Smoking in games- love it or hate it, not enough or far too much...

[BakedAlaskan]

Man, I'm dying for a game (apart from JRPGs and side characters) where smoking is still acceptable. Apparently Uni of Birmingham thinks smoking in movies should get an adult rating- proper adult rating M/R/18 and can't base their research on anything but teenagers studied. Any opinions? Utter bullshite- of its mature rating its not for kids- right?

Light up, light up, as if you have a choice.....

 

[hazabaza1]

I like Vanquish because I can take cover and press LB and my guy gets out a sneaky cig to take a quick break.

 

[RaphaelsRedemption]

I smoke, and I support mature games, with mature content, being played by mature people such as myself, having characters that also interact with the world in a mature fashion. That may include smoking.

I mean, it smacks of over-censorship when an adult who may be legally allowed to smoke in the real world is shielded from the horrors of virtual smoking.

 

[Hummmy]

Wait, what?
How does smoking in a game add to it in anyway?

All it does is make an ugly white blob float across our screen because we're yet to figure out how to animate realistic looking smoke..

 

[Veldel]

Eh im on both sides while i hate smoking in real life I dont mind it to much in games if its used properly and not just tacted on to try and make someone look edgy or cool

 

[KeyMaster45]

People smoke, it's a fact of life. Yeah, I may find it to be a disgusting habit but saying it pushes a film or game into the R or M rated rankings? Uh, how bout no. I could see it as maybe being a reason to rate something as PG-13 or T but never R or M.

As for seeing it in games, gotta say I can't pick one off the top of my head. Then again, I wouldn't really notice it anyway. The only character I can think of is that one Starcraft character with the cigar, and it's hard to deny that it adds a certain level of badassery to the character.

 

[HassEsser]

I'm not a smoker (of cigarettes. . .with nicotine), but I agree, I think people are kinda going overboard with putting mature ratings on things with smoking in it. I mean, kids see real adults smoke in real life, way more than they do in video games or movies, and if their parents are doing it, it's a whole nother ball game.

 

[Custard_Angel]

I think smoking has no place within a game because it serves no purpose in a virtual interactive medium.

 

[darth.pixie]

The games where I've seen characters smoke is Vampire: Bloodlines, Fallout 3/NV and LotR, the MMO, Mass Effect 2 (TIM) and there's chewing tobacco in Oblivion off the top of my head. I can't honestly say I've seen a character and thought "You know what this guy needs? A cigar" but I believe it should be acceptable...I mean, alcohol is (you can't walk two steps in a fantasy game without going into a tavern/brothel or tripping on a bottle of mead/ale/wine) but I haven't thought about it being necessary.

For a realistic modern world at least, it sort of should.

 

[CrazyMedic]

I think smoking has no place within a game because it serves no purpose in a virtual interactive medium.

why? he isn't saying I want a game about smoking he is just saying is there anything wrong with a character smoking, it is like saying I don't want my characters to have hair because it serves no purpose in a virtual interactive medium.

 

[Zhukov]

It never occurred to me to notice. Smoking/not smoking, really, who cares?

Incidentally, Saboteur. Protagonist smokes like a chimney. There's even an achievement for smoking a certain amount of cigarettes. Too bad the game sucks.

Also, Bioshock. First thing you see is Jack smoking. In first person, no less.

 

[Last Hugh Alive]

Smoking in videogames? Sure, I'm for it. But it's not really something I've noticed or thought about. If your going to do it, do it for a reason. Include it as a trait for certain characters to humanize them and make them feel real.

That said, the only time this has ever annoyed me in any way is when The Illusive Man smokes. When he does it, it just seems like a cheap way to make him seem 'evil'. Especially since he was ALWAYS smoking (btw I haven't played ME1, on the off chance that it was explained there).

 

[Mr Thin]

Smoking says something about the character who does it. If that something is something the creators of the game want said about the character, than they should have that character smoke.

Sticking in purely for the purposes of making a character look cooler, though, is ridiculous; that's how it's usually done in games, so I've never been particularly impressed with its use thus far.

 

[Supertegwyn]

Smoking in videogames? Sure, I'm for it. But it's not really something I've noticed or thought about. If your going to do it, do it for a reason. Include it as a trait for certain characters to humanize them and make them feel real.

That said, the only time this has ever annoyed me in any way is when The Illusive Man smokes. When he does it, it just seems like a cheap way to make him seem 'evil'. Especially since he was ALWAYS smoking (btw I haven't played ME1, on the off chance that it was explained there).

The Illusive Man is not present in Mass Effect.

I don't understand what you mean, I always thought he looked badass when he smoked.


OT: I absolutely DESPISE smoking in real life, to the extent I have gotten into (physical) fights about it. I do however have no problem with it in games, as long as it has a purpose. No smoking for the sake of it.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

People smoke, it's a fact of life. Yeah, I may find it to be a disgusting habit but saying it pushes a film or game into the R or M rated rankings? Uh, how bout no. I could see it as maybe being a reason to rate something as PG-13 or T but never R or M.

As for seeing it in games, gotta say I can't pick one off the top of my head. Then again, I wouldn't really notice it anyway. The only character I can think of is that one Starcraft character with the cigar, and it's hard to deny that it adds a certain level of badassery to the character.

I don't think it should be considered in the ratings at all. There was a push in the US a while back to give any movie that depicted smoking an R-rating. The whole thing was dropped after someone pointed out that, were that the case, 101 Dalmatians would then be an R-rated film.

OT: I don't have a problem with smoking in games, especially when it's a game that involves adult characters. The guy who mentioned Metal Gear had it right; that series depicts smoking quite adequately.

 

[Najos]

Smoking in videogames? Sure, I'm for it. But it's not really something I've noticed or thought about. If your going to do it, do it for a reason. Include it as a trait for certain characters to humanize them and make them feel real.

That said, the only time this has ever annoyed me in any way is when The Illusive Man smokes. When he does it, it just seems like a cheap way to make him seem 'evil'. Especially since he was ALWAYS smoking (btw I haven't played ME1, on the off chance that it was explained there).

The Illusive Man is not present in Mass Effect.

I don't understand what you mean, I always thought he looked badass when he smoked.


OT: I absolutely DESPISE smoking in real life, to the extent I have gotten into (physical) fights about it. I do however have no problem with it in games, as long as it has a purpose. No smoking for the sake of it.

So...smoking is bad, but violence is okay? Weird.

Anyway! Smoking shouldn't be that big of a deal. Have it, don't have it, it really doesn't make that big of a difference. Sure, some characters "feel right" when they smoke and some just seem cheesy. Any game set in the 40's/50's should probably have a lot of smoking just to keep the setting appropriate, though..

 

[Supertegwyn]

Smoking in videogames? Sure, I'm for it. But it's not really something I've noticed or thought about. If your going to do it, do it for a reason. Include it as a trait for certain characters to humanize them and make them feel real.

That said, the only time this has ever annoyed me in any way is when The Illusive Man smokes. When he does it, it just seems like a cheap way to make him seem 'evil'. Especially since he was ALWAYS smoking (btw I haven't played ME1, on the off chance that it was explained there).

The Illusive Man is not present in Mass Effect.

I don't understand what you mean, I always thought he looked badass when he smoked.


OT: I absolutely DESPISE smoking in real life, to the extent I have gotten into (physical) fights about it. I do however have no problem with it in games, as long as it has a purpose. No smoking for the sake of it.

So...smoking is bad, but violence is okay? Weird.

Anyway! Smoking shouldn't be that big of a deal. Have it, don't have it, it really doesn't make that big of a difference. Sure, some characters "feel right" when they smoke and some just seem cheesy. Any game set in the 40's/50's should probably have a lot of smoking just to keep the setting appropriate, though..

I didn't mean I STARTED the fights, blame hormone-fueled aggressive smokers for that one.