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SCAREMONGERING: DOES THE GAMES INDUSTRY BRING IT UPON ITSELF? by Mr Biffo

28/10/2015

22 Comments

 
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Have you seen today's Daily Mail? If you've got any kind of reasonable brain, it'll probably make you froth at the lips.

The front page leads on the arrest of a 15 year-old boy, who has been accused of the recent TalkTalk security breach. True to form, The Mail somehow links the boy's alleged behaviour with an addiction to violent video games. 

Without going into any sort of detail, or bothering to find out more, the implication in the "news"paper is that because the boy "spent hours playing violent video games such as Call of Duty, Resident Evil and Grand Theft Auto", he was somehow driven to hack into TalkTalk's computers. Never mind that he apparently suffers from ADHD, learning difficulties, and behavioural issues. The piece wants to point the finger of blame at "violent video games". Oh yeah. And the fact he's the "son of a single mother", naturally.

As tediously familiar as that line of reasoning is, it does feel like a throwback to the early-90s, when kids worldwide were apparently stabbing people in the nose, while having epileptic fits, after playing Lethal Enforcers and Street Fighter II.


You don't expect better from The Mail, perhaps, but how much does the games industry bring this sort of thing upon itself?

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SOMETHING TO BE FEARED
The Daily Mail story might've been typically repugnant and sensationalist, but it still indicates just how little progress games have made into the mainstream.

It's 2015, and yet some sections of the media still want to portray video games as something to be feared, something that's going to warp and destroy your little ones. But why? Why are we still here, still hearing those same tired accusations?


It struck me while playing Assassin's Creed Syndicate and Halo 5 how utterly unwelcoming they are to the unititiated. Both games throw you into an ongoing story that makes no concession to those who've never played a previous instalment - in Syndicate's case it's the ongoing Abstergo conspiracy, in Halo 5 it's the small issue of the war Master Chief is fighting, who the man himself is, and why we should care when he apparently goes rogue.

Both titles are so in love with their own lore and continuity that they're baffling even to me, and I've played all the main games in both series. If the stories were in movie sequels, it would be considered commercial suicide. There's absolutely no catching up for the player.


It's worse than that though, because even the gameplay assumes a lot of the player. There is the barest of tutorial handholding - it's taken that you know how a Halo game plays, and what you're meant to be doing in Syndicate. 

These are blockbuster, $100 million-plus games, and they've basically been made for the existing fans. Is that wise? Look at Nintendo's games. They make tutorials charming, never assuming anything of the player, but never boring them either.

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CULT THING
​It's weird how gaming can be so huge, such a massive industry, and still feel like a cult thing.

We're at a point where people of all ages play games on their phones, or Facebook. However, when it comes to the supposedly Triple-A titles - outside of Minecraft, or FIFA, say - they're still mostly bought and played by people who would identify as "video gamers".

​I love going to the pictures, but I wouldn't write "moviegoer" in any description of myself. And that's because it's a given that I go and watch films - everyone watches films... because speaking broadly, films don't exclude. Especially the big budget ones.

Look at the lengths Lucasfilm and Disney are going to with The Force Awakens. Doubtless, there's stuff in there for the fans, but they're pushing the newness of it. Han Solo, Princess Leia et al barely feature in the marketing. There's no "Episode VII" on the poster, and you can bet that whatever story they tell doesn't rely on knowing everything there is to know about the Star Wars universe. Because you don't spend that much money on something, and then shut out any potential customers.

But so many of today's blockbuster games seem determined to push away the curious, more casual, gamer. The bland poster campaigns for Halo 5 and Syndicate speak to nobody other than people who know what an assassin's hood, or Master Chief's helmet (matron), look like. They're just saying: "Look: there's now a new version of a thing you once liked".

To the average punter it's just more grumpy, grizzled, action types glaring at them from billboards or bus shelters. There's no effort to speak to people, to draw in new players.

​So it's little wonder that the buttock holes at The Daily Mail, and others, are still peddling their same old "games are bad for your kids" schtick - because the games industry still has a wall around it, topped with barbed wire and searchlights. It's the biggest clique on earth, but it's still a clique. And if you're outside that clique it's all too easy to criticise or misrepresent it.

FROM THE ARCHIVE:
U2 CAN BE BRAINWASHED by Mr Biffo
YOUTUBE RED ALERT by Mr Biffo
REPEAT AD INFINITUM: Why All The New Games Are Old News by Mr Biffo

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22 Comments
George
28/10/2015 07:16:40 pm

Not surprised in the slightest at the Mail's take on this story. Think of the most moronic, right-wing interpretation of any given situation and you will find the nomenclature of that rag somewhere.

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dirtysteve
29/10/2015 12:18:36 am

It's not like the Gnardian left-wing 'gamers are rapists' spiel has helped either.

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combat_honey
29/10/2015 01:22:31 pm

By "'gamers are rapists' spiel", do you mean 'reporting on Gamer gate'?

Because Gamer gate does get a lot of attention on the Guardian, but that's pretty well justified given that GG has resulted in extreme actions (harassment, threats, doxing, swating and paedophile smears) in response to a few people merely pointing out that the portrayal of women in games and the games industry is sexist and outdated. It's a truly bizarre (but sadly predictable) phenomenon, so it makes sense that it'd generate a lot of articles.

Keith
28/10/2015 09:26:33 pm

It's an interesting one. There are games series where a big reason I haven't bought a game is because I've been uncertain as to how much I'll get it, not having played previous games - some games it's not a problem, other games expect you to be completely immersed in lore, some games are enriched if you know a bit, while other games still only have the merest of improvements so they're only worth buying new instalments every few years anyway.

I wonder whether a low-tech solution could be if each instalment of an ongoing series had a bit of the marketing aimed at newcomers; take Assassins Creed - I've never played one of them, but prior to Mr Biffo's review, I was kind of intrigued by this one. A three-four minute official "catch up" trailer of the pertinent bits of lore could well have made it (or any game ) seem more accessible to newcomers - if gamers who buy 1 - 2 games a month can be put off by the seeming need to have been playing a series for years, then of course non gamers won't be converted.
Admittedly some games don't require any prior knowledge, but they don't actually advertise that fact.

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Dr Kank
28/10/2015 11:08:41 pm

I wish violent video games had taught me useful life skills, like how to be a killing machine, how to hack the computers, or how to find money in bins.

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Mike Jones
29/10/2015 01:38:14 pm

I once kicked over several bins after a particularly intense session on Streets of Rage.

Didn't even find one cooked chicken...

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Steve McScapegoat
29/10/2015 02:00:14 pm

Someone alert Mr T to this bin-abusing madman.

Steve McScapegoat
28/10/2015 11:38:25 pm

The whole "everybody plays games on their phone" argument is one I see a lot, but I'm not sure how much it really holds up here. It's like comparing a jigsaw to Dungeons and Dragons in a way. Much as AAA titles are formulaic, they're trying to tell stories and provide cinematic experiences that phone games simply aren't for the most part. Assassin's Creed might be getting stale, but it's doing a lot more than Angry Birds (not that simple phones games aren't fun for whiling away the commute. They are, at least until refusing to pay for the microtransactions renders them unplayable). Unfortunately games are inherently exclusive in a way unlike any other medium, in that your own ability can prevent you from progressing. It's no harder to watch minute 90 of a film than it was to watch minute 3, or read the last page of a book compared to the first, but games put blocks all the way through. Maybe that does tend to a certain exclusive nature, as a lot of people likely just can't be bothered to put that much effort in for something they could otherwise get better through a book or film.

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dirtysteve
29/10/2015 12:17:48 am

A solid year+ of gamers = scary misogynistic psychos, and the games journalists happily confirming it, might have something to do with how our reputation hasn't changed much.

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Michael Fold
29/10/2015 10:11:34 am

Yeah, yeah. We get it. Just say the old line about "ethics" and "feminism" and sod off. So we can all get on with our day.

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Yosh
29/10/2015 03:06:20 pm

"GamerGate" is just the new banner all those misogynist MRAs decided to hide behind. It's just another excuse to hate on those "feminazis" who friendzoned them.

Please no
29/10/2015 07:16:01 pm

Can you guys take this inevitable crapstorm somewhere else? Cheers.

Love,

Literally everyone else here

jackmcvey
29/10/2015 03:19:18 pm

Damn straight. Here's a good life tip for everyone: after reading an article in a news source, any news source, ask yourself: "What does the writer of this article want me to think... and why?"

If enough people did that, we might start to get somewhere.

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Surgeon General
29/10/2015 10:06:56 am

I'm quite certain that had he not played any games, he'd be the next Dougie Houser. Delivering babies and saving lives.

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Mr.Mustacho
29/10/2015 06:02:48 pm

this might be true for games with yearly installments or huge titles
masterchield doesn't NEED to get new costumers the mere mention of the name sends fanboys frotting at the mouth

the thing is assassins creed, call of duty and halo are not the only games being made, as you mentioned yourself Nintendo is friendly and has excellent tutorials as do billions of other defelopers, indie and otherwise

i don't judge the movie industry on the transformers movies and people don't stay away from the theater because they don't understand inception

also star wars must be open to new viewers because it makes A SHIT TON of money with toys the movie is basically an advert to the people at Disney


there are tons of games most of them aren't franchises and some of them are violent

the real reason the media doesn't understand gaming is that gaming is relatively new and if you are a 40 year old reporter journalist or media personality chances are you where to focused on work to keep up with culture outside of the mainstream,
so when something new to them suddenly enters the mainstream they get scared and confused

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Penyrolewen
29/10/2015 09:43:26 pm

Eh? Games not mainstream to a 40 year old? Especially one in media? Even if you don't play, who hasn't got/didn't have a mate with a console? Less true for women maybe, but games ARE mainstream. They've been around a while you know. Sure, older people (maybe 60 plus? 70 plus?) may not get them but everyone below 50 at least grew up with this stuff around. It's the Mail. What do you expect? You are right that lots of games are not violent or so inward looking that people are put off by them. But people can't complain about them can they? It's the same with other media. Michael Buble has an easier time of it than Marilyn Manson, J K Rowling than Irvine Welsh etc etc. Only Mail readers will believe it - or read it- and you won't convince them otherwise anyway. I'm surprised the kid wasn't an immigrant radicalised Muslim benefit cheat too (or maybe he was. I didn't read it).

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Yoot
30/10/2015 04:39:37 am

Interesting analysis. I hadn't really thought before about how unwelcoming these franchises are for new players to the series.

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Superbeast 37
30/10/2015 08:17:09 am

Funny how it's always games like AC or Halo that are criticised but the Souls games always get a free pass and are actually praised for having the same problems.

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Mr Biffo
30/10/2015 08:31:40 am

I think Dark Souls are worse if anything. See my Bloodborne review...

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Superbeast 37
30/10/2015 10:44:03 am

Just found it. Rather brave of you to go against the group think on Souls. Fair play.

I notice you accepted that it just ain't for you and no doubt looked for other free market offerings instead. As opposed to demanding that they ignore the market and tailor it to you because of some sense of entitlement.

I think gaming could benefit from more people taking that attitude. The free market will always provide....if a person is waving cash and not just lecturing with no money backing the words.

Just a thought
30/10/2015 08:56:57 am

In some ways violence in games is the elephant in the room. Because of the sheer media onslaught about, we're all conditioned to an equally kneejerk "argh no there is no problem here ever" response. We're all quite used to a certain level of OTT bloodiness in our media, but a lot of people simply aren't. We're (mostly) willing to have conversations about portrayals of gender, race and other issues in games (and to an extent that history of villifying the hobby has resulted in a backlash to those discussions too), but nobody seems to be willing to say "maybe games do glorify -not cause but glorify- extreme violence to the point of nearly fetishising it". I read the Kickstarter for the Friday the 13th game the other day, and found myself thinking "does paying money for stretch goals promising that players can enact even more violent murders of the innocent make gaming look a bit bad?" To be fair, they are aping a film and probably doing a very good job of it, bur in all honesty, it probably doesn't look great to people who aren't a bit desensititised to it.

That said, kids shouldn't be playing games for 18+ and parents should be a bit more on the ball about it...

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PS1Snake
3/11/2015 05:03:00 am

The Final Fantasy series (up until the 10th game) neatly overcame the issue of having to play catch up by offering a different set of characters, worlds and story with each new entry. I started to go off the series when Square-Enix got into the habit of doing direct sequels and spin-offs.

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