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Four big names on four gaming issues: sex, violence, content ratings, and gaming design |
Listed in: Interviews Tags: Cliff Bleszinski, David Jaffe, ESRB, Greg Zeschuk, interviews, Peter Molyneux
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Looking at the polls conducted by What They Play, parents would like to see less sexual content on games than violence. Here's what they said:
Bleszinski: Based on the current state of popular thinking, I wouldn't touch sexual themes with a 10 foot pole.
Jaffe: Sexuality in games is really hard to express right now.
As far as violence is concerned, here's their take:
Jaffe: Honestly, I donÂ’t know how I feel about it. There are days where I love it, and am grateful for it, and days where I think the level of violence in our culture is spiritually bankrupting us.
Bleszinski: I'll gladly put a chainsaw in your face, because I think of the violence in Gears of War are slapstick.
The analogy is accurate. If M-rated TV shows like The Sopranos became video games, then they would receive the very nasty AO or "adult only" rating. Receiving such a rating would pretty much banish a game into obscurity. Not only do platform holders Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have strict AO policies, major retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart also refuse stock AO games.
So how would they go about the designing, given such circumstances?
Molyneux: We know the broad rules"; "If it's too violent, it won't sell in Germany. If it's too sexual, it won't sell in America. What you end up is avoiding gratuitousness.
Zeschuk: We really believe in the ratings, and itÂ’s important that over the course of these huge experiences that the whole game world weÂ’re creating makes sense.
Sex sells. Violence sells. It's sometimes sad that games often turn to those two in order to become "fun." Not all games, but certainly a big number. Let's face it - it's fun. We all thought playing Kratos was totally wicked, and we had fun picking up hos in GTA. I guess it's a great reprieve for us all that titles like LittleBigPlanet are still out there, proving that we're not all about the sex and violence.
Related articles:
- Shigeru Miyamoto: developers don't have to resort to violence
- Zounds! Again with the violence-to-porn connection
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also, seeing someone get shot in the face, and going out, buying a shotgun, and shooting them in the face are 2 different things. Thats why games are higher rated than movies.
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What about the rest of us? What about the kids? Don't the game producers recognize how popular PG and G rated films have been, let alone "E" rated games? I enjoy non-violent games such as SimCity, Sims, Diner Dash, Virtual Villagers, etc. I patch the Sims game to take out the sexual aspect of the game. I don't need to see it in the games I play. I am frustrated by how few non-violent games are available for the PSP.
Instead of becoming creative geniuses of life focused on solving the problems of this world and building bridges of peace with our family, neighbors, and other nations, we are distracting, damaging, and brainwashing our minds and the minds of our children with games and other media filled with violence and sex. The idea "violence and sex sells" in itself is a brainwashing idea which the media creators and customers have bought into so much so to believe and then act on extravagantly.
As long as their is a willing audience who will pay for it, the creators will make continue violent and sexual games to make money. If we as a human race improve our minds to come even close to being called civilized and possessing a measure of virtue and dignity, then the market for violent and sexual games would dry up.
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Wars go on everyday thousands of people die every year due to stupid wars in other areas this is REAL LIFE and i should be able to play a simulation of the sorts like Soccom or Call of duty. Ill say this over and over again If Hostel can come out in theaters Manhunt and other titles of that sort should be left alone and given Movie style ratings not ESRB crap.
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I hear many say, "Video games don't affect me or my life." But how many have treated their parents badly when asked to help around the house while playing a "mature" video game?
I am an adult and I know many truly mature adults who feel the same way I do. I am saying it toward all types of media. You said it: Wars are stupid. So why fill our minds with stupid stuff like virtual war and hostility?
If we as a human race did not allow ourselves to have violent thoughts, violence and wars in this world would disappear. Thought comes before action. Change our minds and thoughts to peaceful thoughts of friendship, brotherhood, honesty and respect towards ourselves and each other, we would be living in a very very different world.
We are running out of time.
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The problem with a game like god of war is that while it is fun you cant help but feel like the story line is stretched more and more to provide more sequels (which is a great side point, the gaming industry can only do sequels and prequels for so long, the more you make of something the less its worth to people and usually the worse it gets ie; the saw movies and any other movie series that went on way too long) and lets face it, there's only so many ways you can brutally destroy an enemy before you become desensitized by it and it becomes boring.
Sorry about the tangent there, to back up my first claim though here's the point in case: based on the current rate of sales wii fit is poised to outsell GTA IV by the end of this year, I think that's saying something.
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And if you must know, violence has always been a part of the human race since the beginning. Will that change, I doubt it.
Many M games also have morals. I suggest you play them. You may learn something.
I will also say you have no argument about E games having no violence. Simcity has violence, and so does the sims. Do simple research. May I suggest looking at the esrb label at the back of many E games. Internet is helpful also.
Further proving my point...
- Mario has violence (mario kart - shooting shells, super mario brothers - shooting fireballs, stomping on enemies)
- Kirby has violence (swallowing enemies)
- Simcity has violence (nature, and some cases monsters)
- Pokemon (battling others till health runs out)
- Harvest moon (has alcohol in it)
Even simple games like centepede, dig-dug, pac-man, etc have violence.
I can go on and on as well as giving better descriptions, but I think I made my point
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OKAY OKAY what ever happened to RL Yea real Life lmaoo
IF you wana pick up hos in GTA
***** go out side and drive ur car and pick up hoes lol jk
No seriously games are games after watching a movie like superman do you guys realize little kids acting like superman. and someone has to be the bad guy. well when kids play video games they do the same thing. but you guys relize they never do that in front of girls...Video Games arent so cool any more yea lmao
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"I hear many say, "Video games don't affect me or my life." But how many have treated their parents badly when asked to help around the house while playing a "mature" video game?"
No One I've never heard of such case.
"I am an adult and I know many truly mature adults who feel the same way I do. I am saying it toward all types of media. You said it: Wars are stupid. So why fill our minds with stupid stuff like virtual war and hostility?"
Why you ask? Because we can do things like war and violence in SIMULATION, let our anger out, so that we don't do these things in REAL LIFE.
"If we as a human race did not allow ourselves to have violent thoughts, violence and wars in this world would disappear."
You think so? So because I don't think about violence, it is never there? Greeeaaat!!! Let's not think together and just live our lives. Let just the politicians handle the world. They can think for us. I KNOW they are good-minded people who only think about our health.
oh wait...
Seriously, you sound like Jack Thompson. We are all glad that he's gone, and now you want to continue where he stopped? This way won't make friends here.
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I really despise people like you. "I don't like violent video games, so I don't think they should exist. That's the great thing about being alive. If you don't want to play a violent game, then you can simply not buy any and go about living your life. No, you have to take it a step further and try to make everyone elses choices as well FOR THEM. You're right wingedpaladin, you're the most mature person in the world and we should all leave it up to you to make our decisions. I'm an adult too, and I like the have my own choices for my life. If you don't want to watch Joe Schmoe get his head blown off in the latest action movie, then DON'T RENT IT. You are not the be all end all of life and every opinion you may have isn't "fact" or "what is right". Throughout my life, I've come to find the opposite. The more freedom you have for you life, the more responsible and mature you'll become. The worst people I've known in my life are people who led sheltered childhoods like you propose and the most educated and intelligent souls have always been those whose parents kept them very well informed about life but were taught in a mature intelligent way. Which kid is more likely to become a drug addict. The one whose parents sheltered them from exposure to anything relating to drugs or the one whose parents informed them about drugs and their effects on life and health. I'd be willing to bet that you're a christian as well, am I right? I'll never understand why people like you think that everyone's mind is so weak as to be swayed by anything they experience. If a kid plays a violent game and goes and shoots up his school, it isn't because the game "made him do it" its because that kid had serious mental issues that made him think it was okay to do so... had the kid not played said game, the issues would still have been present and the kid still would have expressed himself in a manner detrimental to society. The problem isn't exposure to violence, the problem is people, and people like you diverting everyone's attention from the real issue.
You have a choice in your life... your life is yours... live YOUR life and let everyone else live theirs.
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I don't think its a question of how much violence makes a game popular or not. I think its more a question of "how fun is this game to play" regardless of violent content of lackthereof.
I play rockband because its fun to me... I also play god of war because its fun to me. I don't play Kirby because I don't enjoy playing it... not because of a lack of violence.
I think the important things are that a game is entertaining and intuitive. That its something you can keep coming back to without it being overly repetitive or quickly losing its novelty.
In the end, what sells a game is how entertaining it is, regardless of content.
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that's why, wingedpaladin, an M rating on a game isn't supposed to mean you're mature if you play it, its supposed to mean that you need to BE mature to responsibly play it. Don't twist the relevance around.
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In history, many resorted to killing in order to remain comfortable in their self-dishonesty. Most of the great proponents for peace in history have been assassinated. Why? It is because those who loved violence and power more than peace and brotherhood were offended and not ready to open themselves to a better world - especially if they couldn't be in control of it. Isn't it funny how when someone, often a mother figure, says, "Don't touch the fiery stick (or stove) or you'll get burned!" human beings tend rush to touch the fiery stick... and get burned. "But I get such a thrill out of it." "But it's so much fun!" "I only touched it a little; I'm not hurting anyone." "It's just a little burn." "You can't tell me what to do! I'm a mature adult!" And they walk away in pride gritting their teeth in pain with burned and blistered hands despising soccer moms because they dared to care.
Violent video games leave an emptiness (and sometimes sick feeling) inside, which void players try to fill by playing more. It's a downward cycle.
Can I choose your life for you? No, but I can certainly warn you, especially when we are speedily coming to a critical point of potential world destruction.
I believe we all should think for ourselves, but can we truly handle the responsibility? Do we think responsibly? Do our thoughts benefit the world around us, or do we simply not care?
I don't believe there is such a thing as playing violent video games responsibly, nor do I believe there is such a thing as drinking responsibly. Neither, in my opinion, is ever a responsible behavior. Both are a disregard for and/or a rejection of one's true self and facing reality.
Unfortunately the mistreatment, abuse, and neglect of parents, spouse, children, and even pets have been compounded as a result of video games. Visit www.civanon.org for a reality check.
Am I perfect? Not in the least. But we have all been given a gift: the gift to change and improve, the gift to make one's life of worth to the welfare and healing of mankind and this Earth. Many are waking up to the real purpose of this life. Will you?
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You say this as if you're better than us, when in reality you're probably some 12y/o kid in his basement playing COD4 and just wants to have some twisted fun pissing people off.
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What you dont understand is that everyone will disagree with you because you say that we all will commit violent acts by playing violent games.
That is obliviously not true, as many of us that are posting here would be in jail if your nonsense was true. Many will understand the difference between what is real and what isnt.
You also dont understand that if you think that games are that violent to the extent that they are brainwashing our minds, then you need to stop playing games altogether, as all games have some sort of violence, no matter what rating.
Let us decide what we can play and what we can't.
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One thing that is misunderstood is that thought itself is an act, just like words are which require the movement of our lungs, vocal chords, and mouths or our hands and fingers in written language. The thoughts we entertain affect our mental state and physical health. This is why technologies are more and more able to detect our thoughts:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4472355.stm
Technology is not the only thing which can readily see our thoughts. All is recorded and we will face ourselves sooner or later.
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It's kinda like the Queen song We Will Rock You. The song isn't about other people rocking to the fool, it's about the fool saying that he is going to do something, but nothing more. He talks and talks but does nothing.
WPaladin, if you really feel so strongly about this, then leave this place and do something about it. Believe you me, you're accomplishing nothing here. QJ is filled to the brim with the most closed minded and unwavering people I've ever seen. Take your argument elsewhere, where it will mean something.
I agree mostly with everyone else here. If someone wants to play a violent game, let them. Yeah, if someone out there is willing to buy it, it will be made. Well, key word here is willing. Someone out there is willing to buy kid friendly games, and those are being made.
And please don't speak about this like it is a current issue. Violence has been in gaes since the beginning. Gradius, you destroy ships. Double Dragon, you go and beat the crap out of random thugs on the streets. Like dragonracer900 said, there is violence in everything. And it's also not like sex is new in games. Ever heard of Custer's Revenge? Atari titles linked to sex, and possibly rape.
I remember there being some old Naughty Dog title on the Genesis. In the game, if you typed in a code , the Naughty Dog logo would have a naked woman on it.
I don't think that sex in artificial media should be woried about anyway. It's artificial. Fine, don't let your kid watch Matrix Reloaded, there's nudity in it.
I don't remember who said it, but the ESRb is really too strict with game ratings. Games should be rated as movies. Ever seen Cloverfield? There is a scene with a man's intestines hanging out of his torn gut. A woman's chest explodes in a shower of blood. It's rediculous. You can say the F word one time in a movie and it'll still be PG-13. Say F one time in a game and it's instant M.
If you wanna remove sex from a simulation of real life, fine. If you wanna play Diner Dash rather than Gears, i don't care. Don't come and try to press freedom from violent and sexual games onto others, because all you do then is force the freedom they have away.
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