Dopass.com

Columnist: GTA IV “Stimulates Dark Impulses” - In the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune, columnist Katherine Kersten has a lengthy whine about Grand Theft Auto IV:
Games like GTA IV stimulate and glamorize our dark impulses. They create a taste for the psychological thrill that can come from dominating and degrading others. They encourage us to strip our fellow human beings of their dignity, and view them merely as objects of violence or sexual desire.
The hazards of violent games will only increase as new, more advanced technologies like the Wii system take hold… you can act out a game physically.
The average 32-year-old man who plays violent video games — and spends his free hours fantasizing about murdering passersby and roughing up strippers — is likely to be someone’s husband and father. What qualities of character will his wife find when she looks to him for love, steadiness and fidelity?
And when his young son looks to Dad as a role model — well, that’s the problem, isn’t it? [Game Politics]

So... I happen to be 32, at least for a few more weeks... I also happen to be fairly average, at least in terms of a game consumer...

So, is it a surprise to any of you that I don't think of the GTA game world in that way, at all? I certainly don't fantasize about murdering passersby or roughing up strippers in my free hours... even when I'm playing GTA IV. So, who is she talking about, again?

I don't think someone with such dark thoughts is average, at all. Nor do I think that GTAIV generates those dark thoughts -- I think mental disorder causes those dark thoughts. At best - and I use that word with a wince on my face - GTA IV is a catalyst, and to that I can only say, "If it's true the same must also be said of books, television and movies -- violence is pervasive and part of the culture. You can't fix the problem by pointing at one specific form of media."

We need to grow up, we need to look at this stuff seriously and stop painting with such broad strokes. Games are not the issue; if an issue exists at all, we need to recognize that it's much, much larger than that and we need to act accordingly.

For my own part, I don't really think there is a problem. I think it's a clever device used by people who would like us to remain scared and paranoid because it makes things easier for them. No tin-foil hat stuff here, just some pragmatic politics. Complacent people don't want things to change, but scared people will allow any change that seems to assuage their fears. A LOT has changed in America in the last 8 years, and it's hard to deny that fear is the primary reason.

I think the way to deal with the "problem" of violent media is to admit that we're a violent people. The statistics on violent crime are sort of interesting in that regard. Generally speaking, we grow less violent every year. Who's to say that isn't because we're expressing our violence in non-harmful ways, such as through entertainment media? I won't and can't say either way, but I'm sure someone could make that argument.

Unlike our ancestors, we live in an age where we can be violent and no one has to be hurt as a result, surely that's better for the species than the alternative, right? I mean, the fact that we still fight wars at all suggests we're not done being violent beings, but we're further along the path away from violence than we were 32 years ago, when I was born. Aren't we?

I haven't seen a race riot once, in my life. They still happen - but none have happened in my vicinity the entire time I've been alive... can the generations that weathered 1969 say the same? Maybe video games had a part in that remarkable difference.

Realistically, probably not, but can you honestly say they've made us worse people? The numbers don't back up the claim, so why do people still insist on making it?

I guess, as a species, we still have a long, long way to go.

- Snipehunter

I saw this on Jake Simpson's Blog this morning:
Do's and Don'ts for Cinematics - Thinking more about what Bruce Evriss touched on the other day regarding cinematics, I put together a list of do's and don'ts for their implementation...

I won't reprint the whole thing - instead, I encourage you to read Jake's point on the matter. While Jake's points are golden, they aren't specifically what I wanted to discuss. Instead, I wanted to ask a more fundamental question:

What's the point?

Have you all read N'Gai Croal's recent interview with the MTV crew?

Oof. I feel sorry for Capcom. Let me be clear about that though - I don't think Capcom is in the right here. Far from it, in fact. I think that whether they meant to be racist or not they were obviously insensitive. That being said, I don't hate them -- I feel pity.

It seems unlikely to me that they deliberately set out to be asshats, but by simply not paying any attention, they created something that is highly offensive. It's not the first time for our industry, either...

As an aside, I'll mention that a fellow designer once called me an anarchist. It was mostly unrelated to work in that it was a conversation about censorship and personal responsibility. My stance was that, while people should be accountable for what they do and say, they shouldn't be penalized for the way other people react to what they've said. The example at the time was of someone saying, "I hate you, you really ought to go off yourself" and then watching in horror as the person being spoken to acted on the suggestion. The stance I took was that it was the suicide's responsibility to not kill himself - after all, how can the speaker be held responsible for what goes on in the mind of another person?

I think that the moment we begin to regulate speech, we risk shutting down the exchange of ideas - and that society as a whole suffers for the sake of the thin-skinned or those lacking the self control to police their own reactions. My colleague couldn't disagree more, stating that it was irresponsible to speak when you know it might offend someone and shame on me for saying otherwise. To tell you the truth - I didn't mind the label. I don't believe for a moment that I'm an anarchist, but gods know this world could use a little revolution in thought, so maybe this designer wasn't so far from the mark, in labeling me.

Fast forward a year or so and here I am, the latest in a long line of people whose opinions have inspired a wave of invective from the thin-skinned and those lacking the self control to police their own reactions. I find myself still feeling as I did before... and yet, simultaneously an instigator of what amounts to internet anarchy, at the same time. I guess my colleague and I were both right... You know, in this industry that happens more often than not....

IMGDC: BioWare's Walton Talks MMO Creation Essentials - At the Indie MMO Game Developers Conference in Minnesota, BioWare Austin co-studio director Gordon Walton parsed out some essential lessons for indie MMO developers. The Kesmai, Origin and Sony Online Entertainment veteran - one of the most experienced MMO creators in the industry right now - addressed issues such as how indie efforts should differentiate from AAA online games, at every stage of the process from development to launch. "I've made one one-hundredth of the ...

[Gamasutra - News]

It's an interesting read - especially if you want some insight into the way some of the players in the MMO space are thinking. That being said, I'm not convinced I agree. I suppose I have to think on it a bit, but a few things strike me as maybe not the best advice:

Boston Globe Columnist’s Dream World Doesn’t Include GTA - In today’s Boston Globe, columnist Alex Beam zings Rockstar Games and the Grand Theft Auto series:
What if there was one day a year when people all over the world decided to behave in a manner worthy of the species? What would they call that day?
…It’s bracing to imagine the day when video-game manufacturer Rockstar announces: “We don’t want to make money off a game that encourages elementary school students to kill ‘hos’ and assassinate grand jury witnesses. We’re taking Grand Theft Auto off the market.”
…What if there were one day a year when everyone behaved in a manner worthy of the species? What would they call that day? They would call it April Fools’ Day.
The Massachusetts Legislature, of course, is currently considering a proposal which would treat violent video games in a manner similar to pornography.
[Game Politics]

I imagine that day would be something akin to the day when so called journalists stop claiming that the GTA series was made for, and marketed to, kids. Of course, the likelihood of that ever happening is far, far, lower than the chance that R* would stop making GTA. Too bad, too - That would be a day when we start behaving in a manner worthy of the species, don't you think?

Funny, that.

- Snipehunter

Australian Advocate: Violent Games Will Turn Troubled Kids into “Lethal Killers” - The national spokeswoman for the Australian Family Association told ABC.net that violent video games can make existing mental health problems worse in teenagers - much worse.
Angela Conway said:
If there are problems with that young person already, then this technology will turn them into a lethal killer.
Conway’s comments came as Australian officials gather in Adelaide to discuss adding a new R18+ rating for games. Currently, games with content exceeding the MA15+ level are banned in Australia. 
The Melbourne Herald-Sun has more on the current political debate over games Down Under.
[Game Politics]

I could sit here and talk about how there's no real proof of games causing violence at all and I could point to recent studies or to Grand Theft Childhood and ask why these tired old stereotypical opinions persist, but today, I'm not going to do that. Instead I'm going to ask a simple question:

If the people you're talking about are already "troubled" - who takes responsibility for what they do, if they're set off?

I mean, there are disturbed people who get enraged at the site of a woman and will attack her, right? Is it the woman's fault? Do we blame the woman when she's assaulted by the crazy woman-hater? What about the child that is abused by its parent? Is it the child's fault?

At what point did the human race abdicate personal responsibility? I think we need to seriously examine ourselves and the direction our cultures are heading if this type of misplaced blame is going to continue to be suborned in our legal systems and prevailing attitudes. When this type of thinking was applied to gender or race, we were diminished as a people, were we not? Here in America we felt so strongly about it that we amended our constitution to make this type of thinking illegal.

I guess it only matters when we're talking about people. I guess I can even see why, from a real abstract level, but it seems to me that prejudice is bad no matter what it's aimed against - that it demeans us; not just those who have a passion for the thing you prejudge, but the entire damned species. It offends me, how small minded these prejudices make us humans look. It really does.

- Snipehunter

Roleplayers Seek Removal Of Nerf Gun Ban - An anonymous reader writes "LARP fans at Bowling Green State University may have to contend with a crippled game of Humans vs. Zombies after the University banned Nerf guns on campus. In the live-action game, players are either humans or zombies. The goal of the game is to change all the humans into zombies, or for the humans to evade capture by zombies for a certain amount of time. To defend themselves against zombies, humans may use Nerf guns. Players (most likely the human ones) are petitioning the University to lift the ban. The game had troubles back in 2006, when participating students were arrested. That issue has since been cleared up."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
[Slashdot Updates]

In true /. fashion I haven't RTFA, but the premise here is a little absurd. I mean, really... nerf guns? That's where we're at, now? Freakin' nerf guns?

Everyone knows guns won't stop zombies! You need nerf bats! (Double damage to undead, you know!)
- Snipehunter

In response to Kelly's Piece:
Kelly! Damn man! Mass minsunderstanding of the year! I never said working with you was a problem. In fact, I thought we had a really good process that worked - something I mentioned in my original blog, that I guess got edited out in the reprint. Ah well. You're a damned good writer - one of the few I've worked with in the last 13 years who really understands the role of writing in games, even if the requirements of the project we worked together on really didn't let either of us explore that, all that well.

Despite the respect I have for you, I do think you've got some misconceptions of your own that I hope you don't mind if I address:

When I wrote that original blog, I had no idea how touchy a subject I was broaching. The amount of discussion the recent reprinting of the “Case Against Writers in the Games Industry” blog has generated has itself, been insightful. Clearly, “Story” is something near and dear to the hearts of gamers and developers, alike. I have to sheepishly confess, it’s near and dear to my heart, as well.

I have to admit I wrote the original blog in that way specifically to be somewhat provocative. But, to be clear - I never once said I thought writers weren't useful or that games shouldn't have stories. I did say that games don’t need stories in order to be games, but that’s not the same thing....

SOE to report to Sony Computer Entertainment - Sony Computer Entertainment has announced that
SonyOnline Entertainment will now report to Kazuo Hirai under
a newcompany structure designed to address the growth of the
onlinegaming market [GamesIndustry.biz news]

I wonder how stoked they are on the SOE side... SOE is a strange beast to me. I don't claim, to be clear, to know anything about how SOE works on the business side, but as a player the place seemed to me to be schizophrenic... I can't see this making things better.

I mean, on the SOE side alone, it always felt like they couldn't decide if they were a publisher with a huge stable of titles that offered a massive variety (a "Cable television model") or a single game company. When EQ2 came out, support dwindled and died for other games... Then when Vanguard came out, same thing...

So, what's being controlled by the guys that did the same thing to the PS2 - one of the best selling consoles of the current generation - going to do for that? Will SOE stop supporting their old, unprofitable MMOs all together, now? Will they suffer along as they have in the past - with too little support to thrive and too much support to die? Or, will this really be a good thing where we see a new revitalization of the stable of products SOE offers?

I really don't know, but my gut tells me this isn't going to be a good thing for what we currently think of as SOE. As a gamer, I'm already finding myself justifying my station pass subscription with rationale and flat out delusion, somehow I suspect that in the coming year, I won't even have enough fuel to do that.

Besides, I don't own a PS3 - and I've yet to see a reason why I'd want one. I'm pretty sure I'm not SCE's intended market. Chances are, they'll drive me out of their piece of the market entirely, sooner or later.

Damn, but I hope I'm wrong.

- Snipehunter

Bruce does it again: Bruce, of the Bruce on Games Blog has put together a gold-mine of useful links for anyone who has an interest in the industry. I encourage you have a look at these if you follow the industry; there is much win and awesome in this list:
Some great game industry links -  
Here I will list a whole pile of websites that are useful to the game industry professional. Some I have mentioned before, but putting them all in one place is pretty convenient. This is information overload.

[Bruce on Games]

There is no doubt in my mind that it was my skills as a writer that opened the door to my becoming a game designer. It was 1997 and a designer from the Warcraft II team had left Blizzard to join another ex-blizzardite in creating a new studio. They had a 3 game deal with Activision and an idea in mind to create a paradigm breaking RTS game, called Third World, but what they lacked, was someone who could write their documents for them. I wasn’t technically hired as a writer, but rather an assistant designer. This would prove to be a decision that I am eternally grateful. Had I been hired simply as a writer that would have been the end, for me. You see, that studio sort of imploded very shortly thereafter, but it’s not that implosion that would have doomed me – as a designer I survived. No, what would have doomed me is the simple, and some would say sad, truth: There’re no places for writers in our industry…

I saw this great list of blogs today on Bruce on Games and I thought I'd pass it on to you all. (TongueInCheek)I'm particularly fond of the second entry on the list:(/TongueInCheek)
Some great game development blogs -  
Most of the knowledge available to keen gamers about the gaming industry can be of a pretty low quality. This is because that knowledge is third or fourth hand. As a very minimum it has been “spun” by a marketing department (I have done loads of this) and then “interpreted” by a journalist. But there is a way round this, keen enthusiasts can get their knowledge directly from the horses mouth, if they read the right blogs.
Whilst there aren’t many blogs from the publishing side of the video game industry there a quite a few from the development side. And they are excellent. These are the guys who actually make the games that everyone plays, so they know what they are talking about. And when they analyse a game they do so with an authority no magazine could match. These guys are the complete opposite of the fanboy, they are intelligent, informed and incisive. There are quite a few in my blogroll but here are a random selection:

[Bruce on Games]

Prof: Game Industry Barbaric, Continually Chooses Violent Themes - A McGill University professor has slammed the video game industry for producing violent games.
As reported by the Montreal Gazette, Prof. Michael Hoechsmann said:
The game industry is not doing us any favours by continually choosing subject matter and adventures that involve guns, violence and warfare.
Hoechsmann was responding to a reporter’s question about Army of Two, a third-person military shooter set for release in March. 
[Game Politics]

*sigh* Really? I mean, that's were we are in this cultural conversation, name calling? Well in that case, I guess I'll just have to fire back, "Yeah, but you're a poo-poo head!" I mean really, why don't you just be honest with yourself Professor Hoechsmann and say, instead, "I hate games! I don't understand gaming and gamers and I'm afraid of them!" It would be a more honest answer...

Do Gamers Enjoy Dying in First-Person-Shooters? - Ponca City, We Love You writes "Brandon Erickson has an interesting post about an experiment on players' emotional reactions to killing and being killed in a first-person shooters (FPS) with a group of students who played James Bond 007: Nightfire while their facial expressions and physiological activity were tracked and recorded moment-to-moment via electrodes and various other monitoring equipment. The study found that "death of the player's own character...appear[s] to increase some aspects of positive emotion." The authors believe this may result from the temporary "relief from engagement" brought about by character death. "Part of this has to do with the intriguing aesthetic question of precisely how the first-person-shooter represents the player after the moment of death," says Clive Thompson. "This sudden switch in camera angle — from first person to third person — is, in essence, a classic out-of-body experience, of exactly the sort people describe in near-death experiences. And much like real-life near-death experiences, it tends to suffuse me with a curiously zen-like feeling." An abstract of the original article, "The psychophysiology of James Bond: Phasic emotional responses to violent video game events" is available on the web." Obnoxiously this alleged scholarly research is not available for free, so we'll just have to speculate wildly what it says based on the abstract.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
[Slashdot Updates]

This one really brought a smile to my face. I could have - and have for some folks out there - told you this a long time ago. I used to describe it as "positive anxiety" when I was a younger designer and I was trying to use jargon as a way to lend legitimacy to what I do. ;) Jokes aside, the idea that a game (I will glaze over the erroneous assumption the study makes about this being FPS only phenomena) generates this type of anxiety/relief loop is a very old one to any designer - hell any gamer - that's ever bothered to analyze his or her own feelings while playing...

Obama Campaign Theme: Video Games as Metaphor for Underachievement - Unlike rival Hillary Clinton,  Democratic presidential frontrunner Barack Obama does not have a significant track record with regard to video game content issues.
His speeches, however, often contain a reference to parents making their children “put away the video games.” For Obama, video games seem to serve as a sort of metaphor for underachievement.
The Illinois senator repeated the theme last night in a victory speech following his big win over Clinton in the Wisconsin primary. As reported by the Washington Post, which carried a transcript and video of the speech, Obama said:
I know how hard it will be to alleviate poverty that has built up over centuries, how hard it will be to fix schools, because changing our schools will require not just money, but a change in attitudes.
We’re going to have to parent better, and turn off the television set, and put the video games away, and instill a sense of excellence in our children, and that’s going to take some time.
A day earlier, speaking to a college crowd in Youngstown, Ohio,  Obama made similar remarks. The Youngstown Vindicator reports:
[Obama called for] investments in early childhood education to close the achievement gap, but with an added emphasis on poetry, music and art, not just academics. Obama admonished parents to do their part by turning off the television, putting away the video games, and instilling in their children a desire to get a good education.
Nor is this a new theme for Obama. GamePolitics reported on similar comments as far back as April, 2006.
[Game Politics]

You know... I've been a hardcore gamer for so long, that I only vaguely remember the times when I wasn't one as a sort of "age of myth and legend." I mean, I remember that there was a time when we had no video games, and I know I was alive back then, but what was it like? I'm not so sure I could actually tell you. Why do I mention that, you ask?

Well, in the event that you weren't just asking sarcastically, I'll tell you...

Check out this article. What the hell is wrong with the world?

Here's the crux of the article: France and a few other countries in the EU want a complete ban on GM food. I'd love to be able to tell you why, but I can't. Read the article, you'll see what I mean. Literally at no point is a REASON given for the fear, uncertainly and doubt that obviously spurs this move. Is the GM corn dangerous? The article says the EU itself says no. Is the GM Corn some sort of ecological risk? I wouldn't know, the folks calling for the ban seem to have supplied no reason what-so-ever for their call to ban this stuff.

This is a rare one for me: I'm gonna talk about a topic in the news without linking an article. You know why? I don't want the PTC to get back links from me. They're not worth it.

Here's the deal: Right now, as I type this, the Parents' Television Council (political action group) is calling for game legislation that would limit and restrict the distribution and content of video games. On top of this, they're actively targeting politicians that the Entertainment Software Association have made contributions to for slam ads and ridicule.

You've all seen the story about the guy from Midway who had created interface hardware very similar to today's Wii, back in 1999, right? If not check out Joystiq's article. Pay specific attention to the picture they have up... is that really the guy they're talking about?

Is it just me, or does that look a lot like a young Sean Connery? Like from the Highlander or Zardoz days. Seriously. I think there's a hidden story, here. Sean Connery made the Wii.

Trust me, I'm a professional; I know what I'm talking about. ;)
- Snipehunter

More than 2.5 million Rock Band songs
downloaded - Players have purchased and downloaded more than
2.5million songs for MTV's Rock Band since the game's release
inNovember 2007 [GamesIndustry.biz news]

It's interesting to me that this came up in the news last night. Just yesterday I had come to an interesting realization about the value of rock band DLC. Check it out:

A Rock Band track (cover or masters) costs 160 points on XBox live.
A television show (at standard def) costs 160 points on XBox live.

Inaugural Writer's Guild Awards Honor Witcher, Simpsons Game - Representatives of the East and West chapters of the Writer's Guild of America have announced the winners of their inaugural Videogame Writing Award, giving top honors to games including The Simpsons Game, World in Conflict, and The Witcher. The Guild says the award honors "outstanding achievement in videogame writing during 2007" and was created to "encourage storytelling excellence in videogames, improve the status of writers, and foster uniform standards within the gaming industry." The full ...

[Gamasutra - News]

God knows when I think back on the best writing of the year, I think of The Witcher and The Simpsons game. Interesting note: Both not original game IP.

Coincidence? I think not.

Way to "Raise awareness" and "legitimacy" for video game writers, WGA. Thank heavens you're around.

- Snipehunter

Rumour: Perpetual out as Star Trek MMO
developer - P2 Entertainment, formerly known as
PerpetualEntertainment, has ceased development on Star Trek
Online accordingto multiple sources [GamesIndustry.biz news]

Well, that just sort of sucks, doesn't it? One more nail in the coffin for sci-fi mmos?

On a, only vaguely, related note - I ran across this blog recently. It's an interesting observation, though my personal experience differs somewhat - and I worked on one of those games he mentions. Still, his observations are an interesting read (And it's short).

Circulate is a word.
Circulation is a word.
Recirculation is a word.
Recirculate is not.

What the hell is that?! It's like the language was just mashed together by a bunch of freaking barbarians who didn't really care how it all fit together or -- oh. Right.

- Snipehunter

This. Or rather, the continued trend by the folks in question to do everything in their power to flat out screw with a good thing, because it's not their's.

Sheesh.

Jealous much, Sony?

What is it about us humans that makes consensus and cooperation almost impossible? Happens in MMOs, too. Doesn't it? I mean, every MMO is about combat, isn't it? (well, OK... Tale in the Desert not withstanding) And every MMO has the camp that wants PVP, right? (Hell, I'm often in that camp)

Is it really genetic imperative, or the result of millenia of tribal competition for resources, as some of the intelligencia crowd would suggest? Or are we all just sort of... jerks? ;)

So, I've been without an internet connection for a couple of weeks now. I have to admit, in the way an addict sheepishly admits he has a problem after almost dying from withdrawal, that it's been a strange couple of weeks for me. Normally, I spend my spare time playing MMOs or playing xbox live, but this past few weeks I've spent a lot more time watching DVDs from my collection and catching up on that reading I kept telling myself I'd do. It's been interesting... and leant me an interesting perspective that I didn't have before.

I ran across an interesting article today, by way of Massively.com. Apparently, Chris Klug of Cheyenne Mountain (They're making Stargate Worlds, which I am avidly awaiting) has been posting Dev diaries up. In his latest one he discusses moral choices in his MMO...

Euro developers more creative than US studios,
saysEA - EA Partners has told [GamesIndustry.biz news]

Typical studio trash talk crap, but there's an interesting quote where the head of EA Partners europe says, "I don't think America could have created Grand theft Auto..." Now, look, I love the GTA games. They're fun, but really, are they anything to be proud of? Is there another series that has done more to erode the industry's relationship with parents, politicians and non-gamers?

Doom, maybe... and hey! that's American!

- Snipehunter

You know, I have to admit I've got a lot of respect for N'Gai Croal. There's a certain amount of legitimacy, a sort of heavy gravity, that accompanies his blog entries and other writings for Newsweek. That's not to say that I always agree with him or anything, but I do have a great respect for the way he approaches his work. Take this entry for example. In it, N'Gai talks about the recent firing of a gamespot critic over - at least apparently - said critic's review of the recent Eidos release Kane and Lynch...

Study: Violent Games, TV Influence Aggressive Behavior - A recent study by the University of Michigan has concluded that repeated exposure to violent television and video games is a stronger influence on aggressive behavior than is living in poverty, engaging in substance abuse or having abusive parents. According to Brad Bushman, a professor of psychology and communications studies and a research associate at the University's Institute for Social Research, the correlation between media violence and aggression is stronger than the link between condom ...