Delightfully offensive

[Bizzaro Stormy]

So over the last few years I've seen more and more people get their knickers in a twist over offensive/non-PC content in games. Personally I think offensiveness is in the eye of the beholder and can be rather entertaining if done right. So please pick a gaming moment that would give any enlightened/self-righteousness person the vapors and tell us about it. Seriously, pick your favorite ist or ism and how it was exploited in all of its pixelated glory on screen!

 

[Vault101]

The Saints row series I'm sure has plenty of "offensive" things I'm sure....other than that I nothing comes to mind

Personally I think offensiveness is in the eye of the beholder

it...really isn't... you can't really tell other people if they should find something offensive or not

...can I bring out my stick metaphor? cause I think its relevant

if you accidentally hit me in the face with a stick, you'd probably apologize, most people would because they understand immedetly I could be in pain,and while it was unintentional they understand it was a slight upon me... and I'd probably be like "thats cool, mabye be careful with your stick next time".again people immediately understand the pain part...its tangible

but how people react to something that isn't as "tangible" as pain:


[quote/]"Ow that hurt!"
"no it didn't"
"uhhh...yes it does"
"no it doesn't , it only hurts if I meant to hit you, I didn't mean to"
"yeah but...you can see the bruise starting to show"
"maybe it hurts because you expected it to hurt and you clealry have a problem with sticks..why do you hate sticks?"
"I don't hate sticks! its just yours hit me in the face"
"IT DIDN'T BECAUSE IT WAS UNINTENTIONAL"
"I know that!"
"then why are you are you freaking out over it?? what the fuck is your problem?"
"because my face hurts!!"
"I don't believe you! youre just overly sensitive!"
"...mabye in future carry your stick closer to your body, so you wont hit people"
"you DARE suggest I change my behaviour? I DON'T HIT PEOPLE WITH SITCKS!
"you just did"
"No I didn't! stick hitters are tattooed thugs who run around after midnight! do I look like a goddamn stick hitter?"
"no but you did hit me in the face with a stick"
"NO I DIDN'T!!!"[/quote]

my face hurts/I found that offensive <- people dissmiss the very idea that somone could be legitimatly offended by what they say or things in general, because we've been told that those bad people...the racists the sexists the homophbobes are other people characters with cartoonish veiw points (like the KKK or ultra conservative christians) and that nothing WE say (normal people) could in anyway cause offense

 

[Frission]

The Saints row series I'm sure has plenty of "offensive" things I'm sure....other than that I nothing comes to mind

Personally I think offensiveness is in the eye of the beholder

it...really isn't... you can't really tell other people if they should find something offensive or not

...can I bring out my stick metaphor? cause I think its relevant

if you accidentally hit me in the face with a stick, you'd probably apologize, most people would because they understand immedetly I could be in pain,and while it was unintentional they understand it was a slight upon me... and I'd probably be like "thats cool, mabye be careful with your stick next time".again people immediately understand the pain part...its tangible

but how people react to something that isn't as "tangible" as pain:

my face hurts/I found that offensive <- people dissmiss the very idea that somone could be legitimatly offended by what they say or things in general, because we've been told that those bad people...the racists the sexists the homophbobes are other people characters with cartoonish veiw points (like the KKK or ultra conservative christians) and that nothing WE say (normal people) could in anyway cause offense

I think it's a concept that goes both ways. You can't tell someone they can't be offended, but you also can't say that a person should be offended. Offense also becomes more complicated when you try to pass through the barriers of class, religion and nationality as well. For example, I'm offended by private pools. Why someone may ask, how could you possibly be offended by private pools? Because I think it's a crass waste of water and an almost vulgar display of wealth. That view is probably not common though, and while there are topics that are commonly found as offensive you also have to make allowances that there are different types of people.

That and there's a question of whether offense should even matter. We live in a free and open society, not a closed society like a theocracy. Sometimes offense has to be counter-balanced by liberty of thought.

OT: The most recent game I've played like that was the Paradox Strategy game series: EU4 and CK2. It's not obvious at first sight, but a lot of the little blurbs and prompts for the events shown in the game are very very cynical and a lot of terrible things can be committed in the game, if you think about it, such as incest, infanticide and genocide. The black humor that can come from the games is pretty hilarious though.

EDIT: As MarsAtlas also mentioned, homosexuality is offensive to homophobes, but I don't think that it means that we should give weight to the cries of being offended in that case.

 

[tippy2k2]

I'm a huge fan of dark comedies and I also am of the mind that, in the right hands, nothing is sacred.

For gaming, you've got the obvious candidate of Saints Row. Whether I am spraying shit all over the place (like...literally, that's not a metaphor), beating people to death with giant dildo bats, or whatever wacky adventure I am currently experiencing, it's great.

I am also greatly enjoying Far Cry 4. What makes this game so much better than 3 (and I greatly enjoyed 3) are these characters. Whether it's the obvious rip on the American Gun Nut that is Hurk ("You need to keep a low profile, like a republican living in San Francisco."), the absolute insanity that is the dictator Pagan Min ("Who keeps lighting candles all over the place? GREG! Take a note; Candles are now illegal and considered treason. Anyone caught lighting candles will be executed"), or the dominatrix-inspired Yuma, there's fun for everyone in Kyrat!

 

[Bizzaro Stormy]

My thought with this thread was for people to lighten up. There are cultural norms in any society that are considered offensive, unsettling, disturbing, etc. and these days it seems to have expanded to include anything that could possibly upset any given group or sub group.

We say, "That's racist, sexist, fill in the blank phobic, elitist, ect." without even considering that recognizing the differences between people and having a good laugh at our own expense is worthwhile and can bring us closer together.

I've seen far too many articles and forum threads saying something or other is not right and saying it in a damning way. I really want to see some folks saying "that's not right" while laughing about it. Lets laugh at ourselves. Let's be offensive and love it!

One of the key elements in entertainment, particularly any form of escapist fantasy such as video games, is to ignore these cultural norms and let people explore what could be.

The Saints row series I'm sure has plenty of "offensive" things I'm sure....other than that I nothing comes to mind

With that in mind the Saints Row games offer many fine examples of twisted fun. I enjoyed the desperate attempts of the developers to not look racist in Saints Row 2. They had one gang the Ronin that was clearly meant to be Japanese, and another the Sons of Samedi that is clearly meant to be a black Jamaican gang. Yet both groups are almost ludicrously racially diverse in their membership. I remember playing it and just shaking my head and smiling at their efforts.

So everyone, don't be shy. Bring up those things you've seen and played that others would look down on and tell us how they made you feel good.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I've not been keeping up with recent gaming news because it's fucking depressing and has too many isms for me to even care about (TL;DR anything that involves a man and a woman can be interpreted as sexist if you have an agenda to push, and can nitpick/twist the facts hard enough so why bother even arguing with these people) so i dunno any of the standard controversies milling around so i'll go for anything devised by 4chan.

Anyone who doesn't browse the internet for long enough to know 4chan's reputation and checks it out in a "I wonder what this 4chan thing is" type way would find it awfully offensive 99% of the time I assume. I find it hilarious.

The best example that comes to mind is Ebola-chan. Truly a terrible virus laying waste to parts of Africa being turned into a female anime character wearing a nurse-esque uniform with Ebola shaped pigtails hair is something that could only come from 4chan. She's actually pretty well drawn and designed as a themed character. Not even mad.

 

[Vault101]

My thought with this thread was for people to lighten up. There are cultural norms in any society that are considered offensive, unsettling, disturbing, etc. and these days it seems to have expanded to include anything that could possibly upset any given group or sub group.

the "lighten up" mentality is more often than not a deflection tactic and absolves us of thinking about our (or others) behaviour

[quote/] without even considering that recognizing the differences between people and having a good laugh at our own expense is worthwhile and can bring us closer together.[/quote]
there goes my gag reflex...

I'm sorry but that kind of schmaltzy justification is just disingenuous 99% of the time

[quote/]One of the key elements in entertainment, particularly any form of escapist fantasy such as video games, is to ignore these cultural norms and let people explore what could be.[/quote]
except its funny when that escapist fantasy leaves out and or mocks/deamonizes certain groups in our society...oh wait sorry it isn't funny

but you also can't say that a person should be offended.

I'm not saying anyone [I/]should[/I] be offended...I'm saying they should think about it instead of falling back on stupid chestnuts


[quote/]That and there's a question of whether offense should even matter
.[/quote]
when it affects groups of vulnerable people [I/]of coarse[/I] it should fucking matter

 

[Frission]

/snip

Look, I know this might be condescending or annoying to say, but, calm down. Read most of the post and stop trying to put words in someone's mouth. No one likes that, including you, seeing what you just said.

Here was the a less cut part of my post:

'That and there's a question of whether offense should even matter. We live in a free and open society, not a closed society like a theocracy. Sometimes offense has to be counter-balanced by liberty of thought.'

Sometimes. In this case I was thinking that if for example you got offended by a cartoon, that doesn't excuse you going violent. You might be thinking about groups getting harassed, but there's also the possibility of something like MarsAtlas said: 'homosexuality is offensive to homophobes, but I don't think that it means that we should give weight to the cries of being offended in that case.' It's a problem in degrees.

I mean imagine if I flipped out and said that the importance you put on offense means that you support the Christian groups which want to ban all depictions of homosexuality because it's offensive to them. It's not what you meant, but it's still defamatory and it wastes everyone's time.

Jeez.

 

[FirstNameLastName]

Personally I think offensiveness is in the eye of the beholder

it...really isn't... you can't really tell other people if they should find something offensive or not

Does this apply to people who are offended by tran rights, homosexuals, interracial couples, women being able to vote, black people being able to sit where they want on the bus etc?

...can I bring out my stick metaphor? cause I think its relevant

Please don't. That metaphor is better described as a blatant strawman that is held up by the fact that it is pretty much universally agreed that being hit in the face with a stick hurts and is otherwise rude (there my be some who disagree, but not enough to be note worthy). Yet, whether or not depictions in media and certain uses of words are offensive and rude is not even close to unanimous agreement.

Look around, how many topics are there discussing depictions in media/social opinions vs the number discussing whether or not hitting people in the face with a stick is offensive behaviour?
The reason there is so much discussion about the former, and none about the latter, is because there is so much disagreement about what is and isn't offensive.

my face hurts/I found that offensive <- people dissmiss the very idea that somone could be legitimatly offended by what they say or things in general, because we've been told that those bad people...the racists the sexists the homophbobes are other people characters with cartoonish veiw points (like the KKK or ultra conservative christians) and that nothing WE say (normal people) could in anyway cause offense

Please explain why the homophobes and racists aren't legitimately offended. Are you not dismissing their offence?

 

[wulf3n]

it...really isn't... you can't really tell other people if they should find something offensive or not

That's exactly what the OP is saying. What people find offensive is what they find offensive, there's no definitive checklist of this is what everyone finds offensive, ergo it's in the eye of the beholder.

...can I bring out my stick metaphor? cause I think its relevant

if you accidentally hit me in the face with a stick, you'd probably apologize, most people would because they understand immedetly I could be in pain,and while it was unintentional they understand it was a slight upon me... and I'd probably be like "thats cool, mabye be careful with your stick next time".again people immediately understand the pain part...its tangible

but how people react to something that isn't as "tangible" as pain:


[quote/]"Ow that hurt!"
"no it didn't"
"uhhh...yes it does"
"no it doesn't , it only hurts if I meant to hit you, I didn't mean to"
"yeah but...you can see the bruise starting to show"
"maybe it hurts because you expected it to hurt and you clealry have a problem with sticks..why do you hate sticks?"
"I don't hate sticks! its just yours hit me in the face"
"IT DIDN'T BECAUSE IT WAS UNINTENTIONAL"
"I know that!"
"then why are you are you freaking out over it?? what the fuck is your problem?"
"because my face hurts!!"
"I don't believe you! youre just overly sensitive!"
"...mabye in future carry your stick closer to your body, so you wont hit people"
"you DARE suggest I change my behaviour? I DON'T HIT PEOPLE WITH SITCKS!
"you just did"
"No I didn't! stick hitters are tattooed thugs who run around after midnight! do I look like a goddamn stick hitter?"
"no but you did hit me in the face with a stick"
"NO I DIDN'T!!!"

my face hurts/I found that offensive <- people dissmiss the very idea that somone could be legitimatly offended by what they say or things in general, because we've been told that those bad people...the racists the sexists the homophbobes are other people characters with cartoonish veiw points (like the KKK or ultra conservative christians) and that nothing WE say (normal people) could in anyway cause offense[/quote]

That doesn't really work as while practically everyone (unless you've got Congenital analgesia or leprosy) would feel pain from getting hit in the face with a stick, someone getting offended by something said or done or is dependant on what that individual finds offensive.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

Well this thread quickly turned to shit (and comparing offense to physical violence, oh for fuck sake Vault).

Anyhow, GTA V was choc-a-block with "oooh you can't say/do that" humour. I haven't even gotten around to finishing the thing and it's bloody hilarious. I'd single something out, but it's been a while since I played it.

At first I was hoping this would be a general thread and not relegated to gaming, I was ever so looking forward to posting this

Spoiler

 

[Zhukov]

Ummm... An offensive moment that will make a SJW bleed tears of blood...

I couldn't find anything offensive, but that dialogue did make my ears leak blood, so I guess you weren't quite lying.

 

[Bizzaro Stormy]

Well this thread quickly turned to shit (and comparing offense to physical violence, oh for fuck sake Vault).

Anyhow, GTA V was choc-a-block with "oooh you can't say/do that" humour. I haven't even gotten around to finishing the thing and it's bloody hilarious. I'd single something out, but it's been a while since I played it.

At first I was hoping this would be a general thread and not relegated to gaming, I was ever so looking forward to posting this

Spoiler

You know what, expanding this from just games to any form of media doesn't sound too terrible. You've convinced me!

Ummm... An offensive moment that will make a SJW bleed tears of blood...

I couldn't find anything offensive, but that dialogue did make my ears leak blood, so I guess you weren't quite lying.

Sadly I need to find something to wipe up Zhukov's blood with. Ah, here's something! (grabs a child's security blanket)

 

[Therumancer]

So over the last few years I've seen more and more people get their knickers in a twist over offensive/non-PC content in games. Personally I think offensiveness is in the eye of the beholder and can be rather entertaining if done right. So please pick a gaming moment that would give any enlightened/self-righteousness person the vapors and tell us about it. Seriously, pick your favorite ist or ism and how it was exploited in all of its pixelated glory on screen!

My basic attitude is that if you try and do anything it's going to be offensive to someone. Liberals in their attempts to be tolerant have lead to universal intolerance so to speak. If you make a video game and want to make it anything at all like the real world, current or historical, the people who the bad guys are based on are likely to be given a platform to scream about how wrong it was and have liberals jumping up and down to help you make an issue out of it. We've seen this in the terms of everything from the game "Mercenaries 2: World In Flames" being set in the real life country of Venezuela, to claims about games based around modern warfare being offensively jingonistic, to arguments that "Far Cry 3" is racist because the white Protagonist winds up becoming the hero of a native resistance in the quest to rescue his friends. On other fronts we've had demands for more women in action games, but when some show up as exaggerated bad guys in an exaggerated action game like "Hit Man" and wind up being defeated in a trailer we're told that's sexist. When "Assassin's Creed 3" came out we were apparently supposed to feel disgusted by that one too for being too pro-American even if it did portray George Washington as a psychopath in some of it's DLC... and it just goes on.

Right now as a general rule your only enemy can be Zombies, Nazis, Aliens, or White American Men, pick anything else and your virtually baiting an attack for people to come after you for being the worst kind of person. Even on that list it seems like it might be being shortened because I guess Germany thinks we need to pretend the Nazis didn't exist (and edit them out of everything or refuse products with their involvement), and people have gotten so uptight about "genocide" that wiping out evil alien races is now a big deal, I'm personally waiting for the day we see serious cases made by left wingers in geek media that we should protest the whole "Alien" franchise for that reason for the message that it's idiotic not to wipe the entire species out (indeed preserving the aliens for study/potential usefulness is how the corporations ultimately wind up screwing everyone over). Of course when I say "Aliens" here I'm not just talking about Xenomorphs. I've heard arguments that aren't quite mainstream yet that "evil aliens" are just people making racist metaphors.... so basically when we hack down orcs (not really aliens but in this catagories) or fly around space exclaiming "the only good Klingon is a dead Klingon" as we demolish ship after ship in our quest to defend earth, we're likely to be called the worst kind of people in the next few years.

That said I can't think of any real cases where I feel an "ist" or "ism" has been used well, because when it comes to fantasy in things like video games I don't really feel those terms apply. In my mind if some Dwarf goes off about wanting to kill every Goblin in the world and you start ranting about racism, pointing out the Dwarf is white and the goblins have a dark skin tone, or whatever, your being bloody mental. I don't consider Van Helsing wanting to eliminate every Vampire on earth to be some kind of racism that we are supposed to be ashamed of, especially not in context (and honestly that only makes sense when you start re-defining Vampires into something that misses the point of what a Vampire is supposed to be anyway, basically "real" Vampires are not simply super humans that sparkle).

 

[Serinanth]

That's difficult for me as I don't take offense to much. It has to be something that questions my character. Seeing as they are video games, not real life, I take even less offence to whatever is being portrayed. I've been disgusted and or found reprehensible things I have seen in video games and movies but I cant think of a time I personally felt offended.

Then again it could be the fact that I'm a middle aged white guy, I'm typically portrayed as an awesome badass in video games and movies.

I work in the corporate world and when interacting with day shift (us night owls are wired differently) I must turn my filter up to high, because simple cursewords are somehow offensive (I will never understand that) even aside from that people can find the simplest and downright absurd things offensive. As the years have gone by I have noticed it getting worse and worse as well and I don't know if the people are actually offended or just playing the corporate game.

In those situations I have found the best response to be.

Just because you're offended doesn't make you right.

You know what I did find offensive? When I found out a certain EX content provider on this site that I genuinely enjoyed, even when I disagreed with him had some nasty things to say about gamer's on his twitter feed. Because of that I wont be following his exploits to wherever he goes.

 

[FrozenEscapee]

The best recent example I can think of is South Park: The Stick of Truth. Above-average quantities of offensive content, even by South Park standards, while still being a fun game. I can't think of which ism to highlight for the OP...all of them?