Has anything ever offended you in a game?

[m76]

5 hours ago, The Blackangel said:

What about when it's not a work of fiction?

Super Columbine Massacre RPG
JFK Reloaded
Ethnic Cleansing

 

Are all people just supposed to say "oh well" to those? Personally the first two don't bother me all that much, but the Ethnic Cleansing does.

And also calling the Gods and Goddesses I worship myths in God of War is pretty fucking offensive. If someone was to make a game calling everything in xtianity myth, the world would catch fire. How is someone supposed to not take offense to that? it's ok that what I believe is nothing but myth, but what you believe is reality?

I make sure that blood flows over that. I've done it before, I'll do it again.

 

 

[Shagger]

7 hours ago, m76 said:

I think getting offended by videogames shows that people can't separate reality from fiction. Nothing in a videogame can offend me because it is not real.

Offence is taken, not given. If you choose to get offended by a work of fiction it is on you.

 

 

What you're implying here and in your other posts is that when people do, say or create something that's in bad taste, that the controversy is everyone else's fault for recognising it as bad taste, which is complete nonsense. There's a big difference between people turning something into a controversy when it just isn't and people calling out something for having no purpose other than being deliberately offensive and intended to hurt.

[Kane99]

1 hour ago, m76 said:

What you describe is censorship.

 How does that help? 

Say you can't have a stereotypical depiction of a trans person but you can have a stereotypical depiction of a redneck? That is the double standard that drives hate. I think most people who are transphobic don't actually hate trans people, but the fact that they are treated as sacred cows, off limits to making fun of or depicting them freely.

Politicians have been arguing that videogame violence makes kids violent, when in reality the opposite is true.

But here you are arguing that depicting transphobia would make people transphobic? No chance.

If you drive an idea underground it will fester and spread, if you put it out in the open then everyone can see how ridiculous it is.

I don't think it's about censorship necessarily, I think it's more that people have a right to be offended by the content they consume, if they deem that content as such. As well society changes and old beliefs/ideas fade away. Soon enough the content we consume is going to be more open. We're already seeing it today, with more gay/trans characters getting their own roles and starring roles. People of color getting more movies and starring roles as well. Etc. 

Just watch a comedy or any show from back in the early 2000s, to the early 2010s and compare it to media today, a lot of the stuff we considered fine to say then, has become outdated by today's standards. And go back to 1990 and before, and you'll start to see some big differences. Back then it was offensive, but people seemed more accepting of it. But also, back then people weren't able to do much to air their issues with it. I imagined they might have aired their issues by doing letter campaigns or some similar campaigns. Today, we have the internet, and it's a lot easier to share your feelings on the content you see. So it's easy to change the way things are done when it comes to future media. 

One other example, is pro wrestling from the 90s to the early 2000s. I remember wrestlers saying "homo" and even calling someone a "fag" like it was nothing. Even signs in the crowd had many homophobic slurs, and it was considered fine back then, it even aired on live tv unbleeped. I imagine it was highly offensive towards the gay community, but there wasn't much they could do aside from probably reaching out to the WWF to say hey, what the hell guys? Saying the F word today on TV would get that person fired without warning.

As well, the women's wrestling back then was regarded as a joke because of what female wrestlers had to do, how they were portrayed and how they. Most of the matches women did in the 90s and early 2000s were matches like bra-and-panties matches; a match where you have to strip your opponent into her underwear to win the match. Or how about the traditional mud wrestling matches? They also had pillow fight matches, and costume contests. As a young boy, you know I was into it. But looking back at it today, I feel grossed out by it, because a lot of the time, I imagine the female wrestlers weren't too happy about doing matches like that. 

Now, do I think offensive things should be censored, no I don't. I am offended sometimes in movies, tv, games, etc, and I would never say to censor it. The only time I agree with censorship is real life situations, involving death, and anything deemed illegal. But you're right, seeing/hearing it front and center is how we find the ridiculous in it, because soon enough, that person/company soon feels the wrath of the community. 

It also doesn't mean people can't be offensive. It just means that if people take offense to ones content, that creator/person/company needs to be prepared for the potential backlash. I think people have a right to be as offensive as they want to be too, it's their life, they just have to deal with the backlash for saying it. 

That's my feeling on it anyway. I grew up in the 90s, and early 2000s, and looking back, a lot has changed with what is acceptable and isn't. I realize this post has nothing to do with gaming, but it can be included as I'm sure there are many instances in past games that would be regarded as offensive.

[22_22]

I use gaming for escapism and a bit of fun, so I try not to look too in-depth and get offended by anything. Maybe there was an instance when I could have been offended but I think a lot of the games that I play are pretty simple, and do not seem to have any obvious ways to offend players. I am pretty laid back when it comes to these kinds of things, so yeah, I just like to focus on enjoying the games for what they are. 🙂

[Reality vs Adventure]

Putting offensive things out there and just wait for a community response to it, risks normalizing that hate. I'm speaking directly about a game like Ethnic Cleansing. There is a swath of flies that feed off of that and want it put out there to be normalized. When barriers are broken, more and more gets chipped away as it weakens. If you keep putting that offensive thing out there and you have people with money to endorse that game regardless of negative community feedback, then games like that will keep coming out till it's on the Christmas shelves displayed in the front. That kind of hate needs to be ridiculed so damn much that those haters will look worse than a child molester. Those things are inexcusable and should be forbidden to be put on the shelves. It's not about a community reaction. We had a world war against that crap. Luckily Ethnic Cleansing didn't start a trend. But that was 20 years ago. About half my country are neo nazis now, so that community demographic has changed. How many people now will cheer for it like a racist cheerleader that they are. Oh but who cares right? Let's all just get it out there on the shelves. Let's get the word out in the radio. Get it out in all media. Let the community sort it out. Yep, sort it all out in war because nobody took a stand against things like that game. Those people are going to hate no matter what regardless of driving it underground or not. So we shouldn't fear their hate festering and growing. We should fear the openness and normalizing. 

[The Blackangel]

I remember when I was a kid no one cared if they hurt your feelings. And it took more to do it. People had a hell of a lot thicker skin back then. By comparison to today, we were made of diamond teflon. Now we’re in a pussywhipped, SJW censorship culture. Everything offends someone. And if they can’t find someone who actually is offended by it, they lie and say they are. Even when they don’t know what the fucking product is supposed to be offensive about.

Now I agree that some things should be destroyed and removed, as well as the fucks that made it. I’m white, but I have family that is NOT white. So the Ethnic Cleansing game hits me in a bad spot because 9 times out of 10 it’s white people pulling that shit. Back home in Scotland, my clan was at war for centuries with another clan, and our families still hate each other to this day. We haven’t taken up weapons and gone to war against each other in an attempt to erase the others existence in a very long time, but that doesn’t change the feelings.

First off, people need to grow their ass up, and accept the fact that the world doesn’t revolve around them or their delicate sensibilities.

Second, people need to understand the difference between something that is offensive, and something that is flat out fucking wrong. We don’t have games that take place in Virginia and center around slave auctions for a god damn reason.

I’m not particularly a fan of how God Of War portrays the deities that I pay homage to. But I still love the series and play the games.

 

Common sense people. Step One: discover it. Step Two: TAKE YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS AND FUCKING USE IT.

Edited February 2, 2021 by The Blackangel

[Jaicee]

14 hours ago, m76 said:

I think getting offended by videogames shows that people can't separate reality from fiction. Nothing in a videogame can offend me because it is not real.

Offence is taken, not given. If you choose to get offended by a work of fiction it is on you.

 

I'm gonna STRONGLY disagree with this! If you can't be offended by a video game, that's a very poor reflection on either the power of the medium itself or else on your conscience, one of the two. The thing about art is that, where effective, it moves people. I really like The Last of Us Part II, for example, and it's not because I find the game inoffensive, tame, and harmless. No, characters I grew really attached to were brutally killed and it ripped my fucking heart out to the point of being in tears and depressed! But it's that way for a narrative reason that I found unbelievably compelling and frankly exactly the point(s) that the world needs right now more than it ever has before in my lifetime. The game deliberately forces you into actions you loathe, but that's part of what makes it so powerful and effective, in my opinion. That's what a truly immersive experience does: it affects you.

Anyway, there's also a vast difference between a game like The Last of Us Part II that has a point and a sociopathic game like Rape Lay that I think any rational person should be able to readily observe.

 

[Empire]

Some do not like players teabagging other players in most games, I do see that myself and I do it also, I think teabagging is hilarious. In fact, even if I get pissed about dying, when someone teabags my character afterwards it always cracks me up and lightens the mood a bit. Brings back memories of Halo LAN parties.

Plus, I'll take teabagging over getting screamed at and told to kill myself by some little punk on counter strike.

[m76]

22 hours ago, Shagger said:

 

What you're implying here and in your other posts is that when people do, say or create something that's in bad taste, that the controversy is everyone else's fault for recognising it as bad taste, which is complete nonsense. There's a big difference between people turning something into a controversy when it just isn't and people calling out something for having no purpose other than being deliberately offensive and intended to hurt.

Different people get offended by different things, if we didn't allow anything in games that offends someone somewhere, then no game would ever be made.

You are trying to be the arbiter of what is in good taste and what isn't. That's eerily similar to being a censor. You should give more credit to people. They can make up their own mind about what is in good taste and what isn't.  And believe me good people will recognize when a game is in bad taste. There is no need for gatekeeping.

[Shagger]

4 hours ago, m76 said:

Different people get offended by different things, if we didn't allow anything in games that offends someone somewhere, then no game would ever be made.

You are trying to be the arbiter of what is in good taste and what isn't. That's eerily similar to being a censor. You should give more credit to people. They can make up their own mind about what is in good taste and what isn't.  And believe me good people will recognize when a game is in bad taste. There is no need for gatekeeping.

 

First off, explain to me at what point I'm trying to decide for somebody else what should be censored and what shouldn't? In fact, when did I even mention censorship at all? That's not what the thread is about anyway. You're doing that a lot here, claiming that people who aren't agreeing with you to be censors clearly because you find that easier to debate against. You see censorship as stifle of free speech, and I suppose it kind of is, but free speech, like society, has limits of what's acceptable. You can't have a world people can say and do whatever they want.

 

Ironically, though, you're the one who wants a world without people having a choice because you want a world whare nothing is censored and anyone who finds something in bad taste are the ones who get blamed for feeling that way. In your world, people can be sexist, racist, ageist, homophobic, trasnphobic, defile others religious beliefs and be as exploitative as they want in the name of creative freedom, and damb anyone who dares stifle that. The obvious problem with that, in fact there's several obvious problems with that, but more specifically minorities are ones who will be almost certainly be attacked and possibly even demonized by such a system with no way to fight back, causing what might be a massive human rights issue. And why, just so people create games like Rape Lay, Kill the Faggot and Ethnic Cleansing? Pardon me, but I don't think that's worth it. Creative fiction and the reality those who create it live in are reflections of each other, so imagine a reality whare those kinds of games are acceptable. I dread to think.

 

Despite what you falsely claim and they way you put words in my mouth, doesn't change fact you're right, it's not up to me what's acceptable and what's not, but it damb sure isn't up to you either. That's a responsibility that can't rest on one person, or even group of people. That can only be set by society itself. That's what organisations like ratings boards and the community feedback systems that work with them are there for, to measure soicity as guide to set these limits and enforce them. It's not a perfect system, but it's the best we can realistically do.

Edited February 2, 2021 by Shagger

[The Blackangel]

One thing that no one has mentioned yet, is that there are consequences for a persons actions. Whatever you say or do has a consequence. Sometimes good, but more often than not, are usually bad. You can't walk into Compton and start screaming out racist slurs and expect to make it out unharmed. Or even alive.

Everything a person does, has a consequence of some kind. You can try to avoid it, but that is a futile effort.

Games are no exception. Someone, somewhere, is pissed off by a specific game. And this applies to all games. There is someone pissed off and offended by it. With more than seven billion people on the planet, there is no video game that hasn't pissed off and offended at least one person. And that's not going to change.

[Shagger]

8 minutes ago, The Blackangel said:

One thing that no one has mentioned yet, is that there are consequences for a persons actions. Whatever you say or do has a consequence. Sometimes good, but more often than not, are usually bad. You can't walk into Compton and start screaming out racist slurs and expect to make it out unharmed. Or even alive.

Everything a person does, has a consequence of some kind. You can try to avoid it, but that is a futile effort.

Games are no exception. Someone, somewhere, is pissed off by a specific game. And this applies to all games. There is someone pissed off and offended by it. With more than seven billion people on the planet, there is no video game that hasn't pissed off and offended at least one person. And that's not going to change.

 

You're exactly right. The limits I as refering to earlier set a high bar whare anything above it is generally unacceptable, but also set a low bar where complaints about anything below it are generally an attempt to take censorship too far and in those circumstances it is the case whare people need to lighten up and not take whatever it is so seriously. People who make a stand on either side of those limits need to be prepared to face the consequences and take responsibility for what the say and do. Listening to both sides is important because that tends to draw people back in between those lines to a compromise.

 

[Syntax]

I personally have not, although I could see a bunch of games where people would be. I think it really depends on context and what that specific part that offended you was supposed to convey story/gameplay wise.

[Heatman]

On 1/31/2021 at 6:42 PM, Jaicee said:

Super Columbine Massacre RPG I think is the most offensive game I've ever heard of. You shoot up the school as cutesy cartoon versions of the real-world killers, then continue your adventure in hell. It was supposed to be some kind of subdued critique of the culture that made such events possible, but I mean come on: How many people could possibly get past that presentation? The friends and family of the deceased certainly weren't amused. These were real kids. It's not cute.

Seriously, it's a very annoying BS that game's content of Super Columbine Massacre RPG came with. I dropped it immediately after that scene. 

[Razor1911]

What about this. Call of duty MW3. The clip is really heartbreaking. 😒