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My dear friend John passed me a link to a recent article on Ars Technica. Raising a Healthy Gamer: Seven Tips for Parents offers some good common sense insights and some excellent references. The author’s first recommendation really struck home. He suggested that parents make time to take an active role in the gaming lives of their children. He expounded with the following:
Even if you aren’t always there when your child or children plays a game, putting an hour or two into the game when it’s first opened up will give you a great idea about what kind of content you can expect to see in the game. Watch your child’s body language, because games can evoke strong emotions and reactions in those playing them.
The article has a number of other excellent observations and they all stem from the fact that parents are the best judges of whether or not content is appropriate for their children. That requires time and involvement…which pretty much defines parenting.
If you get a chance, point your browser in their direction. It will be time well-invested.
Remember your first video game experience? Unwrapping the SNES on Christmas morning. Visiting the Arcade with a roll of quarters. Hanging out with the lucky kid down the street with the latest Final Fantasy? Well some kids aren’t that lucky.
But there is something you can do to help.
Pixel Equity is a non-profit organization where you can donate games (or cash) that go to help families who can’t afford video games. Pretty cool idea.
“We’re a not-for-profit organization that is working with youth centers that serve children from households that can’t afford video games. We’ve talked with the administrators, who in turn have talked with the children, to determine the games and consoles that these kids want. But how do we get the games to them?
That’s where you come in.
By making a donation as little as $1.00, you can help bring games to these young people. One dollar might not sound like much, but it really starts to add-up as more people make contributions.”
“All games can be described as a series of challenges that players must overcome. This means that gamers are constantly devising and testing hypotheses about the game world to construct a working model of it. Or, in other words, informally utilizing the scientific method.”
The scientific method? An instant win in my book. Check them out and spread the word!
Why did the American titles jump from Final Fantasy III to Final Fantasy VII?
How can there be more than one Final Fantasy?
What is a Chocobo?
If so, then I have an article for you. Check out IGN Presents the History of Final Fantasy. Spanning from the roots of the franchise on the Famicom through development for the current PS3 titles, this retrospective offers some good background to those who may not be as familiar with the rise of the console-based RPG in American culture. It’s a great read and a good chance to gain some insight to the genre. And it explains where they got the name!
For years writers have found ways to leverage interesting characters, stories, and experiences through sequels, spin-offs, and ongoing storylines. Another strategy to increase profitability of lucrative franchises is to place them into another media all together (i.e., successful books made into films, television series yielding books, and films spawning games). But with the advancement of gaming technology we are witnessing a new way to make money without creating all new titles.
The current platforms all have the ability to download content and many developers are taking advantage of this to create supplemental levels, characters and features to enhance games that have already proven successful. Rather than attempt to re-create “the magic” in a sequel, many have chosen to extend the experience for those who are still interested. The beauty of this approach is that it can offer enhanced value for an already owned title which a player knows he or she likes.
An example from the last year that has offered such enhancements is Soul Calibur IV. Both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 versions offer downloadable content through their online services (Xbox Live and The PlayStation Network respectively). These upgrade packs enable further customization of characters within the game. For an example of such modifications, see the trailer below.
Though customization of characters in a fighting game can be a treat, it doesn’t really approach the level of enhancement provided by a furthering of the story. The 2008 release of Prince of Persia offers additional narrative gameplay. In order to provide an enhanced experience to those who enjoyed the title, Ubisoft offered a download called “Epilogue” that gives the player a chance to enjoy more challenges and provides further closure to the story. For an idea of what is offered, view the trailer below.
Never willing to be an “also ran” in the video game industry, Rockstar Games produced one of the most striking game enhancements available within the last year – the Xbox 360 exclusive side story for GTA IV entitled The Lost and Damned. Though a little more expensive than other supplemental downloads available, this is an entire playable side story that adds at least another 10 hours of scripted gameplay to this title. View the trailer below for an idea of what this adds to the experience. (Keep in mind that this is very much a mature title and though it is an impressive and involved story, it is not intended for those under 17 years of age.)
But perhaps my favorite examples of developer-provided downloadable game enhancements are for Burnout Paradise. This title is over two years old and Criterion Games is still creating new content to keep this game fresh and fun. These upgrades include the Bikes Pack (which was free!), the Legendary Cars Pack, and the Cops and Robbers Pack. But one of the most impressive upgrades just came out earlier this month and it’s called Big Surf Island. This pack includes not only new vehicles, but an entire new island to explore! For an idea of what is included in this pack, watch the trailer below.
Granted, there are some who believe that all downloadable content should be free. in fact, there are many downloads that incur no charge. However, if developers are going to continue to invest their resources to enhance their customers’ gaming experience, it should only follow that they recover their costs. We as gamers and game-playing families can decide what options are worth our hard-earned dollars and what aren’t.
As a game-playing parent, I appreciate the option of spending only a fraction of what a new game costs to get added value for some of my favorite titles. And in the case of Burnout Paradise, you can currently find it new for $19.99 and the Big Surf Island is only $12.99 on top of that. Together, that’s just a little more than half of the original price of the game two years ago. Criterion Games is well aware of the current bargain price of their title and by providing continued support, many who originally purchased the game are rediscovering it while others are just seeing it for the first time and recognizing the continued enhancements to the gaming experience.
Consider it all food for thought from a frugal gamer. Enjoy!
A couple of quick newsworthy items to share with parents who have iPhones/iPod Touches in the family. Apple has recently released a new software update for their popular mobile platform. Among a slew of new features one is important feature – Parental Controls.
The ability to download and purchase Apps from the App Store can now be limited by rating. The ratings are based on for what age the games are appropriate: No Apps, 4+, 9+, 12+, 17+ and all Apps.
The device also allows people to disable the ability to make in-App purchases. It also allows similar policing of movies, music and TV shows.
This is great news. Apple is now rating the games they have for sale in their App Store and parents can now set permissions on what can be accessed on the device.
Here’s a quick guide to set the Parental Controls.
From the Home screen select “Settings” then “General”
Tap “Restrictions”
By default restrictions are disabled. Tap the “Enable Restrictions” button to enable. You’ll be prompted to enter a passcode to lock these settings.
After entering the new passcode twice you’ll then have the options to set parental controls for everything from Safari and YouTube to the App Store.
If you scroll down a little you’ll see an option for Apps. Tap this option to bring up the allowed apps rating.
From here select the rating you’d like to have as the maximum.
This is a great way to keep the more mature games separate from the kid approved ones! Apps that are above the threshold don’t appear on the home screen. Visiting the Parental Controls options and setting a lighter restriction will make them reappear.
