More dumb computer game views

Its the usual crap spewed forth from some journalist to feed to some middle-america right wing household.

*sigh*

Geez. I won't bother expressing any anger as I usually do at this kind of crap. It's just such a shame that people outside the game-playing demographics who've never had a chance to experience games have only these negative things to read about.

- Julian.

PS. The dude left his email address. If there are any GTA-loving NYPost readers out (and there will be) this guy will be getting hit by some serious spam soon.

GTA:Vice City is 10,000 times WORSE than paedophilia?!! *rubs eyes*

vice city...thats nothing.
i downloaded Postal 2 demo the other day to have a quick look.
you piss on people and make them vomit....now thats out really there lol.
but its a game...any person with their head on correctly knows that....

Actually, that would interesting to find out.. are there any games out there where you thought were taking things a bit too far, or offended you?

postal 2 is the worst i have seen. i played it for 10mins then uninstalled it. - bludgeoning people to death with a shovel and/or urinating on them just doesnt interest me at all.

I haven't played Postal2, but the original was pretty poor. It did make me sick. Not from the 'mature' content, just the fact that the game reaked.

I haven't played Solder Of Fortune 2 either, but the original did have some pretty extreme violence. Shooting people's intestines out is just a bit overboard.

"GTA:Vice City is 10,000 times WORSE than paedophilia?!! *rubs eyes*"

How do they know?

There have been things in games that I thought where tastless, but those things are usualy just put there to shock (are games trying to re-capture the Modern art movement?) often the more 'out there' the game the more it rides its shock value and the less real gameplay there is. BMX XXX anyone :P

Pantmonger

If there was a game that took it too far, I may have to say Manhunt. Even though the killing/snuff film aspect really doesn't bother me (in fact, it's given my little brother and I a few laughs since getting it), the never ending mindless killing coupled with a weak storyline could be seen as going too far in some people's eyes. But then, it's only a game.

I completely forgot about BMX XXX. Some friends were playing it to try to get some porn out. By them time they finally unlocked it, it would have just been easier to go to the local video store and hire out some R rated porn. That and for a PS2 game, it's graphics were right up there with Dave Mira in the PS1.

I want to know how he came by the statistic of 10,000 times more? Did he research this by asking people affected by paedophilia?

Making a stupid and illinformed comparision between a harmless form of entertainment and a tradgic, horrendous crime like paedophilia, which affects 10's of 1,000's of people around the world for the sake of ratings and money is alot more damaging than any game on the market.

Heres my own journalistic research:
"9 out of 10 journalists are not worth the skin they inhabit."
Hey its a fact, why? Because I wrote it, thats all the proof people need right?

I think the funny thing it that all these article about GTA3 have all come about because of what them two kids done. It is petty easy to say that GTA3 wasn't the only reason they done it but, I like to look at the other side of this fact and view it as a stat. Over 5 million copies of GTA sold and about two time that many would have played it. ONE, only ONE dead. Per person more poeple are killed walking to work, sould we ban that too??

I havn't found any game that has taken it to far. But then again I don't go out of my way to play a huge number of games, just don't have the time.

I think walking to work should be banned. And also work perhaps.

Scott.

Unfortunately, I can't remember the exact figure, but i think it was one in every four million people will be crushed by a Coke Machine.

Let's stand up against those murderous machines and make them pay :D

It's just another wanna-be reporter who is riding the contraversy caused by the game to further their career on a story that has already been done to death by other wanna-be reporters, probably at one piont some real reporter did a story like this but now it's just the same crap over and over.

you can sleep happy knowing that these guys (the webbie) are copping so much flak for the article, pretty much every forum i frequent had that article and its complete with the authors email down the bottom. To top it off Penny Arcade had the emails of various people involved in that website (various big wigs) should anyone want to send them a little hate.

Firstly - interesting reading regarding killer coke machines: http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2001-25.html

-

Obviously the guy writing the article is a jerk. And for gods sake, how come every article about GTA refers to the "sleep with hooker, kill hooker" gameplay mechanic? The game is about experimentation, so how are all these media types finding this out? Yeah...

I don't understand why Rockstar (and Take Two) open themselves to this kind of trouble. Why push the envelope? I played GTA3 enough to appreciate the crimespree side of things; car theft is glorified in the movies so thats a no brainer. But why include decapitations and mortal kombat style blood letting when a few red blood sprites will do?

Something i find personally interesting is that games like GTA3 are developed in the first place. Consider the following

quote:...the fundamental goal of a larger game...is to take you away to a wonderful place, and there let you do an amazing thing.

Books and movies can?t do that. They can take you away to a wonderful place, but they can?t let you do an amazing thing. That?s the power of interactivity. That?s what makes this medium unique, and that?s what makes it important.

Therefore, the design of a game begins with the question, ?What dream am I going to fulfil??

Perhaps it?s a dream of exploring a dungeon infested with monsters. Perhaps it?s a dream of coaching a football team. Perhaps it?s a dream of being a fashion designer. But before you do anything else, you must dream the dream. Understand it. Feel it. Know who dreams it with you and why.
Ernest Adams
http://www.designersnotebook.com/Design_Philosophy/design_philosophy.htm

Perhaps it's a dream of becoming the most powerful crime dude EVER!
I'm not having a go at GTA3 or rockstar. I have to respect the fact that they have sold so many damn games. I just find the thought of someone at Rockstar actually sharing Ernest Adam's philosophy amusing.

On a side note, its interesting to see that one line of dialogue about the haitian community (which has been removed) has landed Take Two in court... GTA might just be banned, but not because of its violent content. Once again, why even open yourself to that kind of trouble?

just my $3.52
cheers

I don't really think that anyone has to really give this guy shit about his writting. He did a pretty good job of it himself. Regardless of what he wrote, it was just really poorly written.

smeg, i don't see what you find so mundane about GTA...perhaps you steal cars, and shoot people as a daily exercise?
The amazing thing doesn't have to be something that doesn't exist on this earth (as we know it). It simply needs to be something that the player does not do in their everyday life, therefore it is amazing to them.
Also, you seem to be taking ernest adams very brief word as the be all and end all of game design. Might i remind you the The Sims, the best selling pc game of all time, is also probably one of the least "amazing" games every created. And, although there is something to be said for good marketing, a game doesn't become a best-seller if it is complete crap.
As far as the haitian thing goes, it's as stupid as that game (can't remember the name) which had a level with a quebec based terrorist organisation and quebec threw a fit about it. It's completely moronic that people are that uptight. If the world was populated with more of these people we wouldn't be able to see any games with any semi-realistic scenarios.
CYer, Blitz

Saw this on penny arcade.

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