There has been a little debate between me and my sister about her daughter, my 13y old niece. She got a brand new 360 for Christmas with Kinect Adventures or something like that from her parents and got interested in Skyrim after watching me play the game on PC. I've already introduced her to the roleplaying mechanics and by the time she had created her first character she was totally svcked in. I swear I've seen in her eyes the same amazement I've experienced more than 20 years ago the first time I played Dungeon Master. I'm puzzled on what to do next, I wonder if the time is right for a game which includes also some mature content. Not that the kid is highly emotional, actually she's quite mature for her age, but I fear that some contents wouldn't be completely understood and therefore not enjoyed as she would expect. My sister is a little doubtful and would rather wait another year and take the chance to get her the full version with all the DLCs. My niece wants the game NAO. His uncle [me] is ready to buy her the game. Now what?

edit: it would be her first RPG

update: it's done, we have bought the game this morning : )

I guess culture plays a role in this, I see you're from Italy, from what I know they're not too conservative on topics like these (Dutch myself, for the record).

In my opinion you are she is overthinking it. Sure, teenagers are emotional, and there's lots of things going on with them. But at 13, you should be perfectly able to put everything happening in such a game into context. There's nothing there that books, movies, life experiences and curiousity have not already brought under her eyes some time before, I bet. And even if it is. Sure, you can try to always make sure that these things are first introduced at the perfect place and time, but I feel kids that age can handle a lot more than what you seem she seems to be thinking.

Of course that's just my opinion, and I'm quite liberal on this subject.

+1 for having good uncle influence, both in concern and in introducing them to RPG/TES

Edit: misread your post a bit

I'd say Skyrim (or any Bethesda game for that matter) is actually the opportune game for introducing someone younger to more mature mediums, due to that while there are some mature topics, it's brought about in a very tame manner.

If you are bringing up this concern, it shows that she has responsible parenting and family members watching out for her. She sounds as though she can handle the darker things the game throws at her (the morality of killing a creature like a bunny) and that she wont be playing ignored and without supervision. Get her the game and play it with her, maybe her mother will get into it to

Simple, discuss your concerns with your Niece. I am sure that she understands the difference between game violence and real world violence, same with crime. There is no real six in the game, although it is alluded to in a few places. The game is not going to corrupt her.

However, other than the gore, I see nothing in this game that any teen could not handle. In fact, Tweeners could probably handle what this game has in it.

This. Skyrim isn't exactly The Witcher 2. (or the first The Witcher, although that one was a bit silly when it came to mature themes)

I think that Skyrim is ok for younger advlts. I am a parent and somewhat lenient. My daughter was killing zombies with me in Left 4 Dead when she was 8.

In Fallout 3, there was bad language all over the place, but in Skyrim, I have not seen any foul language at all.

As long as the parents are ok with her running swords through her enemies, and a little blood, I think it is ok.

R

Nothing happens in the game that doesn't in most movies. Shell be fine.

If you think she`s mature enough to handle the game and will understand that it is not good to hurt others for yourself or to do wrong for others benefit, then it`s probably ok. I would monitor her though for some of the game just so you can advice her on the correct thing to do. There are some `evil` things you have to do in game and it`s a good idea to be there to tell her you don`t do it in reality.



I have a daughter and she often watched me play games like Morrowind and Baldur`s gate which had some iffy situations at an early age. I always chose the `good` options and if ever I had to take a `bad` option I always explained why. I never wanted her to think doing something wrong was good. I could see she was getting hypnotised by the world and my actions counted on a moral level.


I do believe you have to lead by example, even with games- If anything they`ll remember games even more than what you do in real life since real life doesn`t give you such extreme scenarios as a game might.

At the end of the day it`s for her parents to make the ultimate decision.

I don't think this game would corrupt anyone at all, unless they have some sort of insanity then they shouldn't be playing any game with any sort of violence.

I don't know exactly where you are from or your customs but how are you questioning this. A 13 year old playing Skyrim... Maybe if it was something like GTA then I understand, but Skyrim? Eh I don't really know what to say.

I worked at a Gamestop to help with the holiday rush and when customers ask if it would be ok for their teen I would tell all the same thing. Look at the back and see the list showing why the game is rated the way it is. If their ok with what they see, its their call.

I would say get it, but talk to your sister if she is unsure about it. I feel that its ok for thirteen year old if they are of sound mindx that its ok to play M rated games. You see nothing any worse than what's in the movies and what's on regular TV.

You mean besides the blood and running people through with swords and the beheadings?
I'd say if shes not that emotional the game wont scar her for life, i'd try and steer her away from things like the Dark Brotherhood. Some parts are graphic but Skyrim is tame for an M game and it is a wonderful RPG. And if you really cant convince the mom to let her play maybe find her a less graphic RPG until she can. Just sit down with her and talk about the game occasionally so you can see what shes doing in it, watch her for a while when she starts off, and make sure she understands not to let it influence real life.

You can't bubble wrap kids forever, and it is silly to do so. I find this game to be quite tame, so i wouldnt see a problem letting her play... She isnt a baby anymore, she is pretty much a teenager now and im guessing in High School, if not about to join? You cant protect her then.

My parents introduced me to games when i was very young, about the age of 7-8, sadly the first main game they introduced me too was Resident Evil which gave me chronic nightmares for over a year, so yes, you do have to be careful what games you allow your kids to play, but Skyrim is FAR from resident evil lol, and also nowhere near FO3 with its bloody mess perk. It is a Fantasy game, so its completely fine, even the beheading in the game isnt incredibly gory *aka no blood spraying like mad everywhere* so i wouldnt worry.

DITTO! Good Post Reply

PS... I just purchased it for my 9 year old along with a fake plastic War Axe

Go for it, if she likes it then why not?

I've heard mild swearing "bastard" and "bítch" once or twice. That's about it.

Note to mods, I had to evade the censor for the second word, but it's just purely for informational purposes. Nothing bad intended.

Ok that might be a bit much. This is just me thinking out loud here but when the kid plays the game and then sees the axe outside the game, how long til he begins to think other things in the game should be outside the game. At that age I'd think it best to make sure to have as few connections between the real world and the game world as possible. And 9 is a little young for a blood spurting, heads rolling, swords impaling kinda game. Then again i was probably playing halo around then. But at least halo had aliens and the graphics weren't as good as they are today, even so my mom, probably rightly so, banned us from M games when we started to get a little too desensitized to it. And by that i mean i was smashing an alien just to watch the pretty blood spurt. Anyway thats just my opinion and i dont know your kid like you do.

I'm biased since I feel people are overprotective of kids when it comes to media. If you should prevent your kids from seeing any kind of media it's commercials, not R rated movies or video games.
The language thing is especially ridiculous to me, you really don't think your kids are hearing swear words from other kids at school? When's the last time a swear word did any real harm anyway?

So I'd definitely say let her play if she thinks she'll like the game, but that's coming from a guy with the above opinion.

Location: Italy. Nah, you're ok. Berlusconi has been on the news for worst than what you can find in Skyrim in regards to advlt content.

Thing is, I have little spare time to supervise her and guide her further through the game [actually I was planning to give her a rough guidance and let her enjoy the game without too much hand-holding]. I live alone, she lives with her mother, who's not quite fond of videogames and knows little to nothing about RPGs. We spend some time together in the weekends, but that's it. I feel the need to clarify the subject: neither me or her mother are actually worried she would be scared or troubled by the game, she's mature enough to tell the difference between games and RL, I'm just concerned about her enjoyment, I'm afraid she would not enjoy the game as it is because some contents are a little difficult to grasp for someone that has never played any RPGs before and this game in particular has just too much in regard to forcing the player to the evil side. Take the Thieves Guild as an example:


I don't want her to feel forced to do evil things and complain that the game is not what she would have expected to be. That's why I'm puzzled on whether waiting a bit more so I'll have the time to explain her the game mechanics in their full extents or just let her play and feel free to do what she please. btw thanks for the replys guys, much appreciated.

Games don't normally corrupt people. There are soccer moms who thinks that violent games are corrupting the youth. Well, I like equality. If we are going to blame video games lets also blame the news, movies, sports and even religion which has tons of violence etched in stone. I played violent games when I was a teenager but that didn't make me want to kill people and drink their blood. Sure, there are some kids whose cheese fell of the cracker but those kids are going to have psychotic issues even if they watch Bambi.

Anyways, buying a violent game to a 13 year old once in a while isn't going to break the average kid.

That guy was boss!

Skyrim is too mild for a 13 year old, you should giver her Left 4 dead instead.

gamesas rated this game as M - mature. This game is not for 13 year olds. Tell her that this game is for advlts only.

Copied from http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp

MATURE
Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sixual content and/or strong language.

I think you should make sure it's okay with the mother. It's really the Call of the parents of the media that the kids can consume, even though Kids will find media they shouldn't. It could strain the relationship with your sister if you go above her head and force ehr buy getting your niece the game. As for the Morality and the effect on the child, Skyrim really isn't any worse than some stuff the teenager will be exposed to, there are in fact children's stories that can be more graphic and violent than Skyrim. It's no worse than really a PG 13 film. Also Gaming can be quite positive, having an escape like gaming, especially RPGs. It could become a good positive alternative to more damaging escapism that Teens tend to get into: Drugs and Alcohol.

Edit: missed you update, kinda makes my post moot.

I don't think you really need to worry about the game forcing her to be evil, it's a very open game and she could join good factions if that's her thing. I'm pretty sure she won't join the thieve's guild if she wants to be the champion of virtue.