Had fun watching this with the boy. Blizzard could give Pixar a run for it’s money.
Would love to get a chance to play in the beta… Blizzard, are you listening?
Are Let’s Play Videos Destroying An Industry?
I will come out and admit that I do not know much about the Let’s Play culture. How recording a playthrough of a game, with commentary, is somehow legal. Ryan Green of That Dragon, Cancer fame wrote a piece titled “On Let’s Plays“. I’m surprised by the feedback the piece has received. Some gamers seeing it as an attack on their creative rights.
“However, for a short, relatively linear experience like ours, for millions of viewers, Let’s Play recordings of our content satisfy their interest and they never go on to interact with the game in the personal way that we intended for it to be experienced.”
That Dragon, Cancer is a short experience. Maybe an hour and a half to two hours worth of content. Having the entire game ready to view online seems like theft. As would be posting the entirety of a piece of literature to read.
I understand that there are free advertising and entertainment factors to consider. But at what point are such videos infringing upon the rights of the developers/creators?
The film industry would be dropping legal suits like they were hot if this was happening with movies. The television industry, the same. I don’t want a Bill Watterson moment to happen here. A moment where the creator steps away so that his intellectual property’s soul isn’t sold… or in this case, stolen.
Our modern drive for wanting everything free and on demand is going to cost us. I hope that Ryan’s “On Let’s Plays” piece opens up a much needed discussion.
Racing Home
Wyatt and I raced Tabitha home last night from church. Cruising at 60MPH, Wyatt encouraged me to go faster.
“You need to go 140MPH, dad.”
“But the speed limit is 60MPH.”
“So, there are no cops around.”
Launched us into a great discussion over how there are rules to follow, even when no one is watching.
Parenting is all about seizing those teachable moments and acting on them.
Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. – Deuteronomy 11:19 (NIV)
From Across the Net: “Is Guarding Your Heart Really Protecting You?”
Andrea Lucado wrote a piece titled “Is Guarding Your Heart Really Protecting You?” Reminded me of the small choices we make everyday. In a world of texting, messaging, and social media, living a closed life is easy. Too easy.
“It reminds me of what C.S. Lewis said about the heart:
If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one…Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.
As life chips away at us, it is tempting to put our hearts in a coffin in order to protect them. And the interesting thing is, we can do this and be ok. We can live life closed off to people and places and things and live a perfectly fine life.”
We are the gatekeepers
In Raising a Modern-Day Knight, Robert Lewis encourages dads to model positive media behavior. He says that sons are always watching and listening. Using dad’s actions as a way to filter the world.
Talk about a big responsibility.
In my house, I’ve realized that my wife and I are gatekeepers. Curators. We preview and engage all media consumed. Not out of some crazy quest for control but out of love for our son. My experience with Aliens, at the neighbors, in first grade, not going to happen to him. This allows us to introduce age appropriate entertainment. Books, movies, television and games consistent with our Christian worldview.
Sometimes these experiences bring about questions and conversations. Which is fantastic. Just the other night we had a short discussion on Five Nights At Freddy’s, a playground topic.
I am learning that I have more influence, as a parent, than I ever knew. I want Wyatt to grow up to make smart decisions, in all areas of life. Media discernment is a great first step in establishing healthy cultural engagement.
JohnnyBGamer 