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 Member 716 Level 11.94 Mar 2006 
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It's GameFAQs, so don't read too much into it.
But yes, I voted in that poll, and I said "they made me what I am today." And I think I'm perfectly justified in saying that. I didn't take it to imply that they're the SOLE thing that shaped my life. That would be stupid. Of course my experiences, family, and so on were much greater influences than games. But stacked up against other media like books, TV, movies, etc? They can have at least as much effect as some of the books I read, and they still contributed quite a bit. It's also less the games themselves than what happened because of them. Yes, there's the hours I spent playing video games from a young age. Even barring the fact that I can credit text adventure games for honing my typing skills early on and generally getting me computer-literate, there's more to it than the games themselves. Writing and roleplaying are two things that I got into full-swing because of video games; it might be indirect, but the former has been absolutely essential (say, for writing papers for school), so I give video games a few points for helping that along in the first place way back when. And the friendships I've forged through common interest in video games has led me to some of my dearest friends. Indirect? Maybe. But it was still ultimately sparked over video games, so I think it counts. Look deeper, guys. I'd like to think that most of the people who voted for that option in the poll are also thinking of the bigger picture, not tallying how many hours they've spent playing Counterstrike and trying to justify it as a life skill in itself. Though incidentally, I doubt anyone would be going "OMG LOSERS!!" if it was a poll about whether books have influenced people's lives. Just sayin'. Jam it back in, in the dark.  The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes.
Last edited by Amanda; May 27, 2006 at 09:26 PM.
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Member 716 Level 11.94 Mar 2006
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In any case, my point was that a lot of people seem to be automatically dismissing video games as something that shouldn't have any influence on people's lives. Just because they're video games, apparently. Of course they shouldn't be the MAIN influence in your life. But a positive influence? Or at the very least, a catalyst for OTHER positive influences? Sure. Though you wouldn't know it from people's reactions. "Do you think books have been a positive influence on your life?" "Do you think movies have been a positive influence on your life?" "Do you think TV shows have been a positive influence on your life?" "Do you think sports have been a positive influence on your life?" "Do you think music has been a positive influence on your life?" "Do you think comics have been a positive influence on your life?" Nope, still not feeling the same animosity the the video game question seems to be getting. But again, yes, it's a GameFAQs poll. Not exactly a bastion of statistical integrity, even when their poll questions AREN'T vague as hell. Which this one most definitely is. There's nowhere I can't reach. The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes.
Last edited by Amanda; May 27, 2006 at 11:40 PM.
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Amanda