Booooo.

Bungie’s site

E3 08: Bungie confirms that E3 announcement was pulled

No worries Bungie, we’ll wait… <3, Mommy DX

Ugh…Iran.

Sort of hard to write about gaming when there’s this going on.

Maybe we could send all the world leaders Xbox 360’s and let them duke it out over XBL?

Heck, we can even set up a 360Voice.com challenge and let the winner have bragging rights!

Sounds like a win-win to me…

Predators and Gaming Consoles

 

 There’s an article in USA Today regarding predators and gaming consoles. Although this problem is not news to us gaming parents, it is definitely something all parents should worry about.

Parents who don’t game, or are not aware of the communication abilities of their children’s consoles, are going to get a rude awakening if they are not parent-protecting their child’s account. Predators are alive and well on XBL (Xbox Live), and it is our job to control our minor child’s gaming activity.

Luckily, there are easy communication restrictions available on any child’s Xbox Live account.

FIND THEM AND USE THEM.

• Block incoming messages
• Don’t approve new friends until you’ve played, or previewed them first
• Keep your kids out of camera-enabled games such as UNO
• Beware of fileshare photos on games like Halo 3 (Rated ‘M’ means ‘Mature,’ NOT ‘Minor’)
• Password protect your child’s account, so he or she cannot change the settings
• Be in the room, or within earshot, while your child plays with others
• Most importantly, talk to your children about predators online. Giving them the tools to deal with inappropriate people online will make them feel empowered, and will likely make them less of a target

IF you or your child runs into a gamer who is inappropriate online:

• Report them. Select their gamertag, go to ‘file a complaint,’ and select the appropriate options.
• Afterwards, go to the feedback option and leave negative feedback and select ‘avoid player.’
• If your child receives an inappropriate photo, DO NOT DELETE. Save the message/photo with the sender’s Gamertag and contact XBL, or your local authorities. Sending pornographic pictures to a minor is a CRIME and XBL will work with authorities to prosecute the offender.

Overall, the more we report these sickos, the faster they’ll be kicked off of ‘Live,’ and the quicker the rest of us can go back to using the console for what it’s meant for – having fun.

Stay safe and happy gaming!

- Mommy DX

 

Another reason to love Bungie and Halo 3

 

Something incredibly cute and profound happened this morning and I just had to share…

A little background first…I’m a SAHM, but i’m a WORKING SAHM; meaning, I stay at home with my child, AND I work a full-time job from home. Usually, while i’m earning a paycheck, my 8 yr. old son, Knucklehead, spends his time playing on one of our two Xbox’s with what I like to call his ’summertime Xbox buddies.’

Now, these regular gamer-buddies range in age from 8 to 12 yrs. old. Yes, they are the young kids that so many of us adult gamers complain about. Not because they are vulgar or rude, but because they are loud – and happy – and ask lots of innocent questions during matchmaking – and are blissfully unaware of how their yappiness grinds the nerves of us…mature gamers.

Now, these little ones don’t always make the most ideal teammates on H3, but when a room full of 8-12 yr. olds get into a room together for a little forging – it becomes quite magical.

For example, this morning, i’m upstairs programming away, and suddenly I hear my son say, ‘We’ll put our merchandise over here…’; ‘wait, wait – let’s put the parking lot here…,’  ‘Ok – i’ll work the cash register…,’ ‘what would you like? Ok! Thank you for shopping with us!’

Now, I thought for sure he was playing H3, but his dialogue thoroughly confused me, so i went downstairs to have a look at what he was doing. Sure enough, there he was, controller in hand and headset on head, forging with his little buddies. Only this time, they weren’t seeing how many times they could stick one another with a grenade, counting how many different ways a mongoose can fly up a man-cannon, or chasing each other around on ‘Snowbound.’

No, this time, they were playing in a supermarket that they, (or someone else), had forged out of shipping crates. There was a parking lot and a store front; aisles for products, and a customer service counter; there were even displays for weapons and vehicles. Each child had assigned himself a job: a customer, a cashier, a stock boy, even a merchandiser who’d make displays. 

I sat there for a while – watching and listening to their clever banter, and I realized how much they, (and I), were learning from this experience. They were cooperating, performing job-related tasks, and architecturally designing their own store. They were being kind, asking if anyone needed help, and assisting each other with their purchases.

And i’m left sitting there, totally amazed, not only at how well these children were playing with one another, but wondering why I ever worried about how much time they were spending on a video game in the first place. Watching these young children build something together in this virtual sandbox…cooperating, learning, experimenting, playing…it was very inspiring to see. 

I almost feel bad…no, I DO feel bad, for those parents who listen to the politicians, and parental groups…to those who say that video games are bad for our children. Their kids may never know what it’s like to play in Bungie’s world. They may never know what it’s like to create, to learn, and to role-play online with friends. This technology is truly the wave of our future, and I can only hope that as the gaming industry, and Bungie, grows – that they spend more time reaching out to parents who DON’T game, so that their children will get to make their own virtual supermarkets one day too. <3

- Mommy DX

Spotted:

Halo 3 Legendary Map pack advertisement on a billboard in Crackdown. ROFL!

Gaming Legislation

With the release of GTA IV, lawmakers are working hard to stamp out parental-gaming rights. Here’s another column addressing pending video game legislation and I encourage everyone to comment.

As you can probably tell by my blog, I am a gaming parent who believes in freedom of choice, as well as personal, and parental responsibility. And as the gaming industry grows, we will likely see more lawmakers create feel-good legislation that essentially stamps out our parental rights.

It is the parents’ job to screen gaming content for our children – NOT the government.

Therefore, it is in my not-so-humble opinion that gamers, especially parental gamers, take the time to voice their opinions, so that they do not lose the right to purchase, and play, the games that adult gamers enjoy the most. 

- Mommy DX

 

Banned Xbox Commercial

If you’ve ever wanted to see a real-life interpretation of a first-person shooter (FPS)  – watch this:

Too bad it was banned from television…
 

The Red Ring

The red ring of fire.
The red ring of death.
The RROD.

Whatever it is called – I got it…AGAIN.

Ugh! I have such a love-hate relationship with Microsoft! I love Xbox games and Xbox live, but I HATE the Xbox 360 console. It DIES!!! And now our entire gaming family will be sharing the Xbox 360 Elite while the red-ringed-doorstop-of-death gets sent back to Microsoft for repair.

Anyone want to wager how long the Elite will last before getting a red ring of its own?

*sigh*

Well, I guess while we wait for our coffin to arrive, we can listen to the ‘Xbox 360 song’ by The Sarcastic Gamer:

 

 

Mother’s Day

Some mother’s receive flowers…some even get jewelry.

But for THIS Mother’s Day, I received: