Death By Video Game is a book written by Simon Parkin. It delivers what I expected from a book with such a title. I figured that the Columbine Massacre would be in there, but I did not realize that someone made a game based off of it. Rather than an attempt to glorify their deeds, the game is an exploration of what really happens when a person dies by showing things like autopsy reports and the like. Some of the other deaths that occurred through Video Games is when people play them for far too long. This seems more prevalent in Asian Countries, but I am probably remembering that incorrectly.

A basic theme of the book is that the humble video game is multiple things depending on who you ask. It is an art form that has not existed for a long span of time. Even reading novels had a time where it was considered a salacious act not fit for a person of good standing. Movies have had that sort of time as well. I have not watched many movies, but I have heard of movies that have sparked controversy.

Video Games are not strangers to controversy. Some of the games that people have put out are atrocious. One game the author mentions is Custer’s Revenge, a game that I only heard of through the Angry Video Game Nerd. It is for the Atari 2600, so that was quite a while ago. Some games can have you commit genocide. Take Civilization, the game series initially developed by Sid Meier. There are many ways to play that game, but the quickest way to victory is usually eliminating your enemies, and that means to wipe the other players off the map.

So the author spends some time talking about games that have meaning to people. There’s this one game that I heard of through the Game Grumps but many others were quite new to me. That is not to say that the game they played was a laugh riot; it was The Graveyard, a game where you control an elderly woman and eventually sit down on a bench. I don’t know if this always happens, but the end of the game has her dying.

The major point most lawmakers and pundits try to make merely show that they have no idea what they are talking about. This is my opinion, but I don’t see how playing Doom or Goldeneye 007 is possibly going to prepare a person to be able to kill another human being. Depictions of violence have existed in movies and television before. I suppose the difference is that you become the character, or rather that your actions have a direct effect on what is happening in the game. Mortal Kombat might be game in which you can rip someone’s spinal cord out, but that does not encourage a person to do that in real life. ( )

I’m not a gamer myself, but I hear a fair bit from friends and colleagues about gaming. Based on my limited knowledge, this seems like a fair and even-handed look at some of its history and culture. As someone who used to play but doesn’t anymore (like a lot of people my age, the learning curve from NES to modern games was simply too steep), it was an interesting look at what I’ve missed. The author also mounted interesting and worthwhile arguments for why gaming should be taken more seriously than it is. While I’ll likely never get rid of some the negative stereotypes I have about gaming and gamers, his arguments were often cause for me to stop, think, and reconsider why I think they way I do. Overall, a pretty good read about a topic that’s difficult to explain to outsiders.

Side note: I think his handling of Gamergate and the culture’s sexism was also fair. I wasn’t expecting that, and it was a pleasant surprise. ( )

An interesting book, from the perspective of both a gamer and someone familiar with sociological studies. It's not complicated. Through anecdotes, interviews and accounts, etc., Parkin analyses our fascination with games and how it is we can get to the point where we might risk our own well being over them. The books looks at both the good and bad sides of gaming, and ultimately doesn't pick a side. It's more informative than judgmental. ( )

Simon Parkin, un periodista experto en videojuegos investiga los casos de gente que ha sufrido una muerte a causa de un videojuego y explica porque es que esto sucede, que toxinas dañinas o no libera nuestro cerebro para hacer que esto suceda. ( )

https://braemarbookbites.wordpress.com/2015/11/20/death-by-video-game/ ( )