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The Grown-Up Video Game
Phaethon360 writes "Now, more than ever, we're seeing many Mature ratings (M+, 17+, 18) being distributed by various national media regulators. But that isn't the only indicator for a game's intended audience. It doesn't take a thousand swear words, scantily clad women or gratuitous violence to differentiate a ten-year-old's game from a twenty-year-old's. The spectrum of human emotions encompasses a wider palette than just revenge, fear, and loss, but the games that shy away from these are frequently mistaken as being for a younger audience. From the article: 'The human experience is one that is made up of great hardship, pain, loss, death, and a multitude of experiences seemingly designed to destroy a person. However, that same experience is also filled with joy, love, laughter, family and friends. ... These so-called “grown-up” games need not be relegated to the category of niche gaming. In fact, at times we find that these video games are capable of reaching mass popularity among the gaming community. It is here that we find one of our generation’s outlets for the expression of conflict.'"
you just lost it.
liqbase
How about games for 40 year olds? No, not Pac-man and Pole Position, but games adults can play and enjoy now. Apologies to the middle aged that play FPS and others of the new genre, but there is a market for less intensive product.
... I don't believe there is such a thing. I've seen grown men in their 40's+ rushing out to get the latest Call of duty or Mass effect 2. Games are NOT movies this call for emotionalism or "emotional depth" in a game is nonsense. What does final fantasy's story have anything to do with being a grown up? It's probably one of the most graphics heavy and story laden game series and yet their stories have nothing in common with anything one might consider "grown up".
I don't play games for emotional storytelling, I can get that in movies. I play games to be a participant in the world, kill stuff, shoot stuff, solve puzzles and indulge my imagination. I want games to be FUN, what does a plumber stomping on a bunch of mushroom people have anything to do with being grown up? Yet many millions of grown ups certainly enjoyed playing mario, I can vouch for the fact that my own mother got into playing mario kart series from 64 onwards.
Seriously. This sounds like nothing but a stealth advertisement for Heavy Rain. Yay it came out today! Just say so and be done with it instead of trying to sneak it in with this self-important navel-gazing.
It doesn't take a thousand swear words, scantily clad women or gratuitous violence to differentiate a ten-year-old's game from a twenty-year-old's.
No, but it helps.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
This on the day that Heavy Rain is released. Preliminary reviews seem to say that it's much more adult-oriented, and not just in terms of the things that cause more adult ratings.
The difference between adult gamers and younger gamers is partly a factor of time pressure, and partly a factor of content.
The time pressure element is obvious. Aside from a typical work schedule for an adult taking more hours then going to school, an adult has more demands on their time. A 14 year boy old does not have much beyond school and some minor chores. A 24 year man old has a work day, probably has a girlfriend, and possibly has children, in addition to some amount of chores and errands. As much as the 24 year old may want to pull a 6 hour world of warcraft marathon, he probably has to make sure he has groceries, that the bills are paid. While holding onto the girlfriend is optional, it probably takes precedence over the games. The same applies to children. On top of that, the adult potentially has the money to do other activities (ie, going out to a bar, going to a rock concert, hockey game, going skydiving) that may also take precedence over video games.
The content factor is trickier. The 14 year old and the 24 year old will have a great deal of overlap for what they like in general terms. The only difference is that as the 24 year old has less time to waste, the content must be of a generally higher quality. Having mature themes is probably going to be the difference here if it is done right. The 24 year old wont play a game just because it has "hot horny nympho sex and buckets of blood". While that is still pretty sweet, it lacks the novelty value it has for the 14 year old. Having moral shades of grey, believable characters, and solid writing will help.
But gameplay is still king. Nintendo has pretty much proven beyond all doubt that if you can deliver good gameplay (Mario kart, wii sports, Mario Galaxy), you can hit the mark pretty solidly.
END COMMUNICATION
Now, more than ever, we're seeing many Mature ratings (M+, 17+, 18) being distributed by various national media regulators.
In your lucky, sensible country perhaps. Here in Australia, this man thinks that any game other than Mario and Puzzle Bobble is evil, so we should PROTECT THE CHILDREN at all costs.
Homonyms are fun!
You're driving your car, but they're riding their bikes there.
It's time for PINBALL to come back as a big thing and THEY ARE STILL MADE IN THE USA!!!
"Life is half random, and half under our control."
and with planning you can attempt to minimize the random events that come your way.
I'm sure with proper planning anyone can avoid being born in a war-torn or impoverished nation.
The idea that stuff that should be unavailable to children is automatically more mature, has been spectacularly antiproductive.
Example of logic: "Wow, Bobby got drunk and slept with the teacher, and he's only a sixth grader! Awesome! I'm gonna ask him how he does it!"
Labeling things "M" adds about 25% interest among young teenagers, because we advertise sex and drugs as too fun to be legal. People reach for things they think will be useful in making them happy. For inexperienced people looking for fun, illegal looks like a pretty good start. If you're looking to make a game for an adult you're taking a lot of assumptions for what you think they will be reaching for. Any masterpiece you create to charm an adult audience will be virtually unadvertisable, and likely will be a commercial failure. Anybody looking should buy Okami. They would be in the first 500 people to do so, for effect, drink a Tab soda with it.
Child Gamer
14 fully automatic weapons that can be carried at once and ready to fire in any order within a second of each other.
Immense piles of (crappy) enemy armor, clothes, weapons, potions, and lunch monies
Dead Hookers that pay you
Complete physical dominance over a physical world
Self respect with occasional awe
Control over an economy.
Really funny stuff.
Charming stuff that makes you a little happier.
A compliment that actually pleases you
Video Games End Here
Office Software Starts Here
Spousal apologies
More free time/money
Inner Peace/Contentment
Dead Gamer
Not on topic but I'd want to mention the stock market as a good game for adults. I played computer games in my teens and twenties but now, in my thirties I find them quite boring, predictable and repetitive.
For three years now I picked up a new hobby: stock market. I watch CNBC, I read business newspapers, i follow a ton of finance blogs, I think, I make hard decisions, I put my money at risk, I master my impulses and emotions. I throughly enjoy it.
I'm sure with proper planning anyone can avoid being born in a war-torn or impoverished nation.
Well, it worked for me. In fact, I've authored a bestselling book called Who's your Daddy? A Pre-Conception Future-Life Planning Guide. I'm currently on a book tour of the nation's sperm banks...
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
Personally I always wished that MMORPGS had age segregated servers available.
Not because of adult content (as somebody pointed out in another story, naked pixels are only really tillitanting when ur a teen), it's simply because an environment where teens can run around anonymously controlling powerfull avatars and there are no adults in supervisory positions tends only be fun - if at all - for the teens themselfs (things like griefing, being loud, obnoxious and showing off which look cool when ur 13 and have no life experience just look like signs of social/emotional desperation once you become mature enough to understand people).
I don't want all servers should be age segregated, I just whish there were such servers available - with, for example, a 25+ age limit - for those that want the option: I would even be willing to pay extra for it.