It’s not all game for the kids

IT MAY be difficult to keep an eye on your gaming child all the time with the multiple digital devices they use for play.

Daily Dispatch sister company TMG Digital asked some experts for tips on keeping young ones safe without spoiling their fun.

Game developer and lecturer Lars Espeter said most casual games‚ such as those found on mobile application stores‚ could be considered safe for children.

“In general, most casual games need to reach a large variety of users – they have a user group of more than 50% that is female and 35 to 50 years old.

“Those titles do not display blood or nudity in any form.

“What titles are recommended depends on the age of the kid.”

Espeter said the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store both had sections that catered to children and reminded parents that educational games could be loads of fun too.

Here are Epseter’s five top titles for little ones:

Ori and the Blind Forest (PC and consoles)

Cut the Rope – Series (Android and iOS)

Angry Birds – (Android‚ iOS and others) Worms – (PC) Bookworm – (various platforms)

Last week Gauteng father Lucas Lemotlo complained of an incident in which his child was exposed to a risqué game at a Panarottis outlet in Alberton.

He said other parents had complained too‚ after pornographic visuals popped up on an arcade machine in the Newmarket Mall restaurant’s play area.

The restaurant’s owner, Brett Mulligan, said all of the arcade machines, which the suppliers had assured were kid-friendly, had been removed.

Espeter said the games were made up of retro games published in the 1980s and 1990s, such as Pacman and Donkey Kong.

Though they did not have pornographic content, the system could be adjusted when it came to content‚ he said.

He added that some games that are considered kid-friendly or teen-friendly may be considered unsafe for adults in various communities across the globe.

“Lara Croft had to have her shoulders covered in Saudi Arabia while Harry Potter books were deemed inappropriate in some Christian communities in the States due to the positive view on the use of magic‚” Espeter said. — TMG Digital