Christianity and gaming-- part 1
Today someone linked me to this site called gamegirladvance.com to show me some perspectives by other female writers of the gaming industry. The site was made by a female in particular.
I looked through though and came across quite a bit of contraversy. Little did I know, that now the game based on CS Lewis's wonderful series is now under the microscope. The ongoing debate is weather or not the game has Christian based themes. And, additonally, if so, should be marketed as such.
Here was my comment on their section---
interesting topic...
I generally am pretty neutral in chosing my games. I guess, quite frankly I'm not the type that is going to go searching for a game that is one specific way as far as morals and values.. because.. well, in my mind, it's just a game.
(btw, I'm the mother of 3 children and encourage video games... heh, id be a hypocrite if I did otherwise)
Now yes, there are some wonderful games out there that definately lean towards catagories- like math blaster and games of that sort for example.
However, let's not get nit picky.
This is not about the persecution that there are not enough of x moral or immoral based genre games styles out there. That is very silly to even derive such a notion.
These are businesses making these games. Yell at the people who market the game if you don't care for how it's being done. Or praise them. Yell at the democraphics of people that generally are the market for video games. Yell at the people who who write the movies or the books---last time I noticed, that was the freedom of the pen, and the beauty of free thought.
As far as Narnia- I could care less whatever view it holds- Christian or otherwise. I read the books as a child, and saw this movie because of the fantasy and magic that it held to me. If it can be viewed as that it backed up some of the fundamental views made no difference to me. If anything, it can be argued that there are undertones to it that can be viewed subjectively. Why force something that really has no need to be catagoried blatantly into that?
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for further information, or to post your own comment to their forums if you so chose, please visit the following sites:
http://www.gamegirladvance.com/http://www.joystiq.com/2005/12/20/making-games-for-god/
Movie touches on homosexuality contraversies
As some of you are well aware,
Brokeback Mountain was released in theatres fairly recently. The movie, unlike other movies emphasizeing homosexuality was produced by a big name film company for a change with mainstream stars such as Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaall. For many fans of movies with similar storylines and subjects, this was a breath of fresh air to the community. Independant style films are not seen by a vast majority of movie goers.
Of course, now this brings further into light where the country stands on homosexuality. Advocates of groups both supporting as well as against are coming out in the open to discuss their feelings regarding the movie. Americans are now faced with another war on moral standards. In this politically correct world we live in, movies with contraversial issues are on the chopping block. Gay advocates are very supportive of the braveness of the company to produce a film like this one. They believe that Americans are more than ready for it.
Homosexuality in the media has hit the pinacle of contraversy for some time now. When Ellen Degeneres made her famous "outting" on her hit sitcom years ago, the media was in a frenzy.
Of course, with the contraversies regarding gay civil rights and marriage now coming into the forefront, America has indeed come a long way of crossing over the gaps of what many would call ignorance.
However, some conservatives do not agree. They simply do not think that Americans are ready for a movie like Brokeback Mountain. Their reasoning is based on the theme and overall story involved in the movie, as well as the location and circumstances that it encompassed.
The movie takes place in the 60s/70s when two men (played by Gyllenhaal and Ledger) fall in love. Of course, there are complications. The movie takes place in Wyoming and Texas (very conservative style states). The men are cowboys. In order to hide what society is telling them is wrong; yet their undeniable love for eachother, the men go about their lives in the open as if they were heterosexuals. They marry and bear children. Yet, they continue on their taudrey affair... the lives and love that they would have liked to acknowledge if only their society accepted it.
So, is America really ready for a "mainstream homosexual drama?" As many know, Ellen failed previously when she outted herself. At least as far as her sitcom was concerned. Will and Grace has had a very successful run despite its obvious homosexual overtones. America has indeed come a long way.
However, is America really ready for a "mainstream homosexual dramatic movie?"Well, only time will tell.
A continuing contraversy-- selling in-game currency and items for real cash
New York Times article-Outsourcingand another one:
"Only cheating if you don't get caught"This is an issue that runs rampant in every MMO. It is good and both bad that the New York Times chose to reference China as one of the countries that endorses this very "unethical" of buisness endeavors. It emphasizes the common stereotype.
A lot of gamers, refer to people that chose to do this as "China botters." It has become one of a slew of catagory remarks that some even take as racially offensive. I think that what they failed to emphasize, was the fact that the reason it runs rampant in places such as China, is the lack of Int'l governmental laws to enforce the policeing of such behavior.
It happens very often here in the states as well. The problem is, is that it is technically not "legal" here unless sanctioned by the MMO makers-- ie SOE Exchange.
Here it is a matter of ethics-- we all know that in today's society, to a degree, ethics are thrown out the window. It makes logical sense for these companies to exist from the very basics of buisness standpoints. They are there to supply the consumer with a demand. Virtual goods and commodity are in demand by the vast and growing customer base. There are numerous reasons that a person has to buy. Ethics is one of the only things come in to add why they shouldn't. There are obviously flaws in the system that will allow it to happen regardless. Again, that is partly why SOE Exchange and sites like it, are even popular to beguin with.
It is really sad to think that these kinds of companies are becoming the "sweatshops" of the cyber world we live in. It is evident that something needs to be done either way. It needs to be better regulated most definately.
In local news: as usual people break the rules, so gaming gets attacked
Now many of you are aware of the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board). However, here is an explanation of what it is for those of you that do not know, courtsey of their home site.
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory body for the interactive entertainment software industry established in 1994 by the
Entertainment Software Association (ESA), formerly the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA). ESRB independently applies and enforces ratings, advertising guidelines, and online privacy principles adopted by the computer and video game industry.
If you click on the link there, there was also a great post from the president of the ESA. I will post that later after I tell you about how this ESRB rating has stirred up a bit of contraversy here at home.
Now, I was flipping through the channels, when I came across the San Diego Insider program. I saw that the reporter was in front of a local Gamestop. Having worked for them previously, as well as my now husband, we decided to watch. They were talking about the ESRB rating system a little bit.
Games are rated as follows:
(Of the 1,036 game ratings assigned by the ESRB in 2004):
54% received an E (Everyone) rating
33% received a T (Teen) rating
12% received an M (Mature) rating
<1% received an EC (Early Childhood) rating
<1% received an AO (Adults Only) rating
Now, for a further look at what those ratings mean, and how they are decided, you can go to their
site and have a look. I just didn't want to copy and paste all that info here. Plus, it is something that you probably should look at.
So, in order to buy in the store games that have the M rating, you are supposed to be 17 yrs old. For AO, you must be 18.
This is what what was being focused on in the coverage. There is a group of kids in the El Cajon Youth Coalition that were shown playing the game Narc (a rated M game produced by Midway). The game depicts drug use, and is violent. Hense, why it is rated M. Kids were voicing that the game is not something that they think kids should be able to play, etc, as they feel "it may give the wrong impression to today's youth and make them want to do the things that they are seeing." (Yes. Sigh. I know, how many times have we heard that before...)
So, they wanted to see if they would be able to purchase the game somewhere. They did a sting operation with one of the kids from this organization. Of course, the iddiot in the Gamestop (the manager of all people) sold it to the kid. The reporter went into Gamestop and spoke to the person that sold it to the kid. Of course, since he was working and as such, representing the company, he declined to do any comment, but refunded the money for the sale. I wonder if that guy is still working for the company. Who knows.
The reporter went on to say that they are hopeing to get games like this banned from shelves, citeing the usual "bad influence" yadda yadda yadda.
The rating system is there for a reason. All games have to be rated as the industry's form of self governing. People fail to realize, that the market for the video game industry far surpasses just kids. Many adults and people in their mid twenties make up a huge part of the playerbase.
Hopefully adults will take more time into paying attention to what exactly their kids are doing. They need to sit with their kids and educate them more, and complain less. They need to stop blameing these industries for their faults.
I leave you with the following quote taken from the ESA website by their President, Douglass Lowenstein:
Statement from the ESA on its California Lawsuit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dan Hewitt
202-223-2400
dhewitt@theESA.com
Washington, DC – (October 17, 2005) – In response to California's new unconstitutional video game law, the Entertainment Software Association's (ESA) President, Douglas Lowenstein, issued the following statement :
“Today the ESA filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose seeking to strike down California’s new ban on the sale of certain video games to minors. We believe this bill will meet the same fate as virtually identical statutes that federal courts have routinely struck down in recent years.
“It is not up to any industry or the government to set standards for what kids can see or do; that is the role of parents. Additionally, everyone involved with this misguided law has known from the start that it is an unconstitutional infringement on the First Amendment freedoms of those who create and sell video games.
“So, once again, we urge all people of good will involved in this to come together to work on cooperative, legal ways to help parents make the right choices about the entertainment their kids consume. We all know that parents are not well served by the time and money spent on court battles and legal fees. Rather, they would be far better off if government and industry worked together to educate them about video game ratings, and other tools to help them make informed purchasing decisions for their families.”
(some information is here courtesy of the following websites: ESRB and the ESA)
The blame game...
This blog is going to be about the continuous "blame game" that seems to be happening more frequently with people trying to blame the media for all the problems in the world.
Ever notice the obvious pattern of when something happens with today's youth, that video games, violence in the media, and music are contributing factors to why it happened?
The media, is the constant target of society's problems at large. Why? It is easier to play this blame game or to pass the buck than it is for people as a society to hold themselves responsible for their own actions.
While it is perfectly true, that many areas of the media involved do not always present a positive message for their consumers, it is ultimately the consumer that is to blame for their own actions. To quote what many of us heard as we were growing up-- "they're not twisting your arm, making you do it."
In closing...
I want to make it perfectly clear that I do not condone all of the actions that have been fairly obvious manipulations of the power of the media. This blog is about the consistent blame game that happens to the media; and how they may or may not be as influential to events happening as one might imagine. This is about the commentary from the other side... the side "Against the Stereotype."
