why are so many children playing this game?

[Caplock 9]

Because theres snipers and first person. And people they can shoot I guess.

[Deetwo 69]

Too many young people playing because no one stops them. Parents have no idea what their kids get up to anymore.

Everyone thinks they are mature enough. BUT "mature enough" isn't just about you, it's about how you impact on other people too.

Every kid thinks they're not a kid anymore and don't need to be told anything.

I don't care how mature someone thinks they are. What I care about are things like:

- Do you whine when someone else has a better weapon or item that you want? Do you go on and on and on about wanting or wishing you had it. Or do you accept that it isn't your and realise that if you listen and learn, one day you might get one too?

- Do agree to things but rarely bother to do them? For exampe, agree to cover someone but not take it seriously because "it's just a game", "so what if you died, chill dude". Or when you give your word do you stick to it and do what you said you would?

- Do you agree to meet someone but then not bother to show up because "it's just a game" or "or went to get dinner" or some other reason you didn't bother to plan ahead to take into account your commitments?

- Do you appreciate what other people have done for you, and then take time out to return those kindnesses? Or is your first thought for yourself and what you can get?

Exactly this. I've spoken with plenty of younger applicants and they'll always say they're mature as well as tell me that they've read the rules. However, once they actually play with any of our members, many of the things you've stated will start happening.

I suppose its not just maturity that is a factor when playing with younger players, its their sense of responsibility. And if they actually have a strong one in that regard, or any at all. Sadly, not too many actually have that and it can be quite jarring to be playing with them.

Edited September 6, 2012 by Deetwo

[SurvivorAndy 15]

Well I'm only 15 so I guess I'm stil a child in most people's eyes, but I think there's a narrow line between children you may feel shouldn't be playing, and those who are going to handle it maturely.

I do believe that if someone's too young to really understand that a game's just a game, then they should not be playing and the games they play should probably be evenly moderated by there parents.

However considering I paid for this game and can handle the context of it, I see myself able to play this game with no qualms of if I `should be allowed to play it'.

[77Sam77 (DayZ) 2]

I understand that you guys are tired of these kids that go screaming all over side channel. Im 15 and I hate that too. But I more often heard guys around 20-30 that were irritating, saying things like: 'FUCK YOU" and talking over side channel all the time. Some kids are mature, and sometimes even more mature than guys in the 30s.

[calthehunter 61]

Not really a big deal as far as I've seen. Been on XBL or PSN lately? Horrific.

[UbiquitousBadGuy 846]

We can't enforce an age limit unfortunately (I don't even know if the COPA/COPPA under-13 restriction is in place) but it wouldn't really matter if we did. I've seen 20s and 30 year old behave just as juvenile and willfully petty on these forums so it's not limited to one age range. Though it might be skewed towards the younger generation...

[CoolCain10 55]

I'm 12 and I enjoy this game, I am fed up of being judged upon how other people my age act and how people think I will do the same, I hate hearing people in Side Chat screaming their heads off as everyone in that server will no longer talk to me as I am his age, I've never once managed to be in a clan due to my age and if I do I am always looked down upon and do not get to participate in group events even simple things such as raiding or looting as they think I'm not careful like other people my age and I am just left in the woods guarding a bicycle. I wish people would notice that I'm not another raging 12 year old and I actually want to play this game.

What I care about are things like:

- Do you whine when someone else has a better weapon or item that you want? Do you go on and on and on about wanting or wishing you had it. Or do you accept that it isn't your and realise that if you listen and learn, one day you might get one too?

- Do agree to things but rarely bother to do them? For exampe, agree to cover someone but not take it seriously because "it's just a game", "so what if you died, chill dude". Or when you give your word do you stick to it and do what you said you would?

- Do you appreciate what other people have done for you, and then take time out to return those kindnesses? Or is your first thought for yourself and what you can get?

There are no better weapons, If you have a pistol and you see somebody holding a AKM doesn't mean they can use it. When somebody says cover me I do watch there back and I take extreme precautions while doing so even simple things such as moving to a different position can get your friend killed. I do appreciate what I get and if you're talking about in-game I have healed many people that i've met even know nobody helps me. EVER!

Edited September 6, 2012 by CoolCain10

[DazTroyer 227]

When I was a kid that was mostly true. Now, I'm over thirty and I still play games, so do a lot of other people from my generation.

I play and i'm 44, i was playing the first video game (Pong) when i was about 8-9yrs old. My mother in-law still plays and shes 62, shes' just ordered Sleeping Dogs lol. She usally plays games like Skyrim, we call her our RPG aka Roll Playing Granny... B)

[slartibartfast (DayZ) 77]

We can't enforce an age limit unfortunately (I don't even know if the COPA/COPPA under-13 restriction is in place) but it wouldn't really matter if we did. I've seen 20s and 30 year old behave just as juvenile and willfully petty on these forums so it's not limited to one age range. Though it might be skewed towards the younger generation...

You really aren't getting, are you?

It isn't about petty or juvenile behaviour. Something that we are all guilty of.

It is about exposing children to a game that encourages murder and displays it in bloody, gory detail.

It is about the fact that an awful lot of the topics on these forums have adult themes and the use of explicit profanity is unmonitored(rightly so of course)

Damn it, how did I end up back on this high horse this morning? ;)

[Sula 1205]

CoolCain, that's great and clearly this thread isn't about young people like you. Actually, this game is about people who are under 18 who the law says should not be playing this game But it evolved into criticisms of immature behaviour, which goes across all age groups. :thumbsup:

[UbiquitousBadGuy 846]

You really aren't getting, are you?

It isn't about petty or juvenile behaviour. Something that we are all guilty of.

It is about exposing children to a game that encourages murder and displays it in bloody, gory detail.

It is about the fact that an awful lot of the topics on these forums have adult themes and the use of explicit profanity is unmonitored(rightly so of course)

Damn it, how did I end up back on this high horse this morning? ;)

You would have to show me a precedent of a forum banning based on age that was in response to the game being age restricted and not based on previously established forum policies.

In the end though it doesn't really matter since while minors buying software outside their age is prohibited by ESRB (being self-policed), it is not actionable if a minor plays the game that a parent or someone over 18 bought for them.

In the same way the MPAA won't leverage fines for minors merely watching R rated movies in their homes, it doesn't seem very prudent to ban minors when the ESRB themselves only restricts the sale of such software. Not its consumption. Consumption of such media is left up to the parent or guardians of the minor as the sale of the game to them is seen as a implicit contract that the parental figure has acknowledged the mature content of the media and deems its acceptable to their child.

It just puts the responsibility on the parent, which is something that needs to be championed more.

Edited September 6, 2012 by UbiquitousBadGuy

[Spart248 80]

You really aren't getting, are you?

It isn't about petty or juvenile behaviour. Something that we are all guilty of.

It is about exposing children to a game that encourages murder and displays it in bloody, gory detail.

It is about the fact that an awful lot of the topics on these forums have adult themes and the use of explicit profanity is unmonitored(rightly so of course)

Damn it, how did I end up back on this high horse this morning? ;)

I can respect your opinion on the matter and what not, but it is surprising that you seem to just not quite get it. If you are just voicing your opinion, that is fine, but it seem to me that you are more so questioning why a change is not made. It should not be that difficult to see.

The reason that the forum does not ban those under 18 (let's just say they had a way to truthfully tell who was what age) lies in many different explanations, of which 2 seem most prominent (to me at least).

The first is pretty obvious and just as well. In terms of banning people from the forums, it is simply too big a hassle for forum admnis/mods to bother with that holds very little benefit. People don't all see it the way you do, now will you convince many of your opinion(just as I am aware I may not be able to sway yours); so you should be aware of that. Now I don't know whther or not forum bans and age restriction are up to the forum administer or Rocket himself, bet when it comes down the actual game, I am pretty sure it is up to Rocket to try and make that possible. Not only may it not even be possible to go any further on age restrictions besides ESRB ratings, but it would be just plain stupid. Now unless Rocket really cares that heavily about the topic, it would be only logical to NOT cut the consumer base by like 1/3 or even 1/2 (assuming that's how many 18 under players there are). It would be terrible for the progress of his game and would surely be an extremely infamous person to all ages from doing this. It is simply not something smart to do.

The second reason (and this applies on a more general basis) is that what you are proposing is, within its core, the notion of imposing one man's views upon the children of all parents. When you step back and look at it, that is all it really is. I am not trying to be derogative here, but you must realize what you are saying. As someone said earlier, kids cannot buy Arma 2 (or probably Dayz standalone) without the permission of someone 18+ (who is usually the parent). Now regardless of whether the parent lets their kids play this game because they feel they are mature enough to, or simply because they could care less and know it won't have a huge impact on them (unless addiction strikes), it is of dictator-like action to simply say that there kids have to follow a set of rules, regardless of their opinion, because of one man's view.

Now I agree that a handful of people who play this game are certainly not of age or maturity to do so, but the fact is there is simply nothing you can do about it. Voicing your opinion is fine, but in a demanding way is a bit overkill. People all have different views, many of which come into conflict, however you just have to deal with it; right or wrong. As said before, one must just accept that they can't control everything.

Edited September 6, 2012 by Spart248

[johan (DayZ) 21]

I've had older people (20-40) saying they would put a (insert tool) in my head over voice comms in games like World of Tanks or EVE Online because I failed to back up their suicide dive in game or because I destroyed their ship/tank (this is like saying you shouldn't try and guess the right murderer in Cluedo). I'd rather have someone making out of place or bad jokes rather than threatening me. I'd rather play with someone over 50 or below 20 than playing with a guy talking shit about me or trying to be an asshole, tbh, and that attribute isn't age dependant.

Edit: As for the exposion I made clear how I felt about it in my earlier post. This is merely to clear it up with the relevant posters.

Edited September 6, 2012 by johan

[KrystoferRobin 67]

But not that difficult when they actually post 'fed up with 16/18+ age limits in clans'.

The very reason I asked this question is because there are several on the forum today actively looking for 11-14 year old players.

Is there a special place to pick up 11-14 year old players? I need them for... things... candy in my van....

[Danny_007 5]

When I was a kid that was mostly true. Now, I'm over thirty and I still play games, so do a lot of other people from my generation.

I play and i'm 44, i was playing the first video game (Pong) when i was about 8-9yrs old. My mother in-law still plays and shes 62, shes' just ordered Sleeping Dogs lol. She usally plays games like Skyrim, we call her our RPG aka Roll Playing Granny... B)

This is totally off topic and im sorry but there were people like these talking about how they still play games so i wanted to talk about it.

I am not in my thirties or forties, but if i may I'd like to theorize why i always seem to see people who are in that age group (middle tewnties to early or late forties) still play games and some game a lot more than just bf3, CoD, and the occasional Elder Scrolls game that a lot of kids my age only play.

You grew up when game systems first started and/or when the gaming industry really started booming. You got to play the classics like Pong, the firsts and best zelda games and hearing the music when you opened a chest,arcades, up to final fantasy when it had all those great sound tracks. Also a lot of games dealt with a good story, cool characters, choices that affected the game just overall good games that it gave you a love for games. Because of this you still play games and more variety of games.

This generations games ( well consoles at least.) don't really have that as much. There are some good games/series like Bioshock,the first Mass Effect, Uncharted, Assassins creed, Some Elder scrolls games, and i am looking forward to dishonored, but everything else seems to be another shoot em up like CoD. Also randomly killing people or joining a gang like GTA. There's not a lot of diversity and when there is theres only one game or the company milks the hell out of it. I never hear other kids talk about or play any other game but CoD or GTA unless im on the internet, But most adult gamers that still play games that I've talked to or heard talk about games play a more variety of them.

WHEW well i guess that's the end of that rant. I don't want to seem like i think i know everything. It's just i don't usually get to talk about games and i think alot about it because it's one of the things i love to do so i could go on all day. Plus i don't know if I'm OCD but when i get to talking i go into details and that can annoy some people.

This is just what I've experienced i grew up playing older games cause my dad loved to play games too. He kept his games and let me have them. Its also what I've heard people talking about so im not saying this is a fact since everyone is different and prefer different kind of games. Most likely I"m over thinking it or just going to more detail ( OCD moment?) and again i apologize for going off topic but i saw some people talking about this so just wanted to see what they think. If these are obvious things I'm talking about then Oh well maybe someone can confirm what I have said or correct me.

Edited September 6, 2012 by Danny_007

[THEOTHERJESTER 12]

Murdered another child today, he was on top the radio tower near the NE Airfield. I shot him with my AKM in the leg, he panicked and climbed down to discover his legs weren't working. So I proceeded run up to him and murder him with an ax.

Yes I know he was a child because he was talking to himself over direct chat, I don't think he knew that he had is chat locked, idiot. I actually thought he was a danger until I looted his corpse and found he had absolutely zero weapons. It was a miracle he made it up that far North without needing a gun. He probably got robbed on the way north and thought he could find something at the airfield. Too bad I ran into him.

Only downside to this is that I dropped my AKM on the way to ax him, and I have no clue where it is. I am currently looking for it now, I just thought I'd share this little story with everyone. I thought it was funny. BACK OFF TO DAYZ AND FIND MY GUN THEN TO THE OTHER AIRFIELD! ANYONE CARE TO JOIN ME? PM ME!

[Tweety Bird 1]

Also, if they banned every kid, over 50% of sales would be right down the drain. That's a loss no company can afford just too say your 16, not 17.

Yeah, I'm 15, but I am mature, and I don't scream like a girl when someone kills me, i take it like a man.

Now, from all the 12 year old's that have really high pitched voices, screaming in direct chat at you, and trying to kill you just cause its funny, yeah, they are severely annoying, and I defiantly see your point their, but still you cant just go banning kids because then just say goodbye to Arma...

[Littleassassin2 73]

Are parents completely oblivious to the ratings and classification of games?

I wonder if they would allow their children to watch a movie that depicts graphic horror, murder and war?

Never mind participate in a game that encourages these actions.

Must just be me being an old foddy doddy.

And why are the people responsible for a forum, that is obviously filled with extremely adult themes and language, letting children participate?

I have the BBQ set for my flaming. :)

Parents now adays keep their kids in an elastic bubble thats skin tight or let them do w.e they want, there is no moderation anymore

[Spart248 80]

Parents now adays keep their kids in an elastic bubble thats skin tight or let them do w.e they want, there is no moderation anymore

Well that is quite a drastic assumption to put forth without any support or even a mere example.

Edited September 7, 2012 by Spart248

[Lepryy 54]

While I agree with you on how annoying little kids are, I also disagree with your mentality about what to let your kids do/see/say/etc..

It's like "NO! I would NEVER let my wittle baby boy Johny pee-pee pants see those horrible things in those 'video games'! His wittle heart couldn't take it!".

I mean of course you wouldn't want him on http://reddit.com/r/spacedicks ... but man come ON! You think they still don't hear profanity and violence and horrible things on a daily basis? All they have to do is walk in the door from school and see "THOUSANDS KILLED IN 'X' COUNTRY!". Stop trying to shield kids from things you can't hide them from.

[mare021 1]

Children need to practice for their future, let them be. Maybe they'll be our saviours

[slartibartfast (DayZ) 77]

Children need to practice for their future, let them be. Maybe they'll be our saviours

They are the Barrack 'bin laden' Obama or Anders Breivik of our future. Let us try to make them neither.

Edited September 7, 2012 by slartibartfast

[Spart248 80]

They are the Barrack 'bin laden' Obama or Anders Breivik of our future. Let us try to make them neither.

Well bringing up Anders Breivik reminded me of what would probably clear up this conversation a little bit.

As said before, I do respect your opinion, but I must ask, what exactly is your opinion? You suggest that any children under the rating (17+) of this game should not play this game because they are simply not mature enough to do so. I can understand that, but what exactly do you mean by "not mature enough"? I mentioned it earlier and referenced an example where a child (not mature enough to handle it) taught the word "nigger" might not understand the significance and then run around saying it wherever they go. That should be pretty clear of an example, however it applies on a more general basis of defining maturity and does not work with Dayz (or violent games in general).

So I would like you to provide an example of your logic as to what exactly defines someone who is "not mature enough" to be exposed to something like Dayz. As a guideline, perhaps an example of what would happen if you exposed an immature person to this game. What would be the consequences and how would they play out. Regardless of whether you think it is bad because they will go around injuring people people they know no better, or because it will effect them later in life, I would just like to know so that the conversation could be cleared up a bit.

But yea, if you do, I will thank you in advance.

[Bernd (DayZ) 134]

What is to be done? The solution is before us. 1. Tempt dear Slartibartfast down from his primping canter on the dressage pony of smug. Sweetmeats may be required to distract the old buffer. 2. Set up the CHEKA in game. 3. Make Slartibartfast our Dzerzhinsky, and he can mould all these forlorn little strays into the future cadres of the revolution. I would deliver any amount of children into his doting embrace without a second thought. Let him him tutor those who we laughingly call the future in the ways of righteousness.

Give it a week and listen out for the satchel charges.

[blommas 4]

Eh, what age are you thinking about, when saying children?