62: Screenshots and Boobies
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I would wholeheartedly agree that the content in game advertising does create a somewhat skewed image of the tastes of most gamers, but the problem goes beyond Madison Avenue. Some of the content in games IS sexual and misoginistic. Not to mention, explicit violence and gore is a staple of the most popular genre, first-person shooters. To simplify the equation down to a singular cause would be to miss the whole picture.
We should also consider the relationship between conservative activists and the media attention they garner everytime a controversial title is released (e.g. Bully, GTA). These activist groups and the media pick up on the most explicitly sexual and violent content in the video gaming world and turn it into a political football for the likes of Hilary Clinton to run with.
Furthermore, I beleive that it will be impossible to get the game advertising world to modify its strategy. As long as their market research tells them sex and violence sell, they will use those images in their ads. If, however, consumer interests change to some degree, then we may see more intelligent and informative game ads that showcase the most important aspect of any game...its gameplay.
But lets face it. Video games are a virtual world where us gamer can live out or most depraved fanatasies in a safe and cloistered environment. That will always be a selling point to the masses looking to endulge their inner demons without consequence.
We should also consider the relationship between conservative activists and the media attention they garner everytime a controversial title is released (e.g. Bully, GTA). These activist groups and the media pick up on the most explicitly sexual and violent content in the video gaming world and turn it into a political football for the likes of Hilary Clinton to run with.
Furthermore, I beleive that it will be impossible to get the game advertising world to modify its strategy. As long as their market research tells them sex and violence sell, they will use those images in their ads. If, however, consumer interests change to some degree, then we may see more intelligent and informative game ads that showcase the most important aspect of any game...its gameplay.
But lets face it. Video games are a virtual world where us gamer can live out or most depraved fanatasies in a safe and cloistered environment. That will always be a selling point to the masses looking to endulge their inner demons without consequence.
Excellent article, Corvus. While there is plenty or room for mature content in video games, I agree that the industry's sex-and-violence marketing image, while perhaps unsuprising, is unfortunate.
I have to disagree with you heavyfeul.heavyfeul said:
I suppose your comment touches a cord with me, I dont think of games as that place where I can let loose my demons. I do think it lets me have an outlet where I can be more than I am here. Psychological issues aside, I love saving the world in a video game, being the good guy. Games that give me the ability to do so - to play a role by choice especially - are the ones that attract me.
I don't honestly believe that the masses are looking for a place to act in the depraved fashion their animal insides crave. I think most of them, like me, are looking for a place where they can be better than they are already. Sports games are fun because you yourself aren't capable of the feats the players you control are. Competetive gaming is fun for the same reason real sports are. I play flight sims so that I can fly, is that a depraved fantasy of mine? Not hardly.
While I'm sure that your comments on the depravity of masses apply to some of them, I don't think it applies to even most of them.
i think this is an interesting argument too. ive read alot of people who see games as a place to let out our inner demons. (does this imply hardcore gamers have more inner demons i wonder) I myself find that when im presented with a game where i can make descisions about whether i want to be a "good" character or a "bad" character(eg. KOTOR2) the majority of the time ill go for the good guy. i dont know why; i just do.TomBeraha said:
i think it would be interesting for someone to run a purely quantitative study that measures whether people are more likely to be a bad guy or a good guy when given the choice...
I'd be a bad guy just because almost every other game in existence has you saving the world just for once I would like to play a rpg where I actually got to destory the virtual world around me, but I digress.avocado said:
As long as sex and violence get the attention of would be gamers, sex and violence will be used. While a GTA ad showing off its great list of classic old school music would be a great "turnover a new leaf" type of ad.
That just wouldn't be nearly as interesting or capitvating as one depicting an airborne motorcycle jumping over a car while firing a weapon with empty bullet casings scattered everywhere.
I'd like to point out that sex and violence marketing may "work" on a small slice of the gaming demographic, but that it alienates much larger sections of it. As parents become more aware of the issue of sex and violence in games (and they are), and as gamers grow up and expect more from their games, and as non-traditional gamers become curious about games because they play Brain Age on their kid's DS, then the glorification of sex and violence is going to completely backfire and we're going to lose market share. With rising costs and publishing mergers, growing the market ought to be our focus, not offending it.
Nothing really new here. Women's fictional romance novels have almost identical "bodice-ripper" art on their covers over in that section of the bookstore, and the DVD covers for action movies all show the same close-up pose of the star clutching a pistol next to his or her face. (recognize the star, see the gun, we're done; buddy movie? two starts clutching guns next to their faces) Don't criticize the marketer; criticize the masses. They go into the focus testing sessions, and the first cover they pick up is the sex & violence cover. Show them various magazine ads and ask them which ad gets them wanting to learn more about the game. The sex/violence ads win every time. So why are you surprised that the marketing people are running the sex/violence ads. Their job is to get people excited about the game and wanting to learn more about the game. If the public is lizard-brained, it's not the marketer's fault. Blame the society we live in. Do the marketers create that society? Somewhat, yes, because they create the advertising wallpaper that surrounds, but thanks to the "science" of marketing, they just give the public what it asks for.
I'm pretty sure I'd run good-guy through it the first time. Though talking so much about good vs evil I'm reminded of the scene in Kotor 2, where I gave a beggar some money, and one of the characters pulls me aside, asks me why I did that. Then I watch as the beggar becomes a target among his peers and is killed for the money I gave him. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions". But it would be interesting to see a full on study on how people react, I'd be curious about age demographic changes too.avocado said:
Hear, Hear! I second the motion!LordCancer said:
I may have been a bit reductive. There are certainly games out there that stress positive acheivement. However, there are far more that depend on the player committing several acts of violence to excel in the game. My comments certainly do not apply to all games but I think it describes a pervasive and widespread trend in gaming. You must kill to win. We may choose to fight for the Allies or the survival of the Jedi or to save the Princess, but the fact is violence in video games is a very common component and gamers demand it. Lets just consider a few titles:TomBeraha said:
1. Half-Life
2. Halo
3. Call of Duty
4. Mortal Combat
5. Total War
6. KOTOR
7. Doom
8. Mario Brothers (Even Mario must kill)
9. Pac Man (I wonder if consuming ghosts causes gas?)
10. Battlefield
11. WoW
12. Zelda
13. Madden
14. etc., etc., etc.
Even the seemingly benign Nintendo staples depend on violence. It may be cartoonish, but its still violence and death. If you prick a Koopa Troopa, does it not bleed?
Super Mario Brothers is somewhat disturbing, because the guy goes through this 8-level killing spree with a big huge grin on his face to mostly happy-go-lucky music. If you think about it, its a little creepy. That Mario is one twisted puppy if you ask me.Sex in video games is a whole other issue. In our culture, its more acceptable to let teenagers watch violence, murder, and bloodshed, then nudity and sex. Just think Hot Coffee. You can kill a hooker for the trick money see just got from you, but god forbid if you show the actual act of sex. However, If they did allow sex in MA games, Hot Coffee and scenes like it would be everywhere.
The first time through Jade Empire I went the Way of the Open Palm, This time around I am going the Way of the Closed Fist. For myself, I have to say, its been a bit more fun following the Way of The Closed Fist. Thus, I think it would also be interesting to somehow record gamer reactions to "good" versus "bad" behavior in the game. Although my initial inclination was to follow the good path, I find a devious smile on my face more often going the bad guy route. Being good is morally satisfying, but being bad is pretty fun. Hehehe ]avocado said:
I hate that on the whole I'm inclined to agree with you. I just dislike the idea that I'm letting out frustration, because it doesn't feel that way. I prefer to think of my gaming as a mostly positive experience, where I can be rewarded for my achievements. I most certainly played a dark sith witch my second time through kotor, to see all the other story that could have been and to try something different. I found some of the actions very difficult to take even though I knew I was being evil as part of the role I was playing. My concience took a heavy toll on me when I would kill some thugs who were sticking a guy up, only to tell him he was next if he didnt cough up money. I disliked the wording, but you may have been correct.heavyfeul said:I may have been a bit reductive. There are certainly games out there that stress positive acheivement. However, there are far more that depend on the player committing several acts of violence to excel in the game. My comments certainly do not apply to all games but I think it describes a pervasive and widespread trend in gaming. You must kill to win. We may choose to fight for the Allies or the survival of the Jedi or to save the Princess, but the fact is violence in video games is a very common component and gamers demand it. Lets just consider a few titles:
1. Half-Life
2. Halo
3. Call of Duty
4. Mortal Combat
5. Total War
6. KOTOR
7. Doom
8. Mario Brothers (Even Mario must kill)
9. Pac Man (I wonder if consuming ghosts causes gas?)
10. Battlefield
11. WoW
12. Zelda
13. Madden
14. etc., etc., etc.
Even the seemingly benign Nintendo staples depend on violence. It may be cartoonish, but its still violence and death. If you prick a Koopa Troopa, does it not bleed?
Sex in video games is a whole other issue. In our culture, its more acceptable to let teenagers watch violence, murder, and bloodshed, then nudity and sex. Just think Hot Coffee. You can kill a hooker for the trick money see just got from you, but god forbid if you show the actual act of sex. However, If they did allow sex in MA games, Hot Coffee and scenes like it would be everywhere.
You made your points quite well, and I lack a good rebuttal to it. I may be irrationally feeling that gaming on the whole is harmless activity because I personally can tell the difference between whats right and whats wrong for me. Maybe some people can't, and for them, this is a place where they don't have consequences.
If you could kill someone, anyone, with no consequence, would you do it? My answer is I don't know, I'd like to think not. I don't want to ever have to take someone's life. The only situation I can honestly picture myself being capable of it, is in the defense of someone else's life. After the fact- what's the point? It gets very depressing for me if I think about it too long.
- Tom
I think we are both right. There is a fundamental disjuncture between the world of video games and the real world. I think that's why most gamers were in an uproar when people started drawing connections between school shootings and violent video games. Anyone with gaming experience knows that just because your a bloody murderer in the gaming world, doesn't mean it reflects your personality or desires in the real world. Even in one without consequences.TomBeraha said:
Very nice article, Mr. Elrod. I think that the publishers, and the gamers to a certain extent, are mistaking a relatively small subset of what's really possible in the medium of video games for the entirety of the medium's potential. I keep coming back to the amazing similarity between the early days of film and these early days of video games. No reputable parent would have allowed his or her child into a movie theatre in the early days, and movies were marketed accordingly. Even after the Italian epics, and then DW Griffith, came along, they were viewed as "crossovers" (as we might call them), and as the exception.
On the "grown-up gaming" sites, we're starting to see a sort of normalization of gaming, as we think about how we want our kids to game. Thank goodness for the Invisible Hand: we're going to be voting with our wallets without even thinking about it. I'll be buying Lego Star Wars and Viva Pinata for my daughter, and, quite possibly, nothing for me this holiday season, since I'm getting a little tired of shooters and even most RPGs, which keep promising innovation, and give us derivation instead.
TinPeregrinus
On the "grown-up gaming" sites, we're starting to see a sort of normalization of gaming, as we think about how we want our kids to game. Thank goodness for the Invisible Hand: we're going to be voting with our wallets without even thinking about it. I'll be buying Lego Star Wars and Viva Pinata for my daughter, and, quite possibly, nothing for me this holiday season, since I'm getting a little tired of shooters and even most RPGs, which keep promising innovation, and give us derivation instead.
TinPeregrinus
Will you people please stop pimping Beyond Good and Evil. Yes, it was "high concept". Yes, it had a sexy, but not a porn star, strong female protagonist. Yes, the aformentioned protagonist was NOT an amped up killing machine. All that said, the game didn't appeal to the masses because none of that stuff is interesting. The concept of the game seems like a Lifetime made for TV movie, and you people wonder why those energy drink fueled man children didn't buy it. Seriously, the game could be as awesome as chocolate covered breasts, and no one is going to play it. What IS the fascination with this game? I just don't get it. I really don't. No, I've never played it. No, that doesn't invalidate my opinion. First of all because it's exactly that, an opinion, and second because I'm not talking about the game itself. I'm talking about it's complete lack of ANYTHING appealing to the video game crowd.