We piss and moan continually about bad game press from the mainstream, and the attention paid by a worried and misled public to the Insane Jackasses, but even our most stringent objections often fail to consider the long-term societal ramifications of the villification of gaming.

Gamasutra has a thoughtful and motivational article on this very subject, underscoring the seriousness of our persecution:

This kind of association is a difficult problem to tackle. The implicit idea being conveyed - that games are to be understood by an older generation as part of a set of inherently bad things for their children - isn't something that can be easily dispelled now that it has set in. The vilification of games will cloud proper discussion of their nature and potential, as well as tainting future attempts to use interactive technologies in a positive manner.

The piece wraps up with the question we all ask: how would the public understand games "if everyone were familiar with Guitar Hero, Buzz, Animal Crossing, Psychonauts, Lego Star Wars, Ico and Civilisation IV". Eliza Gauger

[Gamasutra]