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Reese:
In today’s violent and sociopathic society, the type of blood and gore
that these hit zones present are not needed. We are just showing children
what it is like to kill someone. But the fact is, that this presents a
fake reality. A video game will never be able to replicate the sense of
death. It is just a cheap substitute that teaches children not to value
life as much.
Twisted: I don't think these gore
zones step over the lines of what is accepted as tasteful. On the contrary,
similar death sequences are seen in many of today's action, war, and horror
movies. Soldier of Fortune
takes these concepts and spices up the excitement that the game is trying
to create. After all, nobody would buy a game where when you shot a person,
a flower would pop up on their corpse.
Reese: Even though violence is present
throughout media, it can be regulated. SoF
can not. There are no laws against purchasing a violent game, but there
are law regarding entering a violent movie. But the difference between
movies and a video game is that you are giving 12 year olds the power
to play God. In a movie they can just watch while in video games, THEY
kill the person, THEY watch them die, and THEY feel the power of controlling
a person's life.
Twisted: I beg to differ, video games
such as SoF are regulated.
They feature parental locks so effective that little Billy can try reinstalling
the game, but the non-violent setting will still be there. And I believe
that MOST parents do know what their kids are playing and whether they
can handle the mature content. It's a choice that is often left up to
the parent to decide what their child does.
Reese: The problem is that Billy's
parents usually do not know what their child is doing. Most parents today
will buy their children almost anything. In the hustle and bustle of a
shopping season, many parents just look at the children’s holiday present
list and go buy it. Parents usually do no think twice. Also, most parents
do not even understand how to turn on the violence lock. We are presenting
solutions to stopping this problem, but no one is implementing them.
Twisted: Even though you raise some
good points, I don't think it's Raven's job or duty to be the parent.
The parents' job is to guide their child in life including teaching them
the difference between real life and fantasy. However, it might be a great
idea to publicize the violence in games like SoF
so parents know what they are buying their child. Raven is merely
a game company like others that are creating a game that sells, even if
it includes very graphic content.
Reese: But you can't deny the fact
that not all parents are responsible and some just let their kids do whatever
they want. Raven made the game, so it is Raven's responsibility
not to sell this game to anyone who is too young without the parents'
consent. I agree with you that we need to publicize gaming violence more
and not sell violence to 10 year old Billy who one days sees his dad's
gun and wants to play John Mullins. It is okay to have violence in gaming,
but SoF has stepped over
the line and has caused a confusion of reality versus illusion in kids.
Twisted: Once again, I think it all
goes back to the parents. It's their job to lock up any and all firearms
away from the child's reach. I believe Raven did as much as they
could to regulate the explicit violence by creating a parental lock that's
irreversible without a password. Besides putting a warning on the game,
Raven should tell companies to check the child's age when buying
games just as many theaters check the age of minors who try to attend
a R rated movie. Raven also went so far as to make a version of
the full game that has no violence at all. This should be publicized for
parents of young children.
[So, what do you think? Let
us know!]
* Please note: These opinions do not
reflect those of Soldier-of-Fortune.com (or even those of Twisted or Reese,
assuming they have any, as they're only primates, so we shouldn't expect
too much, just give them a few bananas and a can of cheap beer and they're
set).
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