A few decades ago the masses believed video games were a waste of time for lackadaisical youths to pacify themselves while ignoring their responsibilities as both kids and young adults. As more and more people started understanding the benefits of gaming so too did the perception of what a video game is and, most importantly, the benefits gaming can bestow on a person’s life changed. Hi, my name is James Bullock and I am a gamer who has spent the better part of his existence testing the laws of physics, exploring the vastness of a world ruined, and been a champion inside various arenas courtesy of digitized worlds both driven by reality and created through pure unbelievable ingenuity unlike anything seen by human eyes. And as a gamer I’ve discovered something else video games provide: life lessons. Today I examine the prime example of bad parenting “Heavy Rain”.
Be Attentive To Your Children
All parents make mistakes when it comes to keeping an eye on their children that could result in catastrophic incidents. And then there’s Ethan Mars from “Heavy Rain” that goes from being a father with a lapse in judgment to being full-blown neglectful of his sons in regards to simply keeping his offspring by his side in crowded environments. The opening hour of “Heavy Rain” – a more cinematic approach to the point-and-click adventure genre – featured a trip to the mall going horribly wrong for the Mars family when Ethan’s youngest boy Jason (JASON!) disobeyed his father’s order of waiting for Ethan while his dad paid for a balloon bought for the lad. Rather than telling the merchant (a rather glossy clown) that he’d be right back to pay after retrieving his hardheaded son, Ethan just fumbled around looking for money as Jason casually wandered off.
The end result? Jason died after being hit by a car because he unintentionally wandered into a perilous situation. You’d think Ethan would learn his lesson as his family fell apart and he became a shell of a man possibly suffering from blackouts and split personality disorder who just so happened to have joint custody of his eldest son Shaun (SHAUN!), but you’d be wrong. Once again crowds and parental supervision just didn’t mix when it came to Ethan and his quest to be a good father.
Rather than keep a watchful eye on Shaun while in the middle of a playground full of noisy children, Ethan either blacked out or took a nap (the game doesn’t really spell it out for the player). When Poppa Mars woke up he discovered Shaun was gone – eventually finding out that Shaun had been kidnapped by the Origami Killer. “Heavy Rain” goes on to test the resolve of Mars in his attempt to save his son. Depending on what the player does, Shaun either lives and reunites with his father, or dies. No matter the outcome it doesn’t take away from the fact Ethan Mars never learned his lesson about being an attentive father and potentially got both of his sons killed because he didn’t pay attention. For any parent, or potential mom or dad, Ethan’s shortcomings as a father are digital tutorials to avoid failing ones children (not to mention having to avoid cutting off a finger finger or journeying through a tunnel of shattered glass).
Have you learned any major life lessons from playing “Heavy Rain” or any video game for that matter? Leave them in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading.
