Richard Bartle is a videogame hero

Posted Apr 29th 2008 8:00AM by Kyle Horner
Filed under: Culture, Features

He may not be Iron Man or the Hulk, but Richard Bartle sure can give a good verbal smashing, if not at the very least a literary laser blast from his chest. His latest enemies were politicians and newspaper columnists who continue to try and point fingers at those who play -- and have in many cases grown up playing -- videogames.

The article in question points out how time is against those who would liken you, us or anyone who grew up playing games to a psychopathic serial killer and/or crazy loon. Doctor Bartle goes on point out that more and more gamers are starting to vote, raise families of their own and won't appreciate people calling them all sorts of insulting things simply because of their chosen hobbies or in some cases careers.

The proof Bartle requires has already happened, as Dr Tanya Byron -- born in 1967 -- released a massive report on videogames.

What did the report say?

Essentially, that parents need to become more aware of media, citing a "generational digital divide" that causes many parents to misunderstand videogames -- creating an unnecessary fear. So to all those uneducated parents out there: the government thinks you should take more time to learn about the things your kids enjoy.

Wow, what a concept, we hope it catches on.

Tags: byron-report, iron-man, richard-bartle, tanya-byron