Welcome to GamerDad: Gaming with Children. My name is Andrew S. Bub - the GamerDad - and I've been writing about videogames, movies, and children for over 15 years now. After working as a magazine journalist, I switched gears to write about how media violence affects children, educating parents about them, and working closely with magazines, newspapers, major retailers and even politicians. GamerDad is an internationally recognized expert in this field. Games, movies and media are fun, kids and families love them, they aren't going away. So join me in cutting through the hype and lets have a real conversation about the things that matter: Video Games, Violent Media, and their supposed effect on children and families.
Welcome to GamerDad: Gaming with Children. My name is Andrew S. Bub - the GamerDad - and I've been writing about videogames, movies, and children for over 15 years now. After working as a magazine journalist, I switched gears to write about how media violence affects children, educating parents about them, and working closely with magazines, newspapers, major retailers and even politicians. GamerDad is an internationally recognized expert in this field. Games, movies and media are fun, kids and families love them, they aren't going away. So join me in cutting through the hype and lets have a real conversation about the things that matter: Video Games, Violent Media, and their supposed effect on children and families.
Comic Books Caused Vampire Panic
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Posted on March 25th, 2010 by
Excellent article today at the BBC 2 detailing a case in Scotland where, apparently, a bunch of schoolkids fueled a rumor that there was a local 7′ tall child-eating vampire (with iron teeth) in the local graveyard. Naturally, being kids, they staked out the graveyard and patrolled it looking for the monster. Some kids were serious, some mocking, and they claimed 2 kids had been eaten by the beast. Parents and civic leaders panicked, despite there being no actual kids missing, but they tackled the SOURCE of the problem quickly… they Blamed American Comic Books. The more things change folks, the more they don’t change. Thanks to local Vampire author Elaine Bergstrom for the link via Facebook.
Game Review: Zhu Zhu Pets (DS)
Posted on March 23rd, 2010 by
Zhu Zhu Pets are a line of award-winning popular electronic pet hamster toys. These furry critters intelligently roll around their own tracks and habitats. And now they’re ready to scoot and scurry around on your Nintendo DS in a virtual pet game that captures the zippy spirit of the toy line.
Game Review: Lunar: Silver Star Harmony (PSP)
Posted on March 22nd, 2010 by
Lunar: The Silver Star is one of the most beloved classic role playing games. It was originally for the Sega CD and later remade for the PlayStation. And now, fans old and new can experience Lunar again on the go with Lunar: Silver Star Harmony for the PlayStation Portable (it’s based on the PSX remake). Join young adventurer Alex, who idolizes Dragonmaster Dyne—one of the Four Heroes who saved the world many years before. Alex teams up with friends old and new on a quest to become a Dragonmaster just like his hero, and they’ll end up saving the world from evil again in the process!
Talladega Daze: Part 3
Posted on March 20th, 2010 by
Last week I went on vacation to Alabama. We have a lot of relatives there and I like to visit them whenever we can. We did a lot of things on this trip and I took a lot of pictures, so I wanted to share them with you all! On the third day we went to Birmingham, AL, and saw the big Vulcan statue and an abandoned steel mill that’s supposedly haunted! WHOOOOOO!
Talladega Daze: Part 2
Posted on March 20th, 2010 by
Last week I went on vacation to Alabama. We have a lot of relatives there and I like to visit them whenever we can. We did a lot of things on this trip and I took a lot of pictures, so I wanted to share them with you all! On day 2 we went to Talladega to see the race track and car museum!
Talladega Daze: Part 1
Posted on March 20th, 2010 by
Last week I went on vacation to Alabama. We have a lot of relatives there and I like to visit them whenever we can. We did a lot of things on this trip and I took a lot of pictures, so I wanted to share them with you all! On the first day, we drove up to Tennessee to see the Jack Daniels whiskey distillery.
A Teen Admits I was Right?
Posted on March 18th, 2010 by
CONFUSED GAMER WRITES: Hey Gamerdad its Confused Gamer again. When i last talked to you i was 13 and i had been asking why my parents had not let me play GTA 4. I am 15 now and have played through the game and must say how amazing and mature the game was. I used to hate how you told parents that they should not let their kids play it but after playing through it i could not agree more. Though the game is very detailed and immersive, I am glad i waited. I guess i just wanted to say thank you for all your advice and to all you other teen gamers out there trying to get this game, if your parents say wait, wait! It is worth it, trust me. P.S here is a link to see my most recent question.
This Pokemon Blog is Super Effective!
Posted on March 17th, 2010 by
In honor of the recently released Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver games on DS, here’s a special blog about my history with Pokemon, my top five favorite non-battling Pokemon games, and my top five favorite Pokemon critters!
Game Store Clerks and Bad Advice
Posted on March 15th, 2010 by
MATT ASKS: are these people payed to lie? I wanted to get dragon age origins and my mom was with me. when I was about to pay, the clerk said that they are full-frontal nude girls and your character runs arond covered in blood. I said “no it’s not i’ve seen videos on it” but he ignored me and my mom didn’t get the game. To prove him wrong I rented the game and showed my mom she agreed they exagerated… A LOT. the closest to any nudity at all is the desire demon and you run around for 2 minutes with little dots of red on you. We were really angry with the clerk for wasting our time but we didn’t say anything.
Children’s Book Update
Posted on March 14th, 2010 by
In case you were curious McMillan for Kids has given me a revision list for my book, Vlad the 4th (or 5th) Grader. The revisions are not only smart, but doable and I have additional ideas for them to consider. What’s awesome is they like the writing and the humor, but have concerns about the pacing and the ending. Their main concern for the ending, awesomely enough, is that there’s enough ideas for more books. Maybe a series! I think, maybe, an 8-book series! We’ll see. For now I’ve got a really clever little vampire story, a powerful agent, a powerful publisher and a chance that’s 100% in my hands. If I can do this, and I can, this will be a whole new career and a shot in the arm for GamerDad.com. C’mon, you didn’t think an opportunity like this would kill the site did you? Nope, if they strike me up – I’ll become more powerful than the game world can possibly imagine. This is the beginning, wish me luck!
