Yo Corinth...
I have a feeling you can guess where I'm going with this based on the title :)

I'm an Xbox guy...now a 360 guy. About 5 years ago I was a HUGE gamer...playing hours a day. I was waaay into the original Ghost Recon, especially online. As soon as I found myself up until 3am playing almost every night (with my wife in bed by 11) I knew maybe I should rethink my "gamer-ness".

Luckily my online membership expired and Ghost Recon 3 sucked :)

So, I think I'm a certain kind of gamer at heart, but as of now, a very casual one (I play, maybe, once a week)...I can't bear to pay the online fee, and that's keeping me at bay.

I guess my answer is: I wish I could be a more CASUAL gamer and really enjoy it, because what you lay out here sounds great to me....

As a side note, this sounds like a future episode to me...whatta ya think, MF? Shall we do a Gamers episode? We could talk about the gaming community, the fun, and of course, the over-play temptation. I'm thinking we'd need to get a hardcore gamer on the episode to talk about the community.

Anyone interested in hearing about this? I'm thinking this would be great for churches, in the sense that almost all youth groups have gaming as a center of their informal gathering times....could be an issue youth leaders would be interested in.

Any hardcore gamer interested in being on the show? If so, send us an mp3 file telling us about your gamer-hood to geeksandgodATgmailDOTcom

-Rob Feature
Geeks and God Co-Host
www.bobchristenson.com

Sounds like a fun episode. I too enjoy gaming on the 360 which I just got used locally, and used to like a couple pc games as well. Halo2 & Starcraft are my faves. But like Rob, I'm not able to play much. But it is the language of the times, so do an episode on it. Many youth groups use em at church
Chordinator

www.calvarycolorado.org

Yeah, I have cut back quite a bit. I was a 20-30 hour a week for a while. I'm probably less than half that now. I guess I've mellowed in my old age :) That and the fact that my kids kick me off my own system might have something to do with it.

I've got a group of friends that I play with a couple of times a week. We're halo nuts. Of course I really really dislike most of the online halo players. Its seems like halo brings out the worst in people's attitudes. And of course the foul mouthed "Are your Parents Home?" 9 year olds are just a true joy.

I've been an xbox fan ever since my PS2 died. Darn you Sony and your first gen bugs. But I really like what M$ did with the 360. Its one of the coolest systems I've owned. I love the way I can stream movies and music from my PC. That was a nice touch.

I see a common thread here, that would probably be a big part of the episode: Game addiction, spending too much time, etc. I'd probably have to chain MF down because he'll get rabid.

To me the challenge would be: how to do that episode without just demonizing gaming.

-Rob Feature
Geeks and God Co-Host
www.bobchristenson.com

Yeah, that's one of my pet peeves. I really hate it when people go after games as either an evil thing or when people look down on you because you like to game. So many people look at me funny when they hear I play video games. Its not just for kids. Especially the games that are out now.

My thing is, video games to me are a way to unwind and blow off steam. So I consider myself a casual gamer since I'm not on the system all the time. Maybe 10-15 hours a week. Lately its been less than that.

Addiction can be bad, but is it really an addiction or an escape? To me, gaming isn't any different than softball, golf, etc. People use lots of things to get out of the house, to unwind. Some people go out to the driving range for a couple of hours or go play 18 holes of golf. Or join a softball team and spend hours practicing and going to games. Or the sports fanatics that spend hours watching game after game.

So addiction may be an issue, but I don't know anybody that is completely addicted. Its just that people don't understand that games are more artistic and more communal now. People think pac-man and those old school stuff. But games like Halo and Starcraft are fun and there's definitely a sense of community around games like that.

As for what you said about paying for online games, yeah I'm with you. They have some cool online games like World of Warcraft and City of Heroes, but I just hate paying $50 for a game and then another $40-60 to subscribe. I pay my $50 a year for XBL, but other than that, no other online payments for me.

Wow. I typed a lot. I'll stop now.

this will be a fun topic to talk about.

Matt Farina
Geeks and God Co-Host
www.mattfarina.com

The average American watches 4 hours of TV a day! Ouch. When I learned this I turned off our service, which in the mountains here means NO TV reception at all. This was 7 years ago, and it is AWESOME. We still watch shows, but they are thought out ahead of time, and rented. No commercials.

My point - people will be wasting their time on something if they are not disciplined. Turn off the TV, and get into gaming. Turn that off, and one may fill it in with hanging out at the gym 3 hours a day. What we need to do is look at what we do with the time God has graced us with, and make good choices. And there is a time for work, play, and sabbath. Sabbath... another hot topic.

Chordinator

www.calvarycolorado.org

We do need to look at how we spend our time. Most teenage guys through twenty somethings play over 2 hours of video games a day, too.

Matt Farina
Geeks and God Co-Host
www.mattfarina.com

I am an adult female who is a gamer. There are more of us than you might think. I love PC games (esp.MMOs), XBox 360, and DS. There definately does have to be a balance, but many times I've found in MMOs that that is the only way to reach certain people with the gospel. My brother would be a very good example. The only Christians he respects are the ones he games with regularly. And like many hardcore gamers, he doesn't have many friends outside of gaming, so it would be near impossible to reach him another way if you weren't related to him.

Now, I am probably not a 'hardcore' gamer, although I have been known to stay up all night in some dungeon on WoW, etc. But gaming for me definately has to have a strong social component. I do like some strategy games like Starcraft and the Civ series, but I tend to be drawn to the interaction of MMOs and 360 voice-enabled games.

Interesting aspects of gaming. I think I see a gaming episode coming in the future. This should be interesting.

Matt Farina
Geeks and God Co-Host
www.mattfarina.com

Yeah... this would be totally cool to hear a take on gaming today. One challenge: you guys have to play with a Wii before you rant on about the current consoles! :)

I've heard from a number of podcasts/blogs/friends recently that they're in love with their Wii and they "kick back" with their kids all the time with it, it becomes a family-thing.

Sounds like fun and totally up my alley, but this is an area where I can get totally carried away (read: BIG BIG BIG BattleField 2 addict (in recovery for 15 months!).

Cheers!

-B

P.S. When you get ahold of a Wii, invite me over to "try it out" with you!!! :)

It is kinda nice when a new person joins in on the site and sees the past history of the forum. Brings up old things that maybe just lost interest, but could be worth looking at.

Gaming is something of an issue at our house. The main problem is the addictive nature of games. They appear to be built to be exactly that..purposeful or not.

I used to love PC games and have moved into the MMO realm. Was big into Everquest and then my son got into Runescape. Runescape=bad. The whole witch, evil, spell casting was a little too much for my wife to handle with our son. Playing hours on end, attitude developed, grades fell, and seemed like he was drawn into it WAY too deep. So I took a hard look at what I was doing with Everquest. The only difference is that I knew when to get offline, but can honestly say that addiction was there.

Now I am playing (addicted) to a new game. Eve online. What a game. I had to find something that the wife could approve of as well. Not that she needs to ok all things, but to those of you with communicative marriages/relationships, you will find that it works better when the better half knows, approves, and generally agrees with what you are doing.

I would love to have you do a show, and I would gladly participate, on gaming. Specifically addressing these issues: types of games (PC, Console, MMO), Ratings on games (important for parents to use and follow), time limits (children AND adults), style of games (should we really pretend to be a witch?), addiction, and are these games teaching the christian values we want and demand.

Ok, for example, let's use my latest game, Eve Online. This is a MMO game set in space where you pilot ships around. Two basic goals here are to become a business behemoth or a fighter (PVP). Ratings are difficult in an MMO because the game play changes based on what you are doing. MMO's also typically involve some sort of verbal communication tool such as Teamspeak or Ventrillo of which also change the dynamics of the game. Language is the most common issue that I have found. Time is always an issue. I can play this game for hours on end, but you can still have a good time with a couple hours at a time. This game can really be beneficial to teach the economics and business accumen of real life. However it is also can be a a game full of cheaters, liars, and overall bad people in general.

Well, judging on how long this post has become, I think that you could definately run 60 minutes on this topic covering the most common games out there. Specifically addressing the main points I mentioned and then getting details on the more popular games such as World of Warcraft.

Thanks for reading :)

Rick Zich

This is a tough topic to jump into. Rob and I don't feel that we are enough of gamers to really do this topic justice. We are looking for people much more well versed in gaming to help us with this. If you are willing please let us know.

My gaming background is almost all in the past. I used to get addicted to console games really easily. To get anything done I had to pretty much break off all use of them. So, I know the addiction issues exist.

For kids I see a real concern with video games. Studies have shown that when kids watch tv or play video games their brains don't function the same. They ramp down and operate at a lower level. When kids brains are developing I think this is a bad thing. Other studies have show that tv and video games contribute to short attention spans. I think I am living proof of that.

I'd love to talk about this topic if we had some real gamers willing to help us with it.

Matt Farina
Geeks and God Co-Host
www.innovatingtomorrow.net
www.mattfarina.com

I too would love to hear more on this topic. A few years ago a Pastor Mike Norton had a podcast called God in Tech along with a gaming ministry. He has since stopped podcasting but I just found his new blog. http://pastorplayz.com/ It sounds like he is still into gaming. Maybe you could get him on a podcast?

I have his IM contact info if you need it, shoot me an email.

Well it looks like you have some additional interest in this based on you 12/22 show. If you are looking for feedback you can drop me a line as well. It appears that you may have a half dozen people willing to comment.

Rick

I heard a story about a divorced dad who lives 1000+ miles from his kids. Part of the custody agreement stipulates that he can play WoW with them once/week, so they go questing together, even though they can't see each other. MMORPGs add a completely different element to the gaming discussion.

Dale
Cohost, CrossFeed Religious News Podcast
http://www.crossfeednews.com

I've been gaming on and off for about 10 years. Since I've gotten married I spend alot less time gaming. I play, maybe 2 hours a week tops. I don't really buy new games, but I enjoy a game of Battlefield 2 once in a while.

In our youth group at church, we've bought a Nintendo Wii, and it's really great for "social gaming". It's recommendable :) For now we've been using Wii Sports but the kids really like it!

Another girl gamer here! I love RPGs and sci-fi first-person shooters. I'm mostly a nintendo girl--GameCube and Wii (the Metroid Prime games are my fave). I've never gotten into online RPGs, though because I've seen friends disappear into them for months at a time, and didn't want the same to happen to me (I recognize that as a possibility for my personality). I used to game A LOT when I was single, and even when I was first married and not working, but I have a 3yo and run my own business now, so I don't have time for it as much anymore. I do still play on a regular basis in short bursts, as a way to unwind when I've been working on a particularly complicated design or program. Kind of helps me unpack and refresh my brain. :)

I agree with what's been said about the Wii. I go to a pretty conservative, fundamental Baptist church, and our youth pastor frequently hosts Wii parties for the youth group. It really is a fresh (and relatively healthy) take on social gaming, and a great way to reach teens.

Hello everyone,

The very first game I played was Space Quest III, on my Tandy 1000 rlx. I thought I was cool with my 40mg HD and 1mb of ram. Even though I only had 10-12 Mhz, SQ3 worked like a charm. Oh, how I loved that game. Man, ALL those old Sierra games were fun. Sadly, I had to buy a hint book for everyone I had because I just couldn't get through!

Of course, I loved Wolfenstein 3D. I didn't have the power to play DOOM. For whatever reason, I never played any of those Ultima games.

I've never played World of Warcraft :-o

My brother-in-law has a PS3. WOW, the graphics sure have changed since the days of SQ3!!!!!!!!

I never dreamed Call of Duty could be so fun! But those Lego themed games are a hoot! I kept laughing over the Batman one!

I don't have any games on my old Powerbook, but I do have a DS Lite and love the little thing.

I would like to get back into gaming, BUT there is only one thing on my mind right now: DRUPAL!!! ARGH!!!

Have a great day,
Shane

I've been known to tear up a Ms. Pacman or Freecell game now and then.

Last year was pretty hard into Guitar Hero but since my son was born, haven't been able to rock out like I used to. But it's all good.

Someone else touched on this a little bit but one of the many overlooked areas of the gaming world is community made possible by games. Much like going to a basketball court with friends, I find myself rarely EVER playing my xbox by myself. Sure hopping on xbox live for a little bit is fun (sorta) but I find myself always having a blast when I call up a couple of friends and all get on at the same time nerded out complete with a controller in hand and a microphone strapped to my face. My friends and I do hang out but half of us are married and often times find ourselves more easily able to hop online for an hour than trying to schedule a time to hang out for a couple of hours or more.

Even more to this point, my brother-in-law is has been battling cancer or some complication due to the initial cancer for the last 3 years. The worst part is that he is only 17 years old now. He was bound to his hospital room for months on end and currently is bound to his bed. Believe it or not, xbox live has been a real help in this situation. For a little while he was able to forget how many months he has spent in a hospital room.

Thank the lord for skype, webcams, and xbox live! ;)

Hello all, I am new to the forum and this caught my eye along with other topics and the Joomla forum (big fan of Joomla). I have to say I am a gamer. I have a Wii and two Xbox 360s(online) with two TVs side by side, so my son and I can play games together online. We play Call of Duty 4 and 5 online along with other games but mostly COD 4 and 5. We play during the afternoon for about 1 or 2 hours a day or we play every other day, so I think we are casual players. We also play World of Warcraft (Very Very addicting game). Anyways, hope to see you all around and get to meet you all. God Bless.

Hey everyone,

I recently purchased a PSP. OH, the thing is so fun! Really helps kill the time when defragging a hard drive!

I, too, would love to hear your take on gaming and God. I don't know if it should be a whole show, that depends on how much material you can collect I suppose. Maybe combine it with other "mindless" things we do like watching football and how that changes our personality, for instance. Are we who we are or do we have a different face for different situations?

I am an "avid casual" player of World of Warcraft. I play when I have free time and want to do something fun on the computer. I have a couple of max-level characters but would not say I'm addicted. For instance, I've not played in a week and a half because I've had other things to do. I can definitely relate to the addictive characteristics of the game but it's not my personality type. A person subject to addictions that likes the game should avoid it at all costs though.

If I can help with my perspectives or anything please don't hesitate to ask, guys, but I'm not enough of a gamer to give you the whole big picture on different types of games I'm afraid.

I used to write multiplayer online games for a living in the mid to late 90's so I do have experience with that side of it as well. It was nothing like the behemoths today - 11 million plus WoW players (at $15/month!).

As for my views on gaming, I think:

• Kids should be monitored because you can find bad ways to use anything.
• Games are not inherently evil but may have evil content.
• Some games are like "I'm throwing a fireball at him" and others are more "I'm praying to the god Baal to conjure his blessings to throw fireballs at this do-gooder to destroy good." Big difference, IMO!
• Games, like anything, can be used well or poorly and for good or bad.
• Some people get it wrong - a church youth group having a frag-fest will draw teens, but is the experience profitable to them and the Kingdom? Do you provide them an opportunity for an experience with the Master or just say a little prayer to start and have the same party as the teen down the road that's not doing it for Him?

We see Jesus with sinners doing things but He always points them to the Father. Some well-intentioned, youth groups especially, people mean to do that but just end up hanging with sinners and that's the end of the story. We must be sure everything we do is at least not detrimental and hopefully beneficial to the Kingdom and that means to the people in it as well.

I'm not a really social person so I don't have long conversations with people in game or out, but when the opportunity to help a strange comes along and I do it with no expectation of return and am instantly willing to be a witness if the opportunity arises, does it matter whether it's a lady with a flat on the expressway or a player getting ganked in Badlands in Wow? (ganked is a term meaning, loosely, to be killed by someone or a group that is significantly more powerful than you are in a MMO game.)

I absolutely cringe to hear someone who is misbehaving say "I'm playing an evil character so that's why I act evil and curse and etc." We Christians should never put ourselves in that position and we should never "act evil" in any guise.