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.
Guitar Hero Tasteless
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Posted on September 20th, 2009 by
Seen the new Guitar Hero 5 commercial? I’m not going to link to it but I bet you can find it at Youtube or someplace similar. Anyway, the short of it is that, like GH World Tour, they’re doing the Risky Business thing except that where a young Tom Cruise (in his undies and socks) was, a blonde supermodel is. For Guitar Hero 5 it’s a horde of pretty girls wearing socks and button up T’s (and presumably tighty whiteys). Now, I’m not prude or anything and I don’t really mind my kids seeing this but something does bother me . . .
Write like a Pirate
Posted on September 18th, 2009 by
My second finished Middle-Grade novel – think, slightly sub-Harry Potter – is a strange fantasy based on the American Midwest and Polish mythology. It’s called Harvey Stickman and I fear it might just be too strange a story to be publishable. I rarely share this side of my writing but I’ve just read this to Maggie and have begun, finally, sending it ’round to publishers. This being “Talk like a Pirate Day” and my book having a pirate scene in it – I couldn’t resist sharing. Hopefully one of my readers knows someone in the publishing industry? Here it is and it’s very brief (but loads of fun to write):
Should I be allowed to play C.O.R.E.?
Posted on September 18th, 2009 by
My dad will not let me play C.O.R.E. on my new DSi. I’m 11 years
old and i will be 12 next month. It only says Blood Gore and Language
my Dad says “No because it is rated “M”) But yet he bought me
inFAMOUS for my PS3 and that has Blood Gore Drugs Alchohol EXCESSIVE
swearing and more violence than you could imagine. I have played
games like starcraft which are just as bad if not worse. I also am
allowed to watch any PG-13 movies. Do you think i should be allowed to play C.O.R.E?
Tales of Monkey Island FREE on Talk Like a Pirate Day!
Posted on September 18th, 2009 by
In honor of Talk Like A Pirate Day this Saturday, September 19, TellTale games is making their first episode of Tales of Monkey Island FREE to download for a day only! Read on to find out how in the press release:
Thrill Kill
Posted on September 17th, 2009 by
Message: Have you ever heard of a game called Thrill Kill? I’ve heard
it’s extremely violent and gorey, in fact it was so bad it was rated
AO and then banned, and then censored, and then put on the internet. -Llama
Game Review: Mini Ninjas (360, PC, Wii, PS3, DS)
Posted on September 16th, 2009 by
An evil samurai warlord has captured all the woodland creatures and is using dark magic to turn them into an army to take over the land. And the only ones who can save the day are six pint-sized mini ninjas! Help Hiro and his ninja pals rescue the animals and thwart the evil warlord’s plans in this 3-D action adventure available on all gaming consoles (360 version reviewed here).
Game Review: Reel Fishing: Angler’s Dream (Wii)
Posted on September 15th, 2009 by
OK, so fishing games on the Wii are a dime a dozen. Believe me, I know. I feel like I’ve reviewed them all! So we’re going to do something a little different with this review. I’m going to talk about what makes Reel Fishing: Angler’s Dream UNIQUE from other Wii fishing titles.
Bill Wyman Doesn’t Get It
Posted on September 14th, 2009 by
Who? He was the drummer for the Rolling Stones back when they mattered. Now he’s just another musician who, like Prince, Jimmy Page and hopefully no other artists I like – just doesn’t get it.
Disagreement about Left4Dead
Posted on September 14th, 2009 by
I’m using this letter as a stand-in really, for anyone who has emailed me with some sort of “How could you recommend Mature Game X to a teenage audience!” This one is a pretty good example, and it features my favorite zombie/monster action game.
Game Review: Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming (DS)
Posted on September 14th, 2009 by
So let’s say you enjoy the idyllic farm life in the Harvest Moon simulation titles, but find the gameplay a little too slow-paced? Then Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming on the Nintendo DS may be the game for you. Frantic Farming is an action puzzle game with ideas, themes, and characters based on the Harvest Moon series.
