On the Left 4 Dead Ban
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
- Start date
Yeah he had me until the batshit crazy slippery slope argument in the last paragraph.
Also when he says "crumbling, syphilitic hell-hole across the water" does he mean New Zealand? Because the brochures make it look nice...
Also when he says "crumbling, syphilitic hell-hole across the water" does he mean New Zealand? Because the brochures make it look nice...
You could always move to Canada, Yahtzee. We haven't banned any games here, at least not to my knowledge. And we get games released at the same time as the Americans. WHOOOOOOO!
[font size=8]*Disclaimer: Not actually suggesting Yahtzee move anywhere. "Suggestion" intended for humorous purposes.[/font]
[font size=8]*Disclaimer: Not actually suggesting Yahtzee move anywhere. "Suggestion" intended for humorous purposes.[/font]
Damn, well it looks like i'm going to have to fire up my vintage WW2 submarine and sneak illegal shipments of Left 4 Dead 2 copies in under the Aussy coast guards noses. Can i get some volunteers for my crew?Psepha said:Oh. Well damn, this really does suck for Australia then.Zenode said:
Obviously Yahtzee you need to move to Canada, it has all the game releases of the US, but universal healthcare AND game consoles at par with the american dollar even though we're about 91-93 cents to the US Dollar. And it's a commonwealth partner so you'll get lots o Brit love for being from the Homeland. Winters are a ***** though.
The worst thing is, we have some of the most lax classification rules for TV and radio in the world.
what about people 18 and over? if it's unsuitable for minors dont sell it to minors. refusing something to an adult because it's inappropriate for a child is like making sex illegal for adults. we all know that kids shouldn't be exposed to sex, so if we ban everyone from having sex then they'll never have to be traumatized by it.
OK I can spot several flaws with that argument. First I fail to see the logic of how having gore in a game is an automatic predicate for bad gameplay. Take L4D. L4D has gore so purely on that basis it must be bad to play? L4D has great gameplay in my book- immersive, atmospheric and all the makings of a good FPS- plus the great co-op design of it all. The gore adds to the aforementioned atmosphere. Secondly- "need to distract players with gore from their flaws in the game"? I REALLY fail to see how that logic follows- I know of no games (and to my knowledge there are indeed few, if any that exist) that have "gore" as a redeeming factor: i.e. Oh the level design is awful- but I don't notice that because of all the BLOOD ^^ If level design is crap then level design is crap- the average gamer is not going to be placated by excessive gibs if the game in which they're in is awful, developers simply don't think like that about the vast, overwhelming majority of their markets. I agree with your point about gore not being a necessity in a game but to argue that gore is a bad thing regardless of situation seems somewhat illogical.Gameplay IS one of the most (if not THE most) important factor in a game- but gore, to my knowledge doesn't REALLY have a VAST effect on gameplay. And for another thing- I LOVE the fact that you're slagging off L4D2- calling it a "horrible, boring and mindless game" before even having played it properlyOdjin said:Good... one horrible, boring and mindless game less. Makes room for "real" games which are interesting, challenging and have actual gameplay. Yes I don't feel sorry for this game to fall under the table. In fact I would not feel sorry for most of those "gory" games since they totally lack what makes good games: gameplay. Many game devers forget that a good game and good gameplay does not require massive gore. In fact massive gore is the sign of poor games since devers need to distract players with gore from their flaws in the game. And you are right, your country is a warning... a warning to game developers that crap games don't have a future
And I agree that L4D clearly isn't a "real" game because of its blood and gore. I mean- because it has blood and gore it can't really be thought of as a real...oh wait.On a less long and rambling note- I agree with the above quote from Mark Twain- and as has been said many times before ACB and other censorship bodies: Children=protected if nasty, evil video game is not played by children- ergo stop children from buying said game and stop parents letting them play said game= problem solved.
Wow, the comments by ACB almost seem like advertisement.s Put that on the back of the box or in a commercial and crowds should be yelling "Hell yeah!"
Well, I posted this in response to Shamus' article, but I think it's more relevant here, so I just crtl+v it here:
Playbahnosh said:
Feeling a little bitter, Yahtzee?
Guess I am a little lucky, living in the US, where the censors stopped caring what got through the gates. Yeah, we have the whole government outcry against game violence on occasion, but it's finally sinking that the gamers they uniformly pissed off as children are now of voting age.
Still. That kind of thing is just stupid. Why would they let, say, No More Heroes through, but not L4D2? There's a hole in that logic somewhere....
Guess I am a little lucky, living in the US, where the censors stopped caring what got through the gates. Yeah, we have the whole government outcry against game violence on occasion, but it's finally sinking that the gamers they uniformly pissed off as children are now of voting age.
Still. That kind of thing is just stupid. Why would they let, say, No More Heroes through, but not L4D2? There's a hole in that logic somewhere....
Unfortunately, Steam tracks IP addresses and since certain ones are assigned to each country they can restrict access of games to those who live in countries that have banned them. Just take a look the next time that stupid Clear Wire add plays (I dislike Clear Wire immensely). On the little add popup it will suggest a city closest to where you live that already has the service, all based on your IP. Creepy and annoying at once. These types of banning actions turn even more people into pirates attempting to get a game that they, as adults, should be allowed to play if they want.DRADIS C0ntact said:
The other unfortunate thing about this is the servers. If the Aussie government has decided to not rate the game then there will be no dedicated servers for them. While they should be able to join other servers, you're looking at a lot of lag time and poor game play because of this. Depending on Valve's technology and how bad this gets, it could even get to the point that servers will start locking out IP's coming from countries that have banned, or effectively banned, the game.
Personally I think the whole "think of the children" line is inherently flawed. It is not up to the government to think of the children, it is up to the parents to do their jobs, something that they have been failing at more and more. Yes, in modren times, parents demand others to care for and teach their children. If parents started doing their jobs and starting saying no and actually paying attention to what their little brats where doing then this whole "think of the children" line would fade away. But, if we look at it in an even broader sense, it all goes back to the fact that no one wants to take responsibility for their actions. If a teen shots up a school, everything is blamed - especially violent games, movies, TV and internet sites - instead saying "this person knew the difference and choose to ignore it and hurt others simply because he thought it would make him feel better." You see it all the time, the ones that really get me are the ones who claim abuse and bad childhoods are the responsible factors as to why they are violent etc. today. I was abused in my childhood for years and I am neither an abuser or violent. While not the best example in some ways, Jade Goody had a hell hole of a childhood (read her story - it's a nightmare) but she just kept going and didn't feel the need to shoot people etc.
And I'll stop my rant now [get's off soapbox]
That is so wrong it's almost sickening, although I suppose the young always feel that they can do better if given the chance. The unfortunate thing is that regardless of age people do stupid things and get stuck in a rut of thinking. Being open minded and considering all facts etc before coming to a decision that will affect millions is the only way to go - but it's not going to happen in my lifetime.The Great JT said: