I Am Amazed. This is Amazing.

WARNING:

The video seen here is not for the faint of heart.

http://www.todaysbigthing.com/2009/06/22


I love video games. Love them. If you were to tell me tomorrow that due to an electronic field encompassing my body, I could never play another video game again, I think my reaction would be pretty clear.

I would move on with my life.

Despite my admitted love of this time-consuming and ultimately worthless hobby, there have been several periods in my life where the desire to play them has left me altogether. No frustration, no getting wrapped up in other things, no other outside element to blame it on; I just simply did not want to play anymore. Life kept right on going, and I got outside and saw real people more often. Sometimes it'd be a few days, sometimes weeks, sometimes months would pass before I got the urge to pick up a controller again. There was more than enough to do in the real world to satisfy me.

And naturally, like most children, there were times when video games were taken away from me by circumstances not necessarily beyond my control. My general reaction was to mope for a bit, then (if not grounded somewhat more severely) go find some real friends to play with.

I'll quote my friend Paul on this; "I have never been angry enough to stick a remote in my ass."

This kid flips out at the idea of not being able to play World of Warcraft any longer. This tantrum is unlike anything I've ever seen from a house where I grew up with two much younger siblings. He's beating himself with a shoe! Why would anyone do that under any circumstances? He didn't just find out his parents spent the money he had saved for college on hooker and coke. His mom cancelled his Warcraft account - meaning she was probably paying for it - and, I don't like to speculate, but likely because he was spending way too much time on it. Based on the visual evidence provided by his enterprising younger brother, I can safely say he needs the break.

Video games are more prevalent now in our culture than at any time before. They're making more of them with increasingly complex worlds to explore, and the graphics are improving all the time. They can be addictive. They're a lot of fun.

But have we really come to this?

Maybe I don't know the whole story here. A lot could be happening off-camera. What I do know is that no video game, not even the addict-spawning World of Warcraft, should so dominate a child's life that he literally strips his clothes off and physically beats himself when informed he cannot play it. You can't blame Blizzard - it's their job as a game developer to make a really good game. You can't blame the parents entirely. Maybe they should have stepped in sooner, but clearly they've recognized the problem and took steps to remedy it. Really, it all comes down to the people playing. Exercise some moderation. Video games will come and go. It's not the end of the world.

Except for this kid. Unless he moves somewhere where there is no internet.

Game Over.