James Isaacs: I am a Disciple of Truth…I am an Investigative,
Historical Researcher….Philosopher; I am Tsaphah. I am a political activist,
dedicated to unveiling, disseminating, and preserving the Truth…at all cost and
risk to my life. I stand for Freedom - True Freedom for all of humanity. I seek
through the past, to better understand 'our' present…and how it will affect our
future. I seek the lost knowledge…and to protect what knowledge we now have.
Most adults and children alike are sadly unaware of not only the amount of information relayed through video-games but also of the psychological training, evaluation, conditioning, and desensitization that often arises through prolonged ‘enjoyment’. While some of you may already know of what I am referring to, most will not; many will call me crazy. While the concept may sound ludicrous, some simple evaluation should not only explain where I am coming from, but also shed some light on the situation for you. It will not take long and all this information is available to prove through game play.
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Psychological
Training: When I mention training…I am referring to the type of
training used by the military, for the military and so similar in style to the
games we play that it’s almost scary. Although the general idea of hand-eye
coordination reaches into all genres of games, the one I have chosen to use as
an example is the Nazi Zombies game available through select Call of Duty® titles.
While all shooter games (especially FPS’s) provide an excellent Hand-Eye
Response training, the Nazi Zombies game in particular seems to be extremely
useful due to its progressive difficulty…not only throughout the progression of
each map or level, but also through each and every
new map released. To continue successfully, you must adapt to becoming further
and further violent and quick responsive. No camping, sniping, or taking cheap
shots in this one…just straight fast paced killing. Problem solving skills are
also required, as you must quickly evaluate situations and the optimum response
available. As a result, we have a generation of people quick to respond, less
easily frightened, and progressively more violent not to mention anti-social
due to the seclusion often associated with prolonged game play.
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Psychological
Evaluation: Remember the Original Nintendo® (NES) Remember
how several years after its release it was revealed that nearly all our stats
were being tracked? Did you play Mario brothers for two days straight? It
tracked that….Did you beat up over 100 bullies on Double Dragon? It tracked
that too. You do not remember? Don’t trip…seems like it has been forgotten
because I cannot even find anything about it on the Net but the principle
should not be lost. Now-a-day’s nearly every action we carry out in game IS
tracked. Matter of fact the information is often used in tallying information
for Leader boards and rewards based on accumulative actions. Through this
statistical data collection, it becomes very easy to identify key
characteristic behavioral features or algorithms unique to
each and every one of us…more unique than our fingerprints. Fable® and
Fallout® are two games in particular where your behavioral
algorithms are not only tracked but also give a good indication of how you may
behave in any given situation. Due to how open this data collection is and how
extensive it is psychological, implication may be. I have often wondered if
stats aren’t being kept concerning the choices many of us make when confronted
with morally compromising situations as portrayed through such COD MW2® levels
as ‘No Russian’ where the player is led into an undercover situation where he
is accompanying terrorists as they kill innocent people in an airport. While
every player is notified, that the material is graphic and given the
opportunity to skip the level; only players who choose to play the level. Got a
heads up or have such distaste for killing innocents that they inadvertently
discover that as long as you avoid the gunfire from any security personnel and
refrain from killing any of your partners, then you can literally
walk through the entire level without killing a single innocent person. While
this particular point may seem far-fetched, I point out that when the military
grades the performance of its personnel that it grades based on not just quick
response…but psychological discretion as well.
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Psychological
Conditioning: Conditioning leads to desensitization. Nearly the same in
theme, their essence differs. Conditioning is the act of progressively changing
the ‘social norms’ without ever alerting those who are being conditioned. It’s
much like the frog left in slowly boiling water as opposed to the frog thrown
directly into the scolding hot pot. While the latter is sure to attempt to
revolt and escape…the former is nearly unaware of any change taking place
what-so-ever. Lost in the luxury of warmth without labor and food mysteriously
abandoned, left floating around for any hungry fellow, he quickly becomes
willing to accept any and all minor changes that he may ever
become aware of….like the fact that he is slowly cooking. Conditioning is the
slow chipping away at every moral fiber of not only ourselves, but of society
as a whole. Through the game market…among others, we are all…children
especially, subjected to an unbalanced amount of sex, profanity, and violence.
It is through this social conditioning and slow change of socially accepted
norms that desensitization becomes key.
·
Psychological
Desensitization: Rewards for not just killing…but for killing with style.
Achievements for partaking in sexual acts. Free-Roaming, Open-Environments
giving the ability to behave morally however you choose…while often rewarding
negative behaviors and actions…verbally and graphically video game players are
bombarded by psychologically conditioning material that leads to genuine
desensitization. Death, dead bodies, blood, killing, sex, and both verbally and
physically violent behavior not only cease to seem out of place…but they start
to seem normal. No longer equipped to deal with another person in the flesh due
to social isolation, kid’s especially become prone to the idea that if they
don’t get their way…then they can simply delete (un-friend) you…walk away
leaving the issue unresolved…or worse they become violent towards the object of
their dissatisfaction. It used to be that hearing the ‘F’ word brought
shock….that seeing a woman nearly nude would too. Now, in the days we live
however our games cuss at us and if my daughter dressed the way half of these
female characters do in videogames…then she would never leave the house. Sex
and Violence sells….because we buy it.
“Knowledge is Great Power and
with Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.”
As mentioned at the beginning of
this article, most of us are sadly unaware of the amount of information relayed
to the general populous though all forms of media…videogames included. The
following information is a synopsis of some of the more popular games that I am
aware of having relevant information, not readily available or discussed
outside of the games themselves.
Assassin's Creed - In 1090, A.D. Hassan-i Sabbah defeats Alamut, and
then founds the Hashshashin or Assassins, an Islamic mystery cult. Masyaf was
one of their fortresses in Syria.
Fable One and Two - Albion home of the hero…One of the most ‘hidden in plain sight’ bits of historical
information in the gaming world is the true nature of Albion. More than just
the game world map, Albion (Greek: Ἀλβιών) is the oldest known name of the island of Great
Britain. It is thought to derive from the white cliffs of Dover.
Fallout - Nuclear war with China, leading to a post-nuclear,
war torn third-world America…sound familiar? 3Dogs, Voice of the People behind
the lines…sound familiar? While Alex Jones is the real world
equivalent of 3Dogs, bringing the message of Truth to the people, nuclear war
with China has never seemed such a staunch possibility. Financial turmoil on
the American home front has had massive, far-reaching consequences for the
entire world. No other nation however has as much invested in the American
Empire than China. Not only do they own most of the American debt, but have
started considering that debt toxic, selling off most of our bonds to our own
Federal Reserve. This in effect leaves the American financial system standing
alone. Our debt…we own it. One of China’s most notable historical ways of
getting attention is through intimidation…like the launching of ICBM’s at or
near an aggressor nation. While the American government
has an official explanation, as to what the Nov. 9th, 2010 ‘mysterious
object’ off the coast of California was...I reiterate not only our
debt and who we owe it to, but how China has behaved in the past.
Modern Warfare 2 -Thermal Vision Scopes, Machine Pistols, and Remote
Controlled IED’s…New and ‘alternative-use’ technology
is publicized through the last two games of the franchise. MW2® blew
the lid off Thermal Scope technology and highlighted newer types of hand held
weaponry, i.e. fully automatic machine-gun pistols. Where previous games either
used well-known, outdated weaponry or simply manufactured their own… MW2® highlighted
newer, lesser-known weapons actually being used in the modern battlefield.
Keeping in tune with this innovation, Black-Op’s® introduced an
RC-XD Explosive RC Car, much like the remote controlled IED’s our troops have
to face every day. While it's fun to play with in the game…it's important to
think about the world we live in and how real these technologies or misuses of
them really are.
Ghost Recon - Mexican-American Border War, Drones, &
Camera-guns…Released in 2006, G.R.A.W. ® and its
sequel released a year later both foreshadow a war that is just now taking
place. Escalated violence from the War on Drug’s has finally
taken its toll on the Mexican government and now their inability to control
their own citizens has caused blood to be spilled on both sides of the border.
Violence spilling over onto American soil has become a common occurrence these
days, and our government has been forced to warn Americans to
avoid large sections of American land. In an effort to combat this threat,
America has deployed a swath of new and innovative technology. Some of these
include Drones, Corner-Shooting
Camera-Guns, & EMP
Weapons.
EndWar - EMP Warfare.Electro-Magnetic
Warfare is not officially admitted. While the EMP effect of a nuclear blast is common
knowledge, the ability to isolate and implement the capability of
directing an isolated, non-nuclear EMP blast is not; hence, the thought of a
hand held EMP emitting devise seems almost fiction. Well, not anymore. APELC provides
a Compact 2100 Series EMP Suitcase. 125kv/m Typical Radiated Field @ 1
meter.
Image - Game Studies SIG.
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