Has Politics Ruined Some Video Games for You?

Thanks for the A2AMost of the answers that are already here talk about how politics in games affected their experience, I would argue that the most damage that politics has done to ruin some video games actually comes from outside the games themselves.Meet Joe LiebermanThis man was the first Senator to really exploit violence in video games as a platform. It was basically because of him and his rhetoric about games like Mortal Kombat and Doom that the ESRB was formed.

This was perfectly fine, after all kids used to be the primary targets for video game sales, so having a way for parents to choose what kind of content their kids are exposed to is fair. Unfortunately it did not stop there. Lieberman turned this into a pet project to censor, ban, or otherwise prevent violent video games from being produced.

This viewpoint was later carried forward by one Jack Thompson who went so far as to describe video games like GTAIV as u201cMurder Simulatorsu201d that train kids to be killers. Now none of their arguments actually bear out in the statistics as violent video games are more prolific than ever and yet violent incidents among the youth has significantly decreased over the same time period (1.,No evidence to support link between violent video games and behavior, 2.

Violent Video Games - ProCon.org)This idea is nothing new, as in the 1950u2019s Frederick Wertham made similar arguments against violence in comics(Protecting the Children (Part 1)). It wasnu2019t true that reading gritty and violent comics didnu2019t cause kids to become violent and neither does playing violent video games.

The arguments made by all of these people are pure sophistry that eschewed all scientific evidence available at the time, that showed that video games basically had the same effect as any activity that involved competition. The aggression brought out from playing Grand Theft Auto is the exact same as that which is brought out when playing football, or even chess if the players are invested in the outcome. There is a certain truthiness to their statements, though which is why it resonated with voters.

It would seem to make sense that playing something violent would cause a person to be desensitized or even fantasize about real world violence, right? Well the big problem is that the two things are nothing alike. No one cares about killing an avatar in a game, because we know it is not real.

Now if these were real life gladiator tournaments like they had in Rome, where real people were being killed and actual death and dismemberment was occurring before your eyes, then we might see more prevalent psychopathy develop in those who participated.So, getting back to the question:Has politics ruined some video games for me?Yes, absolutely.

By having politicians and well-intentioned voters and parents scare a burgeoning industry with the thought that their products could be banned if they were deemed u201ctoo violentu201d, we have likely missed out on a great number of games that would have otherwise been made. There is no doubt in my mind that many of the games that were never made would not have been the ultra violent gore fests Lieberman and others fought against. The reason is that the shadow of censorship often stretches far beyond itu2019s original intention when implemented and thus has a chilling effect on a market.

So, hereu2019s to the games that died on the drawing board because of politics!.

· Other Questions

How easy is it to convert from Christianity to Islam?

It is not difficult for this to happen. Those who seek to convert from Christianity to Islam do not take the claims of Christ to be true. They do not believe that he is Divine nor that he is the perfect sacrifice to atone for human sin.

They do not believe he conquered death by rising from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God to intercede for those who accept his sacrifice as atonement and truly repent of their sins. For those who turn to him, he has sent his holy spirit to assist with living a God-fearing life pleasing to him. The Christian God is three in one and one in three and is one in being but 3 in essence and this makes up the Christian concept of the trinity.

To the Muslim, this is three Gods and liken it to polytheism as opposed to their belief in one God. But as the Christian God reveals himself in the human form of Jesus calling His followers to have a personal relationship with the divine living God the Father, Islam does not accept that God could have a son and reject that Christ was God incarnate in flesh and becoming a man to live on earth. This may sound absurd but who are we to question what God chooses to do in order to redeem mankind and reconcile his creation to himself?

The greatest collective good that has ever been done on earth has been by the true followers of Christ which can never be quantified.Muslims believe in Jesus's virgin birth and that he was a great teacher/ prophet. But reject his death by crucifixion and resurrection which are the defining beliefs of Christianity.

Hence for a nominal or even skeptical Christian who does not take these claims seriously it is easy to accept the easier counterclaims of Islam and its opposition to Christianity.Islam places upon a person the task of pleasing God by their actions. This they do by external deeds of praying 5 times, not eating pork nor drinking alcohol( though they can smoke and take drugs) and by women covering themselves to appear asexual and pious!

The more they do this they hope that Allah will grant them entry into paradise after death.However they do not like non-believers, and even curse or kill non-Muslim and are critical of western ways and their lifestyle and dress that provokes the sexual instinct.Muslim men, however, chooses to live in non-Muslim countries filled with uncovered women while demanding that their women cover themselves.

( this is hypocrisy which could amount to sin) and are intolerant of all other faiths while living in non-Muslim countries that protect them by Judeo Christian laws. This is a case of hostile dependency which is covert anger towards western lifestyle and laws but overtly living under their peaceful governance. This too is hypocrisy.

The extremists will kill innocent non Muslims and the majority Muslims do not express regret but project blame onto western foreign policy. They distort fundamental truths which are that one man killing another is wrong which cannot be mitigated by the wrongs done by elected governments for geopolitical reasons. Arab countries are also complicit in this.

If nominal Christians can walk away from a faith that calls one to to 'turn the other cheek' 'pray for those who curse you 'and 'love your enemies' then they are not willing or able to live up to the high callings of Christ and are free to accept any religion of their choice. Christ does not compel anyone to follow him. They are free to walk away from the truth that he has proclaimed which is the source that sets us free ( able to learn to be without feeling condemned by God) and can transform a human life from the inside as opposed to external transformation and rituals accepted by other religions.

Christ said ' I am the way the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me'.Christianity is the story of God reaching down to man.

The aim of all non-Christian religions is to have humans ( however weak or disabled) to reach up to God. The choice is ours.

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Now that elections are so close, who has the greater probability of winning, the BJP or Mahagatbandhan?

The whole premise mentioned in the question is wrong. Where is the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance)?There may be u201cgathbandhanu201d (alliance) between individual parties, but there is no u201cmahagathbandhanu201d among all or most opposition parties in India.

Let me briefly analyse the situation as of today, when the first phase of polling is just about one week away. In Delhi, AAP and Congress are not together.In UP, there is no alliance between Congress on the one hand and BSPSPRLD on the other.

So, there is a triangular contest. In fact, in addition, a faction of SP, led by Shivpal Yadav is separately contesting all 80 seats. Lack of grand-alliance will be most disastrous for the opposition in UP, because UP has the maximum number of 80 seats.

In MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, again, Congress is fighting alone against BJP. It does not have alliance with BSP, as was expected. In Odisha, there is no alliance.

It is a triangular contest between BJD, BJP and Congress.In West Bengal, there will be 4-sided contests between TMC, BJP, Communists and Congress.In Telangana, there is no alliance between opposition parties.

There may be 3-sided or 4-sided contest in many seats, with TRS, Congress, BJP, and Owaisiu2019s party (AIMIM).In Andhra Pradesh, again, there may be 5-sided contests. TDP, Congress, YSR Congress, JanaSena party (of Pawan Kalyan) and BJP.

Kerala will have triangular contests: LDF (left parties), UDF (Congress led front) and NDA (BJP led front). So, here also, left parties and Congress have no alliance. In fact, due to Rahul Gandhi deciding to contest in Wayanad in Kerala, the fight between Congress and LDF becomes more fierce.

In Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, there is more or less a 2-party system for quite some time. So, no scope for mahagathbandhan.In Punjab, AAP and Congress are again not allies.

In Haryana, there is no major alliance of Congress, and there will be at least a triangular contest. In North-east, it is BJP led NDA which has more alliances than the Congress led opposition.Of course, in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bihar, there is an alliance of Congress.

But, in Bihar and Karnataka, these are already on shaky wickets. For example, in Bihar, Congress in not happy with seat-distribution (for example, Kirti Azad not getting his existing MP constituency), and Tej Pratap Yadav (elder son of Lalu Yadav) has formed a separate party. On the other hand, in Maharashtra and Bihar, BJP has better alliances.

In Tamil Nadu, while Congress has alliance with DMK, but then NDA also has a multi-party alliance (with AIADMK, PMK, DMDK, BJP). Kamal Hassan is also contesting with his own party.So, you may notice that while there can be some alliances at local levels in some states, there is no grand-alliance or mahagathbandhan of opposition parties at the national level.

In fact, grand-alliance even at state level is missing in most states. This will lead to division of opposition votes.On the other hand, just last week, Mamata Banerjee called Rahul Gandhi u201cjust a kidu201d.

A couple days back, Kerala CPI(M) also called Rahul Gandhi a u201cPappuu201d. So, is this what is u201cmahagathbandhanu201d, as mentioned in your question?Lack of a strong mahagathbandhan among opposition parties, opposition votes will be divided and BJP will get some advantage, like last time when BJP got 282 seats with 31% popular vote.

Well, now coming back to your question, my personal assessment is that BJP is likely to win the 2019 Lok Sabha election, either alone or along with support of NDA allies.In fact, most of the predictions of experts in the media are also on these lines. Now that elections are so close.

Who has the greatest probability of Winning, BJP or Mahagatbandhan?