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The UK government wants you to tell it whether gaming is good or bad for society

A House of Commons committee wants to hear what you have to say about the game industry

While we’re well past the 90s-era gaming panics among parents and politicians, videogames remain an area of concern for lawmakers. The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the UK House of Commons now wants to hear directly from gamers about the pastime, opening with questions like “Is gaming harmful or helpful to society?”

While that leads us off on a negative foot, the overall tone of the questionnaire covers a broad range of subjects. “How does the design of a game keep you playing for longer? What help is needed for people who are concerned about the amount they are gaming? What responsibilities do games designers have to their players? Are young people disproportionately affected by the addictive qualities of games and apps? What makes the UK a world leader in gaming and VR/AR and how can the industry be supported?”

This comes after a wide range of concerns around gaming in the recent past, like when the UK Gambling Commission said loot boxes don’t meet the legal conditions for gambling regulation amid calls for investigation.

The World Health Organisation also recently moved to classify gaming disorder as a mental health condition, though the specifics there have been controversial.

This inquiry, brought to our attention by MCV, looks for a broad range of feedback on the gaming landscape, and the committee wants to hear “directly from people who have views and experience playing games or working in the games industry.”

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If you want to send in your feedback, there are details on the official site. The short version is that you need a simply formatted Word doc with numbered paragraphs and no more than 3,000 words. So don’t get too verbose in your assessment.