I've read 1 or 2 stories about kids being bullied in school and seek refugee in games, then only to be shut down there as well by assholes, that kinda shit can really bring long term problems such as social anxiety / fear, which in turn makes it hard to survive in a world where you have to be "social" everywhere. Don't think every kid handles verbal abuse as well as most might do, especially age 10 or so.
hmmmm... I think most people would probably behave if you introduced your kid ahead of time and told everyone in advance he/she wasn't any good. If the reaction is negative, then just move to another, more understanding server
You, sir, have a much higher opinion of people on the internet than I do.
Keep up with your kids/siblings etc while they are online for it is your responsibility to do so. And yes, that's a pain to do but necessary if you care about them.
Having sound in this game is a pretty important part, if you're going to allow kids to play this game be prepared for them to hear harsh language hence the rating for it. Teach them the fundamentals of the game, how to work as part of a team, even as a support role they can be extremely useful and still have fun in the game. Teach them teamwork
@BentRing, I try to be an optimist as much as possible, otherwise, I'd be depressing everyone around me every second of the day *sigh* I do what I can to teach them but with children sometimes they don't care about what there 'supposed' to do and just want to do something else. Its a bit frustrating at times because they should be able to do what they want but I feel like they haven't realized quite yet that doing an assigned task might be fun.
Metal Man I am more amazed that you could sign up to these forums when you were 3 than I am that you can play ns at 5.
@Nailo it's good to be optimistic but we also have to be realistic. And for the record, our kids are 9, 14, and 18 and what you said doesn't stop just because 'kids' hit their teenage years, or even twenties for that matter...
Believe me I definitely am realistic for the most part. Your correct in that what I said doesn't change regardless of age, but with age comes wisdom and experience and eventually the realization that multiplayer games like NS2 require teamwork to have the most fun. Its true I may want to do what I want to do in the game be it killing as a fade, marine, or defending as an exo or gorgie. However, if the commander asks me to do something otherwise I'll do so, mostly because its helpful and I don't find a single aspect of the game boring in the slightest.
I played console games, those were neat and all (zelda, super mario bros 3, Dragon Warrior), but After booting up the pc for the first time and booting up wing commander I was hooked into pc gaming. I still play console/mobile/handheld/etc games but since booting up wing commander I was hooked. The Pentium FDIV bug is what really got me into computer hardware reading up on the stuff on works in various computer magazines, and reading PC gamer's 300 pages or longer issues. I had a blurred speech problems as a child so I would blur letters together, that wasn't so much a problem playing games over a dial up connection. Outside of being at the stables, and heads in the books building/reading game tools, I was also work at after school rec program "risk" (I don't like that term at all) children, I bough a kinect and rock band for them to play. While the parent controls have gotten better over the years its doesn't replace a involved parent.
Internet ... Internet; Full of idiots. Protect your kids.
I agree that there's a lot of idiots thinking that they may return the kids they bought on eBeh if they're not happy !
It happened to me once, ffs, I stated clearly in the description that my kid worked from 3 to 8 deppe down a coal mine and couldn't stand plain day might !
Bloody idiots, can't they read ?
and don't forget, overcoming coal lung is a real character builder, and really helps with those college apps.
NarfwakJoin Date: 2002-11-02Member: 5258Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, NS1 Playtester, Playtest Lead, Forum Moderators, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Gold, Reinforced - Diamond, Reinforced - Shadow, Subnautica PT Lead, NS2 Community Developer
I think I was ten when I played the original Diablo. I didn't really get into multiplayer first person shooters until Half-Life (by which time I was twelve), but, y'know, still. Sure, eight is a bit young, especially to understand that in a game like NS2 the way you choose to play also affects the enjoyment of others on your team, but I think it's all down to the specific kid and I would never generalize that young people should not or could not play multiplayer games.
There used to be family-friendly (e.g. no cussing/porn/derogatory statements) NS servers with good admins. Hopefully, there will be some NS2 servers that do this as well. Those who wish to be family-unfriendly can always go elsewhere.
Well I was playing Quake and Hexen when I was 8. Played the first NS online when it first came out, was only 12 then. Most people thought I was a girl (yay high pitch pre-puberty voice), I guess this was a time where girls were more common than kids online!
I hate this idea that kids should be "protected" and not exposed to these experiences. Everyone's gonna have different limits, I was fine playing Doom and Quake at 8 (yeh scary but nothing I lost sleep over). But I couldn't stand the zombies in Thief, ended up just putting the game down, but again didn't lose any sleep over it. Your not going to know those limits unless you let them try, and if they are OK with it you've just opened hundreds of new worlds for them to explore.
Welcome one and all, my siblings are back once again for the weekend ball. I'll be keeping an eye on them and will keep my name as is. Namely Hex_Stravos (Nailo). So if you see that name its probably my siblings and not me this weekend, I will however try to tell the server in advance that my siblings are or are not playing. GL HF and I'm all for family-friendly servers ^_^
I was playing horace and the spiders when i was 8,that was about as frantic as you could get. My 6 yo happily watches me play ns2 but i wouldn't let them into online games as i dont agree with the language or attitudes
I think when I was 8 I was still playing outside, but I suppose I got hooked on gaming not too much older than that, probably 10, 11, 12 somewhere around there. Then I got hooked on Everquest and it was all downhill from there, culminating in me spending my college age playing wow all day when it came out. I think I was 12 or 13 when counterstrike came out, never felt like I was playing out of my age with that.
Good times
Comments
You, sir, have a much higher opinion of people on the internet than I do.
Keep up with your kids/siblings etc while they are online for it is your responsibility to do so. And yes, that's a pain to do but necessary if you care about them.
@Nailo it's good to be optimistic but we also have to be realistic.
and don't forget, overcoming coal lung is a real character builder, and really helps with those college apps.
I hate this idea that kids should be "protected" and not exposed to these experiences. Everyone's gonna have different limits, I was fine playing Doom and Quake at 8 (yeh scary but nothing I lost sleep over). But I couldn't stand the zombies in Thief, ended up just putting the game down, but again didn't lose any sleep over it. Your not going to know those limits unless you let them try, and if they are OK with it you've just opened hundreds of new worlds for them to explore.
Good times