| Author |
Message |
|
| Emriss |
 Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:41 am |
 |
|
Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Posts: 612
|
| *gasp* Michael, you did not just accuse the wise and self-aware WildBlueSun of being a toddler! |
Last edited by Emriss on Wed Oct 08, 2008 4:02 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
 
|
| Michael |
| Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 8:18 am |
|
|
Site Administrator
Joined: 07 Jun 2002
Posts: 8065
Location: Gent, Belgium
|
| I just worry. Maybe for no reason. |
|
|
| Back to top |
 
|
| Wildbluesun |
| Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:10 pm |
|
|
Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Posts: 4266
Location: London, Land of Tea and Top Hats
|
XD I can imagine myself being a toddler.
Also, even if the game has an 18 age limit (or whatever), the internet doesn't have ID checks does it? ^^ |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Mayar |
| Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:16 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 30 Jul 2008
Posts: 1042
Location: On the Forum, adding his Mustard to anything in his interest (no art or anything that may offend me)
|
| Hehe... Horror for small people... |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Michael |
| Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 8:29 am |
|
|
|
Site Administrator
Joined: 07 Jun 2002
Posts: 8065
Location: Gent, Belgium
|
Well, technically many webistes do ask for your age and trust you that you will be honest. That's so nice of them.
I don't think this will be a problem for The Path because a) it may never be rated and b) if it is, it will probably be rated very young. I never said agreed with the rating system. As a parent I find it rather useless most of the time. I just worry about young people playing The Path. I'm not sure if it's good for them. Then again, it's a fairy tale... A contemporary version of one... Makes me feel a bit awkward, also because I think many games are making their money on the back of children who are under the age required by the packaging. Not that those games are mature, though... They should have an maximum age rating, not a minimum age! |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Grahamstephani |
| Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 12:48 am |
|
|
Joined: 18 Sep 2008
Posts: 53
Location: The end of my rope.
|
The rating system is pretty much based off of what you see, not what you feel. So you could be completely freaked out, but as long as there is no blood then it can still get a low rating. And young people these days are too soft. The horror will do them good.
Besides, this way they might get to learn about the scarier versions of the fairy tales. And what better way to teach them than to use something they love: video games. The rating on the packaging isn't a requirement though. It's more like a suggested guideline for gamers and parents alike. A warning. And a maximum age rating? NEVER. We'd eventually run out of games to play because we would all be too OLD! That'd be horrible!
 |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Miorrowind |
| Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 3:42 am |
|
|
Joined: 24 May 2008
Posts: 216
Location: Just to the left. No no, the OTHER left.
|
Michael wrote: They should have an maximum age rating, not a minimum age!
You would be the last person I expected to hear that from! D: That's agism! What's more it's a closed minded view of video games in general. Like all those people who want to ban video games altogether because they're too graphic for kids, they think all video games should be for children. I don't see why adults can't enjoy a good video game just as much as children. Why, sometimes just for nostalgia I love to play a video game I used to as a child, even if I am "too old" to play it. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Mayar |
| Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 7:10 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 30 Jul 2008
Posts: 1042
Location: On the Forum, adding his Mustard to anything in his interest (no art or anything that may offend me)
|
Pacman...
New Highscore: 19,348,123 |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Michael |
| Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 8:55 am |
|
|
|
Site Administrator
Joined: 07 Jun 2002
Posts: 8065
Location: Gent, Belgium
|
Miorrowind wrote: Michael wrote: They should have an maximum age rating, not a minimum age!
You would be the last person I expected to hear that from! D: That's agism!
Haha. Not at all. Not if you consider the rating to be a recommendation rather than a limitation. That's how I look at the age rating as a parent now: is this game recommended for children of a certain age? Whether it is allowed is something that only I, as a parent, can judge.
Many games are designed for children. If you play them as a grown-up, you just feel like you're being treated like a child. Frankly, I've felt insulted by many games that way. A maximum age recommendation could prevent this. If the box clearly says that a game is for age 18 and less, then I know I should be prepared to be treated like a child by the game. And then it's up to me to decide whether I want that or not.
I was half joking about the maximum age rating. But also half serious. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Wildbluesun |
| Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 6:22 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Posts: 4266
Location: London, Land of Tea and Top Hats
|
I've never really noticed this, because I'm still a teenager (and don't really play mainstream games anyway).
Reminds me, bizarrely, of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - 12A rated, but an adult's film most definitely (or teenager's, but I suspect it's the type of film that I'd enjoy even if I were older; perhaps I'd even have enjoyed it more if I were older). A 12 year old seeing that film would most probably not understand it or be traumatised. A 7 year old (adult-accompanied) would be even more baffled/disturbed.
But I don't think those things are really necessary, because people can exercise judgement by themselves, can't they? The ratings are to protect children, not adults (who should be able to make their own decisions). Can't adults decide what would and what wouldn't treat them like a child by themselves? |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Grahamstephani |
| Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 2:59 am |
|
|
|
Joined: 18 Sep 2008
Posts: 53
Location: The end of my rope.
|
Quote: The ratings are to protect children, not adults (who should be able to make their own decisions).
I agree. Plus I think that it'd be hard to add a maximum rating to games. You can tell by content what's inappropriate for a young child (though not all of us follow the ratings), but you never really know what an adult will think is too young. Take the Wii for example. It's games are probably some of the most child-oriented ones out there (especially with the bright and happy type of graphics), but more adults than ever before are starting to actually play video games thanks to the Wii. I think it's not a matter of maturity, but a matter of how good the game play is.
But like I said before, ratings are mostly based off what you see when you play the game, not what you feel (the psychological effects). Thus: More blood/gore and bad language = higher rating. The Path could be as psychologically scary as possible, but the rating still would stay down if it didn't have gore.
On the same note, the categories used in the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) ratings:
Violence (fighting, blood, and gore)
Sexuality (nudity, sexual content, and suggestive themes)
Language and Lyrics (swearing)
Substance (use or suggestion of tobacco, alcohol, or drugs)
Humor (comic mischief, crude humor, and mature humor)
Gambling (simulated or actual)
There is not a category for just plain horror and I don't think that the Path will actually have any of these other subjects... So the rating could stay extremely low. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Michael |
| Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 8:38 am |
|
|
|
Site Administrator
Joined: 07 Jun 2002
Posts: 8065
Location: Gent, Belgium
|
Wildbluesun wrote: Can't adults decide what would and what wouldn't treat them like a child by themselves?
The marketing is trying to lure us all in, of course. So an adult might not be able to tell just from the box cover whether an 18-rated game is actually intended for children.
Also, from my point of view, humans remain some kind of child until around 25. But the age rating stops at 18. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Michael |
| Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 8:45 am |
|
|
|
Site Administrator
Joined: 07 Jun 2002
Posts: 8065
Location: Gent, Belgium
|
Those "family" Wii-games I have seen are actually relatively neutral in attitude. So they don't offend grown-ups as much as your run-of-the-mill military shooter that really talks to you as if you were some snotty kid.
But more importantly, I think, is that the Wii games present themselves as games in a more pure sense of the word. So as a grown-up, you know what you're getting yourself into: a whimsical, silly, fun experience. They appeal to the child in us all.
Other games present themselves much more as narrative experiences on par with film. Those appeal to the adult in us. But often they end up being more childish than the "real" games. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Miorrowind |
| Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 7:51 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 24 May 2008
Posts: 216
Location: Just to the left. No no, the OTHER left.
|
| Which is why I find out more about a game before actually buying it. Certain labels I'll buy without question (if it's Zelda or a Lego game I'm buying it, end of discussion), but for the most part if it's a game I've only ever heard a little of or looks interesting but I don't know much about I'll ask the people in the store about it or ask friends or look up reviews of the game to hear what the game is like. I really don't think that even if a game had a warning system to tell you if you'll be talked down to or not would work anyways because there are always those game developers that will find loopholes to try and make their games look good for everyone when they aren't. Honestly, I usually don't bother with the rating system because I don't trust the corporate lawyers who deal with that stuff to actually know what they're doing. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
| Mayar |
| Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 8:30 pm |
|
|
|
Joined: 30 Jul 2008
Posts: 1042
Location: On the Forum, adding his Mustard to anything in his interest (no art or anything that may offend me)
|
Wii is a good console... I have only two games rated for teen, most others are Lego or Mario ones...
Path for Wii(Please?) |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
