Opinions of gaming and gamers are starting to change but the popular stereotype is still that gamers are nerdy, daylight starved kids with all the community social skills of a brick. We know that's not true of gamers and there are some of the rest of the population who see it that way too but not enough. We want people to see gaming for what it really is and gamer's as the real people that they are. This is understandably difficult given the rocky road the industry has travelled in terms of publicity through various media. "Videogames rot your kid’s brains" has quite a ring to it and sticks in the minds of concerned parents. Hundreds of articles in the newspapers about the horrors portrayed within these games and that they not only promote violence but encourage it. Causing the hapless, feeble minded social outcasts who play videogames to go and act out the brutality they have just witnessed from their games console. This, unfortunately, is the first impression modern gaming gave to Joe public and even though it is fading slowly we still need to fight it back. 
So how have things changed in our enlightened modern society that embraces all walks of life and respects every person equally whether a king or a street sweeper? Well, those few sun shy social misfits who managed to survive playing videogames throughout their childhood without going out to commit serious crimes on innocent bystanders and spend half of their adult life in prison. They grew up, got jobs, got their own lives and became the mainstay of today’s modern society and gaming culture, only to become the target of much sneering and uneducated jibes about being "a bit old for videogames". Sentiments that prompted one reporter to publish a column in a major newspaper, upon over hearing several of her colleagues discussing Halo 3 on Xbox 360, focusing on her confusion as to why grown men, professionals, would be discussing on their lunch a subject which to her seemed so infantile. Then followed a breakdown of her research into this "phenomenon" of men playing games! And I don't mean football, its Videogames! How absurd. Apparently men should work, fix cars, make things from wood and always be found in the shed. Another article dubbed modern men as suffering from what had been called the "Friends syndrome" where they expect to live out their lives like a sitcom. Playing games, fooling around and not taking anything seriously. Shunning responsibility in favour of fun and entertainment.
Next on their hit list is of course the games themselves. They have been brutal, Horrific, disgusting filth not suitable for public consumption and much more. And these are the games that, in the mind of the public, impressionable young misfits are playing. So this is when certain media gets banned and the media go to town fanning the flames of this shocking controversy condemning this and all evil videogames that pervert the innocent minds of all of your children. The last major case of this was of course for Grand Theft Auto. Never before has a game garnered so much media attention and hatred! But never before had there been a game like this. The games that had come before, as loathsome as they were to Joe public, were all about being the hero and fighting monsters or criminals. Grand Theft Auto put you in control of the criminal and committing crime was a part of the game. So this is where censorship works doesn't it. Doesn't it? You mean people under the age of 18 have played GTA! Shocker! Call the police. Yes people under the age of 18 play 18 certificate games. They also watch 18 certificate films. They may even drink beer. Strangely though they didn't go out and beat up innocent people with bats. This is because the people who play these games can tell the difference between games and reality and do accept responsibility for their actions. This is not to say that censorship is not necessary or real. It is. Herein lies a dilemma though. If adults are too old to play videogames and under 18s cannot play them. Who plays them? Maybe Joe public thinks that if they try real hard no one will play them anymore and the industry they don't understand will go away. But it won't. 
What average Joe public doesn't understand is that gaming has evolved from pacman and space invaders. Today gaming isn't just zap monsters and score points. It is an immersion based experience that combines visual art, literal and storytelling art that captures the imagination of the player and engages them in the same way a good book or film would do. The only difference being the player is a part of the story that unfolds around your actions within the game. There are games that will react to your actions, rewarding a player for good acts and punishing them for bad acts. Games such as Bioshock are a perfect example. Dealing with the subjects of freedom of choice, politics and science within the game. Rewarding kind acts towards the little sisters and a plot twist more sinister than Machiavelli himself. Fallout 3 is another fine example with its karma system and intricate storyline. GTA, Metal Gear Solid, Far Cry, Gears of War and hundreds more. Far too many to list them all. They are all examples of how gaming has evolved and we haven't even gone into the social and community side of modern gaming! Just look at the online forums, a social networking devoted to gaming. Communicating and sharing experiences. They’re not all talking about pong and pacman. If it was a book club they wouldn't have a problem. So let them know. Gaming is different now, it has moved on. They should too.
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