"Mature" Games Growing in MaturityJanuary 29, 2013 by

This post was originally published on my blog which you can find here.

I'm one of the least political people out there - hence why I've never written about politics here, until now. Due to my other interests - movies, TV shows, video games and other trivial pursuits - I have limited attention space for anything else.

Earlier this month, Vice President Joe Biden hosted a discussion  among various representatives to discuss gun control issues. Among these meetings was a discussion of the influence violent media, particularly video games, has on children which included representatives from both family groups and the video game industry. The tragedy in Newtown, CT has brought this discussion to the forefront because among his mental conditions and prevalence of unlocked guns in his house he also played video games some of which were first-person shooters.

Politicians have a not so long but very sordid history with the video game industry and the way it experiments with violence.  Some of this relationship has positive results like the ESRB ratings system but recent discussions could mark changes for the industry and hinder its growth to maturity as games incorporate mature content without making it the whole point of the game. However it took a long way to get there and older games with mature content but less maturity are burned in many minds.

In 1994, the video game industry formed the Electronic Software Ratings Board (ESRB) as a response to political investigations on violence in video games after games like Mortal Kombat rose in popularity and controversy. Without a self-regulating system like this or the more commonly known Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA) ratings system, the government would likely be censoring games setting a dangerous precedent for their control over media. It should be noted that many other countries' government have the ability to ban video games. This often results in game publishers releasing censored versions at a later date.

Games like Mortal Kombat caught political officials attention in the mid-90's.

With both the ESRB and MPAA being self-regulating organizations, the inclination to compare the two is natural. Both were created to prevent government intervention and both have categories for all-ages ("G," "E"), older kids ("PG,: "E10+"), teenagers ("T," PG-13"), younger adults ("M," "R"), and adults ("AO," "NC-17"). However there is a difference in how their used. The MPAA ratings system has evolved into a marketing tool in that a movies rating greatly affects its financial performance. When the organization in charge of the ratings stands to make more money from a PG-13 rating instead of an R rating filmmakers are either forced to make cuts in order to meet that rating or a PG-13 movie will have vampires and wolves slicing off each others heads when a smaller film with similar violence will get an "R" rating.

Game ratings however have no affect on sales or perhaps the reverse affect. According to website VG Chartz, four of the 10 best-selling games (with consolidated multi-platform titles) of 2012 rated for consumers 17 and older. While there might have been pressure to make 2011's Batman: Arkham City a "Teen" rated game - despite an overtly liberal use of the word "bitch" - the yearly, "M" rated "Call of Duty" entry has outsold the competition year and year out with the latest entry, Black Ops II grossing $1 billion in 15 days.

When I think about my favorite games of all-time, more than half of them are classified "M," and yet a growing number of them have mature elements more compelling than the violence. Most of these have have to do with choice and consequence a prevailing trend to the point that the aforementioned Black Ops II has branching story lines that hinge on the players' choices. This, and other elements have intrigued those willing to listen. When I described my excitement for Mass Effect 3 to my mom, explaining that my decisions in the previous two entries affected the story in the third game, she compared it to my childhood obsession with choose your own adventure books.

The two rebudles to this are that the sci-fi epic Mass Effect series can be described as a "ligher 'M'" similar to the first Matrix film being referred to as a "light 'R.'" Also, half of the series still revolves around gun fights - albeit light on blood. No one will contend that Rockstar's L.A. Noire  isn't a "Mature" game. As a detective in 1940's Los Angeles, the player investigates the grizzly Black Dahlia murders, uncovers a pedophile movie director and discovers a real estate conspiracy. While the latter might not serve as proper ammunition in the crusade against violent games, the player solves all of these cases by finding clues, interviewing suspects and witnesses and referring back to all the collected information. My mom also experienced this game, in fact I was working on the pedophile case, one of the games more disturbing cases. Yet as I played it with my mom in the room, there wasn't the same awkward tension that would have been there if I was shooting cops in Grand Theft Auto or  zombies with a chainsaw in Dead Rising. It was closer to the experience of watching an 'R'-rated detective movie. She even commented on how this was different from her perception of other games where I would shoot my way to solve the case (L.A. Noire has gun fights but the shooting mechanics are poorly executed and secondary to the actual detective work ).

Not all 'M' rated games are as progressive in their dedication to story and even those that have merits beyond the violence will  resort to stereotype in other areas.  Just as there is a market for excessively violent films there will be consumers willing to pay for games that focus on the violence. These games don't warrant blanket laws that keep publishers from exploring the medium's potential. That medium is finally  reaching it's maturity and to hinder it would be a mistake.

I wasn't allowed to own an "M" rated game before I was 17. Even when I bought Grand Theft Auto III at 18 to see what all the fuss was about, I could tell my Dad was tempted to throw it out. In all likelihood kids shouldn't be playing these games but just as they'll find pornography in their friend's dad's closet (or on their laptop) or watch an R rated movie at a sleepover, they'll find a way to play them. However that's not the industry's fault and it certainly isn't the government's role to block that content.

As always, let me know what you think in the comments below. You can follow me on Twitter at @TylerLyon or by clicking the "follow" button below. Feel free to shoot me an email at tylerlyonblog@gmail.com. Finally if you like what you read, like it on Wordpress, share it on social media and tell your friends. Thanks for reading!

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Time To Step It Up: Ways Spike Can Save the VGA'sDecember 14, 2010 by

The following post comes from my gaming related blog, Eyes Open Thumbs Down which you can find at . Enjoy!

As I alluded to in my last post, the mainstream population has yet to recognize and embrace gaming as a true art form. While this will undoubtedly change in future, the industry has already begun its move towards this goal. Instead of film festivals there are trade shows like E3, and instead of the Oscars, Emmys and Golden Globes there are…the VGAs.

The award show’s biggest positive is that it makes Joe gamer more aware of what exactly goes into gaming. These aren’t casual gamers mind you, but gamers that stick with blockbuster franchises like “Madden” or “Call of Duty.” Not many of these players pay attention to a games voice acting and even fewer know the difference between a developer/studio and a publisher. These awards also showcase great lesser known titles to these gamers like “Limbo,” download only games, or just the fact that there are still quality hardcore titles for the Wii. Finally there are announcements for next years’ blockbuster titles we might not otherwise get until E3.

Limbo represents one of the positve aspects of the VGA's.

Unfortunately the rest of the show doesn’t provide any depth outside of these few characteristics. This is due to the choice of celebrity guests and writing based on the perceived gaming audience, the show is on Spike, and the awards don’t feel like the ultimate achievement for any studio that they should be. The result is a show that feels more like VMA’s but without the performances or events recounted in the office and schoolyard the following day.

There is at least some credibility to MTV’s award show as the station used to play and talk about music. Spike is the channel for 12 year-old boys. Their programming consists of nothing but censored “Entourage” episodes, UFC and college debauchery sit-coms (I almost forgot the monthly airing of the entire “Star Wars” saga). As I mentioned in last week’s article, the average gamer is 34 – hardly Spike’s audience.

Should The VGA's Change Venues?

It’s time for a change of venue. This proves difficult as Spike created the show but the station is owned by Viacom. The broadcast would be better suited for MTV instead of “16& Pregnant” re-runs. As far as selling the rights to the broadcast, it’s a chicken and egg conundrum. There’s no doubt the show would do better on a station like FX or USA but the show and medium doesn’t garner enough viewers to warrant that purchase. Since this change is unlikely, Spike will have to work out the kinks.

This brings us to the celebrity appearances which were mainly a victim to poor writing. Neil Patrick Harris did better with the material than he should have and the best job anybody could under that circumstance. Dane Cook, who despite recent backlash can be funny, just looked content in cashing a check with the same amount of effort put into the pre-written jokes. Even Dominic Monaghan, (“Lost,” “Lord of The Rings,”) said he was just reading a bad joke off the teleprompter.

I hope that was a big paycheck.

If Viacom insists on airing the awards show on Spike, then the least they should do is hire some stronger writers. Maria Menounos is a fine green room correspondent but that position isn’t worth however much money she pulled for that gig. They could also save money by putting in some other aspiring reporter with a pretty face. Also, what was the point of the My Chemical Romance performance? Aside from the fact that they’ve fallen in quality after their last two quality offerings, not every gamer is a fan but everyone loves to laugh. These are just two ways to save money better spent on writing to make the event must-see TV.

That’s the biggest flaw with the concept of a video game awards show in general: it’s not the highest authority in deciding which games were the best of the year. The Oscars are the highest honor in film and the same is attributed to the Emmys for television and the Grammys are gold for musicians. Even the ESPY’s are highly regarded amongst athletes despite being second to winning a championship or MVP award. Before it blew up into the billion dollar industry it is today, gaming was very much an underground industry and games journalism was unknown to all its news, sports and art oriented peers. However gamers paid attention to these grassroots publications because they knew these writers were just like them and their opinions could be trusted. Hardcore gamers are now in the habit of follow outlets like IGN, Game Informer, and Gamespot for all their gaming news and review needs. How is this show supposed to grow if it can’t even attract its target audiences’ attention?

The show would gain instant credibility if it were to integrate a gaming site into the show. The easiest way to do this would be to purchase an established website and have its writers do the voting. This could give the show interest credibility among games by making it the exclusive way to reveal so-and-so.com’s game of the year. The other option is to sell the awards to another corporation with a highly regarded site or publication but this is highly unlikely as anyone of these corporations could turn it into a huge.

After Sunday night’s debacle of an awards show, it’s clear the show need s to catch up with rising status of the medium. If Viacom can truly get in touch with what gamers want in an award show, then maybe more will watch instead of checking Twitter for updates.

Now Playing: “Mass Effect,” “Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare”

Remember to follow Eyes Open Thumbs Down on Twitter @EyesOpnThmbsDwn.

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