gaming Topics Video games shouldn't discuss?

[BastementSparkle 20,323]

Is there anything you feel video games shouldn't be allowed to discuss? Something that just rubs you the wrong way? When do you feel a game has taken it too far?

 

[Fire_Fly 499]

Video games have covered so many controversial topics already, and I love them for doing so. I don't believe it's possible to go too far with issues or topics, because I believe in the whole 'video games are art' idea. Art is interpretational, and anything left up to interpretation shouldn't have to be censored, in my opinion, especially where art is concerned. Besides that, video games have handled controversial topics so tactfully that I can't remember ever being disappointed with the way it was done. 

[Adorkable 2,737]

Religion, I just don't feel it's really something games should cover.

 

Some people can lose interest fast if the game is something against their views.

[Scootalove 10,689]

Religion. We've seen a lot of controversy behind religion, so tackling that topic is off limits for video games to cover.

[~Asuka <3~ 867]

Video games should be able to cover all topics.   I've played tons of games, from pornographic games to GTA and back again.  They have not affected me in any way.  It has been proven that video games do not influence people unless that person has a mental disorder.   Games are like another form of literature, and if anything goes in a book, then anything should be able to go in a game.  

 

We have a rating system for a reason; buy accordingly.  Don't like a game?  Don't buy it.  It's pretty simple.  

[Ribbonfree 2,383]

I'm not at all convinced by the idea of censorship and avoiding 'sensitive' topics, personally. My take on it is that if it exists, it's free to be talked about and discussed. As long as the discussion is civil and well-reasoned out. Or hilarious.

[Sunny Shimmer 259]

I don't think anything should ever be censored in video games. I have played more video games than most people and I am still a stable person.

[Tigerpop198 696]

A persons sexuality, it seems whenever there are homosexuals in games it's just for the producers to say, "see we are not really bad guys."

[BastementSparkle 20,323]

It's funny how so many of you said religion. My favorite game of all time The Binding of Isaac is based off a biblical story. It's filled with all sorts of religious symbolism, and it's not always shown in the most positive of lights. It's not anti-religion though.

 

 My avatar is even a ponified Isaac.

Edited March 22, 2014 by BasementPony

[Barbaloot 198]

I think we've hit the point where video games are as good as art. And as such, just like movies or books, shouldn't have to shy away from any topic that it can do well. If it's done well it's fine, even for Video Games.

Religion, I just don't feel it's really something games should cover.

 

Some people can lose interest fast if the game is something against their views.

Personally, I'd say that's their problem.

[Obsidian Sky 14,004]

It's funny how so many of you said religion. My favorite game of all time The Binding of Isaac is based off a biblical story. It's filled with all sorts of religious symbolism, and it's not always shown in the most positive of lights. It's not anti-religion though.

 

 My avatar is even a ponified Isaac.

Ooooh, i love that game! It's so cool! I suck at it though.... will probably never get the Spelunker, Dark and Mamas Boy achivements...

------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Well, on topic. I think you can do every topic in video games, you just have to do it in the right way. I don't think a well made game is different to a book or a movie, and those two mediums manage those delicate themes just fine. The only real difference between games and movies is the interactivity. And even that is not always true, like in Beyond: Two Souls in which there was basically no way to influence the plot.

[Radiance64 7,053]

It depends really. As long as a game's message pertains to what it's discussing well, whether in it being trying to actually convey something or just be fun, anything is fine really. There are some things that games really shouldn't delve into though, such as major forms of sexual deviancy- there should never be a game where you play as a rapist or pedophile, for instance. It would be incredibly wrong and offensive to everyone.

Edited March 23, 2014 by Radiance64

[Moonlight Magician 494]

Just like Adorkable and Scootalove said: Religion. This can cause problems and stir religious tension considering the amount of religions out there. I don't think video games need to even mention religion.

 

Sexual Preference. Do I need to really explain? We don't need to know the sexuality of the characters. Plus this could cause unneeded racism against certain sexual preferences. Some video games might handle this subject fine, but it is way to sensitive of a topic to be brought up in a video game.

[Toaster Bot 183]

In my opinion, there is nothing that a videogame can't touch on that other mediums could. I am a firm believer in videogames as a budding and true artistic medium, just as legitimate as film, television, movies, etc. Videogames shouldn't be limited in their subject matter because "they're just games". I feel that when people deny that videogames can touch on sensitive subjects that they're simply being ignorant.  In fact, it is in my opinion that videogames are the absolute BEST medium to explore a sensitive topic. Unlike movies and TV and books, videogames are interactive; you are taking part in, and therefore playing a role in what happens. Videogames really force you to think about what's happening more than anything else, because games bring you into the world the creators establish and allow you to explore and experience it in full.

This medium is being held back by the preconception that videogames are just for amusement, and that controversy should be avoided.

[Koelath 445]

Every topic ever is okay to be discussed by every form of media ever. Period. Non-negotiable. Fact.


Saying otherwise is, quite frankly, just being pointlessly close-minded (and possibly a coward).


 

Just like Adorkable and Scootalove said: Religion. This can cause problems and stir religious tension considering the amount of religions out there. I don't think video games need to even mention religion.

Sexual Preference. Do I need to really explain? We don't need to know the sexuality of the characters. Plus this could cause unneeded racism against certain sexual preferences. Some video games might handle this subject fine, but it is way to sensitive of a topic to be brought up in a video game.

By your logic, religion should just never be mentioned at all anywhere because "it can cause problems". That is literally the most cowardly excuse ever. Hell, might as well not mention sex either. Or politics. Better yet, nothing that could ever cause even the slightest problem or tension should even be acknowledged to exist. (This is the ultimate conclusion of your logic. Sounds ridiculous, right?)

Also, addressing sexual preference cannot ever cause "unneeded racism" because sexual preference has nothing to do with race. And "it is way too sensitive of a topic" means literally nothing at all because nothing anywhere in the world establishes a universal law that sensitive topics cannot be covered in video games.

Edited March 24, 2014 by Koelath

[Moonlight Magician 494]

Every topic ever is okay to be discussed by every form of media ever. Period. Non-negotiable. Fact.

 

 

Saying otherwise is, quite frankly, just being pointlessly close-minded (and possibly a coward).

 

 

 

 

By your logic, religion should just never be mentioned at all anywhere because "it can cause problems". That is literally the most cowardly excuse ever. Hell, might as well not mention sex either. Or politics. Better yet, nothing that could ever cause even the slightest problem or tension should even be acknowledged to exist. (This is the ultimate conclusion of your logic. Sounds ridiculous, right?)

 

Also, addressing sexual preference cannot ever cause "unneeded racism" because sexual preference has nothing to do with race. And "it is way too sensitive of a topic" means literally nothing at all because nothing anywhere in the world establishes a universal law that sensitive topics cannot be covered in video games.

Well..thank you for correcting me. I'm sorry I made mistakes. I'm sorry I can't be perfect like you.

[Koelath 445]

Well..thank you for correcting me. I'm sorry I made mistakes. I'm sorry I can't be perfect like you.

 

Yeah, you really should be sorry. I mean, really, is absolute perfection really so much to ask? Shame on you for having flaws. Jerk.

 

By the way, love the weirdly defensive sarcasm over the basic life experience of having a mistake corrected.

Edited March 24, 2014 by Koelath

[Moonlight Magician 494]

Yeah, you really should be sorry. I mean, really, is absolute perfection really so much to ask? Shame on you for having flaws. Jerk.

 

By the way, love the weirdly defensive sarcasm over the basic life experience of having a mistake corrected.

Okay. I'll stop. Seriously. I thank you for correcting me. I should have been a lot mature when I made that defensive comment. Thanks for helping me understand.

[Gay Bird 421]

Well if I were to write a list

 

1: boring stuff

 

Yeah. Video games have become the newest great storytelling medium and although many games are put together to be fun to play, many have a story to tell. Every story deserves to be told.

[Frith is Magick 1,471]

Ultimately it boils down to the  execution rather than the topic. If a game includes controversial material for the sake of being edgy, it will ruffle feathers without actually accomplishing anything. On the other hand I think that there is no reason that video games can't touch on these topics at all, it just needs to be done in  way that makes the player want to stop and think. Additionally, games that are strongly biased or seem to have some sort of agenda (I can't think of any examples) would likely be easy to spot and avoid, so there wouldn't be an issue there. 

 

I think it is awesome that video games are going beyond the scope of a mere game and trying to do this. I believe that being offended and questioning personal beliefs are excellent ways to grow, if a game can do this well, then there is no reason not to.