I was in International Bacheloreate and Advanced Placement...then I started playing EverQuest.... o.O

Tell your mom that if you don't get it, then you will start liking men. Like Basald.

^ lol, ooh Basald just got straight up told.

 

Your just unlucky to have non-gaming parents Arab. I'm a gaming parent, and as long as the kids aren't messin' up in life, I don't have a problem with them playing as much as they want. As long as their responsibilities are taken care of, they can play all they want.

 

Here is how I would approach things....

 

First off, do your research and make sure you are getting the best bang for your buck on the computer of your choice. Maybe with a bit of research about what you want vs what you can get by with, you can lower the amount of money you are spending to an amount your parents can tolerate you spending better.

 

As for the gaming more part... well, you can't argue that away. It's true you'll want bigger and better games, and you can't deny that. They think it's a waste of time... that's an unfortunate fact of life we gamers face is the stigma attached to those who don't game. What you have to do, is isolate exactly WHY do they think it's a waste of time? What is it exactly they have against gaming vs any other hobby you might have? I mean, when you get down to it, it's no different than some peaple spending so much money on their hobbies. Way some peaple sit in front of the TV and turn into couch potatoes is quite simular to how some peaple game... but at least the gamers are interacting with the game and using their imagination to beat it.

 

Once you idenify what part exactly about the gaming bothers them, you can come up with a better arguement to counter their concern. I say concern because deep down, I'm sure they're doing what they think is right... and we can't fault them for that.

 

If their afraid it keeps you from socialising, it's because they don't realise how deeply social gaming itself is... even if it's just online. Have they actually sat and watched you play, and shoot the bull and play with your buds? And most gamers aren't just computer gamers, they spread it into the more face to face persuits like D&D and other various dice/paper games. When we play, you'll notice we don't just talk about the game, we sometimes talk about life, and the things that concern us. Our shooters are like some more aged peaple's weekly game of bridge or poker.

 

Are they afraid you'll become a sociopath and start shooting your classmates? After the Columbine shootings, there was a mess of paranoia vs the violent games we sometimes play. My only answer to that is incidents like that are rare and far between... and I doubt that somebody that unstable would of just been set of by a game... as their is plenty of other media like movies and music that can be pointed out as the trigger for such behavior.

 

Are you isolating yourself from your family when you play? Perhaps they are just afraid you will become a stranger to them... something that tends to happen anyway when young adults like yourself reach the age you are. They may be confusing what is normal behavior for someone such yourself (who is probably just trying to find his idenity as a person outside the family) as something that the games are influencing instead.

 

Do they think it's not good for your head? Maybe they don't understand the creativity and strategy behind alot of these games. Especially if your playing Guild Wars.... I myself have alot of fun trying to find a way to have the various classes abilities play off and compliment each other which is the reason I myself love the game so much.

 

Point out the good things when all else fails... I'm sure they've heard the hand-eye coordination arguement (and jeez, my 5 year old who has been playing games 2 years now has incredibly good coordination), and you've heard enough of the arguement "You know I'm not leaving the house, and I could be doing worse things". That's a pretty lame arguement, and sounds more like a threat and I would not use that. Try things like the fact you are learning the importance of teamwork, problem solving, and creative thinking... all things that will be needed in the workforce.

 

That's all I can think of. Parents can be stubbern... mostly out of love. Whatever you do, stay calm, and accept their final decision with a calm "I understand, I don't agree, but I understand". The more maturity you display, the more respect you'll gain and make it easier for you in other arguements down the road you may face.

 

Good luck!

You sound like my dad (Private Parts) I got a new computer during Christmas i was born in Feburary so i just asked for cash, sold my 98 for 100, then saved my brithday dough and Shana lang! i got me a computer than can run BattleField 2 with (Some) things on medium (Well Texture and Landscape )

You sound like my dad

That's probably because I am a dad myself... of 2 boys and another baby on the way

Oh and I just got back from the National Leadership Forum thing, they had a lot of speakers come and talk to us. One was a Lt. Col. from the army who talked about killing. Heres something about all those school shooters:

 

They all played video games too much (24/7). None of them were involved in any kind of extracurricular activity, varsity sports, youth group, or any kind of club or social thing. They all played games in all of their free time. So, as long as we are still doing some of those things, we should be ok.

 

Guys, thanks for all the help. I will keep it all in mind and see what I can do.

Just a handful of thoughts here.

 

Do you REALLY need a new computer, or will upgrading your current computer work out MUCH better? I know WoW (my current game of choice, all you guild wars people can stuff it ) was running way slow, way laggy, just overall bad, i started looking into a new system. then, my dad scored me a gig and a half of free ram; installed it, and NO problems running ANY of my games, anywhere. high res, high textures, high everything, no lag. And my computer is several years old; and wasn't top-of-the-line when i created it.

 

Thankfully, my father is huge into computers (owns two sucessful programming companies) and was the first accounting business to utilize computers in Iowa. He understands the 'need' to go for bigger, better, faster, more high-tech computers, and he helps me out to get these

 

-e-

 

Oh, and it's been proven several times, that "violent" video games usually cause way less stress, and let people feel generally happier, not more mad and depressed.

your parents are mostly.... right? the onlt reason for a new comp at this time is mroe gaming. gaming helps develope some skills but not as many or to the extent that other thigns that are healthier for you will. as for the money being there. they don't want you to spend it on something like that, because someday.... you will want something and not have enough for it. it took me two years to get this computer. i have had it for two years now and it runs BF2 good. no real complaints but my new notebook for college is like 10 times better than this desktop. hold your money and wait till you get closer to college. then they may buy it for you. if not, it is a more valid educational tool then than now.

your parents are mostly.... right? the onlt reason for a new comp at this time is mroe gaming. gaming helps develope some skills but not as many or to the extent that other thigns that are healthier for you will. as for the money being there. they don't want you to spend it on something like that, because someday.... you will want something and not have enough for it. it took me two years to get this computer. i have had it for two years now and it runs BF2 good. no real complaints but my new notebook for college is like 10 times better than this desktop. hold your money and wait till you get closer to college. then they may buy it for you. if not, it is a more valid educational tool then than now.

Ohhhhhhhhh Burnnnnnnnnnnnnn Gaming is the only reason to live Dark Elfs Rox my Soxx (jking) But anyway Those kids are going to grow up loving games my first game was Sonic .... then the all power Duke Nukem i was 4-5 when i played that.... went to chruch and copyed some things he said

Just a handful of thoughts here.

 

Do you REALLY need a new computer, or will upgrading your current computer work out MUCH better? I know WoW (my current game of choice, all you guild wars people can stuff it :cool: ) was running way slow, way laggy, just overall bad, i started looking into a new system. then, my dad scored me a gig and a half of free ram; installed it, and NO problems running ANY of my games, anywhere. high res, high textures, high everything, no lag. And my computer is several years old; and wasn't top-of-the-line when i created it.

 

Thankfully, my father is huge into computers (owns two sucessful programming companies) and was the first accounting business to utilize computers in Iowa. He understands the 'need' to go for bigger, better, faster, more high-tech computers, and he helps me out to get these

 

-e-

 

Oh, and it's been proven several times, that "violent" video games usually cause way less stress, and let people feel generally happier, not more mad and depressed.

I cant upgrade anything in this computer any more except for the hard drive or sound card or something like that, and those are not the problems. I have spent enough money on this computer and I dont really want to spend anymore because I dont think that I can make it decent enough.

 

And Finner, I am about to be a Junior in highschool....so I am pretty close to college. I am building a new system on the basis that I have a LOT of room for future upgrades. If I buy a new computer, I am making it so that I know that I will still be able to use a few years down the road.

 

THE biggest reason I want a new computer is because I cant play Battlefield 2 on my current comp (because EA decided to screw over GeForce 4 users). I want to be able to play it. Now that doesnt mean I am going to be spending more time on the computer if I do get it, cause if I dont get it I will spend just as much time playing other games, just with a bit less enjoyment.

 

If EA would just make BF2 runable on my system then I wouldnt have even thought of upgrading. Yesterday I actually decided to hold off on the upgrade because people have found a fix for BF2 so I can run it, and it looked as if EA might make some changes so there would be no need for a fix. But now EA has said that they arent gonna fix it at all. Now I have no problem runnning the game through the fix, but Punkbuster may pick it up as a hack, so I am worried about wasting money on the game and not being able to play it at all.

 

And no, I dont want to upgrade JUST because of BF2, it is just the reason I want to upgrade NOW instead of in a few months....I dont want to procrastinate