I had an idea recently about an optional filter that could be added to games to reduce mature content. We already have blood filters in some games; what about other optional filters, like language and nudity. Again, it would all be optional, although a parental code might be a good idea.
Poll: Maturity Filter?
- Thread starter X10J
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Old, old, old. See Leisure Suit Larry, Forgotten Realms, or even the first few Fallouts.
I support the idea, as I found Fallout 3's gore annoying enough that I hacked the game and turned it off.
I support the idea, as I found Fallout 3's gore annoying enough that I hacked the game and turned it off.
I also have an awesome idea, but it's for cars. You could put a belt on the inside of a car that you wear across your shoulder. Then, if you get in a crash, the inertia wouldn't propel you through the windshield.
Cool idea, right?
Cool idea, right?
I don't think that's a reasonable thing to do. We have age ratings for that (thought some might say that system is more than flawed).
The reason for thinking it's unreasonable is that I just can't imagine something like GTA without occasional "fuck this shit" and VtM:Bloodlines without Janette flashing her firm ass in a miniskirt...
The reason for thinking it's unreasonable is that I just can't imagine something like GTA without occasional "fuck this shit" and VtM:Bloodlines without Janette flashing her firm ass in a miniskirt...
Old idea, and bad idea. That means instead of actually creating good content or polishing the games, someone on the dev team has to sort through all the game's content to create these filters. Waste of time and money IMO.
And what is the point of a gangster game without gangster behaving like, you know, gangster? And a dark world (or World of Darkness) setting of violence and sex without blood and boobs?
Nothing will stop whining parents. Gaming industry already tried that saying "This is for sixteen and older, DO NOT BUY FOR TEN YEAR OLDS!" and it failed.
Nothing will stop whining parents. Gaming industry already tried that saying "This is for sixteen and older, DO NOT BUY FOR TEN YEAR OLDS!" and it failed.
Seems like a good idea however I would fear that the gaming industry will off worse for us mature gamers, it's likely that games from all franchises will become more family orientated than they already are regardless if it was filtered due to the very wide range of audiences the game will be having to target.
In summary: Bad idea.
The division between adults, teenagers and children is perfectly fine as this allows a game to be focused on one particular audience thus allowing us mature gamers to beat a hooker to death with a baseball bat
In summary: Bad idea.
The division between adults, teenagers and children is perfectly fine as this allows a game to be focused on one particular audience thus allowing us mature gamers to beat a hooker to death with a baseball bat
False.Avaholic03 said:
I added ONE line to my fallout.ini file and it removed ALL of the bloodsprays, dismemberments, and gore from combat.
And that's how a filter would work.
when (filter=true) {
remove $bloodspray;
remove $dismember;
remove $bloodpatterns;
etc...
}
A language filter would be simply RegExing every sentence with "s/fuck|shit|****|*****|etc/\*\*\*\*/". Basically, a copy/paste job.
The only thing that would take ANY effort would be a nudity filter. And even the effort there is marginal.
(This assumes that competent people programmed the game, but good games don't come from incompetent people.)
I seem to remember a rumor that the original Mortal Kombat had something like that when i was a kid. I distinctly remember arguing with my parents about it when they wouldn't buy me the game. There was a blood code that you had to know in order to unlock the blood and finishers. I'm pretty sure that it was just a rumor, but that was my experience with it. The only reason it was a valid argument was that there was no way little child me could have obtained a code by myself. These days though, kids would just look it up on the internet and be done with it. I don't really think it would help much keeping kids away if that's what your going for.X10J said:
I agree with some of the other posters though that its useful for adults that become annoyed.
Here you go. Best idea ever, courtesy of Penny Arcade. Incidentally, also my favorite PA strip, ever.
Also, in terms of how valuable it would be, think about this: have you ever watched a movie, listened to a song/album, or read a book that was just amazing, so much so that you want to share it with everyone you know, maybe even including your parents? But maybe that awesome thing had a bunch of unnecessary swearing, violence or sex that you knew would offend some of the people with whom you'd like to share it? Maybe you haven't, but i have; all the frakkin' time!
Dragon Age allows me to turn off the excessive gore, and it made the game far better for it. I wish other games would do the same.
Good idea as long as it doesn't affect the games for those who are old enough and mature.
Otherwise it can get fucked imo.
Otherwise it can get fucked imo.
never thought from this exact angle before, and it is true...Avaholic03 said:
OT: honestly no, and when i eventually have kids i wont get them games until they are mature enough to me (age =/= maturity) to handle the games, and if i think the game would be awesome for them to try but have a few blips here and there, i'll just explain it to them here and there and see how they react to it, and go from there.
a little bit of enlightening/positive communication between people goes a long way -_-
something alot of parents who are clueless about their childs hobbies seem to forget...