Video games have progressed to the point where they are no longer the sole leisure pursuit of predominately adolescent males. Due to their increasing exposure to the general public, games have now caught the attention of not just this group, but adults of varying ages, along with members of the opposite sex.

This increased attention has also invited increased scrutiny, as politicians, activist organizations, media groups, and concerned parents have centered video games, the individuals that play them, and the games industry itself in their active microscopes. They have proceeded to fire shots of accusations and falsehoods meant to dent and eventually destroy the freedoms enjoyed by video games in our society.

While games can weather these attacks for a while, someone has to step in to provide resistance against these charges; an individual has to respond to the charges levied against video games with positive news about video games’ effect on society.

Who will that someone be? Me, the Game Lobbyist; every Monday, I will be searching and providing you with news that spotlights the positive influences that games have on our generation, along with doing my best to sort through the grime that individuals in power toss at our favorite hobby.

However, before I start doling out the news for the day, I would like to take the time to recognize the life of Melissa Batten who, earlier in the week, was murdered by her husband, Joseph, who then subsequently took his own life; she was 36 years old. Reports circling around the internet, specifically from Destructoid and Kotaku, mentioned that her husband was abusive, physically and verbally, towards her. Once she learned that said husband obtained a handgun, she immediately obtained a restraining order against him.

Prior to her death, Melissa worked as a software development engineer in test for Microsoft, after obtaining a law degree from Harvard. Her husband also worked for Microsoft, but has since spent his time with Wizards of the Coast, known for their extensive list of card games.

More information about this tragic event can be found here. Starting out with a story about loss was not how I wanted to introduce my first column, but I felt that it was (and still is) important to recognize players in the game industry who are not always as influential as Shigeru Miyamoto or Cliff Bleszinski. I personally hope that the Melissa’s husband receives whatever negative karma he deserves for such a heinous action. Along with the remorse that I feel for Melissa’s friends and family, I also have a strong sense of anger with the knowledge that mainstream media sources (specifically Fox News) will use whatever tactics necessary to craft this story into the standard-issue fare of ‘video games equal violence.’ Hopefully, this will not happen, but if it does, I and other gaming outlets will be sure to call them out.

Moving on to the news of the previous week…