Poll: what do you consider an "adult game"?

[NicolasMarinus]

Whenever I hear people talk about games for adults, it's usually about rough stuff like GTA violence. For me it means something else. It means balance, subtlety and restraint.

In short, the Half Life series are more adult to me than any GTA game will ever be. What's your opinion?

 

[Jedoro]

Rough games seem to appeal to our more base instincts, yet the subtle games take maturity to appreciate, so I'd definitely consider the latter as "adult" games.

 

[Eisenfaust]

same as with dvd's, rough, gory and full of sex...

a game with sublety, nuance and restraint is normally classified as "good"

 

[Thaius]

Well I think a mature game is any game with depth, something a kid wouldn't really be able to play.

A game specifically for adults... well the terminology there has come to refer to high amounts of objectionable content.

But aside from word squabbles, I agree with you in principle. Mature games are mature because of depth and quality, but just because they're rated M.

 

[Baby Tea]

I'd agree with the 'subtlety' and 'restraint' ideas.
And I'll especially agree with Half-Life being far more 'adult' then GTA ever has been.

I've always thought of it like...

"Even a child understands violence. Only an adult understands restraint."
(I totally just made that up. Feel free to quote.)

I'm not saying I don't like GTA or those style of games. Sometimes you just want to blow things up and shoot people. I get that. But those things alone don't appeal to the 'adult' side of me at all. I need more. Games like Mafia and Half-Life have shooting and violence, but the story and themes that weave each action sequence together run far deeper then the standard fare. The adult in me likes that.

 

[Mr. In-between]

I'm with the OP on this one. Like I've said time and again, when I see games like FEAR and GTA, I picture a group of thirteen year olds sitting around a TV thinking that they are hot shit in a champagne glass because they are playing a game that has the word "fuck" in it.

It's why Nintendo falls victim to what I dub the "Barney complex". In an effort to look more like adults, teenagers lambaste Nintendo for making "childish games" much like a younger child goes through the whole "I hate Barney" phase in an effort to look less like a toddler.

 

[dfcrackhead]

Porn... That is "adult"... Subtlety could only be "adult" if you're mature enough to notice it.

 

[Fallen-Angel Risen-Demon]

Anything with sex where you see 'stuff' It's up to the parents to decide what their child gets to play...

 

[Woodsey]

Like you said, the Half-Life games are adult games. Mafia is an adult game. Alan Wake is an adult game.

That doesn't mean they're only for adults to play (all of those are 15s in fact), but that they're mature games to give you something to think about, with a compelling story to tell.

GTA is so satirical it's basically become what it's trying to satirise - and it grates me without end.

I'd happily argue that The Sands of Time is far more adult then GTA IV too.

Scrabble,
Only the near dead would consider that a game!

Fixed!

 

[NeonZombie]

RPGS always seem adult to me. I know i used to mess around on chrono trigger when i was a kid but i never really understood it.

Stat based skill, obscure items and strategic battle doesn't seemm like the kind of game a child would understand despite say final fantasy 6 being rated 11+

 

[brodie21]

well, a lot of the stuff in GTA needs an older person to appreciate, like the satire and the references, so some games are not that simple to classify

 

[The Eggplant]

Maturity is different from adulthood. I know plenty of people who are several years removed from the U.S. legal drinking age whose level of mental sophistication is just shy of a shit-flinging monkey [sub]if any of said people happen to frequent the Escapist, my humble apologies and I hope something eats you love you all a whole lot[/sub], and conversely I know a handful of 16-year-olds with a maturity level vastly beyond anything I would expect.

An "adult" game, then, is mostly determined by rating for me, whereas a mature game is one that attempts to explore controversial, nuanced, and/or philosophically challenging issues in a substantive way.

 

[crudus]

Violent games and such are cathartic. They are a nice stress relief. But a good game really takes subtlety. That isn't to say games like Painkiller (the best FPS I have played) aren't good it is just that games like Silent Hill 2 and Assassin's Creed are better.

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

To me, "adult" means rated 18+. Which implies sex and/or violence. "Mature" however, is something else entirely. Mature stories or games can certainly have their share of violence and sex, but maturity is more a matter of dealing with serious matters with a certain amount of depth and insight.

In terms of your poll, the first option is "adult", and the second would be more "mature".

 

[Meggiepants]

For me there's a difference between something that is aimed at adults and something rated M.

BMX XXX was awful. Although it was rated M, I can't imagine it appealing to anyone over 18. If I wanted to look at boobies, I'd buy proper porn.

But games like Fallout and Bioshock, well I think these games would seem dull to people who are under a certain maturity level. I believe they are aimed more at the adult market.

For that matter, any game that emphasizes exploration over action is probably going to attract more mature players.