Help please with playing games online

muffler

Firstly, sorry if this is the wrong forum or if it has been posted before. Mods, feel free to move if Im out of place here.

The situation is that my 12 year old son (almost 13) wants to play "Runescape" games which I understand are online games where you would battle it out or whatever with an opponent from some other part of the globe.

I am not familiar with this type of thing at all so I have 2 main concerns.
Is the content of games and the language etc acceptable for a 12 year old. Im fairly broadminded and liberal as he would play some PS2 games that would be rated 18.
My second concern id for my PC. Is there any virus or security risks to contend with when playing this Runscape thingy.

All help and advice would be much appreciated

BloodBath

There's no real risks apart from the crack like addictiveness of some mmorpg's. If you are in control of regulating his hours on the pc I don't see any other dangers.

He will be in contact with other people in the game so of course there is always a risk of inappropriate language but this isn't usually a problem in these kind of games.

There should be no risk to the security of your pc either.

Laguna

I personally wouldn't let a 12 year old near a MMORPG, they're too addictive and it probably wouldn't be healthy for the chap. I don't know anything about Runescape, whether or not there's a subscription fee or what kind of people play it, but bottom line is, I wouldn't say it's a good idea...

eyerer

i would agree with the above comment

tbf, when i was 12 i probably used worse language than i do now. but certainly, kids should play sports and stuff instead of being sat in front of a pc all day, imo.

koneko

You may get people acting inappropriately, that'll be hard to avoid, but I wouldn't say it'll be anything too bad though....

But I'll echo what the others have said. MMORPGs are pretty addictive, and in no time he'll be spending all day on it. If he is going to play an MMO, I would say restrict his time on the PC to a certain amount and it should be ok.

Mad Mike

Have you looked at the runescape website: http://www.runescape.com/
It is actually quite helpful and will give you an idea of what the game involves. There is a useful section on "safety guidelines".

I have to agree with the warnings about the addictiveness of these MMORPG type games. Serious MMORPG players will invest 60 hours per week or more into a game and that leaves no time at all for school, for work, for socialising or for normal human interaction.

muffler

Thanks for all the replies and advice. It appears the majority of opinion would lean towards not allowing him to play at all with the next best solution being to allow a minimum amount of time online and keep a good eye on things.

I think some of you will know about the kids coming home from school and saying that their mates are all playing these games. It puts you under a bit of pressure but I decided to get some feedback here before doing anything else.

I have a bit of an edge here as I work from home and have my own PC connected to the net. The kids have their own PC in their room but it is not connected. So if I allowed him to play it would most definitely be for a short period of time as he would have to use my PC to access the net and I am on and off the PC a dozen times a day.

I will have to give it some serious thought and I will also take Mad Mike's advice and check out the website.

One final stupid question: What is MMORPG

Thanks to everybody for the replies

steviec

MMORPG = Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game

ie. its a persistent world that many many players connect to at once developing their character, talking to eachother, trading with eachother, fighting against eachother and fighting alongside eachother.

As has been said, there are few real dangers but they can become unhealthily addictive.

Attol

Yeah, my 15 year old brother recently got World of Warcraft which is also a MMORPG. He spends all his spare time playing now and freaks out if the internet disconnects or anything. When his friends come over he just continues to play while his friends sit on his bed just watching. It may seem silly to have to be a total nazi over a video game but it's scary to see how addicted someone can get without regulation.

Atomic Pineapple

yeh i bought world of warcraft and i couldnt believe how addicted i got to it, spent all my time on it, a young child could substitute it for a real world

KdjaCL

eyerer wrote:

tbf, when i was 12 i probably used worse language than i do now. but certainly, kids should play sports and stuff instead of being sat in front of a pc all day, imo.

When you were 12 it was safe to let your kids out of your sight, nowadays most 12 year olds not allowed off the "road"

OP just watch him tbh, nothing more you can do then just have a look and then decide. maybe Pro Evo or Trackmania be a better game to go online with, not much interaction with other players.

kdjac

Zillah

Im generally super liberal....but I really don't like the idea of a 12 year old playing a MMORPG. I think it would screw him up royally.