MMO's like Sociolotron are good for us. Discuss.

Violette

Dark, gritty games where murder, illegal and criminal activity, sex (even forced sex) are permitted and encouraged, might be good for us. Humans have, without a doubt, a dark side. Being aware and conscious of it may be healthier for us as a whole. These sort of outlets can give people a safe venue for exploring and expressing this side. It might be therapeutic...

(On a side note, a very active text-based MUD, Hell MOO (hellmoo.org) offers the very same experience, for free.)

Zorgo

just ask the good citizens of Conneticut

 

- I do not adhere to the idea that a game can create goodness or badness in us. If you are a good person, you will remain a good person no matter the game you play. If you are unstable, you are not made stable by a video game. If you are stable, a game doesn't destabilize you.

I disagree with your premise. Video games are not the outlet which keeps me from committing crimes or rape. I know plenty of people who led peaceful well adjusted lives who never touched a video game. There are plenty of loose cannons that play daily and still commit acts of violence or crime.

Play what you want.

But I highly recommend you don't announce publicly too often that you play violent video games to subdue your dark instincts and keep you from commiting true violence. .....That right there is a warning sign. Most people would pick up golf or something.

maplestone

Answering this requires a better understanding of the psychology of compultions than I can claim to have.

But it occurs to me that if expressing and acting out dark fantasies lessens their expression in the real world, would that not imply that expressing and acting out acts of kindness and mercy lessen the good we do in the real world?

Violette

Zorgo, thanks for replying. I don't play violent video games. I'm just very open minded and want to check them out and approach them with curiosity, hoping to better understand the minds of psyches of people that do. I have never played Sociolotron and not sure if I will, though I did try out Hell MOO today for the first time. Not sure how I feel about it. In other words, I'm approaching this as an experiment and a study and want to know what other people think. 

Wickedjelly

I don't believe they are helpful or beneficial in that aspect at all to your average person.

I do believe that for some suffering mentall illness, massive familial woes, interdependency, etc. that these games like many other products on the market can unfortunately be a catalyst for issues ranging from violence to an inability to function properly in society. However, this isn't the fault of the game, book, movie, etc. in question. A person prone to this type of behavior is just as likely to commit their act or lack there of will always be a ticking time bomb unless they receive the proper medical and emotional support they need...along with the resolve to work through their illness.

Something most people in positions of governmental power are apparently ignorant to or simply find it easier to blame the flavor of the day rather than tackle the real issue at hand. Gotta get them votes! I swear I wish people would vote every one of those douchebags out of office. Not that it would ultimately change much of anything but least it would make the smallest of ripples.