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How is this different from a LAN party? I spent countless hours engrossed in DOOM deathmatches and Starcraft games as a kid. I don’t really see the difference.

How is this different from a LAN party? I spent countless hours engrossed in DOOM deathmatches and Starcraft games as a kid. I don’t really see the difference. The problem outlined in the article is about moderation of spaces where kids are present. You seem to be trying to draw some broader conclusion that video games are harmful.

wslh 1y ago
> You seem to be trying to draw some broader conclusion that video games are harmful. I never said video games are harmful. I talked about manipulation of people of all ages at a planetary scale.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- iamnothere 1y ago
  Ok, thanks for clarifying. Still, I don’t see too much in modern gaming that’s different from what we had as kids. The gacha/gambling mechanics are overused and this might be detrimental. But I definitely spent days glued to the screen back in the day even without that stuff. (The moderation problems in the article are clearly a new and separate issue that needs to be dealt with.)
herbst 1y ago
Color me naive but we're there micropayments, sex and actual gambling in DOOM?
- iamnothere 1y ago
  OP didn’t mention those, the focus was on a room of kids “locked” to their screens as if that was the primary issue. That’s what I was responding to.
- gomox 1y ago
  I think porn came slightly later, in Duke Nukem 3D
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
waltbosz 1y ago
The problem is the Roblox games have exclusive timed events that give the children FOMO. So much that they have breakdowns and refuse to do their normally scheduled activities. And it changes their behavior.
- supportengineer 1y ago
  That sounds like me when my parents made me go to bed instead of watching "The A-Team" or "Knight Rider". Broadcast TV (UHF/VHF) was exclusive timed events which gave everyone FOMO, at least until the VCR became commonplace and affordable. That gave you the ability to time-shift, as long as you could figure out how to set your VCR clock.
  - waltbosz 1y ago
    Same for me with religious education class and Saturday morning cartoons.
- iamnothere 1y ago
  Any social games have this. I wasn’t an Everquest or WoW player, but I knew some, and scheduled raids with friends were a common thing. Minecraft servers hold events, etc.
opinion3k 1y ago
You probably bought or pirated the games you played at the LAN party, maybe once and some DLC. You probably played with at least a few people you knew and the games had a goal - capture the flag or the bases or something - that often you had to work with a team to accomplish. Roblox is designed from the ground up to sell Robux. Not to promote fun games or anything interesting in the least. The games are complete brainrot - trying to find servers to get money measured in the billions to spend on rare items to collect to increase the money you earn per second to get more things, etc. And of course if you spend Robux - you can pointlessly accumlate fake billions even faster! So the games are completely pointless and are nothing like playing Counterstrike or Doom or starcraft at a LAN party. The events have also caused massive arguments and begging and pleading at my house since Roblox is rarely allowed (and would never be allowed if I had my way...)
- parasubvert 1y ago
  If you think DOOM and CS aren't brain rot, you might be just falling into nostalgia. Shooting demons and other players and spraying bloody gibs is absolute brain rot. I play Roblox with my 9 year old, and no, they're not anymore brain rot than DOOM or Quake deathmatches were. Capture the flag or tower defense was almost never the point. It was being first in a deathmatch. Quite frankly today's Roblox games tend to be a lot more enlightening, innovative and entertaining. Not all of course but many.
- iamnothere 1y ago
  > The games are complete brainrot - trying to find servers to get money measured in the billions to spend on rare items to collect to increase the money you earn per second to get more things, etc. And of course if you spend Robux - you can pointlessly accumlate fake billions even faster! There’s at least two whole genre of games like this: idle games, and the more aggressive gacha games (which more often let you pay to win). I guess the differentiator with Roblox is the social aspect. I do think pay to win is a problem, FWIW. > So the games are completely pointless and are nothing like playing Counterstrike or Doom or starcraft at a LAN party. Those games are pointless too though? As are nearly all games. There’s legitimate criticisms of Roblox moderation and the business model. But games are games, and I feel like criticism of some Roblox-specific issues are getting entangled with normal gaming behavior. I get that you may not love to see kids who ignore you when they’re engrossed in a game, but that’s just how games are. Limit game time if it’s a problem, and/or make them earn their own money for pay-to-win junk. You’re the parent.

wslh 1y ago

> You seem to be trying to draw some broader conclusion that video games are harmful. I never said video games are harmful. I talked about manipulation of people of all ages at a planetary scale.

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
iamnothere 1y ago
Ok, thanks for clarifying. Still, I don’t see too much in modern gaming that’s different from what we had as kids. The gacha/gambling mechanics are overused and this might be detrimental. But I definitely spent days glued to the screen back in the day even without that stuff. (The moderation problems in the article are clearly a new and separate issue that needs to be dealt with.)

herbst 1y ago

Color me naive but we're there micropayments, sex and actual gambling in DOOM?

iamnothere 1y ago
OP didn’t mention those, the focus was on a room of kids “locked” to their screens as if that was the primary issue. That’s what I was responding to.
gomox 1y ago
I think porn came slightly later, in Duke Nukem 3D

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

waltbosz 1y ago

The problem is the Roblox games have exclusive timed events that give the children FOMO. So much that they have breakdowns and refuse to do their normally scheduled activities. And it changes their behavior.

supportengineer 1y ago
That sounds like me when my parents made me go to bed instead of watching "The A-Team" or "Knight Rider". Broadcast TV (UHF/VHF) was exclusive timed events which gave everyone FOMO, at least until the VCR became commonplace and affordable. That gave you the ability to time-shift, as long as you could figure out how to set your VCR clock.
- waltbosz 1y ago
  Same for me with religious education class and Saturday morning cartoons.
iamnothere 1y ago
Any social games have this. I wasn’t an Everquest or WoW player, but I knew some, and scheduled raids with friends were a common thing. Minecraft servers hold events, etc.

opinion3k 1y ago

You probably bought or pirated the games you played at the LAN party, maybe once and some DLC. You probably played with at least a few people you knew and the games had a goal - capture the flag or the bases or something - that often you had to work with a team to accomplish. Roblox is designed from the ground up to sell Robux. Not to promote fun games or anything interesting in the least. The games are complete brainrot - trying to find servers to get money measured in the billions to spend on rare items to collect to increase the money you earn per second to get more things, etc. And of course if you spend Robux - you can pointlessly accumlate fake billions even faster! So the games are completely pointless and are nothing like playing Counterstrike or Doom or starcraft at a LAN party. The events have also caused massive arguments and begging and pleading at my house since Roblox is rarely allowed (and would never be allowed if I had my way...)

parasubvert 1y ago
If you think DOOM and CS aren't brain rot, you might be just falling into nostalgia. Shooting demons and other players and spraying bloody gibs is absolute brain rot. I play Roblox with my 9 year old, and no, they're not anymore brain rot than DOOM or Quake deathmatches were. Capture the flag or tower defense was almost never the point. It was being first in a deathmatch. Quite frankly today's Roblox games tend to be a lot more enlightening, innovative and entertaining. Not all of course but many.
iamnothere 1y ago
> The games are complete brainrot - trying to find servers to get money measured in the billions to spend on rare items to collect to increase the money you earn per second to get more things, etc. And of course if you spend Robux - you can pointlessly accumlate fake billions even faster! There’s at least two whole genre of games like this: idle games, and the more aggressive gacha games (which more often let you pay to win). I guess the differentiator with Roblox is the social aspect. I do think pay to win is a problem, FWIW. > So the games are completely pointless and are nothing like playing Counterstrike or Doom or starcraft at a LAN party. Those games are pointless too though? As are nearly all games. There’s legitimate criticisms of Roblox moderation and the business model. But games are games, and I feel like criticism of some Roblox-specific issues are getting entangled with normal gaming behavior. I get that you may not love to see kids who ignore you when they’re engrossed in a game, but that’s just how games are. Limit game time if it’s a problem, and/or make them earn their own money for pay-to-win junk. You’re the parent.