Dad Hires Digital Assassins To Murder His Son (Digitally)

from the awwwwwww dept

While the overwhelming evidence continues to show that video games aren't responsible for turning children or adults into little murder monsters, that doesn't mean there are no negatives to gaming. I don't have children, but I imagine some parents can find it a pain to get their kids to take care of their responsibilities when all they want to do is play games. The question is what do you do about it?

Well, according to one dad in China, you murder the s%@$ out of you kid over and over and over again. Digitally, that is.
Frustrated by his adult son's incessant gaming habit, a man in China reportedly hired a number of in-game master "hitmen" to annihilate his son's avatar over and over again in an attempt to deter him from playing.
Quoting China's Sanqin Daily, Kotaku reports that the fed-up father, identified only as "Mr. Feng," decided to embark on this cyber murder plot as his son seemed incapable of pulling himself away from the computer long enough to find a job.
I have to admit, I love this guy. Your kid likes to play games too much? Hire a bunch of better gamers to make his gaming life a digital nightmare. I imagine if the kid wouldn't stop playing basketball, Dad would get LeBron James on the phone and hire him to shadow the young man and block every shot he attempted.

Regardless, I think we may have to tip our hat to this guy. It would have been quite easy for him to blame the games, call it an addiction, or do any number of things to abdicate his responsibility as a parent. But no, Mr. Feng scrapped some money together and paid people to digitally shoot his son. That is parenting, people.
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Filed Under: china, parenting, video games


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  • icon
    Zakida Paul (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 11:45am

    Now, that is creative parenting.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 4 Jan 2013 @ 11:53am

    Is this cyberbullying?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      monkyyy, 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:09pm

      Re:

      yes

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        The Mighty Buzzard (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:15pm

        Re: Re:

        Pretty freaking awesome cyberbullying though.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        G Thompson (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 5:31pm

        Re: Re:

        No it's not.

        In fact it's quite ethical and well thought out on the fathers behalf.

        Bullying is continued harassment, in no way is this actual harassment since its part of the rules of whatever game the son is already playing online and there is always the chance for the avatar to be destroyed/killed within game anyway.

        The only place this could backfire if if the son gets good enough at the game to then destroy the assassins, who in that instance might then (they would be silly not too) offer him a job as a 'cyber assassin', therefore fulfilling the fathers original goal to get his son working.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Franklin G Ryzzo (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 11:54am

    Mr. Feng has been added to my list of personal heroes!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    S. T. Stone, 4 Jan 2013 @ 11:59am

    This shows everyone how to do Parenting in the 2010s right.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Fygo, 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:01pm

    Maybe pulling the plug would have come out cheaper... (and more effective).

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Yakko Warner (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:14pm

      Re:

      Perhaps, but that can backfire. His son might have looked at his father as a meddling interloper in his hobby, making him more defiant and more determined to keep spending his time on the computer.

      Instead, his father tried to alter his son's experience in his virtual world, to make his son no longer *want* to play.

      Now, his son has found out his father was behind it, so he may end up going back to play anyway, but it does appear at least to have encouraged his son to stop and think about what was going on and why.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        Chosen Reject (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:23pm

        Re: Re:

        I've been doing something similar. The idea is to make the experience worse so that your loved one can more easily kick the habit. Though I suspect this is safer than the asbestos I've been adding to my son's crack stash.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • icon
          Atkray (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 1:18pm

          Re: Re: Re:

          How are you finding asbestos?

          link to this | view in chronology ]

          • icon
            silverscarcat (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 1:23pm

            Re: Re: Re: Re:

            I've been selling it to him on the black market.

            Want some, real cheap.

            Only down side is, this house I live in gets pretty cold.

            link to this | view in chronology ]

            • identicon
              Anonymous Coward, 4 Jan 2013 @ 1:39pm

              Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

              Good asbestos is harder to come by than crack.

              link to this | view in chronology ]

              • icon
                Watchit (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 4:43pm

                Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:

                My old high school's old cafeteria was closed due to asbestos, little do they know I've been harvesting it the whole time.

                link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 4 Jan 2013 @ 3:05pm

      Re:

      From personal experience the biggest problem today with parenting and video games is a complete gap in knowledge between the two sides.

      A lot of parents generally take the all or nothing approach, do it now or else. Completely ignoring the point that there are more convenient points to stop at (ie waypoints / save points, in between multiplayer matches, etc). It's really rather unfortunate because in a lot of cases waiting for that point of convenience is within 5 minutes.

      In such cases it's easy to get upset at being inconvenienced for no discernable reason. When a scenario like that is constantly repeated well, it's not a good situation for anyone.

      In the particular case in the highlighted article, seems to me that by the time they need to be looking for a job, a parents ability to enforce their will upon them is quite limited. This method leaves the choice up to the kid, "Yeah sure you can keep playing, but I've hired cyber goons to repeatedly gank you, good luck =). I'll call them off if you do as you were asked and make an effort to find a job."

      It's a rather ingenius way of dealing with the somewhat extreme situation in his hands. As for being expensive, well this did happen in China...

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Lance Bledsoe (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:05pm

    abdicate

    (BTW, it's "abdicate".)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    BentFranklin (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:06pm

    Sun Tzu would be proud.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Michael, 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:08pm

    There's a service to start

    See all of the new business opportunities opening up?

    Come One! Come All!

    Is your child engaging in too much HALO? Have they abandoned shoveling the driveway in lieu of World of Warcraft? Are you tired of having to move their feet to vacuum the living room floor?

    Fear Not! We have the answer!

    Our experienced Digital Assassins will kick their ass so quickly that they will spend more time creating new characters than actually playing! We can make their gaming experience suck so badly that shoveling the walkway sounds GOOD!



    Then there is the flip side...

    Come One! Come All!

    Would you like your gaming experience to not suck? Are3 you tired of our experiences gamers killing you as soon as you enter?

    Fear Not! We have the answer!

    Our experienced Digital Assassins will stop kicking your ass so quickly for the low, low price of $10 per month. Or, perhaps you REALLY suck and would like one of our Digital Assassins to follow and protect you? We can offer that service for an additional $7 per month! For $15, we will target the avatar of your choice for 30 straight days simply because you don't like them!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Yakko Warner (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:17pm

      Re: There's a service to start

      New Xbox Live Message
      From: xX Jimmy Hoffa Xx
      Message:
      That's a nice Spartan you've created there. Would be a shame if something were to happen to it. We can protect him for 800MSP a month.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:18pm

      Re: There's a service to start

      Digital bodyguards to the rescue.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 4 Jan 2013 @ 1:24pm

      Re: There's a service to start

      Help Wanted, Digital Assassin

      Minimal Requirements:

      No less than five years experience

      Able frag fifteen times before getting fragged once

      Must frag target no less than twenty five times an hour

      Recommended Requirements:

      Must be good at taunting, name calling, and making the target feel worthless

      Base Pay $8 per hour plus $.50 per frag commission

      If you are interested call me at 555-555-5555

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Zos (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 1:50pm

      Re: There's a service to start

      you should play eve. that's actually a viable and well practiced business strategy.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        Arthur Moore (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 4:22pm

        Re: Re: There's a service to start

        To a point.

        While EVE doesn't have a problem with contract killings, (Death is a big deal in this game) but doing so over and over again is considered griefing and will earn you a ban.

        Online game companies already go after gold farmers because they make the game less fun for everyone else. Next thing you know there will be a huge crackdown on organized griefing for the same reason.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Tammera Halphen, 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:13pm

    I like it

    I was thinking of stealing my daughter's video controller and hiding it until she got a job. But then she finally did get a job so I didn't need to.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 4 Jan 2013 @ 1:38pm

      Re: I like it

      Your daughter's a gamer?

      ...is she over the age of 18, per chance?

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:16pm

    Cue up a new excuse: "But dad! I'm being paid to kill this dude. I have a real job."

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:25pm

    Have (digital) sword. Will travel(digitally).

    Avatars slain, dragons castrated, if you're willing to pay for it, I'm willing to do it. @Paladin

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Watchit (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:26pm

    All you need to know is that I'm the best at what I do, and all I need to know is the target. Names aren't important...

    Meet me at the Pig and Whistle Tavern in the Stormwind Old Town, we'll talk details there. I'll be the lvl 90 rogue sitting in the corner.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    KnownHuman (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:27pm

    The arms race around this is going to be brilliant.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Call me Al, 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:29pm

    This makes me wonder whether my parents are far more cunning then I give them credit for... or if I just suck at online gaming.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Nastybutler77 (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:31pm

    It's funny he's earning so much respect from you guys considering he obviously doesn't have his son's respect. Otherwise he could just say, "No more video games until you get a job" and that'd be the end of it. Instead he has to resort to this bizare plot to cajole his son to doing what he wants. Pathetic.

    Especially considering the "kid" is 23 years old. How about, "Get a job or get out"?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      sehlat (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 1:11pm

      The Law of Unintended Consequences is not Mocked

      "It's funny he's earning so much respect from you guys considering he obviously doesn't have his son's respect."

      "Another implication of the one-child policy is what's referred to as the 'little emperor' syndrome. Some social psychologists contend that many Chinese children, because they have no siblings, are not properly socialized into society. And in fact, these so-called Chinese singletons have been accused of being over-indulged, lacking in self discipline and having no adaptive capabilities."

      Do the math.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        John Fenderson (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 1:40pm

        Re: The Law of Unintended Consequences is not Mocked

        It's wrong to blame the fact that a kid is spoiled and/or unsocialized on being an only child. It's entirely possible to raise an only child and provide plenty of socialization and proper discipline.

        The real problem is bad parenting.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    monkyyy, 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:46pm

    imma going to take a different position from everyone else so far, yes its creative, but it is still fundamentally a lazy fix to bad parenting, if a kid has gotten into one of the worse cases of gaming addiction(like the guys starving to death) taking it away is not a solution and it will make things worse even if u dont see any over superficial issues op up

    im thinking of a experiment done where they repeated the "heroin is addictive" rat experiments but they went out of their way to treat the rats well, and they found they can make heroin non-addictive if they give the rat a non-awful life

    now what does this have to do w/ videogame addiction? well u kinda have to be far more unhappy then a rat in a cage to find video games addicting, right? and then form a practical stand point what does "addiction" actually do; if not a emotional release valve. now what can we say about removing a release valve does, the pressure will either move up towards a higher tier release valve or fail to release at all; and these "happily ever after" i stopped a addict storys by using any other means then solving the root issues are in fact just ticking time bombs or issues the kid were already working on; without ur meddling(and u made their life harder while they were working on it)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      PRMan, 4 Jan 2013 @ 2:45pm

      Re:

      Exactly. Sounds like the son is suffering from depression.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      G Thompson (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 5:43pm

      Re:

      The son is 23 years old.. Bad parenting has nothing to do with it anymore if ever .

      Instead the son's learnt behaviour and responsibility of his OWN actions has everything to do with it.

      Though with your 'hugfest' response to is this cyberbullying above (read my response) I can see how you are jumping to conclusions based on fallacious hearsay, rumour, and unscientific evidence [your "well u kinda have to be far more unhappy then a rat in a cage to find video games addicting, right?" response speaks volumes]

      Yes there might be underlying psychological or psychiatric issues, though blaming it on 'bad parenting' is just another form of avoiding consequences and self responsibilities for the actions of others.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    monkyyy, 4 Jan 2013 @ 12:46pm

    imma going to take a different position from everyone else so far, yes its creative, but it is still fundamentally a lazy fix to bad parenting, if a kid has gotten into one of the worse cases of gaming addiction(like the guys starving to death) taking it away is not a solution and it will make things worse even if u dont see any over superficial issues op up

    im thinking of a experiment done where they repeated the "heroin is addictive" rat experiments but they went out of their way to treat the rats well, and they found they can make heroin non-addictive if they give the rat a non-awful life

    now what does this have to do w/ videogame addiction? well u kinda have to be far more unhappy then a rat in a cage to find video games addicting, right? and then form a practical stand point what does "addiction" actually do; if not a emotional release valve. now what can we say about removing a release valve does, the pressure will either move up towards a higher tier release valve or fail to release at all; and these "happily ever after" i stopped a addict storys by using any other means then solving the root issues are in fact just ticking time bombs or issues the kid were already working on; without ur meddling(and u made their life harder while they were working on it)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 4 Jan 2013 @ 1:11pm

    Where can I apply to be a game bounty hunter?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    John Nolin, 4 Jan 2013 @ 1:18pm

    internet spin on an old techniqe

    Seems like a current spin on a technique that happened years ago. Son announces plan to drive trucks after having little luck getting work after college. Father counters that son's degree was paid for with good money. Son will now pay the local going rate for rent until he earns some of that money back. Son soon lands intended tech job.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Wally (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 1:53pm

    Certainly better

    Well this is certainly better than breaking the flow of concentration (which in the case of some of my clients, they flip out more violently when that happens). My hat tip of general parenting goes to this guy...Instead of spending the money he earned on spoiling the kid, he just made sure the kid took a break from gaming for a while. Good for him. The kid got a slightly better social life out of this for when he becomes an adult. That itself is good parenting.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 4 Jan 2013 @ 1:59pm

    As hilarious as this is, its not good parenting. If the kid isn't getting a job (and so I assume 18+), kick his lazy ass out of the house unless he starts paying rent.

    Your house, your rules.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      BentFranklin (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 2:15pm

      Re:

      It might not be good parenting but it's good politics. Whenever an adversary overextends himself he becomes imbalanced and his own actions provide the solution to the problem.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        The Real Michael, 5 Jan 2013 @ 5:58am

        Re: Re:

        "It might not be good parenting but it's good politics. Whenever an adversary overextends himself he becomes imbalanced and his own actions provide the solution to the problem."

        Perhaps there's a way of applying the same concept to the actions of copyright maximalists and patent trolls. We need to brainstorm.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 5 Jan 2013 @ 8:03am

          Re: Re: Re:

          It applies to virtually every form of conflict. It's 3000 years old and universally relevant.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 5 Jan 2013 @ 8:08am

          Re: Re: Re:

          For the record, Sun Tzu trumps Machiavelli EVERY TIME.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 5 Jan 2013 @ 7:54am

        Re: Re:

        The Art of War is one of my personal favorites.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 4 Jan 2013 @ 2:21pm

    What if his son just gets better from all the fighting?
    What if he becomes so good even the mods cannot kill him?

    This very well could be the end of the world ..... of warcraft.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 4 Jan 2013 @ 2:26pm

      Re:

      What if his son just gets better from all the fighting?
      What if he becomes so good even the mods cannot kill him?

      This very well could be the end of the world ..... of warcraft.

      Well, maybe the son can get a job killing other unemployed gamers then his dad would be proud!

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    gnomebuddy (profile), 4 Jan 2013 @ 3:30pm

    Darn and I thought I had the best answer by just choking down his bandwidth

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Rekrul, 5 Jan 2013 @ 1:12am

    I love the fake screenshot in the article. While I have no problem with older games, 90% of the "gamers" today would take one look at that game's graphics and turn it off in disgust because it doesn't look photo-realistic.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Jan 2013 @ 4:22pm

    Send in Bart Simpson as The Black Knight.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Ninja (profile), 7 Jan 2013 @ 4:36am

    That is parenting, people.

    Indeed. But hey, why let parents be parents when we can screw the internet with filters and produce infantile adults by severely limiting what children can experience or insanely increasing the age bar to whatever the legislative way. You know, for the children.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    terroir, 16 May 2013 @ 6:31am

    This story is not real. It is fake. Sure, the BBC and HuffPo have published it, but no one checks the sources.

    Go and read the original story in Chinese and you'll find no facts. No names, even (just Feng). No corroboration. Just a urban legend that Westerners can now enjoy as news.

    http://sinopathic.com/lost-in-transit-oration-or-there-are-no-ws-in-sensationalism-let-alon e-5-of-them/

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Guy, 21 Feb 2015 @ 10:37am

    VBScript

    And I thought I can just download VBScript and make looped popups and make it so you can't click anything else on the computer. Then when your kid has stopped playing so much, you can use a hard drive and get rid of the script.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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