The F-bomb in video games

[Mikejames]

Can't say it really bugs me at all. They're just words. The Walking Dead had a ton of profanity, and it was still awesome.

Yeah, though it was used plenty in the Walking Dead, I didn't really feel that it was used immaturely. Possibly because it was consistent with the dark tone rather than being used as a source of shock value and overtly crass jokes?

Or maybe it was just because Clem's reprimands made me smile..

 

[Signa]

I 100% agree with you OP. In fact, I think you said it better than I could have. Though if you want a game with a lot of good fucks (ha ha), go play The Walking Dead. THAT'S how you use the F word. It's natural, it's "mature" and it fits the situations and characters. It is not there for shock value or the immature "tee hee, you hear what he said?"

I think another thing that bothers me is that when my character is swearing at his misfortune, I can't swear at the game because I sound like an uncreative parrot. Leave the fucks and shits to me please! I mean, there are times where it still can work, because I had no problem with Tommy reacting to everything he was seeing in Prey. On the other hand, the first game I saw with F words in it was San Andreas, and it just felt like it was there for shock value and nothing else (a not-so-suble "fuck you" to all the prudes that said GTA was corrupting the youth). I eventually played The Longest Journey later, and that pre-dated it by several years, and the swearing in it was near Walking Dead levels of implementation.

 

[Lugbzurg]

Gee, I remember that in Prototype, the very first line Alex Mercer says (not counting the "prologue") in the gameplay has the F-bomb. I just despise it. Most of the time, when I've heard it in a game, it's just shoehorned in there for everyone and as if everyone's been using the same word-of-the-day calendar, and this just happened to be on it. Not to mention the fact that there are several instances where it's just thrown in there as the cheapest way to bump it up to the Mature rating. Like... seriously. Why else are the Halo games rated M, anyway? If it weren't for the language, they could pass for E-10+. No, seriously. Shadow the Hedgehog is just as intense as the Halo games in its violence, if not more so.

 

[DeltaEdge]

I thought you were referring to fuggigles. I guess we were thinking of two totally different f-bombs then...
Anyways, I don't really have much of an opinion on it I guess, it just depends on what kind of game it is. Really, the only M rated games I have played are Persona 3 and 4. That's it, that's all. They have a certain tone to them, and I feel it would be weird if they suddenly started regularly dropping the f-bomb(fuggigles), even if they started to say shit with high frequency.

 

[Sylveria]

I'm telling mom!

OT: Unecessary and pointless. A shameful attempt to attract children to the games.

DMC is definitely the perfect example of them just shoving profanity in there to attract little kids who still think saying fuck is edgy and cool.

OT: I have no problem with profanity in games in principle when it's used appropriately. People use it, it's a fact of life. The problem arises when it's just shoved in there with the pretense it makes the game more "mature" when it actually just makes it more juvenile, like DMC which just randomly screams it at you all the time.. cause that's what the cool kids do.

Profanity is conversational seasoning. It is meant to be used for dramatic effect or emphasis. Modern games, especially western games, just spew it constantly to the point it would be comical if it wasn't so obnoxious.

 

[Last Hugh Alive]

I don't mind, at least as someone legally able to buy adult content. If it's used only sparingly like in real life conversations then that doesn't bother me. And when a game doesn't even use dirty language at all, I tend to not even notice.

Something like Prototype 2, however, is a good example of how NOT to handle swearing in a game. No need to be so excessive and immature about it.

 

[Nazulu]

I haven't had this problem in any games, but that's possibly because I avoid certain games I believe have terrible writing. Movies on the other hand, it's happened very often that they keep using curse or ugly words so often I just stop listening. It's pathetic writing when they abuse these words, it either makes every character look like an moron or some boring pig. Django over did it with the word ****** when they were trying to buy a fighter, it's pretty bad writing altogether though.

This is a "problem" only if you want it to be one.

No it's not. This is an example of different things effect different people. It may not bother you, but I find it shallow and annoying.

 

[Not Matt]

honestly. fuck doesn't really do it for me anymore unless it's somebody "respectable" saying it and saying fuck too many times in one conversation makes you just seem unintelligent.
try being creative when swearing it has much better effect, people react better to assclown or donkey pleaser than shit or fuck (check out this one if you wanna learn some, really funny: http://foulomatic.hnldesign.nl/ )

 

[axrec1980]

In regards to that Mafia 2 video. I recently played through the game on the 360 and didn't even notice how egregious it was. I just thought it fit the setting. IMO it depends on the context.

 

[Mental Cosmas]

I think it IS a problem in some cases, for example the overuse of it in online games (ha ha, although even then there are exceptions even here, few and far between in my opinion, but they do exist). However as has been pointed out there are games like The Walking Dead which, despite prolific use, feel natural to the dark, post-apocalyptic world lived in and thus feels acceptable.

That said, I do think it's acceptable in the other extreme. Bulletstorm's profanity also felt like an integral part of the game, for pretty much the opposite reason then The Walking Dead. Prototype was a bit of a grey area for me, almost going between those two extremes. No, it wasn't MEANT to be comedic, but the combat sometimes felt that way, with how overpowered you were. It did lead to a couple of sudden jolts as i was reminded the story was rather dark, which did make the profanity a little frustrating.

I find it hard to pinpoint the exact kind of games I find it inappropriate to be honest. The Witcher did bug me a bit with it on a few occasions, despite the fact it was enforcing what the game was trying to be, a very dark fantasy. Can't say why, but it did.

My favorite use of profanity was probably Resistance 2 actually, I recall profanity being used twice in the game, and both times were points i'm like "yep, I can go with that".

 

[TheCaptain]

I don't mind, but it has to make sense. "Fuck" isn't an eloquent word, but it conveys both emotion and the intelligence of the user well.

What he says. The absence of fuck can make a character stand out, and as for everyone else: Well, if I was in the situations the protagonists of my video games are thrown into, I'd probably cuss alot myself.

So no, it hasn't bothered me so far. And Aria's rule number one was pure gold to me, especially since I liked alot how they handled the Asari over the Mass Effect games as a whole, what with the constant deconstructing of the fanservicy Space Elf stereotype.

Actually, I've gotten so used to it - in games, movies and everyday life, that I don't even realize it most of the time:

Spoiler

 

[Denamic]

In reality, people use profanity all the time.
In an environment where the dead turn into murderous monsters, people would swear a lot. A fuckton, if you will. What's more annoying than people overusing profanity, is people using fake replacement words instead of the 'profane' word. Like 'darn' or 'dang'. Fuck that shit!

 

[Radoh]

It only bothers me when the strength of their words far outstrips the circumstances, or if the opposite is also true.

Like the yell it a million times over trivial things or their best friends just got kidnapped and all the say is 'Dang!'.

Like in The Walking Dead it makes perfect sense in context that Kenny swears up a storm for most of the second half of the game.

 

[ScruffyMcBalls]

My point might have been made before, too tired to check, sorry.

I think OP nailed it right on the head; dialogue in games just isn't very good. Now, there are great examples, but by and large it's poorly written. As such it usually sounds bad regardless of what you say, but with the word fuck and other expletives, you have to place them very carefully in order to be funny, or dramatic, or shocking. And it's that placement which is almost always missed.
Also kinda bugs me that characters who swear in games tend to do it frequently, which is fine, some people swear a lot. I do. But the majority of people sprinkle in the F bomb here and there throughout the day, sometimes going weeks without a use. It'd just be nice if dialogue writers realised that. (No idea if that's their official title, I'm guessing not)

TL;DR Placement is key.

 

[AgentLampshade]

If it's used carefully, I have no problem with it. I'm going to use Metal Gear Solid 4 as an example here so...

Spoiler

Remember when you were just about to face off with Laughing Octopus? And the line she says: "People suffering. People hurting. People dying. It's all so fucking hysterical!" That really drove home the idea she was completely insane. In fact, it's probably my favourite line in the whole game. It definitely wouldn't have had the same effect without the swearing. I guess it's also a big thing that this was the first use of the word "fuck" in the whole series.

Contrast that with DmC and their casual use of the word. I hate to bring up the game again but the way it's used so casually negates any emotional impact they ever wanted to have with the dialogue.

 

[Xukog]

The one game I have played that cursing bugs me in is Bulletstorm,if only because you near literally cannot go more then a minute or two without hearing one.