<p>sooners - my S managed to handle the RPG’s along with extreme dedication to his music. School symphonic band, jazz band, and - the true love - his rock band (covering LedZepp and the whole Classic Rock pantheon). He became the rock god of his hs. His band even played at graduation - first rock band ever to play for the ceremony.</p>
<p>One question: when do I cash in on the Platinum $$? :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Can’t go platinum doing covers.</p>
<p>I’m just kidding, sorry if I came off as harsh/sarcastic. I just can’t stand video games…they just seem like such a waste of time.</p>
<p>ah, yes, you are right - covers do not = platinum $$.
I guess I’ll have to root harder for their own music to make it (altho they say they need a lyricist, and for some strange reason - 
they don’t want me…)</p>
<p>Didn’t think you came off as harsh or sarcastic at all. Wise suggestion, and part of the fun.</p>
<p>Huh? He won’t let his mom in his band? :D</p>
<p>So what games did/does your son play? I used to play a game called runescape in junior high; I wasted sooooooooooooooooooo much time on that game. It was disgusting. </p>
<p>But honestly, I spend 4-5 hours a day, sometimes more, on music, whether it be playing until 3am, performing, studying theory, etc. Who am I to criticiz(s)e someone else’s time management?</p>
<p>Get him to make games(computer)(I do it - student). Some 2D games are simple, but if he gets into 3D game development… Lets just say he will come out knowing more about programming, software engineering, computer graphics, scripting, etc, than a lot of undergrads.</p>
<p>I’m an avid gamer. I’ve been playing videogames all my life and writing about them, talking about them on forums, etc. And I hate World of Warcraft. The really good videogames keep you hooked, because they’re fun and because you want to keep playing. WoW keeps you hooked because there’s always some stupid item you haven’t collected or some rank you haven’t achieved. You don’t keep playing because you’re having a blast, but because you’re a perfectionist, and you want to go on some hunt for a rare item you don’t have.</p>
<p>To get the next rank or the next item, you have to go on a quest which takes about a minimum of an hour and a half to complete. You can’t autosave and take a break at any time. If you stop playing at any time during the quest, you start over. The reason everything takes so long is that you literally spend over half the time that you’re “playing” merely walking around from point A to point B. </p>
<p>Like I said, it hooks you for all the wrong reasons. Tell your son to quit paying $10+ a month for that game and get XBOX Live which is $50 a year for every online game on the XBOX. Most of the XBOX games like Halo 2 and madden '06 are centered around fast action and the fun of playing in an interactive community with online friends. You can spend an hour playing deathmatch, talking about the ltest news, laughing it up, then go do something else. In contrast, most MMORPGs like WoW you can spend an hour walking from one territory to the next.</p>
<p>Vyse,</p>
<p>No offense man, but you need to stop speaking for everyone. For some people the “experience” of WoW is a lot of fun. I mean, I maybe didn’t enjoy running from point A to point B, but when I completed a tough quest successfully, it was one of the best feelings I ever had. Nothing beat the experience of getting a group of 5 friends together and tackling a really tough instance as a group of intrepid warriors. </p>
<p>And really, travelling gives you time to formulate plans, go over strategies, and talk about whatever currently floats your boat. My friends and I would discuss current events as we ran through the lush forests of Kalimdor. It was incredibly fun, and the depth of the experience can’t be beat.</p>
<p>Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Halo 2 and other online console games. But you’ll pardon me for arguing that you sound like a gamer who’s more interested in instant gratification that a dozen frags brings over the slower and more methodically paced gratification of finishing an instance.</p>
<p>"Tell your son to quit paying $10+ a month for that game and get XBOX Live which is $50 a year for every online game on the XBOX. "</p>
<p>much, much, easier said then done. Son pays for the on-line fee with his own money and is not interested in console games. My son is older then you Yvse- can your Mom tell you to stop playing console games and only do ones on the computer? The point to me is not that he’s playing computer games, it’s the focus on games as opposed to everything else.</p>
<p>kathiep,</p>
<p>It took me a few months to burn out. I suggest that if he doesn’t burn out in a few months, then maybe you should talk to him in a serious manner about the issue. I actually had to sit down with a friend of mine and discuss the issue.</p>
<p>He’s been playing Warcraft for quite awhile now. Before that, he played another RPG game. I think there is a fine line between passion and addiction. We have had several serious conversations and after telling him the consequences low grades = less playing time, we put a lock on the internet. UCLAri, I would love it if he had a friend like you because he’s not hearing us. On the other hand, he is not so totally into it that he hasn’t done some other good things. He made Eagle Scout in the Spring, and has a quartet part with our marching band. Member of a couple of clubs in HS and will do an independent project in the Spring. Never complains about going to school or doing homework or even helping around the house. He held a job over the summer that started at 6:30 in the morning, etc. </p>
<p>Looking at the big picture, I worry that because we are the ones controlling his internet time now, what’s going to happen when he gets to college and it’s LAN parties all the time?</p>
<p>Xiggi, you are so right. The online games are very addictive. My son played Everquest for years.When I complained about his addiction, he told me that he made over $1,000 real dollars selling items. If that doesn’t help hook people, I don’t know what will.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Do you still play online games? I promise not to tell your parents.</p></li>
<li><p>What is the url for your published game guide.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I even played WOW and got to Level 60. It got boring after that. I promised myself to end playing online games. It took too much time that I really didn’t have.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I used to play Ultima Online and was the first “private shard” reviewer for private versions of Ultima Online.</p>
<p>This thread continues to help me know what I don’t know. I do know that S played Ultima Online as a younger kid, because he charged the monthly fee to our card and paid from his allowance. But I now realize that I don’t really know which games or what level were preoccupying him the last couple years. Nor do I really know what he’s doing now that he’s away at school.</p>
<p>For you knowledgeable types:<br>
(1) I have assumed that he’s not on the computer much for gaming because he always had AIM on up in the corner when he played here at home. He’s rarely on AIM these days, ipso facto not heavily on the computer? Or is this one more example of my naivete?</p>
<p>(2) Is there any role for Mom as monitor of RPG usage once the kid’s off to college? I’m thinking not, other than the as-long-as-your-grades-are-where-they-should-be criterion. What say you?</p>
<p>kathiep, I hear where you are at. Just where I have been. I took the view that if the ECs were there, socializing IRL was there, grades were there, minimally adequate sleep was there… well, that was good enough. (Although I didn’t really like it and, truth be told, the part that “had to give” was family time; if he would have given us any family time in the late teen years anyway). Don’t know if I’m right about accepting the RPG addiction under these circumstances, but things don’t look so bad in your case from my vantage point.</p>
<p>Sorry j. S2 can hold fifiteen IM conversations and play the game or animate his game and text and talk on the phone if friends call. Computer kids can multi-task like nobody’s business.</p>
<p>As far as college…my credo has been to point out how merdy and geeky computer freaks seem at university–missing out on social life and, most importantly…GIRLS 'cause girls ain’t into 17 hours of computer game playing or animating or whatever. Then I overstate my case by saying that the BEST (Smart. funny, cute) girls wouldn’t have word one with a computer addict.</p>
<p>UCLA, I also play a lot of StarCraft which requires much more strategy than WoW. Its not about instant gratification. When I’m playing a game, I actually like to be doing something. Just a personal preference.</p>
<p>Kathiep-I didn’t mean “order him” when I said tell him. I was joking. Also, your son couldn’t be much older than me if we’re both seniors in High School.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s the problem man, you keep loading the sentences with these wonderful strawman style arguments.</p>
<p>Like I said, to us WoW fans, we’re doing a lot more than some people give us credit for. And really, even Starcraft is faster paced than WoW. Just say it isn’t your style, but don’t load your arguments with “you don’t do anything” or by contrasting it with “the really good videogames.”</p>
<p>kathiep,</p>
<p>I think he’ll be just fine. Something tells me that when he gets to college, he’ll find better things to distract him.</p>
<p>UCLAri, I sure hope you are right. If his passion for playing games translates into a passion for designing game then all will be good.</p>
<p>Vyse, Sorry, just tweaking you back when you say something like, " just tell him…" He was 18 in May. Actually, Starcraft was THE game he played before he got into Warcraft.</p>
<p>Of course StarCraft is faster paced than WoW. My point was that a game doesn’t have to be slow paced to require intricate strategy, and StarCraft is a prime example of it.</p>
<p>I like action intensive games that I can either play on XBL or over lan. I’m just touting my preferences and speaking in jest more than I’m able to make apparent over a message board. </p>
<p>With some people though, its not the game itself that keeps them away from doiung their schoolwork. I’ have this friend that’s always been pretty smart, but always been a slacker. When he was younger his mom wouldn’t let him buy PC games, so he got on the internet and played the WEB game Runescape. It was a pretty basic game made in flash, but he let it consume all his time. Then he moved on to Counterstrike and played it 8 hours a day. Then when his mom let him use her credit card and reimburse her, he started mplaying WoW. So its his addiction to spending an inordinate amounbt of time on leisurely activities that keeps him from studying, not his devotion to WoW.</p>
<p>Love it! An argument about the merits of WOW. On CC.</p>
<p>Keep going, mates. This is possibly the most male student feedback we’ve had on the Parent Cafe.</p>
<p>jmmom, I am afraid you might be naive. Do you ever see your son online? If not, he may have blocked you from seeing his username, or he may have adopted a new username. To check if he has blocked you, well, you could ask him 
or just create a new AIM screenname and put him on your buddy list. </p>
<p>I get a little worried when I see my son logged on for too many hours at college, but I realize he can just stay logged on and actually be away from his computer. We communicate via email, not IM.</p>