210°

Developers have an ‘obligation’ over game violence, says Warren Spector

Warren Spector says he’s finding it ‘very hard’ to balance gore in System Shock 3.

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videogameschronicle.com
Smokehouse1811d ago

Meh. It’s entertainment not a morality lesson.

Tapani1811d ago

Entertainment is just one of the many forms video games take. Besides, you are not the only one to decide which one it is. Movie directors, authors and game directors decide what their genre is and you have to go with it. I’m taking a break playing Spector’s masterpiece just now to write this, and I honestly think Deus Ex GOTY is much more than just simple-minded entertainment. I’m sure he has life experience quite the lot as well, being over 60.

meep3161811d ago (Edited 1811d ago )

I don’t get what you are saying, nobody is allowed to have an opinion? Who cares how old he is as well.

rainslacker1811d ago

I respect the mans work, and honestly, years ago, he was a visionary that not many others in the industry could touch with the same level of insight. But, in more recent years, like the last ten or so, she seems more like he just has a problem with everything the industry does, and thinks nothing is good enough to match his morality or ideals.

Developers have the same obligation that directors of films or other media do with violence. And that's if it's included, present it in a way that is relevant to what you're making. Otherwise, it's gratuitous, or ends up in a crap film. I can only think of one director who felt remorse for having excessive violence in his movie, and that was Stanley Kubrick for "A Clockwork Orange". And his regret wasn't so much that he had it in the film, but that others took that as a reason to mimic what was done in the film.

You say "you are not the only one to decide which one it is", which is true. But that doesn't mean that Spector's opinion on the matter is the only one worth taking note of. How other people feel about their games, or the content within is their own personal thing, and I don't need devs feeling they have to have an obligation to anyone when designing their games, because there is absolutely no way in hell they can make a game that will appease everyone. They should make what they want, and let others decide if it's for them. Otherwise, we get this bullshit we have going on with sexual content being censored right now, because someone decided they were the arbiters of what was successful.

I almost with publishers would actually just go by sales and focus groups, instead of listening to people who have no stake in the matter. I'm not one for paint by numbers, but I respect a game more if the devs make what they want, because it's what they want to make, and they tend to make things that appeal to their audience, which is represented in sales and focus groups.

Smokehouse1811d ago

I watch trashy b-movie films too. Nobody has a right to tell people they can’t make cheesy gory movies. Or say that they have an obligation to uphold some ridiculous standard. If he wants to regulate his own games, fine, I can respect that. It’s his vision, what can anyone say to him? Nothing. He’s saying that all devs have an obligation, do you know what obligation means? Screw that lol. Mind ya business is what I say to that.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1811d ago
harmny1811d ago (Edited 1811d ago )

The guy let us murder children in Deus ex

Tapani1811d ago

That is simple-minded. Terrorists do the same thing, yet I could easily say governments let them do that. I won’t still blame the governments for it. I know it is complicated.

Poopmist1811d ago

Gore is pretty irrelevant. I care 1000x more about a game avoiding negative role models than Gore when allowing my son to play a game. I'd let him play something like Halo wayyyyyyyy before GTA 5 because of the main characters.

rainslacker1811d ago

Disregarding what you'd allow your son to play, do you feel that Spector is correct in his statement though?

Does the dev have to have the obligation to make sure that the gore or violence is within certain arbitrary threshholds, with absolutely no standard in place otherwise...outside regional ratings boards.

Are you as a parent taking on the obligation of deciding that for your son? Aren't you, as a a gamer, taking that obligation on yourself, for yourself?

I can't see how the devs could possibly try to be obligated to everyone over violence, because the only way to achieve that is to cater to the lowest common denominator....which is obviously those who don't want any violence. But then you end up neglecting people that want those kinds of games, and someone should feel "obligated" to provide for them.

Poopmist1811d ago

No, a parent should be responsible and pay attention to what their kids play

Magog1811d ago

Sad to watch greats become cranky old conservatives as they age.

MWH1811d ago

Remember this comment when you age.

franwex1811d ago

Not everyone becomes like that though. Just some. Scorcece didn’t slow down.

MWH1811d ago

@franwex if you mean martin scorsese, i think his use of violence was always within the context of the story unlike for example tarantino who tend to exaggerate the violence delivery a bit. Nonetheless, I agree that not everyone will develop the sensibility warren is expressing and even though i agree with warren that distasteful violence is distasteful but i still love Doom.

eddvdm1811d ago

You say it like conservative is the only people that defend that. Not even close.

Dizzy115231808d ago

If you grow up and are still a liberal you really have no brain.

l33t_haxx0r1811d ago

I remember when age rating actually ment something

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40°

Yosuke Saito working on new project with Yoko Taro and Keiichi Okabe

Square Enix executive officer and NieR series producer Yosuke Saito is working on a new project with NieR series director Yoko Taro and series composer Keiichi Okabe (MONACA), the latest issue of W…

70°

Interview: ExoCross Is A New Take On Arcade Racing

Insider Gaming sits down with ExoCross creative director Paul Coleman to talk about the game's development, features, gameplay, and more.

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insider-gaming.com
190°

Nintendo confirms its commitment to physical games

In an era dominated by digital downloads and streaming services, the importance of physical media in gaming remains a topic of discussion.

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mynintendonews.com
Chocoburger1d 7h ago

Of course, Nintendo has always preferred physical sales, especially since they skew to a younger audience, and kids want games for their birthdays and holidays. They go to the store and pick the game they want.

Since the Wii they have always been the last major publisher to support modern tech or concepts, and they will be the last to support physical if it ever goes away. Which I hope it doesn't.

darthv7217h ago

Nintendo just likes sales in general. If they can sell digital more, they would because the 2nd hand market they do not get a cut of. For me, i tend to buy more physical switch games than I do other platforms. I do have my fair share of digital deals from the eshop though. Especially if its something that i have a sealed physical copy of and dont want to reduce its value.

Cacabunga17h ago

Then I know for sure who I will be supporting

neutralgamer199217h ago

OK, but you need better format where these games could actually fit instead of half of the game being in physical form and all I have being on a digital code or have to download

Hofstaderman17h ago

The one caveat with cartridges. If the leaks are true the internal storage stands at 256gb plus SD card support too.

franwex14h ago

You could have a 256gb card and a 10gb card. Publishers will simply use the 10gb one and make you download the rest.

Inverno17h ago

There are cards that can fit all of a game but those cost more, and publishers are cheap. It's weird cause with how much the switch has sold and how long it's been on the market the costs to manufacture these cards should've been much lower by now. It's a publisher issue cause there has only been very few exceptions on PS and Xbox, rest of the industry would rather force a download despite Blu-ray being cheap.

shinoff218315h ago

Your right. It's definitely a publisher issue. From my time collecting that's what I've come across. Just always remember

Doesitplay.org

Tell you everything you need to know about releases.

Flakegriffin14h ago

Pretty sure most, if not all, of Nintendo first party titles are all on cartridge. It’s the third parties.

Neonridr8h ago

that's on devs who opt for cheaper sized cartridges to save on manufacturing costs.

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ActualWhiteMan17h ago

Yeah it artificially retains the high prices for their software. Hence Pirates will always have their day with them.

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