it were, which shows that the lunatic fearmongering isn't actually what the general public thinks. It made me weirdly excited to read quotes from parents who were so positive about games, and who were so serious about trying to be the best parents they can be with regards to them. I definitely agree that there need to be more websites like the fantastic GamerDad which specifically target parents who may not have any great knowledge about games and what playing them entails. GamerDad is great for reviews and content descriptions, but I'm getting this wonderful utopian vision swimming through my head of a forum where non-gamer parents and gamers like us can come together, where parents can ask questions about games and we, being more knowledgeable, can answer them.
I'm not sure why all this is exciting me so much; maybe I'm getting to the age where the prospect of having children of my own is actually on the horizon. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for that Can't-We-All-Just-Get-Along utopian vision.
- timbo1138
