SlashNOT

Matthew writes: Dark Lord Croktha, 14th Lord of Banedown Barrowlands and 23rd Level Half-Drow Elven Assassin/Thief (aka Gerald Smeed, Subway sandwich artist), on the effect of video games on the young.

“Basically, video games are destroying the next generation. I mean, there’s no attention span, no ability to perform any kind of critical thinking, it’s just knee-jerk reaction after reaction. Yes, the games are visibly beautiful, but so is the imagination. Just last week I slew the dread Dragon Lord Smood after vanquishing Banashe, Queen of Limbo. All in my head, with paper and dice!”

“The real sad part is the total lack of socialization. These kids are spending all their time alone, in the solitary world of video games, mastering what amounts to solitaire puzzles. With the classic Role Playing Games, you had to get together as a group. There was real camaraderie, a sense of purpose, and a sense of belonging. As it is, we’re loosing the next generation to these damned on-line games, and it’s getting really hard to find new members for the guild meetings. I mean, we used to be really picky about just playing AD&D 3rd Edition, and that may have caused some hard feelings, but heck, these days we’ll do a GURPS session now and then if people are interested. How are these kids going to function in the real world?”

“Vinegar and Oil?”