Understanding Games & Gaming: A Parent's Guide

By Anne Collier

Most of us have heard of Gameboy, Xbox, and PS2 … multiple times! Now just about every form of gaming - from poker to Scrabble and from role-playing to shooter games, not to mention the socializing that goes with them (friendly chat to trash talk) - now happens on all sorts of devices like these, desktop to handheld, connected or not. But increasingly connected to each other and the Net.

The lexicon keeps growing: MMORPGs (a catchy acronym for "massively multiplayer online role-playing games"), first-person shooters (needing no explanation), and "God sims" (where players control the game's "world" from above). 

As long as the industry's been rolling out new devices and more sophisticated technology, game lovers have been figuring out how to play games on and with them. The devices keep getting more user-friendly and the visuals more realistic, so video and online games are increasingly mainstream - neck and neck with the film industry in the race for our entertainment dollars.

Gaming is a huge topic, but here are three key trends of particular interest to parents:

1. Videogames increasingly online and multiplayer

Whether we're talking handhelds like the PlayStation Portable or consoles like the Xbox 360 or the Nintendo Revolution, game devices are increasingly connected to the Internet. Kids can play with friends in the same room as well as in a distant country, whether the game comes in a package or as software downloaded from the Internet. And, with these portable devices, they can play virtually anywhere there's an Internet connection - not just at home, within earshot!

As with many things Internet, there's an upside and a downside to this trend. On the positive side, games are less isolating, more social, and gamers are playing against real people, not just software. The greater interactivity and spontaneity involved often means more strategic thinking and cooperative play - real pluses for child development. But it also means more interaction with people of all ages our children have never met.

Kids aren't only playing with strangers online, they're talking with them, in the text and voice chat associated with interactive gaming, for example via Xbox Live (see Microsoft's info on Xbox 360's "Family Settings" and "10 tips for dealing with game cyberbullies and griefers" ). And usually parents can't hear this game banter because players are using headsets.

"You may have played online before, but unless you've communicated in real time with teammates and opponents, you haven't lived," says the Microsoft Web page marketing the Xbox Communicator headset that plugs right into Xbox 360's controller. Many gamers undoubtedly agree with that. However, Microsoft says elsewhere that chatting live on a headset without voice-masking (a safety feature the Communicator includes) "is not recommended for younger children." That tip's on a page at Microsoft about safe chatting.

Corey, a 14-year-old gamer in Connecticut, agrees: "Xbox Live is not for younger kids." Only their parents can accurately define maturity levels and what's appropriate for their kids, but it helps to know that there's plenty of trash talk and there are often griefers (who harass inexperienced players) in online gaming. "Profanity's part of the experience," Corey said, "and I run into a lot of jerks, but you can mute [the chat]. There's not a whole lot of verbal abuse, but if you're young, your parents should probably just take the headset away."

I asked Corey if he ever feels threatened by strangers who don't seem to be there for the games. "I know there are crazy people on Xbox Live, but I know what to do and what not to do. I can tell to an extent who's not 100 percent. There's no way to guarantee kids' safety - [Xbox Live] can't really police it. But if you're smart enough, you can't be lured into a false sense of security. I know that I really can't afford to think, 'Oh, this [game] community's ok, we're fine.' It's not that simple and it's not that safe, but I also know there's no way [strangers] can really access my personal info," because Corey knows not to give it out online! He adds: "Kids have to be educated."

Next: Online poker is huge and growing

---