Angry Birds - BREAKING NEWS!!!

At this point in time I don't think I have come across a person who hasn't at least heard of Angry Birds. If you honestly haven't tried it then I would suggest that you do because it's fun. It's a fun game where the player slingshots birds at pigs to get their eggs back... it's a cute and fun game. Well after it came out it became a craze. Everybody and their mothers were playing the game (or had at least tried it) and more versions of Angry Birds came out; Rio, Seasons, etc. One of the most recent ones that I have seen plastered everywhere is Angry Birds Star Wars... Why? I can't even imagine how (besides costumes) this could relate to Star Wars and how (besides there being birds and pigs) that this could be related to what Angry Birds was originally. I will admit that I have never played Angry Birds Star Wars so I imagine that it is still fun to play. The part that scares us here at Infunity Gaming News is that this version is set to have a console release.

The first place I heard of this was at gamesradar.com. I hoped that it was a joke but it surely was not. Here is the video to prove it.

My jaw dropped in disbelief. Why are they going to have a full console release of a mobile game? Then it dawned on me... It's "what the people want." People who love the game will be excited and greedily pick up the newest game no matter the price. I think this is a mistake.

What started out as a cute and fun to play mobile game is quickly turning into a big money trap. There are Angry Birds gummies, plushies, hats, shirts, and even an Angry Birds Visa Credit Card... I am honestly scared to think about where this Angry Birds culture is going. 

I do feel that I should say that I do like the original game and I do still think it's a cute idea. What I am really trying to say is that it's not what it used to be. If you are following the games then have fun in space.

~Skye

Study on Violent Gaming Proves Little

Are violent video games bad for you, your loved ones, and others? Many think so and allegedly many studies give evidence that they are. One recent study [link], reported by Time.com [link], gives evidence otherwise - very poorly. Here at Infunity Gaming News we're happy to see evidence that one of our favorite pastimes isn't socially corrosive, but less so when the study is so unconvincing.

Here is a really quick summary of the findings. A grand total of 160 participants were asked to play violent or nonviolent video games (randomly assigned) for 8 or 20 minutes (varies between experiments), and then observed to see whether they would tell a researcher when he dropped his pen. 49% of violent game players and 39% of nonviolent game players 'helped', which for these sample sizes is statistically insignificant. For reference, the violent games were GTA4, COD:Black Ops, and Lamers. The nonviolent games were World of Zoo, Portal 2, and Lemmings.

What did we learn? That what type of video game you play for a short period of time has a little to no effect on your behavior. This is being reported by Time? This is the best we've got? In the face of all of the accusations of the harms of video games, "failed to be bad in a small inconclusive lab test" is the best we can get? There are articles such as "Video Games Linked To Aggression" referencing very convincing-sounding meta studies.

Time and again, whichever media the press decides to target takes the blame for specific incidents of violence among young people, regardless of the causes. Whether it's Marilyn Manson getting blamed for violence caused by extreme fans of Natural Born Killers, or violent video games getting blamed for violence caused by someone who didn't play violent games.

It's possible that video games and media have an effect on the rate of violence by youths. Something particularly interesting to keep in mind, however, is a graph found here, and mentioned below:

Rate of serious violent crime by Juveniles, Ages 12-17, from 1980 to 2011

By the metric of major violent crimes, youths aren't getting more violent. All of the hype is nonsense. Some of the violence is spectacularly horrifying, its true, yet there is no reason to believe it is some kind of pandemic.

Heck, there's a little reason to believe that playing violent games is likely to make you more helpful, ridiculous as that sounds. Time for me to go blow up some pixels and help an old lady cross the street.

League of Legends: Terrorist Breeding Ground?

Based off of this title you may think I am crazy or maybe am just asking for trouble. Well, I can assure you that it is neither. I decided to do the first report of this blog on something that was brought to my attention through Penny Arcade. It may be slightly old news now or maybe it hasn't spread as quickly as I imagine it has.

I am talking about the Justin Carter case. You can find the MSNBC article here: Justin Carter article . I find the whole situation appalling. For those of you who haven't read the article and don't care to at the moment I will give you a run down of what happened. Justin Carter (a 19 year old Texan resident and League of Legends player) was having a facebook dispute with a fellow League of Legends player. In that dispute the fellow player said he was "messed up in the head" to which Carter replied something very disturbing. ”I’m f—ed in the head alright. I think I’ma shoot up a kindergarten and watch the blood of the innocent rain down and eat the beating heart of one of them.” Now out of context I would say that it is quite a disgusting comment and overall I would say that it should not be taken lightly. Apparently after that Carter had said "lol" and "jk" to imply that he was joking. Well as most know... things that are posted on the internet don't stay on the internet. A woman from Canada saw it and took a screen shot and notified the authorities. They arrested the kid, took his computer, and searched his house for weapons (none were found). Carter was in prison on a $500,000 bail (which his family couldn't afford) and  "has been in jail for nearly four months. Carter says he has been assaulted repeatedly by other inmates and subsequently placed in solitary confinement." Thankfully for him an anonymous donor stepped in and paid his bail, which is quite amazing. He is still facing felony charges of making a terrorist threat for which, if convicted, he will face serious jail time.

So far all I have done is lay out the facts for you to read. Now I will explain my view on things. I don't think that this is right. You can find horrible comments like this all over the internet. Threats against people, places, things, institutions, etc but not all of them are looked at this hard. What is so different about this one? Nothing. The only thing that has changed is the fear from increased public shootings in the United States. That fear has fed politicians, lobbyists, and spurred countless protests about guns and other violent mediums and materials. I won't go any deeper into those things.

With all that said I don't think that they should have completely overlooked it either. I agree with searching his computer and house for any proof of actual intention to go through with such a claim. Finding none they could give him a stern warning about the consequences of saying such things (especially in such a public forum) and been on their way. Had they found something then they could have taken immediate action to neutralize the threat. I honestly could understand him being in jail for the amount of time it took them to search the house and computer. However, he was in jail for much longer and his life is now ruined for it. Even if he is proven not guilty, he still spent time in jail getting beat up and emotionally scarred.

Back to the title... Anybody who has played League of Legends has encountered at least one really rude person. I, personally, have played and been subjected to people being belligerent toward me and others. I'm not saying that all League of Legends players are rude, but they do exist. Horrible comments like the one that Carter made are commonplace among those gamers, but they have not received the same treatment.


What does this all mean? Well it means if I say something stupid that I didn't actually mean I could be reported and sent to jail. Does that sound like free speech to you? It's not. If Carter is convicted, doesn't that make all of those rude players terrorists too? Also... if they are terrorists and they were making those kinds of comments look socially acceptable doesn't that make League of Legends a terrorist breeding ground? I don't truly think that it is but I also don't think that Carter made a terrorist threat. I think he said something stupid and got beat up by a society that is afraid. I do think that people should learn from this, though. Don't speak before thinking. Be careful about posting things in a public place. Don't use facebook unless you want to publish something the world can see.

Waffles' Take: League of Legends may not breed murderers, but it's more likely than any other PC game (except its' moba siblings) to give you and your friends diarrhea of the mouth. Be smart with your trash talk. The internet is the home of freely saying stupid things, but anything you post on facebook is likely to last until well after you're dead. This shooting scare thing is overblown, but people are stupid when whipped into a frenzy. Even if it wasn't a joke: Calling a violently mentally/emotionally distressed person a terrorist is astonishingly stupid. 

Tl;dr : Don't say stupid things on the internet. If you do you may go to prison.

Be careful out there gamers,
Skye

Hello and Welcome!!

This is Skye here. Thanks for coming to the Infunity Gaming News blog. Here we (Skye and Waffles) will tell you about any news relating to Infunity Gaming and any gaming news that we have managed to find or that has been brought to our attention. I encourage any of our readers to let us know if you have found anything interesting that you think is worth noting. I would also like to encourage our readers to come back for new and interesting news. I hope to see you back here soon and I hope you enjoy your time here.

~ Skye