Seriously, games?
Our society dictates the rules of creating content. The consumer market has its own needs, which, as we see, are annually reinforced by new and new projects that satisfy them. A vicious circle has emerged in the world of delivering fresh sensations and experience to the user, who, “swallowing” another product, already anticipates the appearance of the next in the same “familiar” open area. However, a person is no longer impressed by something “mediocre” that offers roughly the same feelings as before.
Of course, we are talking about games! And yet, similar principles can be traced in many areas, reaching its apogee in products affecting extremely shocking material, which pushes the boundaries of what is permitted in the industry. Indeed, only in this way “creators” can hurt the eyes of “consumers” who are accustomed to the breadth of perception of new information that is unprecedented until today. You can no longer easily evoke the emotions you need to reveal certain goals, as you could do a decade ago. However, from time to time there are products that can touch the "consumer" at a lively expense of the inner idea.
I was just furious after reading the article by the author of the free game You Must be 18 or Older to Enter , which Steam blocked because administrators thought the game was porn. I will briefly describe the situation: the aforementioned game is a horror, based on a real situation, namely, the first acquaintance of the student with the world of porn. This, rather nontrivial, idea was quite good (for a free product) embodied in a game form, creating an indescribable thrill and atmosphere of horror at the expense of dialogues and visual style that expresses the key idea of ​​the game designer.
The player is transferred to school years when all peers are already talking about sex, and our hero, left alone with the Internet, is trying to figure out for himself for the first time - what is it all about? But the schoolboy, who first encounters this, is hard to understand what is on the screen. All pictures are displayed with a huge retouching in the style of ASCII art, so that anyone who was sitting behind the screen was almost unclear what was happening, and only an adult entering the room can determine this. Is the game trying to imitate a porn site? Yes! Does it have images and animations imitating porn? Banners and sudden sounds of languid sighs? Yes Yes! Is she while doing porn? No, no!
')
Everything that happens does not excite a healthy person at all, it is understandable - the goal of the game is completely different. The whole image here is so distorted that if you consider it as porn, then with the same success you can add to this genre the scrawl of a child who is trying to paint a naked person for the first time. Meanwhile, the game brings an important gaming experience: giving a constant opportunity to complete everything, causing fear by the sounds of the street and rustling in the room, from where observation is felt, asking relevant questions and showing the blatantly hard possible conclusions of the child who first saw the blocked content.
Of course, this should be seen before any conclusions are drawn, but if someone, passing through the dark world of the Internet being portrayed before the first ASCII illustration, will receive a languidly screaming banner, and with steel, spoiled with modern content, the nerves of this someone thinks everything is happening for porn, then I have bad news - no need to think so limited. In the modern world, the porn industry provides an infinite amount of free content. For a fraction of the money, we can get professionally shot material, in the best possible quality at the peak of modern technologies, including VR , not to mention that in addition it will take into account personal possible preferences. After that, are we still viewing barely distinguishable ASCII illustrations as porn?
The modern world is simply not ready for such games. However, he is ready for all-out cruelty. For us, the norm is long ago when computer people and fantastic creatures killed in the most sophisticated ways die on computer screens with thousands. We regard these murders as part of the game, as the integral mechanics of many modern computer games. Cruelty in the real world is punishable by law, but in the virtual world it is part of the fun! The key feature for which they take the game and there is this notorious "Fun" * .
However, if the accents are shifted to other manifestations of cruelty, the “consumer” gets into a dead end - “Fun”, podpityvitye already ingrained patterns somewhere goes away, and cruelty is shown on the other, previously closed side of the coin. So, most recently, David Cage faced impenetrable criticism of society, showing the scene of domestic violence and cruelty towards a child in the new trailer of the game Detroit: Become Human . The pattern did not work, the world looked at a story unprecedented or forgotten for this sphere of media content, shocking in reality. Many news portals raised the hype and some of the “consumers” and few people familiar with the situation began to urge to boycott the game that was not yet released. Just because of this scene! Cage reasonably noted that if he shot the film, the question of this scene would not even have arisen, but no - it seems that there is still a long way to equalize the content of films and games.
Are films allowed more? In a recent film adaptation of the novel by Stephen King Ono , fans were wondering how many of the many sex scenes of the novel would be transferred to the film. At the same time, many who learned about this without reading the original source were outraged that “it’s not necessary to put such moments on the screen” and how such scenes were censored from the very beginning. However, no one was embarrassed by the fact that the plot itself was about child cruelty in its worst manifestations, and the monster that kills children in cold blood.
What is wrong with books? Why does society normally relate to the content in them of cruelty and sexual connotations in various forms? If we see on the shelf the book of the director of porn about his work, it is unlikely we will think that it should be limited in distribution. It is also too difficult to attribute the book to the genre of porn that is deprecated by the society, although there are thousands of “love novels” on the shelves adjacent to the books of EL James and even the Decameron created almost 7 centuries ago will stand somewhere nearby. The fact is that society has long believed that the book is not “Fun” in its purest form. Books are available to another type of “consumer”, and it is unlikely that a child will find interesting a thick volume without pictures, stuffed with adult words and situations that are incomprehensible to him. For many, the book is a barrier. Books are sometimes censored and banned because of any ideas (most often political) that society censures, but over time, society reconsiders views, removing prohibitions from some of these ideas.
Unfortunately, porn, being an integral part of the culture of mankind, remains in a gray area, a little subject to discussion. Perhaps this is due to the inner convictions of the humanity and the unconscious sense of shame regarding the "forbidden" topic, which is not customary to talk about. At the same time, there is a huge industry, engaged in its production, evaluating the actor's game, and even removing artistic tapes only with inserts of “adult” content. However, the majority under the pressure of public opinion will express an unconditional condemnation of this area of ​​human culture, and many then alone in the absence of prying eyes will find their way into the pornographic screen. Only a fraction of the population is ready to think at all that there may be some framework and consumer culture for such content, which needs to be talked about publicly. If we are concerned with sexual connotations in books, then, as has been said, for the perception of such information, additional efforts must be made, which creates a poorly surmountable barrier for many.
Let's return to the games that were originally created only as “Fun”. Over time, we got technologies that allow us to create images that are close to the objects of the real world. Games began to pose a mental threat to the immature minds of a wide audience of "Fun", accustomed to consume them freely. Games and movies, as representatives of the simplest audiovisual method of obtaining information, received a barrier - age rating! However, this simply breaks the patterns of many “consumers” who have never encountered such a barrier. They still think, mistakenly, that “Fun” is available to everyone and each game is “Fun”. In part, they are right, since the age rating is a very biased border, only theoretically applicable to real people. In the same way as the book, which, with a rich vocabulary and understanding of situations, can theoretically be read at any time - the Games are part of the culture, and the rating is only a recommendation, allowing parents to more responsibly consider purchasing “Fun” to their children.
We see approximately the same thing in animated films, namely, Japanese animation - “anime”, in which a lot of themes are calculated for different audiences, often transitional age. But there are also very adult films that are not suitable for the young viewer. “Consumers”, having never seen a barrier in this sphere of media, blithely believe that the cartoon by default is “Fun” for children. And in the middle of the day we see the cartoon Barefoot Geng on the state TV, which is firmly impressed on the fragile impressionable souls of children, and feeds for a long time with a lot of real fears that should not be experienced at a young age.
One of the first glitches of the “Fun” pattern in games I met was the project That Dragon, Cancer , based on the real history of the developers, and telling about the detected terminal stage of cancer in their 12-month-old baby. And although the news about the game and the squall of critics took place in 2011-12, the game came out only recently - in 2016 - and after this time was greeted quite warmly by the community, because the world has become ready for this topic during this time. However, even now I can easily imagine a person who, having learned about the heavy topic, again deceived in his expectations of the next “Fun”, will express displeasure and even gather a certain community against serious topics in games.
Most recently, there was a presentation of The Last of Us 2 , once again breaking the patterns of “consumers” who can’t accept the fact that not all games are “Fun”. We were shown a dark world with very realistic graphics and brutal brutality caused by the plot being played out. Another squall of criticism has risen, to which the head of Sony's European division, Jim Ryan, very aptly replied that this game is created by adults for other adults, and if you are waiting for “Fun” in its usual form, then there are many other games for this.
Everything is simple here - the world should take the games seriously, accepting ideas, but by no means projecting game situations into reality. Otherwise - each of the players in the shooter is already a killer, and many of them have more experience than the most brutal criminals. This idea generally refers not only to games, but also to any media content. Developers should expand the boundaries allowed by honest, unexpected ideas. Critics and consumers should conduct an open dialogue not limited to individual opinions. Get over it - not all games are “Fun”! Games always contain experience, and it depends on us and what hue, depth and strength of impact we are trying to hurt the player and his environment.
If you didn’t read it to the end, I don’t want you to get the false impression that permissiveness is bad! The problem, in my opinion, is that with seemingly general permissiveness, we see "censorship" for those who stand out somewhat from the general flow. Trying not only to expand the boundaries of the perception of already familiar topics, but by touching on new topics that are not familiar to the mass consumer, the developer takes great risks. The majority of potential players, having heard only the edge of the critic and not knowing what it is about, will reject the game, not even trying to get into the essence of the claims. However, the risk is justified! Risk, and break the stamps of the usual "Fun".
There are no illustrations and links in the article, which creates an additional barrier for the reader, but I hope that the habr community will not stop it.
* The only point in which I would like to clarify is the word “Fun” in quotes from the fact that for a game designer the basis of the game is Fun , but I could not think of a Russian analogue with such broad meaning, and I think it is better to leave “Fun "In quotes than using other possible options. If you are accustomed to other analogues, consider that you are right, in this I do not impose my opinion.
Games?
Of course, we are talking about games! And yet, similar principles can be traced in many areas, reaching its apogee in products affecting extremely shocking material, which pushes the boundaries of what is permitted in the industry. Indeed, only in this way “creators” can hurt the eyes of “consumers” who are accustomed to the breadth of perception of new information that is unprecedented until today. You can no longer easily evoke the emotions you need to reveal certain goals, as you could do a decade ago. However, from time to time there are products that can touch the "consumer" at a lively expense of the inner idea.
Games
I was just furious after reading the article by the author of the free game You Must be 18 or Older to Enter , which Steam blocked because administrators thought the game was porn. I will briefly describe the situation: the aforementioned game is a horror, based on a real situation, namely, the first acquaintance of the student with the world of porn. This, rather nontrivial, idea was quite good (for a free product) embodied in a game form, creating an indescribable thrill and atmosphere of horror at the expense of dialogues and visual style that expresses the key idea of ​​the game designer.
The player is transferred to school years when all peers are already talking about sex, and our hero, left alone with the Internet, is trying to figure out for himself for the first time - what is it all about? But the schoolboy, who first encounters this, is hard to understand what is on the screen. All pictures are displayed with a huge retouching in the style of ASCII art, so that anyone who was sitting behind the screen was almost unclear what was happening, and only an adult entering the room can determine this. Is the game trying to imitate a porn site? Yes! Does it have images and animations imitating porn? Banners and sudden sounds of languid sighs? Yes Yes! Is she while doing porn? No, no!
')
Everything that happens does not excite a healthy person at all, it is understandable - the goal of the game is completely different. The whole image here is so distorted that if you consider it as porn, then with the same success you can add to this genre the scrawl of a child who is trying to paint a naked person for the first time. Meanwhile, the game brings an important gaming experience: giving a constant opportunity to complete everything, causing fear by the sounds of the street and rustling in the room, from where observation is felt, asking relevant questions and showing the blatantly hard possible conclusions of the child who first saw the blocked content.
Of course, this should be seen before any conclusions are drawn, but if someone, passing through the dark world of the Internet being portrayed before the first ASCII illustration, will receive a languidly screaming banner, and with steel, spoiled with modern content, the nerves of this someone thinks everything is happening for porn, then I have bad news - no need to think so limited. In the modern world, the porn industry provides an infinite amount of free content. For a fraction of the money, we can get professionally shot material, in the best possible quality at the peak of modern technologies, including VR , not to mention that in addition it will take into account personal possible preferences. After that, are we still viewing barely distinguishable ASCII illustrations as porn?
Cruelty and Fun
The modern world is simply not ready for such games. However, he is ready for all-out cruelty. For us, the norm is long ago when computer people and fantastic creatures killed in the most sophisticated ways die on computer screens with thousands. We regard these murders as part of the game, as the integral mechanics of many modern computer games. Cruelty in the real world is punishable by law, but in the virtual world it is part of the fun! The key feature for which they take the game and there is this notorious "Fun" * .
However, if the accents are shifted to other manifestations of cruelty, the “consumer” gets into a dead end - “Fun”, podpityvitye already ingrained patterns somewhere goes away, and cruelty is shown on the other, previously closed side of the coin. So, most recently, David Cage faced impenetrable criticism of society, showing the scene of domestic violence and cruelty towards a child in the new trailer of the game Detroit: Become Human . The pattern did not work, the world looked at a story unprecedented or forgotten for this sphere of media content, shocking in reality. Many news portals raised the hype and some of the “consumers” and few people familiar with the situation began to urge to boycott the game that was not yet released. Just because of this scene! Cage reasonably noted that if he shot the film, the question of this scene would not even have arisen, but no - it seems that there is still a long way to equalize the content of films and games.
Movies and Fun?
Are films allowed more? In a recent film adaptation of the novel by Stephen King Ono , fans were wondering how many of the many sex scenes of the novel would be transferred to the film. At the same time, many who learned about this without reading the original source were outraged that “it’s not necessary to put such moments on the screen” and how such scenes were censored from the very beginning. However, no one was embarrassed by the fact that the plot itself was about child cruelty in its worst manifestations, and the monster that kills children in cold blood.
Books?
What is wrong with books? Why does society normally relate to the content in them of cruelty and sexual connotations in various forms? If we see on the shelf the book of the director of porn about his work, it is unlikely we will think that it should be limited in distribution. It is also too difficult to attribute the book to the genre of porn that is deprecated by the society, although there are thousands of “love novels” on the shelves adjacent to the books of EL James and even the Decameron created almost 7 centuries ago will stand somewhere nearby. The fact is that society has long believed that the book is not “Fun” in its purest form. Books are available to another type of “consumer”, and it is unlikely that a child will find interesting a thick volume without pictures, stuffed with adult words and situations that are incomprehensible to him. For many, the book is a barrier. Books are sometimes censored and banned because of any ideas (most often political) that society censures, but over time, society reconsiders views, removing prohibitions from some of these ideas.
Porn, Fun, Games
Unfortunately, porn, being an integral part of the culture of mankind, remains in a gray area, a little subject to discussion. Perhaps this is due to the inner convictions of the humanity and the unconscious sense of shame regarding the "forbidden" topic, which is not customary to talk about. At the same time, there is a huge industry, engaged in its production, evaluating the actor's game, and even removing artistic tapes only with inserts of “adult” content. However, the majority under the pressure of public opinion will express an unconditional condemnation of this area of ​​human culture, and many then alone in the absence of prying eyes will find their way into the pornographic screen. Only a fraction of the population is ready to think at all that there may be some framework and consumer culture for such content, which needs to be talked about publicly. If we are concerned with sexual connotations in books, then, as has been said, for the perception of such information, additional efforts must be made, which creates a poorly surmountable barrier for many.
Let's return to the games that were originally created only as “Fun”. Over time, we got technologies that allow us to create images that are close to the objects of the real world. Games began to pose a mental threat to the immature minds of a wide audience of "Fun", accustomed to consume them freely. Games and movies, as representatives of the simplest audiovisual method of obtaining information, received a barrier - age rating! However, this simply breaks the patterns of many “consumers” who have never encountered such a barrier. They still think, mistakenly, that “Fun” is available to everyone and each game is “Fun”. In part, they are right, since the age rating is a very biased border, only theoretically applicable to real people. In the same way as the book, which, with a rich vocabulary and understanding of situations, can theoretically be read at any time - the Games are part of the culture, and the rating is only a recommendation, allowing parents to more responsibly consider purchasing “Fun” to their children.
We see approximately the same thing in animated films, namely, Japanese animation - “anime”, in which a lot of themes are calculated for different audiences, often transitional age. But there are also very adult films that are not suitable for the young viewer. “Consumers”, having never seen a barrier in this sphere of media, blithely believe that the cartoon by default is “Fun” for children. And in the middle of the day we see the cartoon Barefoot Geng on the state TV, which is firmly impressed on the fragile impressionable souls of children, and feeds for a long time with a lot of real fears that should not be experienced at a young age.
Sad?
One of the first glitches of the “Fun” pattern in games I met was the project That Dragon, Cancer , based on the real history of the developers, and telling about the detected terminal stage of cancer in their 12-month-old baby. And although the news about the game and the squall of critics took place in 2011-12, the game came out only recently - in 2016 - and after this time was greeted quite warmly by the community, because the world has become ready for this topic during this time. However, even now I can easily imagine a person who, having learned about the heavy topic, again deceived in his expectations of the next “Fun”, will express displeasure and even gather a certain community against serious topics in games.
Most recently, there was a presentation of The Last of Us 2 , once again breaking the patterns of “consumers” who can’t accept the fact that not all games are “Fun”. We were shown a dark world with very realistic graphics and brutal brutality caused by the plot being played out. Another squall of criticism has risen, to which the head of Sony's European division, Jim Ryan, very aptly replied that this game is created by adults for other adults, and if you are waiting for “Fun” in its usual form, then there are many other games for this.
Findings?
Everything is simple here - the world should take the games seriously, accepting ideas, but by no means projecting game situations into reality. Otherwise - each of the players in the shooter is already a killer, and many of them have more experience than the most brutal criminals. This idea generally refers not only to games, but also to any media content. Developers should expand the boundaries allowed by honest, unexpected ideas. Critics and consumers should conduct an open dialogue not limited to individual opinions. Get over it - not all games are “Fun”! Games always contain experience, and it depends on us and what hue, depth and strength of impact we are trying to hurt the player and his environment.
PS
If you didn’t read it to the end, I don’t want you to get the false impression that permissiveness is bad! The problem, in my opinion, is that with seemingly general permissiveness, we see "censorship" for those who stand out somewhat from the general flow. Trying not only to expand the boundaries of the perception of already familiar topics, but by touching on new topics that are not familiar to the mass consumer, the developer takes great risks. The majority of potential players, having heard only the edge of the critic and not knowing what it is about, will reject the game, not even trying to get into the essence of the claims. However, the risk is justified! Risk, and break the stamps of the usual "Fun".
Pps
There are no illustrations and links in the article, which creates an additional barrier for the reader, but I hope that the habr community will not stop it.
* The only point in which I would like to clarify is the word “Fun” in quotes from the fact that for a game designer the basis of the game is Fun , but I could not think of a Russian analogue with such broad meaning, and I think it is better to leave “Fun "In quotes than using other possible options. If you are accustomed to other analogues, consider that you are right, in this I do not impose my opinion.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/344988/
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