🎉 Celebrating 25 Years of GameDev.net! 🎉
Not many can claim 25 years on the Internet! Join us in celebrating this milestone. Learn more about our history, and thank you for being a part of our community!
Controversy in Story / Setting
I realize it''s not done much, but I''m wondering what your thoughts are on doing controversial settings / stories in games. Is it the case that a game should be considered fun, and controversy takes away from this? Or is it something that appeals to a distinct audience?
I''ve been thinking about a game that uses the American Civil War as allegory. One issue that I''m really interested in is that of slavery, and I''ve been looking for a metaphor to represent it as a form of evil for one side, and ruthless profit / practicality for the other.
But then I got to thinking: if I do this well, it might be considered good story / setting. But some will consider it moralizing, and be annoyed no matter what.
Does controversial material belong only in books, or movies, but not games? If so, why?
--------------------
Just waiting for the mothership...
I think that contraversial material should be included in games, as long as it has purpose (of course 
). It would probably be a tough thing to do. Firstly, games are traditionally associated w/ kids, so people will be concerned about that even though a lot of adults are into games as well now-a-days. Also, you know how this world is. Mindless bloody slaughter is less offensive than meaningful contraversial material or even nudity.
In Morrowind (Elder Scrolls: 3) they are going to include slavery, becomes it is part of their culture. It would be a little bit more intense if you included slavery and had the setting actually on earth in the time where such slavery occured. Then it wouldn''t have the buffer zone of being in a fantasy world.
"All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be --Pink Floyd
"Though the course may change sometimes, the rivers always reach the sea" --Led Zeppelin
Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.
). It would probably be a tough thing to do. Firstly, games are traditionally associated w/ kids, so people will be concerned about that even though a lot of adults are into games as well now-a-days. Also, you know how this world is. Mindless bloody slaughter is less offensive than meaningful contraversial material or even nudity. In Morrowind (Elder Scrolls: 3) they are going to include slavery, becomes it is part of their culture. It would be a little bit more intense if you included slavery and had the setting actually on earth in the time where such slavery occured. Then it wouldn''t have the buffer zone of being in a fantasy world.
"All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be --Pink Floyd
"Though the course may change sometimes, the rivers always reach the sea" --Led Zeppelin
Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.
IMHO games can always use elements that make them different from other games, and controversy is a good source of this. An moralazing is something many books and stroies do - my current writing project is a bildungsroman (coming of age/education/finding your place in the world novel) that puts forth a definite opinion on what is ethical and what isn''t. It is vital, though, to make sure you have a well-rounded view of your subject before you start writing. A stack of library books from Aristotle, Plato, and Confucius to Arendt, Nietzche, and Rand guides my effort. To the above recommendation I will add Jane Yolen''s Pit Dragon Trilogy, especially the first book, told from the point of view of a slave child on a world where all children start as slaves and some prefer to stay that way.
Are you all trying to tell me that using the players prejudices against them in a game is:
Because I thought of this how long ago now? How long does it take people to come around? (j/k
) Nah, seriously though, it is about time this discussion was brought up... 100% behind this idea 
-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche
- Not contravercial?
- Not a good idea?
- Not fun?
Because I thought of this how long ago now? How long does it take people to come around? (j/k
) Nah, seriously though, it is about time this discussion was brought up... 100% behind this idea -Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche
Hmmm...dwarf, that idea is fun and good, but I got the feeling that Wav was talking about contraversial as in it could be offensive to some people.
Using the player''s prejudices against them isn''t really contraversial in the same way, is it? Maybe I''m missing something.
"All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be --Pink Floyd
"Though the course may change sometimes, the rivers always reach the sea" --Led Zeppelin
Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.
Using the player''s prejudices against them isn''t really contraversial in the same way, is it? Maybe I''m missing something.
"All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be --Pink Floyd
"Though the course may change sometimes, the rivers always reach the sea" --Led Zeppelin
Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.
Bring on the controversy! You just have to be careful to make it a dominated strategy. Like making a slave owners troops have super low moral so it wouldn''t be worth being a slave owner. The player should be able to choose any path and perform equally well on all paths. But the controversy should open up moral avenues for the player to explore in himself.
Ut
Ut
Naz - it must be contraversial, seeing as nobody has done it. If you do it then everyone will be really shocked and annoyed that they were mislead the whole way along... As if that isn''t controversy... I am still for controversy if you have any other means. I think that the controversy decision should be dedicated to Landfish as he is the most contraversial...
-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche
-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche
Yeah, I mean it''s contraversial in the game community, but I thought Wav meant more contraversial from a moral standpoint. Like if the player were to roleplay a drug-dealer or a slave owner in the 1800''s or something.
"All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be --Pink Floyd
"Though the course may change sometimes, the rivers always reach the sea" --Led Zeppelin
Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.
"All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be --Pink Floyd
"Though the course may change sometimes, the rivers always reach the sea" --Led Zeppelin
Need help? Well, go FAQ yourself.
How does that go? "The medium is the message."
If the same contoversial subject is covered in a book, on TV, in a movie, or in music, all with the same view point, you''re going to get different things out of each. Even if they pretty much say the same thing.
Why not add games to the list?
If the same contoversial subject is covered in a book, on TV, in a movie, or in music, all with the same view point, you''re going to get different things out of each. Even if they pretty much say the same thing.
Why not add games to the list?
quote: Original post by Nazrix
Yeah, I mean it's contraversial in the game community, but I thought Wav meant more contraversial from a moral standpoint. Like if the player were to roleplay a drug-dealer or a slave owner in the 1800's or something.
And you are saying that genocide isn't a controvercial topics... Say that to a few holocaust victims and their families and see what happens. We are talking now about electronic being genocide...
How can you make this contravercial? Have a group of marauding warriors threatening a peaceful goblin villiage. The player must decide which side they are to be on when the battle comes (if they choose to be on any side). From this they either befriend the goblins or they befriend the humans. Seeing as the goblins owe you their life (if you save them) they will trust you completely, whereas if you join the humans they will probably just consider you an unnecessary extra hand. Might be interesting to see the results of such a quest...
I like the slaver and drug dealer one though. I intend to include opium trade in my game as well as a bit of slavery... If it gets to the expansion of the world that is
-Chris Bennett of Dwarfsoft - Site:"The Philosophers' Stone of Programming Alchemy" - IOL
The future of RPGs - Thanks to all the goblins over in our little Game Design Corner niche
Edited by - dwarfsoft on October 27, 2000 1:04:30 AM
This topic is closed to new replies.
Advertisement
Popular Topics
Advertisement
