How Young Is Too Young to Play Fortnite?

BadGiraffe on 31/12/2023 - 15:01
Last edited 31/12/2023 - 16:49 by 1 other user

My son plays Fortnite with his cousins. They're around 7 to 8 years old.

They started off with LEGO Fortnite and Rocket Racing, but they saw me play the regular one and wanted to give it a try. They love that more than the other PG modes.

There's no blood, and it's one of the more cartoony battle royale game out there. Still lots of guns and headshots though.

They watch things like Star Wars with bloodless killing in it.

What are your thoughts?

I started playing Wolfenstein 3D and Doom back in the day, but I was at least 13.

Should kids that age be playing games with guns and killing?

Gaming Epic Games Free to Play (Video Game) Video Game

Comments

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 31/12/2023 - 15:04
    -3

    i got no idea what Fortnite is but there is age reccomendations on games for a reason i know people dont follow them strictly but they are there

    • BadGiraffe on 31/12/2023 - 15:08
      +2

      Yeah. I was quite strict about that when he was younger.

      He's almost 8. The thing with Fortnite is that they have different game modes like he LEGO and the racing one which are both PG and G respectively.

      I guess I'm looking for validation from people who have played it, or who have going kids that play it.

      I'm leaving towards not letting him play it anymore.

      • sween64 on 31/12/2023 - 15:16
        +10

        It’s going to be hard to allow him to play Fornite LEGO but not let him play BR.

        I don’t think there’s any danger in letting him play BR. I think the bigger concern is too much screen time.

        Also, are his friends playing BR? That’s where he wants to be.

        Note: I am not a parent.

      • Sheez on 02/01/2024 - 10:27
        +28

        I'm in a similar situation and there are different reasons for whether you should let them play certain games or not. Sure killing and violence is one of them, but it might not actually be the most important.

        1) Screen time in general has to be at the top of the list. It rewires your brain in certain ways (whether good or bad), but they need to be getting plenty of outside time and doing other activities that wire their brains as they develop as well. Personally I think it's also important that they understand the danger of too much screen time and how it can negatively impact them in the future, even socially (I discuss things like this with my kids).

        We are strictly against the kids using phones for consumption as well.

        2) Maturity - are they mature enough to understand what is happening (this goes for movies too). It's not just about violence, there are usually other themes that as an adult you just gloss over, but as a kid, everything is new to you. Kids really pick up on the smallest things, and they can get very emotion even when watching kids shows.

        3) Online chat, toxicity and other dangers. This is a huge one with games like Fortnite. Remember, they are playing with 30 and 40 year olds, regardless of the content in the game, you have very little control of other things they are exposed to through other players.

        4) Microtransactions. These systems in games are incredibly dangerous for kids, and wire their brains from a young age to be ready to empty their wallets and promote poor money management.

        There are a lot of factors, but you also need to consider the kids on a case-by-case basis. Some kids are much more mature and you can trust that they will tell you about anything they didn't understand or didn't seem quite right (perhaps even dangerous).

        You also need to ask yourself WHY you want them to play this game. "Just because other kids his age are" is not a good answer imo. There are plenty of things they can do with kids their age, there are plenty of games that promote better development (strategy games for example), and I'm regularly shocked at what other parents let their kids do (on the phone all day playing games, letting them eat heaps of sugar and drink soft drink), so other parents aren't really a good gauge of what you should be doing either - you need to decide what is best for your own kids.

        Being a parent isn't easy, and its not about doing the easy thing and giving in to your kids every desire, I think we forget that sometimes we are there to actually parent them. It's great that you are thinking about it and taking it seriously.

        Depending on your kid, there are plenty of other games that (imo) are more beneficial. Things like No Man's Sky (great for spatial awareness and getting used to movement for games like fortnite in the future), Train Valley for puzzle games, heaps of strategy/city builder options which get them thinking.

        I'm not against FPS/violent games necessarily by the way, if Fortnite had a single player (or save the world mode wasn't abandoned) i'd probably be okay with my kid playing it (but the item unlock situation is probably still a big problem). Gunfire Reborn and Risk of Rain 2 are actually much better options for their FPS gaming in my opinion, and they can even co-op play them with a group of known friends.

        (I'm a big gamer and spend an incredible amount of time in front of screen both for work and as my hobby, so people think my kids would get a lot of screen time too, but it's actually the opposite because I'm aware of how dangerous it can be for development).

        • imurgod on 02/01/2024 - 15:44

          Absolutely perfectly put.

          I couldn't agree more.

  • theHMASfriendship on 31/12/2023 - 15:18
    +7

    38

    • AndyC1 on 31/12/2023 - 16:32
      +1

      How about 6 + 9 = 15……..

    • BadGiraffe on 31/12/2023 - 16:45
      +12

      38 is their minimum dating age. Nothing earlier. And they have to have either a medical or law degree.

      • beefmaster on 02/01/2024 - 11:21

        Raise the bar to double degree, medical and law.

        I played a lot of game during my teenage years. I never played fortnight but I would hold out as long as I can. I feel online gaming can be addictive and the community can be quite toxic.

        My son is turning 8 next week and he plays Mario Kart online. Which have no chat functionality.

        • BadGiraffe on 02/01/2024 - 14:25

          Yeah. I'm going to be holding out starting now. I'm still going to stick with playing online with only friends and family for now.

      • Faithgrrl on 02/01/2024 - 14:08
        +1

        EMOTIONAL DAMAGE!!

      • SpicyStew on 03/01/2024 - 01:09

        IT creates more millionaires than medical or law

  • killabob on 31/12/2023 - 15:27
    +46

    I'd be more concerned about the addictive nature of this game (and lots of others) tempting kids with card packs, add-ons, etc. Theres a reason the game is free yet still earns so much.
    I hate seeing how gaming companies have changed the landscape of games into pure money spinners. I'm all for capitalism but theres a line. Taking advantage of kids and as a by product parents, is that line IMO.

    • BadGiraffe on 31/12/2023 - 16:46
      +5

      Okay. That's a very good point. They're designed to be addictive. No matter what, I'll limit his screen time. Thanks.

      • Hhhhjjjjhhj on 02/01/2024 - 08:23
        +5

        I let my 11 year old and 9 year old start playing it these holidays. I played it myself first and came to the same conclusion as you, it's a shooter but it's not graphic or overly violent.

        I stopped letting them play as my 11 year old instantly got sucked in and found it very addictive. He didn't care for buying things. Just he found himself instantly obsessed and it's all he could think about. I banned it and surprisingly he thanked me saying it was fun but was making him upset (he has ASD and ADHD so he has trouble regulating his emotions some times).

        My 9 year old was fine with it though.

        So yeah, mileage is going to vary. I started playing it with my kids in trios and set specific time limits but just be careful on how good it is at sucking them in.

    • brendanm on 31/12/2023 - 16:53
      +7

      This. It encourages addiction, endless spending on absolute crap, and gambling.

      Capitalism ≠ mindless consumerism.

  • JimmyF on 31/12/2023 - 15:44
    +4

    What are your thoughts?
    I started playing Wolfenstein 3D and Doom back in the day, but I was at least 13.
    Should kids that age be playing games with guns and killing?

    You kinda answered your own question.

    But for me, under 10 seems fat too young for this game. Ours didn't started playing till late 13.

    Still lots of guns and headshots though.

    Is this really the culture you want your kids to normalise at a young age? This isn't America!

    If you do allow it, they should be supervised.

    • BadGiraffe on 31/12/2023 - 16:47

      Yeah. I think I'm going to either cut him off, or keep it to under 3 matches and only while I'm there.

      • JimmyF on 31/12/2023 - 18:32

        Even at 13, we have a limit on fortnite time, no more than 3 hours a week. Running around and shooting people isn't something that we wish to normalise. The kids are happy to play other games, so it isn't much of an issue.

        Seems to be more of a passing fad, as all the friends had been playing it, then moved on after a few weeks!

  • 87percent on 31/12/2023 - 15:46
    -2

    It’s the t-bagging and stuff on Fortnite that is not suitable

    • BadGiraffe on 31/12/2023 - 16:48
      +7

      That's not a thing in Fortnite. There are no bodies left behind. They kind of evaporate and just leave loot behind.

      • 87percent on 31/12/2023 - 17:05

        Oh ok.. I only heard that from a friend the other day whose son asked about t bagging and he said it was from Fortnite

        • BadGiraffe on 31/12/2023 - 21:26
          -4

          All good. I bet it's something like COD. Those are too realistic, even for my tastes.

          • Robbo95 on 01/01/2024 - 20:39
            -3

            @BadGiraffe: Cod is too realistic, you mean Nikki Minaj running around quickscoping is realistic?

            Geez mate layoff the bubble wrap

      • djkelly69 on 02/01/2024 - 00:59

        It is definitely from fortnite. In squad modes you don't die instantly when downed, so your teammates can revive you for a while before you fully die. You can crawl around, etc, while downed, and that is when enemies can finish you, kidnap you, dance on you, etc.

        • ShortyX on 02/01/2024 - 23:46
          +1

          T-bagging started with CS, Quake, Halo. Fortnite is more so about the emotes.

        • BadGiraffe on 04/01/2024 - 10:26

          Right! I didn't know that. Good to know.

      • blorx on 04/01/2024 - 09:39
        +1

        Wrong - there's a chase cam. I play with my 7yo and tell him not to do it. I'd suggest you play with or watch them play for a while - see if their moods change, how they handle good and bad, wins and losses. if they play fair if they yell or scream be overly demanding etc.

        • BadGiraffe on 04/01/2024 - 10:28

          Yeah. The screaming and yelling was what set alarm bells off. He's not playing BR mode anymore, and if I'm playing when he's around, I'm only play the LEGO one.

  • ihfree on 31/12/2023 - 16:02
    +9

    Outside of actual game content, if they're chatting with strangers that should be supervised.

    • BadGiraffe on 31/12/2023 - 16:48

      Yeah. No playing or chatting with strangers. Only family. He uses Skype or Meet on a tablet for that.

      • ShortyX on 02/01/2024 - 23:47

        Which platform? Xbox has party chat which overrides game chat. In any case, you can also change settings to turn off game chat.

  • Lord Fart Bucket on 31/12/2023 - 17:43

    6

  • Dollar General on 31/12/2023 - 17:49
    +1

    Kids are watching porn by the age of 10 and drinking booze by 12 so playing a video game at age 8 is appropriate

    • BadGiraffe on 31/12/2023 - 21:30

      A sip of alcohol at a family function at 12 I can understand.

      But… ummm… porn? At 10? Really?

      EDIT: I think I've seen an A Current Affair thing on YouTube where this mum lets her son do it as a reward. She says he throws tantrums otherwise. I'll see if I can find a link.

      • Jugganautx on 02/01/2024 - 12:13
        +1

        Yeah porn at 10, really. Especially these days.

  • altomic on 31/12/2023 - 18:17
    +2

    12 months old is too young to play fortnite

    • BadGiraffe on 31/12/2023 - 21:48

      Well… interesting… I have a friend who watches M movies with his newborn. Lord of the Rings and the like. They can't grasp any concepts at that age… maybe…

      • Lurk Hartog on 01/01/2024 - 07:51
        -2

        That's a really bad idea for various reasons.

        • altomic on 01/01/2024 - 09:27
          +17

          Exactly, the kid is obviously too young to have read the books first and therefore would have been unable to have really appreciated the mastery of film maker Peter Jackson's work.

          Bad parenting 101

    • ihfree on 31/12/2023 - 21:16
      +7

      Perfect parents otherwise?

    • BadGiraffe on 31/12/2023 - 21:51

      I'm no expert, but a lot of parents and politians blame video games for violent crimes. I've seen arguments on both sides, but ultimately, it's other factors, not just games.

      • altomic on 01/01/2024 - 10:21

        Some how people fought in wars and then afterwards in civilian life didn't kill people.

    • sween64 on 01/01/2024 - 00:43
      +2

      Played GTA and watched porn as a teenager. 20 l years later and I haven’t been arrested.

    • Jugganautx on 02/01/2024 - 12:15
      +1

      Hahaha I was playing GTA when I was 8 years old back in 2004. Being in trouble with police has nothing to do with games just bad upbringing.

  • perfectlydark on 31/12/2023 - 20:28
    +1

    my son played since about 8. no worries i just disabled chat

    • BadGiraffe on 31/12/2023 - 21:23

      Yeah. Anything he plays, I just disable the chat. Even racing games. If he chats, it's only over a phone with family.

  • outlander on 31/12/2023 - 22:15

    I have a nephew around that age. Right now all he plays is minecraft and minecraft dungeons. I've thought about whether to introduce him to fortnite, but I don't know. I think you want to preference games with some sort of creativity or education to them. Multiplayer FPS have some benefits when it comes to reaction speed and such, but not a lot of creative problem solving most of the time.

    I don't know, I think it depends on the kid. But at least Half Life had the puzzles of the single player game before you went online to play teamfortress

    • BadGiraffe on 31/12/2023 - 23:42

      LEGO Fortnite was the only reason I even downloaded it. I'm obsessed with it. I never played Minecraft, but I'm guessing this is a close clone. You gather resources, craft tools and weapons, build structures from blueprints or build structures of your own. 3 different biomes… the goal is to set up a fully established village in each biome, but to also explore the entire map. It's huge.

      I'm more than happy for him to play that.

      I wish this wasn't a F2P game. I'd rather have it be a paid-for game. Epic can decide to can it at any time. I still have a bit of fun with Lego Worlds now and again. It's a dead game, but it's still fun to play.

  • Banj0 on 31/12/2023 - 22:24
    +1

    I think the chat is probably the greatest risk to impressionable minds. It exposes kids to a colourful variety of sewer mouth diatribe. I play myself, solo unless I’m trying to fill a quest. On the odd occasion I’ve accidentally entered a team match with ‘fill I’ve had to turn the chat off.

    The crap that comes out of people’s mouths sometimes…

    • BadGiraffe on 31/12/2023 - 23:44
      +1

      Agreed. I do that myself too. No chat for anything online unless it's with people I know.

  • BadGiraffe on 31/12/2023 - 23:49
    +4

    Thanks everyone!

    Final decission. I've told him he can only play the G and PG modes. Basically LEGO and Rocket Racing only. He's a bit sad about it, but he's quite okay with it.

    As for his cousins, I'm sure they'll be okay. They can always play those modes together.

    I'll play the BR mode to get skins or whatever, but only when he's asleep or not at home or something.

    Again, thanks everyone. Much appreciated. I like this community.

  • Bilby s on 01/01/2024 - 09:40
    +2

    How young is too young to form an addition? I wouldn’t let them near it until they are teenagers!

    • BadGiraffe on 02/01/2024 - 14:07

      Yeah. I haven't looked it up, but that's probably what those G, PG, etc ratings would say.

  • freshj1ve on 01/01/2024 - 12:36

    https://youtu.be/S-nfhTscN8w

  • 2esc on 01/01/2024 - 13:58
    +1

    I think from memory the age recommendation is around 12 to 14 but the real problem is the obsession of buying skins etc to collect digital items to show off to their friends thats how epic games makes its billions.

    Whatever happens kids need other interests make sure online activity is not the only thing they do.

  • Yorkshire-Man on 02/01/2024 - 05:39
    +2

    Personally sub 11 for me.

    It's not the 'game' it's the addictiveness of it. Once they start it never ends. My son was 12, it was pester power as all his mates were on it. It's the CONSTANT game play & the asking to buy the bundles.

    Imo 8 is too young.

    • BadGiraffe on 02/01/2024 - 14:08

      Agreed. I don't keep my card details on any gaming service. No chance in hell I'd do that.

      Plus, I've told him bundles are just cosmetic and that these F2P games are only temporary. They can turn the servers off anytime.

  • Breno785au on 02/01/2024 - 07:01

    As the parent that is solely up to you. Go watch YouTube videos of the game for more understanding and decide for yourself.

    • BadGiraffe on 02/01/2024 - 14:10

      I play it myself, and I too play for the free skins and whatnot. I've decided no shooting games for now. LEGO and racing games for now only… and Mario and Sonic.

      • Breno785au on 02/01/2024 - 18:15

        Cool, good stuff :)

  • RefusdClassification on 02/01/2024 - 07:02
    -1

    Personally I think "bloodless" cartoon violence is worse than realistic violence with bleeding, bullet holes and decapitations. With realistic or semi-realistic depictions of violence, people learn that violence has devastating real world consequences. In Fortnite violence is just like cuddling a pillow. In computer games you are exterminating other human beings. In the real world bodies just don't evaporate when they are subjected to lethal violence. Imagine the aftermath of a pitched battle between thousands of melee armed warriors. The battle area is carpeted with dead and dying men, blood, entrails, severed limbs, broken weapons and armour plates. The smell is horrific.

    • SpainKing on 02/01/2024 - 08:17
      +6

      I only let my 5 year old play Spec Ops: The Line so they have an early understanding of the ramifications of war

      • BadGiraffe on 02/01/2024 - 14:11

        Hahha!

        But also, I don't stop him from watching the news if he happens to be sitting with me on the couch. He knows about the wars going on and I hope me explaining the meaningless deaths and destruction stick.

  • Fornax on 02/01/2024 - 08:08

    I struggled with the same question with my son. I made him wait until 8-9 years old I think but the real issue was at school where he started becoming a social outcast because he wasn't allowed to play the game and stopped him from playing with friends groups after school. If I was to make the decision now I would let him have it a little earlier. They do have more parent controls now so also look into that. It's a tough call. My son's now 12 and it's all about call of duty

    • BadGiraffe on 02/01/2024 - 14:24

      Yeah… that's going to be hard. Why do kids need to grow up so fast. I don't play COD or CS:Go. I happen to like cartoony games, so he's got to play whatever I buy.

      I'll have to convince his friends and their parents to play those games instead. Hahaha!

  • gmatht on 02/01/2024 - 09:17
    +4

    I would not recommend letting babies under 14 days old play fortnight. It is right there in the title :P

  • kalithreaver on 02/01/2024 - 12:58

    My son is 7 and wants to play it too but i refuse to let him play games with guns and shooting. I'm ok with him doing the other modes like the lego and racing stuff, we make sure he plays while we are there too. we also restrict him from chatting to strangers

    • BadGiraffe on 02/01/2024 - 13:57

      Yeah. I've done that now. He has asked me over the last couple of days to let him play even just one match of the BR mode. I told him no.

      But I do let him play when I'm not around. Mum's around doing other things at home, but she's not watching him. I'm trusting him to do what I've told him, but just to make sure, I'll be creating a Sony and Epic account with his actual birth year… not so sure I feel comfortable with giving them his actual birthday… and I'll let their age restrictions dictate what he can and can't play on his own.

      And then I'll password protect my account.

    • AustriaBargain on 02/01/2024 - 16:50
      +1

      My brother would let his young son play GTA, but only if he didn't shoot or kill. Kinda interesting watching a kid play a game they desperately want to play but also not do what they desperately want to do in it. It's a giant detailed sandbox so there's still fun to be had. And smashing a car into a tree and seeing your player character go flying through the windscreen is endlessly funny.

      • BadGiraffe on 02/01/2024 - 17:30

        Same with Red Dead. I've read about people playing in "dad mode" where they only do side missions like rounding up horses or whatever when their kid is around.

  • Homr on 02/01/2024 - 13:33
    +1

    I started playing video games when I was 4 years old. I expect the current gen babies to start earlier now so I'd say 2yrs old would be the right age

    Playing video games develops hand eye coordination, faster reflexes and critical thinking so it's a good idea to get them started at a young age

    • BadGiraffe on 02/01/2024 - 13:59

      I agree. He started at that age too. Driving games first. He'd accelerate, I'd steer. Then it was on to Sonic, and he got really good at it. He was understanding timing, physics, problem solving, etc.

      I have no doubt games help with development so I try to split it up. Games and also kicking/throwing the ball outside.

  • newynut on 02/01/2024 - 14:03
    +3

    Geez imagine how good Don Bradman could have been if he had fortnite to sharpen his hand eye coordination.

    • Homr on 02/01/2024 - 14:58
      +1

      He had a pretty good training regime

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o6vTXgYdqA

    • AustriaBargain on 02/01/2024 - 18:05

      He could have been as big as Ninja.

    • BadGiraffe on 02/01/2024 - 14:28

      Fair enough. I let him and my nephews and nieces watch M rated things on Disney+ like Star Wars. Like… seriously? M? For Star Wars?

      Anyway, anything with violence or bad language, I just say out loud, "Violence!" or "Bad words!". They just sigh, but at least it's something. I figure as long as there's someone there to set them straight, that's the best thing.

    • splicer on 02/01/2024 - 18:31

      That is much too mature for a 5 year old to be watching. Yikes.

  • superuser on 02/01/2024 - 14:30

    I play cs from year 4, so they are not too young.

  • R-Man on 02/01/2024 - 16:38
    +1

    I was once playing cod with mic on, and there was a child playing who revealed his age was 7, and he was getting really distraught about losing, which then led to other older idiots further making fun of him.

    So many things wrong here… but at the very least, I think competitive online games can be more distressing than fun for kids playing against teens and adults.

    • AustriaBargain on 02/01/2024 - 16:48
      +1

      If you had a kid that reeeee's I wouldn't let them play any game that gets them excited. It's a bad habit anyway, letting a child become accustomed to shouting inside a house.

  • oneone001 on 02/01/2024 - 17:33
    +1

    Played Counter strike as a kid ,
    Improved my commanding and communication skills , boosted confidence in leading and teamwork too.
    By 18 i had a good narcissistic character because of it 😂

  • BargainBobcat on 02/01/2024 - 18:20

    I think there have been some earlier responses that hit the nail on the head. I think screen time is super important otherwise they will rely on a constant hit of dopamine. My kids communicate with their friends and socialise through these games, but they are much older now.

  • mitt on 02/01/2024 - 19:05

    The content/graphical details of games is less important than the addictive nature of them. Anyone that thinks their kid is going to become a violent thug because they played games with violence in them is fooling themselves. Kids are dumb, but they aint that dumb (unless you have a real outlier on your hands). They tend to take behavioural lessons from people they see more than content they see.

    Video games will only influence their behaviour in one way, to desire/play more video games. Its the addictive nature of especially FTP games that is the concern.

  • Commander Shepard on 02/01/2024 - 21:31
    +2

    I was around 7 or 8 when I had Goldeneye on my N64 (Goldeneye was also my favourite movie when I was 5).
    Also played Duke Nukem 3D/Carmageddon on the PC around that time which my brother owned.

    At 10 when I had Halo CE. And I lived on Runescape for about 10 years (also recently picked it back up).
    I was about 12 when I had Half Life 2 / GTA San Andrea's.

    I grew up with older siblings so I was exposed to a lot of stuff at a young age. I still remember watching the South Park movie a tonne of times when it released.
    I honestly don't think its effected me.

    But the internet, media and games were different back then.
    Nowadays some games are made to be addictive. Which I think a lot more harmful then sexual or violent content.
    It also depends on how impressionable the kid is. But I think most AAA Story Driven games I would be happy to let someone under 10 play.
    But those are the games they wont want to play anyways….

  • SteveD on 02/01/2024 - 21:52

    I have no answer to your question but there are lot of research papers online that tell you how harmful video games are to young minds. If it was upto to me, I would not let my kids near it, but we live in a society where you can't do that, you need to find a balance between both worlds. haha!

    I am listing one as an example
    "How Do Video Games Affect Brain Development in Children and Teens"

  • fredk1000 on 02/01/2024 - 22:39
    +2

    I would be more worried about Roblox.
    My son is asking for $50-80AUD worth of Robux so he can buy two pieces of fruit in one of the games.
    He has been scammed a few times as well in Roblox…

  • beyondtool on 02/01/2024 - 22:52

    My 8 year old plays Fortnite with his older brothers It’s pretty tame compared to other online games. He does it in the lounge room where we can keep an eye out. Most of his friends do also play and there are sandbox style modes that they play together and socialize. I would say 6yr old is too young.

  • Windows98 on 02/01/2024 - 23:06
    +1

    Anyone under 16 is too young to be playing something stupid like that
    Anyone over 16 is too old to be playing something stupid like that

    Hope that answers your question

  • lancesta on 03/01/2024 - 04:11

    I used to play Halo and stuff at 8 years old but it wasn't multiplayer. So I think graphically it's probably fine imo. But just depends on the voice/chat stuff and the online play experience.

    I definitely remember sneaking in and playing Doom 3 and finding that a bit scary for me. Actually even the halo zombies were a bit much at 3am (weren't too bad when it was light lol).

    • Commander Shepard on 03/01/2024 - 14:28

      Playing through the level 343 Guilty Spark as a 10 yr old kid was scary. The level design was also a bit confusing as it took me a while to realise I had to jump on some boxes to reach the upper levels.

      Sure The Flood is creepy.. But the atmosphere/music is what does it. As when I played through the later levels like The Maw I had no issues and loved using the shotgun to kill flood in the Autumn

      Other games that scared me were:
      -Redeads under the graveyard in Ocarina of Time / Music Box House and Well in Majoras Mask
      -Fighting at the elevator in the dark in Half Life 2 EP1 and Ravenholm HL1
      -FEAR 1 Alma in the elevator
      -Bioshock 1 Plastered Splicers
      Edit: adding in the Poltergeists from Fear 2.

      Funny enough the "Dead Hand" from OOT didn't scare me.

      • BadGiraffe on 04/01/2024 - 10:30

        I still cannot play Doom 3. I can't handle jump scares.

        I played God mode with no-clip on, and I found enemies hidden in these small rooms with false doors… like… that's not fair. I stopped playing it.

  • scud70 on 03/01/2024 - 05:57

    There's no harm in him playing as long as you control the online comms, no chatting, no strangers etc, my son wasn't allowed until he was in high school (I'm strict with online games) and even now he can play but not chat online … He just calls his mates on his phone via WhatsApp (or anything you can control the contacts setup) while he plays.

    In saying that he played other single player games rated higher than his age from around 8yrs old (example Spiderman and miles Morales). My youngest son (now 8) loves his switch and Nintendo games so I've not had to worry about that yet.

    Just a word of warning, we've had more issues now that the plays fortnite online with not finishing up the game when told and playing longer sessions… So set the time rules early on. We didn't and it causes some headaches.

  • jugsy on 03/01/2024 - 14:16
    +1

    Straight from the hose

  • Guerilla89 on 03/01/2024 - 14:32

    Ironically the research indicates that it isn't violent video game content but rather playing competitive team games with someone incompetent that is most likely to induce anti-social behaviour: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43076-022-00141-2

    Honestly though, I see it as a right of passage. Having my son game in my lounge room within ear shot lets me teach how he should properly handle stress and how to properly treat others under stressful situations. You can only teach resilience if you are willing to let them experience adversity. I don't think 8 years old is quite ready for that but I would say 10 years old is a good age in my opinion.

    Those a-holes who need to be better than everyone (i.e. put others down to make themselves feel better) else only grew up like that because their parents never bothered to teach them how to properly handle toxic emotions and toxic people.

    PS. a lot of big multiplayer games also teach kids how not to get scammed, which is honestly invaluable as well.

  • KaTst3R on 03/01/2024 - 15:50
    +1

    I played Quake, Doom and Wolfenstein when i was a kid. I still turned out to be a normal person.

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