Mature games

[DrEmo]

When you think of "Mature games" your mind will most likely bring up Gears of War, Grand Theft Auto, Prototype and all those other games that give Jack Thompson his life force and moms the willies. But, are those really games that you'd call mature? How is ramming a chainsaw up an alien's ass mature? Immature, really, but the word I'd use is "Juvenile" or, to be more precise, inappropriate. That's why these games are rated "M", because they're inappropriate for a certain group of impressionable people (Kids).

The type of people who play these games (With the exception of those who play it to have fun and not for the gore/profanity) are, in all honesty, immature. Mature gamers don't care if there's gore on screen, they care about the gameplay (Gears of War has both) but it's starting to bug me that developers think that we're all immature teenagers who just want to see blood and boobies. Take Bayonetta for example. The game has been praised and lauded but when you get down to it, the girl strips naked as she attacks. That's the gimmick, watching the shapely Ms. Bayonetta's hoo-has bounce freely in the wind as she slices her enemies to ribbons with the blades on her feet.
This is what developers think we want and sadly, it's what we're telling them we want, with M rated games selling like hot cakes and Developers looking for new ways to show someone's spleen flying out of their mouth rather than ways to improve gameplay or ways to weave some actual narrative into videogames.

The point to this long post:
Developers think we're Immature, and we show them we're not by buying games about strippers fighting demons and about giant, roid-raging men shoving chainsaws up alien asses.

Do you think developers have just been pandering to the lowest common denominator a la Michael Bay? Is all of this justified? Why the bloody hell does Bayonetta fight in 6 inch heels?

*Small tangent:
While on the subject of women in recent games, has anyone looked at Faith from Mirror's Edge? She looks human and wears clothing that makes free running possible, such as roomy pants and ninja shoes. Crazy, innit?

 

[DrEmo]

A mature game I'd say is one that isn't childish and takes it's players seriously.

It pisses me off that people play games just because the have content inappropiate for younger audiences?
Do they think it makes them cool or something?
Granted if you do genuinly enjoy gore, voilence, sexual scenes etc then why not?
What annoys me is the people that play them to be cool.

Like the little 12 year olds who play GTA to be "gangsta" and to brag to their little friends about how they "Capped a ho and then stole her money"?

Yeah.

 

[Vierran]

I always thought it was rated Mature for the content by itself rather then the context.

 

[manythings]

Titties sell. Violence will also sell. Titties and violence sell even more. Aiming for the Lowest common denominator works because it is the lowest common denominator. That's humanity.

 

[xvbones]

I find it very difficult to find anything 'mature' about Gears of War apart from that one commercial where they used 'Mad World' as the soundtrack.

That commercial was mature.

The game was grunty men shooting bullets at space monsters.

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

Mature games are rated that way because the content within them are supposed to be played by people of a Mature age. The only reason they cause problems is because of parents buying them for their kids who are clearly underage and not being taught the difference between the fantasy of the game in front of them and the consequences of repeating those actions in the real world.

 

[manythings]

Titties sell. Violence will also sell. Titties and violence sell even more. Aiming for the Lowest common denominator works because it is the lowest common denominator. That's humanity.

Yes I know.
I study business therefore understand marketing, or more specifically, target marketing.
Yes they go for games that will attract the most people possible but it's irritating that we are part of a group that's percieved as immature.

I'd like an intelligent game.

A mature game I'd say is one that isn't childish and takes it's players seriously.
One that is intelligent enough to create a great story, great scenes, great atmosphere and an enjoyable gaming experience without resorting to childish things.

Well with any luck the fact that the average gamer age is 35 (according to the ESA at least) will result in games for using your brain becoming popular again. I would like to add dark and gritty to the list of stupid things included with mature. I find it is just another form of juvenile crap. (Not across the board be we've all seen this garbage)

 

[Rakun Man]

Battlefield bad company was rated teen.
Bad company 2 was rated M.
Why did DICE feel the need to add blood and throw as many swear words as they could to make it M, or vice versa?

 

[DrEmo]

When was the last time anyone here played a game that had themes or situations aimed at intelligent, level headed adults? Moments with a message or a serious plot?

Honestly, I can't remember any right now. The most mature game I remember was Viva Pinata, which taught kids the value of hard work and how you can start out with nothing yet arrive at a thriving utopia if you work hard enough.

Upon reading that statement I just wrote I can't help but notice it feels corny.
This is what the gaming industry has done to us. Trying to find a moral in a game about raising pinatas.

 

[octafish]

Hmm, when I think of mature games I think of VtMB, the Gothic Series, Condemmed, games that treat the player maturely, hell even The Witcher does this (as well as having titty cards). Not just games that have lots of sex and violence in them. I think Rockstar try to make juvenile games for adults, that's not a bad thing, juvenile games can be pretty fun. This is why GTAIV is less fun than its predecessors, also it is a horrible PC port, but not as bad as SR2 whjich is a crying shame.

Off Topic: There have been some great female characters in gaming, but they are not the norm, then again neither are well rounded male characters.

 

[GnomeThief]

Sadly, there really doesn't seem to be a solution to this. As long as the game companies can continue making money off of blood and titties they aren't going to listen to the gamers out there who point out how pathetically pandering some mature titles are.

Sometimes it seems like when developers start on a new mature game they already know that they're going to have a gun that shoots razors or that the main heroine is going to have enormous tits, before they even know what the plot is or what any of the characters names are.

 

[likalaruku]

I don;t really categorize anything short of Rapelay as a mature game, but given the kind of shit I watched when I was only 7, that's no big suprise.

 

[DrEmo]

I don;t really categorize anything short of Rapelay as a mature game, but given the kind of shit I watched when I was only 7, that's no big suprise.

How is Rapelay mature?


Ok, I have an Idea for a game:
Let's have a woman called "Ms. Ko Xualow" (Read it aloud) who has 36 FFF boobs. Her defining character trait will be her giant boobs and the fact that she fights in Kama Sutra positions. I know I'm ripping off Bayonetta here, but here's where it gets good: The game's paper thin plot revolves around Russians getting Nukes and she has to stop them by going to various locations and killing everyone. Then you face the boss of each area and you have 2 choices upon defeating them: Condemn them to Hell or save them (Dante's Inferno rip off!) you kill them by way of a gruesome 6 minute kill scene and save them by smothering them with your giant breasts.
There's also a morality system which lets you make key decisions that don't affect the game's outcome whatsoever. Like in one part where you have to choose between saving a bus full of orphans (good choice) or biting the heads off 1,000 puppies then shouting "HEIL HITLER" (the bad choice)

OK! I just thought of a future best seller! Give me money, please.

 

[Haagrum]

What are mature games? In my opinion, they're games with an actual level of moral complexity, which take the time to develop relationships between characters (not just sexual ones), which incorporate long-term consequences for actions and which have an appropriate amount of violence (ie: not excessive or gratuitous).

Games like Bayonetta (which I haven't played but frankly don't need to) or BloodRayne are not mature games. They tap into a lot of people's giddiness at controlling an arse-kicking hot chick with superpowers and suggestive clothing. It sells. It's not mature content, it's T&A with guns.

Games involving a tidal wave of gore and graphic homicides aren't mature. They're almost "gore porn", in the same way as movies like Hostel (which sucked). Sure, kids probably shouldn't be playing them. Take out the splatter, though, and a lot of them would have zero appeal as they'd just be another generic game in the same mould as all the others like them. Gimmick-driven FPS and sandbox games, I'm looking in your direction.

Conversely, games like Mass Effect have what I'd call "mature" content. Okay, the overall story is somewhat formulaic (save the galaxy while everyone else expects you to do their heavy lifting for fear of them breaking a nail), but some of the decisions you're required to make are pretty heavy ones (especially if you remember that your character is supposed to represent his/her species). And I don't just mean choosing between romance options, or the events on Virmire.

And yes, I am a Bioware fanboy. I happen to like plots and good writing.

----

On the bright side, you don't live in Australia and therefore do have access to mature games.

 

[likalaruku]

I don;t really categorize anything short of Rapelay as a mature game, but given the kind of shit I watched when I was only 7, that's no big suprise.

How is Rapelay mature?


Ok, I have an Idea for a game:
Let's have a woman called "Ms. Ko Xualow" (Read it aloud) who has 36 FFF boobs. Her defining character trait will be her giant boobs and the fact that she fights in Kama Sutra positions. I know I'm ripping off Bayonetta here, but here's where it gets good: The game's paper thin plot revolves around Russians getting Nukes and she has to stop them by going to various locations and killing everyone. Then you face the boss of each area and you have 2 choices upon defeating them: Condemn them to Hell or save them (Dante's Inferno rip off!) you kill them by way of a gruesome 6 minute kill scene and save them by smothering them with your giant breasts.
There's also a morality system which lets you make key decisions that don't affect the game's outcome whatsoever. Like in one part where you have to choose between saving a bus full of orphans (good choice) or biting the heads off 1,000 puppies then shouting "HEIL HITLER" (the bad choice)

OK! I just thought of a future best seller! Give me money, please.

It will sell like hotcakes in Japan.

 

[masher]

I guess they're "mature" because they require a "mature mind" to be able to differ Reality from Fantasy? Which is why I find it hilarious when the stereotypical mom doesn't let a child play a video game because you kill a few pixels. Just because they can't tell fiction from reality doesn't mean we can't. As long as the individual realizes that what happens in-game can't be accomplished in real life, or at least shouldn't be attempted, then I think they're OK.

 

[The Random One]

Let's have a woman called "Ms. Ko Xualow" (Read it aloud) who has 36 FFF boobs. Her defining character trait will be her giant boobs and the fact that she fights in Kama Sutra positions. I know I'm ripping off Bayonetta here,

...That was the highest possible point of this thread, if not of humanity as a whole. I shed a tear.

Everyone go away, after such an acme everything is downhill.

 

[Arcane Snowman]

Honestly, I can't remember any right now. The most mature game I remember was Viva Pinata, which taught kids the value of hard work and how you can start out with nothing yet arrive at a thriving utopia if you work hard enough.

As well as teaching them that canibalism is a okay .

Whilst it is possible to find intelligent games of any rating, but, I generally do find that the rating system generally goes invely rsely to the matureity of it's audience, the higher the rating, the more juvenile the game is. That is not to say that the game isn't fun, but if you're looking for a genuinely intelligent game, it is probaba better idea if you look back about a decade.

 

[DrEmo]

Let's have a woman called "Ms. Ko Xualow" (Read it aloud) who has 36 FFF boobs. Her defining character trait will be her giant boobs and the fact that she fights in Kama Sutra positions. I know I'm ripping off Bayonetta here,

...That was the highest possible point of this thread, if not of humanity as a whole. I shed a tear.

Everyone go away, after such an acme everything is downhill.

I don't know if that was sarcasm or not, but thanks anyways.

 

[Booze Zombie]

So, what?
You're arguing we shouldn't have blood soaked games?

Prototype is a blood soaked game, but it's meant to be a power fantasy, so I expect it from that sort of experience, exerting power in the most primal form is killing people.
Gamers have done this for quite some time, nothing wrong with it.

Gears of War takes a step over the line, but stops at the point of parody, where it's just so silly, it's fun.

Bayonetta... okay, I'll be honest, I don't know why that game exists.

Games are made with different ideas behind them, if all games were made to be unoffensive and about pretentious messages, I'd probably stop playing games, because then, it stops being about fun as well.

Gotta get a happy balance, much like Mass Effect 2 and shooting things was balanced with a story and some characters.