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Intrepid Homoludens

Um, what if it only looks human but really is an alien? o_0

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Okay, you HAVE to listen to this:

Video Game Violence

icon_listen.gif NPR

Talk of the Nation, March 17, 2005 · Illinois is one many states working to pass legislation to prevent the sale of violent video games to minors. But are games that pit humans against aliens included in bill? We hear part of yesterday's debate.

[italics mine]

Listening to this, it's more than apparent how arbitrary their definition of violence in games are. When the guy asks if killing a typical alien (looks, walks, talks, etc.) would constitute banning a game (etc.), Linda Chapa LaVia, the supporter of the ban says no. Then he asks what if the alien looked just like a human but is apparently an alien, and Chapa LaVia says yes, it should be banned.

6028_2004-03-22_25_thumb.jpg

Um....okay. What if it's a blue Tw'ilek from Star Wars? You know, they look very human but they got those wormy thingies hanging off their heads, and their skin is blue? Ad infinitum..........

:mrt::mrt::mrt: and :ratched:

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What about killing Nazis? Aliens that look like Nazis? In combat or in laboratory/castles? What if you're not killing robotic monsters, but simply freeing the happy animals trapped inside? What if the whole game is a dream?

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Perhaps if they were going to do this they would reword it to say 'the killing of anything that exudes sentience' that the player can readily perceive: For instance, if it talks in a language you can understand (or has subtitles), rather than just getting by on grunts. I guess Halo would be out by those rules, since the Covenant seem to speak English (though maybe you could have a whole game where you fight the Flood :finger: ). That's not to say that I support any bans when it comes to video games, it just seems like people who try to ban things don't understand the alternate consequences and all the possible interpretations of the language they put down on paper. They also probably don't play video games. Also:

those wormy thingies hanging off their heads

Lekku :) I can't find a smiley to appropriately convey my nerdiness for knowing that.

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What if you forgot to switch the subtitles on and they spoke your language but you didn't know and you shot them dead anyway?

What if the alien only used your language as a ploy to fool you when in fact it doesn't speak a word of your language at all?

Lekku :)

I kinda like 'wormy thingies' more. :grin:

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Wait, I think I found one.

3pdance.gif

Gives me another thought, too. What if the primary enemies are robots/droids/androids? LucasArts has used that trick repeatedly to avoid any sort of M-type rating, even with the apparently darker and edgier Republic Commando. What about if you're just killing clones?

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I've never understood the point of making a bill contingent on a game's content. Washington (State) tried that a year or two ago; they passed a law making it a crime to sell games to minors that depict violence towards police officers.

Of course, the bill's implicit target was Grand Theft Auto and games of that ilk, but technically it also applied to less obvious fare like WarioWare. Because I know that every time I played WarioWare, I immediately wanted to have my pet monkey throw banana peels at police cars to make them skid out of control.

Anyway, long story long, the law was declared unconstitutional and thrown out. Which is probably what would happen if this bill passes in Illinois. From a legislative standpoint, why not base the law on a game's rating and make it illegal to sell minors M-rated games? It becomes less of a free speech issue at that point, since it's not directed at specific content, but at the rating that the industry has voluntarily given the game.

Better yet, apply the law not just to retailers, but to parents who are so negligent as to let their kids play these games in the first place. If parents were more involved in their children's gaming habits, they'd know better next time Junior asks to borrow the car and get an advance on his allowance so he can buy a monkey and some bananas.

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From a legislative standpoint, why not base the law on a game's rating and make it illegal to sell minors M-rated games?

I was wondering the same thing. Some states have tried to do similar things with movie ratings—I don't know if any laws are in effect or not—and it does make a little more sense than describing content that can obviously be worked around.

Of course, it's all bullshit. It won't stop kids from playing them, and don't most retailers voluntarily enforce the ratings?

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Lekku :) I can't find a smiley to appropriately convey my nerdiness for knowing that.

:finger: This does the trick.

Actually I can't really say that because I knew that too and I don't even know HOW.

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I think the subject of this thread has shifted to the noble Twi'lek. I think I heard the term first from some SW book many years ago, but the knowledge bubbled back to the surface of my brain when I was playing KOTOR 2. There's some Twi'lek goon in the bar on Onderon who brags about his lekku, and invites you to touch them. It's probably been 10+ years since I've been a Star Wars uberfan, but the knowledge gathered during that time DOES NOT GO AWAY EVER.

3pdance.gif3pdance.gif3pdance.gif

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If kids can't kill people in computer games then I expect they'll go out and do it in real life instead. :deadman:

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