The War on Games of Mass Discussion®

The War on GOMD

The War on Games of Mass Discussion®

Part One

There is a war going on and it isn't the war you are probably thinking. The battlefield is your living room (or whatever you keep your consoles/PC) and you are a raw recruit fresh out of video game basic training. Ready your rifle soldier, this war is going to be messy.

We all know the issues that are, violent video games, which politicians want to "protect" you from, but these politicians have a few allies you wouldn't believe. I am a 25 year old game lover and I enjoy mature content. I decide whether something is too gory, mature or plainly not my style and I do not need a crafty politician to tell me what is right for me. Wait, politicians don't want to ban my ability to enjoy mature games, only children under 17. One law always equals another and if we have a law banning the sell of violent video games to children, how long do you think it will take for them to realize that even I, a 25 year old male, should not have access to violent video games? Even if they decide not to go that far, they will have to power to determine what is violent and what is not; thus creating fear in developers and content creators everywhere.

Who's to say, that a violent game to a dubious politician isn't the next Pokemon game? I am beating the crap out a seemingly harmless animal-like creature that looks like a mouse in order to cram it into a ball the size of a baseball, only to complete that process over again for more Pokemon. All I know, I can be the next Mike Vick defending myself for playing a video game that is promoting animal abuse. Where will the line be drawn? How will I know that if I ever decided to make a mature game that my freedom of expression will be celebrated instead labeled illegal because I decide to include blood in my game? Do we really want our industry to end up like the comic book industry of old? Do we want an old man who's job is to spit rhetoric out his ass to tell us what is fun and what isn't? They probably think a fun game would be walking a stick figure to a virtual store to pick up prune juice and get back house safely without our dentures falling out of our mouths.

Who are those allies I spoke of in a previous paragraph; I point my finger at the hardware makers that don't allow Adult Only (AO) games to be made for their consoles and retailers that don't allow AO games on their shelves. Why are these huge companies afraid of an AO game? Especially, when compared to R-rated movies, they are the same. Walk the DVD section of any major retail store and you will see R-rated movies predominately advertised as a great movie to buy. Even though, it is much easier for a child to buy Saw III, than pick up a copy of Gears of War, the game industry is the scapegoat for all society's ills. "Hey, Oldman Mr. Joe just shot up the neighborhood, it must have been that copy of Doom buried beneath all those violent movies, emptied BenGay tubes and dust. " "Wow, Little Timmy fell down the well, it has to be that game Tomb Raider that caused him to be stupid and jump in."I know the game industry is still young compared to other mainstream industries, but why must I sacrifice my love of gaming so a politician or wacky lawyer (he knows who he is) can look good? I won't stand for this and neither should you!

Frank.