Parents must enforce moderation to keep children from getting addicted to video games, the developer of one of the hottest games to hit the market said Friday.

Vance Wallace, lead designer of Tomb Raider: Underworld, which is set for release later this month ahead of the holidays, admitted gaming could become an obsession for some kids.

"I'm not a politician, a judge or even a parent, but I would say that just like with anything else, moderation is really important whether you're talking about video games or anything in your life – movies, TV," he said.

"You can go overboard with it, but it needs to be taken in moderation."

His comments come just days after the body of gamer Brandon Crisp was discovered in a wooded area near his Barrie, Ont., home.

The 15-year-old ran away on Thanksgiving after his parents took away his Xbox, fearing he would become addicted to the game Call for Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Police don't suspect foul play.

Video games often used as scapegoat: game designer

The tragic tale has again raised questions about problem gaming and the appropriateness of certain video games for youth.

Still, Wallace cautions against blaming video games themselves, and suggests they're often the scapegoat when things go wrong.

"I think that video games are the new Jazz music or TV," he said during a stop in Montreal for Festival Arcadia, dubbed Canada's premier gaming event.

"Whenever there's something that's understood by one generation and not understood by another, it becomes a scapegoat for people and they just say, 'Oh that's obviously the problem."'

Festival Arcadia organizer François Decarie suggested many parents were caught by surprise by the video game phenomenon and have to get more involved.

"I think in general, there's an increased awareness that has to be done on the part of parents who aren't yet used to the new media," he said.

"Movies are rated. So are video games, and I think we need to make parents aware of the ratings so that they know a certain type of game is not for a 12- or a 14-year-old."

Mathieu Pigeon of CyberCap said video games can have a positive impact on youth.

In fact, his Montreal-based organization is using multimedia to help motivate at-risk youth. A program called TransiTion is targeting teens at risk of dropping out of high school, he said.

As part of the program, students are teamed up to produce short videos and daily electronic journals.

"A part of this particular project is to help them learn the basics of multimedia production and by doing that, we're trying to motivate them to stay in school through the realization of team projects," he said.

"It gives kids one more motivation to get up and go to school in the morning."

About 500 high school students have participated in the project since it started in 2003.

Teachers have told him they've seen a difference in attitude among many of the participants.

Pigeon said video games can open a young person's minds to the digital world.

"There is a good side, but some boundaries, some limits are needed," he said.