It is ironic now what is viewed as "adult". Now that I am an adult I want to distance myself from the violence, sex, and language that perverts the media....
It never ceases to amaze me how "adult" and "mature" mean sex + violence, as opposed to, for example, complexity and depth. Oh well, I'm a European, so I'm pretty sure that I will never really understand you yanks anyway. I will say one thing though: crying blue murder every time a computer game shows some skin (or blood), while at the same time most of your average rap music videos have more p0rn in them than all computer games to date combined, plus lyrics that glorify violence, seems a bit strange to me; yet kids can watch those as much as they like. Or they can watch your army kill people for real in Iraq. Not pointing fingers here, just saying the stuff is already out there.
Wonderfly said! so true!
Mature means something that kids arent really interested in. (not something they badly want but arent allowed). Remember when you were a kid at a family dinner, how the grownups would talk for hours and hours about economy, and it would bore you to tears? Like in dept politics. Or complex research, ecology and world economy. THAT is mature content, something that the younger crowd really has no developed interest in.
(dare I mention the complex systems of bioengineer in swg? boy soe will never fail to burn for that one =/ )
Perhaps grownups really appresiate detailed systems and social "games" ( not hinting to sexual content) on a totally different level, where the younger crowd wants action and bigger stories.
Being an American I can say that we are perhaps the most sensitive consumers as far as what we think of as 'adult'. Most of the things that would keep a game off the shelves here in the states would be barely considered mature for some of our European friends; it's just a difference in culture.
I've lived half my life in Los Angeles and the other half in Europe, and I think the difference in what's given an adult rating is more differentiated than stated:
In America, your product can be very violent, yet still be rated ok for teens.
If there's any nudity or anything sexual on the other hand, you go straight to an adults only rating.
As you pointed out, In Europe, nudity and sexuality is not cause for much worry.
But with violence, its the opposite: your rating will go to mature much quicker than in America.
To put it in one sentence: Americans seem more sensitive to nudity and sex, European regulations seem more sensitive to violence.
maybe they should change ratings to signify whether it will stimulate your reptilian brain or one of the others
Can we get realistic here? It seems so easy these days for people to look at a game that pushes an envelope towards adult content (if you can say that it does really) as if it is somehow Pandora's Box and if we open it, our kids will be warped in ways that otherwise they would never have been exposed.
Folks we are talking about an internet based game. If a kid is clever enough to whip out a credit card and sign onto an MMO to get some "saucy" content in a game or hacked heads, don't you think they could save a lot of time just going straight to Google and feasting on a sea of porn and a mountain of corpse photos? For this reason I find the discussion of whether adult content in an MMO being bad because kids might see it to be kind of petty. It's labeled Mature, they know its there. If the guardian is paying attention they will keep them away from it. But, it won't be any more or less easy than them keeping them from seeing this content in a hundred other ways. Besides that I quite seriously doubt that the content we are going to see are some hardcore sex acts or anything beyond what is shown on regular television.
Point is MMOs are by and large played by adults these days and I for one get a little tired of taming things down to a kids level when statistics show they aren't playing these kinds of games much anyhow.
I don't know if this aspect of a mature rated game has been addressed. Many of the posts I have read are focusing in on if its going to be sex/violence for the sake of it, or if such elements being allowed in the game will make for more believable and compelling storytelling. I certainly hope with Age of Conan it will be included for faithfulness to the world, which the devs have stated is its purpose. However, what I am hoping a mature rating assists with is a problem I have encountered in the more recent, more accessible MMO's, namely significantly immature (childish) gamers in the communities. Maybe by making a mature rated game, and at least hypothetically excluding those who are not adults from the game, the maturity level of the community will be higher. It seems to me like the last game I played where it was a fairly mature and serious community at large was Everquest, even though I ended up hating that game (another story). Inversely, games I have enjoyed more as a game, have had much more immature communities, for example City of Heroes, and worst of all community wise, World of Warcraft. My 2 hopeful cents.
Being an American I can say that we are perhaps the most sensitive consumers as far as what we think of as 'adult'. Most of the things that would keep a game off the shelves here in the states would be barely considered mature for some of our European friends; it's just a difference in culture.
I've lived half my life in Los Angeles and the other half in Europe, and I think the difference in what's given an adult rating is more differentiated than stated:
In America, your product can be very violent, yet still be rated ok for teens.
If there's any nudity or anything sexual on the other hand, you go straight to an adults only rating.
As you pointed out, In Europe, nudity and sexuality is not cause for much worry.
But with violence, its the opposite: your rating will go to mature much quicker than in America.
To put it in one sentence: Americans seem more sensitive to nudity and sex, European regulations seem more sensitive to violence.
maybe they should change ratings to signify whether it will stimulate your reptilian brain or one of the others
Can't speak for Europe, but the irony of this in the land of "free speech" is globally embarrassing for America. However, the reason we are more ok with violence than with sex I believe is a direct reflection of the puritanical morality the US is founded on. Sex is a sin, theoretically so is violence, but these same religious types who label actions as sinful also historically kill in the name of god. (Crusades, Inquisition, Witch Hunts FTL!). Sorry but in that regard, I just don't understand America, we abhor the act that creates life, and are seemingly fine with acts that end it. Someday we'll get it right. My 2 cents.
Being an American I can say that we are perhaps the most sensitive consumers as far as what we think of as 'adult'. Most of the things that would keep a game off the shelves here in the states would be barely considered mature for some of our European friends; it's just a difference in culture.
I've lived half my life in Los Angeles and the other half in Europe, and I think the difference in what's given an adult rating is more differentiated than stated:
In America, your product can be very violent, yet still be rated ok for teens.
If there's any nudity or anything sexual on the other hand, you go straight to an adults only rating.
As you pointed out, In Europe, nudity and sexuality is not cause for much worry.
But with violence, its the opposite: your rating will go to mature much quicker than in America.
To put it in one sentence: Americans seem more sensitive to nudity and sex, European regulations seem more sensitive to violence.
maybe they should change ratings to signify whether it will stimulate your reptilian brain or one of the others
Can't speak for Europe, but the irony of this in the land of "free speech" is globally embarrassing for America. However, the reason we are more ok with violence than with sex I believe is a direct reflection of the puritanical morality the US is founded on. Sex is a sin, theoretically so is violence, but these same religious types who label actions as sinful also historically kill in the name of god. (Crusades, Inquisition, Witch Hunts FTL!). Sorry but in that regard, I just don't understand America, we abhor the act that creates life, and are seemingly fine with acts that end it. Someday we'll get it right. My 2 cents. Nicely said. Personally, I think the fact that a credit card is needed kinda makes this an invalid argument.
But mabe its time We "old" folks faced the music!!
Mabe we grew up???? Mabe we dont want to grow up, but we did
Mabe paying the rent and Car seems like more importent then paying, a online game???
Mabe we realised how silly We were when kids???
Mabe we cant find a good game cause we have moved on with are lives???
I know i have, but still cant bring myself to belive it !!!!
We still crave that old feeling OF Power ,Success Etc...That we got from MMO's But Have Matured and realised how much thos feeling s were just illusions.
Think about it Though!!!!
If any of thes resent games, that have lauched , Had Lauched when i was a kid , id be eating them up like Peanuts At a baseball game..
Just like How i Got myself a pair of MC hammer pants when that was just so cool!!! (wich really was the most awfull pair of pants iv ever seen!)
And wearing my pants down to the floor Cause it just looked so Phat!!! (Witch really was so Annoying to look at )
And how i wore my hat all weird like, just cause i thought it looked so cool. ( man i looked so stupid Though lol)
Mabe these Games have always really Sucked and we just dint know cause we were Kids???????
So What now? Can a MMORPG Game Keep a adults attention Longer then 2 months?
When i was 3 lego' keeped me happy till i was 10 then my Super Nitendo Was great!!!
Then MMORPG Got my attention
Have i out grown MMORPGs? Like I outgrown Lego's at 10?
Comments
Wonderfly said! so true!
Mature means something that kids arent really interested in. (not something they badly want but arent allowed). Remember when you were a kid at a family dinner, how the grownups would talk for hours and hours about economy, and it would bore you to tears? Like in dept politics. Or complex research, ecology and world economy. THAT is mature content, something that the younger crowd really has no developed interest in.
(dare I mention the complex systems of bioengineer in swg? boy soe will never fail to burn for that one =/ )
Perhaps grownups really appresiate detailed systems and social "games" ( not hinting to sexual content) on a totally different level, where the younger crowd wants action and bigger stories.
Being an American I can say that we are perhaps the most sensitive consumers as far as what we think of as 'adult'. Most of the things that would keep a game off the shelves here in the states would be barely considered mature for some of our European friends; it's just a difference in culture.
I've lived half my life in Los Angeles and the other half in Europe, and I think the difference in what's given an adult rating is more differentiated than stated:
In America, your product can be very violent, yet still be rated ok for teens.
If there's any nudity or anything sexual on the other hand, you go straight to an adults only rating.
As you pointed out, In Europe, nudity and sexuality is not cause for much worry.
But with violence, its the opposite: your rating will go to mature much quicker than in America.
To put it in one sentence: Americans seem more sensitive to nudity and sex, European regulations seem more sensitive to violence.
maybe they should change ratings to signify whether it will stimulate your reptilian brain or one of the others
Can we get realistic here? It seems so easy these days for people to look at a game that pushes an envelope towards adult content (if you can say that it does really) as if it is somehow Pandora's Box and if we open it, our kids will be warped in ways that otherwise they would never have been exposed.
Folks we are talking about an internet based game. If a kid is clever enough to whip out a credit card and sign onto an MMO to get some "saucy" content in a game or hacked heads, don't you think they could save a lot of time just going straight to Google and feasting on a sea of porn and a mountain of corpse photos? For this reason I find the discussion of whether adult content in an MMO being bad because kids might see it to be kind of petty. It's labeled Mature, they know its there. If the guardian is paying attention they will keep them away from it. But, it won't be any more or less easy than them keeping them from seeing this content in a hundred other ways. Besides that I quite seriously doubt that the content we are going to see are some hardcore sex acts or anything beyond what is shown on regular television.
Point is MMOs are by and large played by adults these days and I for one get a little tired of taming things down to a kids level when statistics show they aren't playing these kinds of games much anyhow.
im 28 and loved EQ1 way back when i was a kid...
But mabe its time We "old" folks faced the music!!
Mabe paying the rent and Car seems like more importent then paying, a online game???
Mabe we realised how silly We were when kids???
Mabe we cant find a good game cause we have moved on with are lives???
I know i have, but still cant bring myself to belive it !!!!
We still crave that old feeling OF Power ,Success Etc...That we got from MMO's But Have Matured and realised how much thos feeling s were just illusions.
Think about it Though!!!!
If any of thes resent games, that have lauched , Had Lauched when i was a kid , id be eating them up like Peanuts At a baseball game..
Just like How i Got myself a pair of MC hammer pants when that was just so cool!!! (wich really was the most awfull pair of pants iv ever seen!)
And wearing my pants down to the floor Cause it just looked so Phat!!! (Witch really was so Annoying to look at )
And how i wore my hat all weird like, just cause i thought it looked so cool. ( man i looked so stupid Though lol)
So What now? Can a MMORPG Game Keep a adults attention Longer then 2 months?
When i was 3 lego' keeped me happy till i was 10 then my Super Nitendo Was great!!!
Then MMORPG Got my attention
Have i out grown MMORPGs? Like I outgrown Lego's at 10?