Sex, Lies, and Video Games
A brief overview of the controversy
generated by violence and ‘adult
content’ in digital games
By Ben Evans
Violent Video Games
• Typical violent genres
– FPS/TPS (First/Third Person Shooters)
– RTS (Real-time Strategy)
– Horror/Survival
First Person Shooters
• Notoriously violent, gory & in your face
• Advances in computer graphics fuel the
realism of the violence and gore
Third Person Shooters
• Allows the user to see their
Avatar
• Can be just as violent
Real Time Strategy
• Not as “In your face” Violent or gory
• User often decides the fate of characters
in-game
Survival/Horror
• Rely on building suspense
• ‘Alone in the dark’ feeling
Manhunt
• “Ultra-Violent” stealth TPS game
where the object is to kill gang
members as violently as possible
• If the player uses the PS2 USB
Microphone feature, the player can
use the sound of his or her own
voice to distract in-game enemies.
This in turn added a new twist to
the stealth elements, as the actual
player would have to refrain from
unwanted noises such as talking,
coughing, etc. or risk creating
inadvertent "in-game noise".
• Banned in New Zealand, Australia,
Germany
Manhunt: Further Controvercy
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From BBC.com:
“Warren Leblanc, 17, repeatedly stabbed 14year-old Stefan Pakeerah after luring him to a
Leicester park to steal from him on 27
February.”
“Stefan's mother, Giselle, a research nurse,
had to leave court when the evidence in the
case became too harrowing. Following the
hearing she said her son's killer had mimicked
a game called Manhunt, developed by
Edinburgh-based Rockstar North, in which the
players score points for violent killings.”
However:
“A Leicestershire constabulary spokesperson
said: "Police investigations did not uncover any
connections to the computer game.”
“The motive for the incident was robbery.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/leicestershire/3538066.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/leicestershire/3934277.stm
Stefan Pakeerah
Warren Leblanc
Violence and Video Games
• Mark Griffiths
• Nottingham Trent University
• “The one consistent finding is that the majority of
the studies on very young children—as opposed
to those in their teens upwards—tend to show
that children do become more aggressive after
either playing or watching a violent video game.
However, all of these come from the use of one
particular research methodology (i.e.,
observation of children’s free play).”
http://cust.educ.ubc.ca/Wstudents/TSED2/TechEmotion/VideoGames/violence/ViolentVido99.pdf
Is Violence Necessary?
• Not really, but adds to lusory aditude.
• More intense/exciting sometimes = more
fun
• “There’s no such thing as bad publicity”
• Still, should be marketed to more mature
audiences.
Games with “Adult Content”
• Life Simulation:
– Sims, Sims 2, Singles, Singles 2, Playboy the
Mansion
Leisure Suit Larry
• Adventure game
• Involves sex, nudity, drugs, alcohol
The “Nude Patch”
• From Wikipedia: “This is a software patch designed to
modify software, usually a game to allow the user or
gamer to see the character in the nude. The first such
patch was designed for Duke Nukem 3D. Lara Croft, the
voluptuous heroine of the Tomb Raider series, was the
one to popularize, or promote, the nude patch”
http://www.twitchguru.com/2005/08/06/getting_naked/
“Hot Coffee”
• “All the contents of this mod was already available on the original
disks.”
• “But all this material is completely inaccesible in an unmodded
version of the game… this material is only accessible after willfully
applying the hot coffee mod (or something similar) to the game.”
http://patrickw.gtagames.nl/index.html
For More Controversial Titles
• See this wikipedia article:
– List of Controversial Games
Enter the ESRB
• The Entertainment
Software Rating Board
• Mission:
“To provide consumers,
especially parents, with
reliable and valuable
information about the age
suitability and content of
computer and video
games so they can make
informed purchase
decisions.”
•
From http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp
How are games rated?
• The ESRB Rates games based on a video
representative of the gameplay
• After “Hot Coffee,” they instituted a $1
million fine for any developer or publisher
that withholds footage from the ESRB in
an attempt to garner a more favorable
rating
•
From http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060616-7076.html
Is Adult Content Necessary?
• No
• However, the current stance in the U.S.
seems somewhat backwards.
– We seem to covet violent media, and shun
sexual content
– Which is really “worse”?
• Both can be presented in better or worse ways
• In the end, the decision should rest with
the parents