The 10 Dumbest Arguments Made Against Games

Image via Complex Original

Like comic books and rock ‘n roll before it, video games have been attacked by ignorant folk with no real understanding how they work.

As they try and pass legislation to limit their sales, decry them as morally bankrupt, and associate those who play them with images of gangly, neckbeard-sporting, basement dwellers, they bring about the most foolish arguments to support their cause.

The stereotypes surrounding video games and gamer culture are wide, and it’s these arguments that spread them.

Girls Don’t Play Video Games

Chief Propagators: The chauvinistic members of The He-Man Woman Haters Club

Why It’s Dumb: Sausage fests are a lot less fun than co-ed matches

It’s no secret that for a long time video games have been the domain of men. With countless titles catering to stroking the male power fantasy, it’s no surprise that a lot of people think women shy away from games. But a physiological lack of crotch-tackle doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy those same experiences, plus with all the casual and social games being developed there’s tons of girl-specific content.

Gaming has actually become so prevalent amongst females nowadays that they currently make up at least 40% of the game playing population according to the ESA. The only thing that’s keeping it from being a 50-50 split with the guys is the negative attitudes some men have towards women enjoying the same things as they do.

Online Gamers Are All Assholes and Cheaters

Chief Propagators: Rage-quitters, crybabies and sore losers

Why It’s Dumb: Either everyone online is Kevin Mitnick, or you’re just a terrible gamer

There’s nothing more frustrating than pulling off an impressive 360® no-scope, only to hear some whiner accuse you of using hacks, ruining the game for everyone else, and calling for you to be permanently banned from the internet.

It’s true that there are folks out there who abuse systems and do what they can to cheat, but for the most part people are just sitting back and trying to play.

This rabid assumption that anyone with a modicum of skill is a cheating hacker flies in the face of the very spirit of competition video games were founded on. Some people will always be better than you; it’s best you start facing it now.

All Gamers Are Slackers

Chief Propagators: The jerky boss who saw you playing your DS during lunch

Why It’s Dumb: The amount of motivation required to collect every achievement in Mega Man 10 is insane

Despite the common perception, games aren’t all fun and games. Well, I guess they are by definition, but that doesn’t mean they can’t feel a lot like work sometimes. Sure, it may not be as productive as some hobbies, but the amount of effort that has to go in to some games is nothing short of trying.

It takes a severe sense of personal motivation to see your World of Warcraft character reach level 85, and even more to maintain a top leaderboard ranking. In fact, games are so good at motivating people that elements of games are starting to be used to help make school, work and activism more focused. The gamification method has been improving the way people self-motivate to tremendous results and it’s a trend that will likely continue in the future.

Gaming Makes You Fat

Chief Propagators: Vain gym rats who put so much effort into working out, they don’t have time for fun

Why It’s Dumb: Gaming burns slightly more calories than TV, even more if it’s Wii

Gamers may not be the most physically fit group of individuals, but the assumption that video games are what make them fat is a bit misguided. Any form of general inactivity, be it watching TV, playing a game or reading a book doesn’t help any, but it also won’t do any harm.

Poor diet is by far a greater factor than weight gain than any specific activity or lack thereof. If you’re noticing a few extra pounds getting packed on the gut, it has less to do with that marathon session of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and more to do with the 3 large pizzas and 8 bottles of Mountain Dew you drank.

Only Kids Play Video Games

Chief Propagators: Fathers who remember when 20-somethings did nothing but chain smoke and cruise in muscle cars

Why It’s Dumb: Best-selling games that explore mature themes

Video games started out as a new form of toy, but have since evolved into something far more sophisticated. As the people who played video games as children grew up their tastes changed, and the industry adapted to give them something more substantial.

Now we’ve got games about relationships, the horrors of war, life and loss. More grown-ups play video games than ever before and they’ve never had as much content catering to their mature tastes.

Gaming is Addictive

Chief Propagators: Psychiatrists looking to make an easy buck off parents whose kids happen to like World of Warcraft

Why It’s Dumb: Addictions are defined by their ability to rewire brain chemistry, generally people don’t ingest games

Addictions by nature are caused when the brain develops a dependency on a particular substance because of altered chemistry. Pathologies like gambling and shopping aren’t currently classified as addictions, despite their common nomenclature. Gaming can be habit forming, but by definition it isn’t addictive because it doesn’t have the ability to alter brain chemistry.

That’s not to say pathologies aren’t dangerous, but those conditions are more frequently caused by external factors with the behavior being a vice or outlet for some other inadequacy. Any professional who states that gaming itself is addictive clearly missed psych school the day they talked about escapism.

People Who Play Games Are Anti-Social

Chief Propagators: Your mother’s busybody friend who doesn’t realize her children are a little too “social”

Why It’s Dumb: 20 million members on Xbox Live, all being anti-social… together

With Warcraft guilds the size of small countries, the argument that video games make people anti-social has always baffled me. Sure, people who play games online may not be communicating with each other in the old fashioned physical sense, but that doesn’t mean the connections people make through digital means are any less valid.

Most games are designed to be played with others and though it’s frequently a competitive relationship, it’s still a relationship. Communities are created by people who share common experiences and if events like PAX are any indication, then there are a lot of us with shared experiences from games. The next time someone tells you that games are anti-social because you never see the person you’re talking to, remind them how text messaging works.

Games Make You Violent

Chief Propagators: Desperate lawyers, like Jack Thompson, with no real means of defending their clients

Why It’s Dumb: Violence has existed long before video games and will continue to exist far after

Violence plays a key role in a lot of video games, but only because it’s the most comprehensible expression of competition we understand. The notion that this will automatically turn anyone who plays them into a chainsaw wielding psychopath or the next homegrown terrorist is as absurd as assuming everyone who watches the moon landing will become an astronaut.

Yes, it is possible for people to emulate the behavior they see, but that is only one small aspect of what creates a violent individual. Other factors like family life, social acceptance, and prejudice have far more to do with most of the world’s criminals than what happened to be in their PS3 the night before they committed their crimes.

Games Aren’t Art

Chief Propagators: Self-aggrandizing, out-of-touch old men like Roger Ebert

Why It’s Dumb: Art is indefinable by nature and substance is dictated by the viewer

This argument is hard to justify to anyone who’s actually played games. The old heralds of the artistic community have always been resistant to change, but their overzealous attack on video games is by far one of the most foolish decrees they’ve ever made.

The crux of their position is that because video games are interactive and therefore allow the player to contribute to the experience, games can never be complete representations of an artistic vision. Of course this makes no sense because all art requires interpretation by the viewer, which in itself is a contribution to the experience. All games do differently is extrapolate the interpretive experience by allowing the player to investigate their understanding in a direct way.

There’s been plenty of criticism about games as an artistic medium because of its frequently pandering content, but it isn’t like this exists in other mediums too. To cast out games as art because titles like Bayonetta and Bulletstorm are directed at simpler forms of enjoyment is the same as dismissing books because Twilight exists, or films because of The Fast and the Furious.

Sure, not everything within the incredibly wide spectrum of content is as introspective and impactful as Deus Ex or BioShock, but art is what you make of it and no one medium can be disqualified.