First, doesn’t a idea need to be looked at and developed/discussed before it can be fully explained?
I just know that I sometimes feel uncomfortable with the hype, controversy and counter-hype surrounding allegedly ‘dumb’ Battlefield, and that after 20 years of playing video games, this is really all the progress:
- more graphics, more violence. Politics abound.
I’m now confronted by the prospect of even mainstream games being surrounded by stories of controversy regarding this and that depiction of this and that, and a climate that is forcing me to ask questions regarding politics - ones which really only politicians and people with money have the ability to answer. So, not only does it mean that I have to worry about whatever philosophy matter or subject is IN the game, but it now must be surrounded by a climate of having to ask what that game says about or reflects on the society around us, to the point where ‘fiction is no longer fictional’ - One cannot easily watch Game of Thrones without being concerned by the depictions of how women are being treated in the story, or how actors or actresses are being requested to depict themselves, and compounded by asking why somebody would choose to depict or visually present those scenes with real actors, or digital ones. I don’t have the answer about books, except that the content, based on language interpretation (as langusage is a type of code), is usually a little bit up to the imagination of the reader, whereas visual and audio depictions, unless a person is blind or hard of hearing, is actually there to see, in all its potential tastelessness. With games, no matter how much we argue about ‘mature content’ or ratings, we know these games are going to be seen by younger audiences, because YouTube etc - more than and easier than ever before. This can put more pressure on parenting & caring for young people. There seems to be no other answer suggested thus far, other than ‘carry on buying the games perhaps and pretend like nothing is amiss’.
What has caused these social outcrys from among audiences? Is it ‘dumb’ people? Is it that the Internet is ‘louder’ these days? Why? How does it get dealt with outside of the video-game circuit?
And then… Can/does a big company benefit from managing Internet controversy? How does it benefit? Does the use of labeling groups of people, thathe which even professionals can be tempted towards, help or harm the situation? Can it lead to misrepresentation?
There have been calls to make less violent video games, but if the violent games become symbols for rallying around political causes and multi-lateral controversies, then the AAA industry might not bother to make quality, non-violent or less violent games (unless they are 90s remasters of course).