8. Realise That Some Games Are Too Violent For Some People
I have a friend who bought a copy of Dead Island. His fiancée, a police officer, was watching him playing it on his computer one day as he stove a zombies' head in with a crowbar. Shocked by this grisly event, the fiancée had to leave the room- claiming that she had seen bodies of dead people with similar injuries in her line of work. Video game violence is one of the most controversial topics that gets talked about in the industry. Like most gamers, I am sick to the back teeth of politicians and the like using video games as a knee jerk response to attempt to explain massacres in the United States. Having said that, I am also pretty fed up with many gamers absolute stubborn refusal to admit that the fact that just because some people are shocked and appalled by violent video games doesn't mean that they are making a political statement. I love games like Grand Theft Auto and Mortal Kombat but I will freely admit that these are games that will not appeal to all. In the example above, my friend simply let his fiancée leave the room to do her own thing- secure in the knowledge that she did not disapprove of the game- she just did not want to be part of the experience. Many of you will notice that the three things listed so far are essentially 'don'ts'. Never fear, here's a couple of 'do's'