This is a thousand times worse. Should we have the right to make this game? Yes. But defending it will make it look like we're all into rape sims when we're not. Supporting it will make all of us look bad. So **** it. Throw these idiots to the wolves and disassociate ourselves from them because they're just going to ruin it for the rest of us. Things are not secure enough yet for us to stand our ground on something like this. Damning the rape game is probably going to give us more credibility than using it to stand up against censorship. When fighting against censorship for films you don't point out porn, you point out something like Midnight Cowboy. To get people on our side we need to point out the great videogame art that will censored not the exploitative trash. "Fight against censorship by supporting the rape game" is going to have the opposite effect.
There have been some good arguments in this thread but I have to agree with Ian here.
Even the most heinous of American cinema has never popularized a movie that follows a protagonist who rapes children and expects the audience to not find it repulsive. Movies like that exist somewhere, I'm sure, but you don't see anyone defending them or lumping them in with mainstream cinema.
The way I see it, the reality is that public outcry is going to startle politicians and they'll immediately go looking for answers about what the hell is going on.
The message we want to send should be "99.9% of games aren't like this!", not to come across as defending rape games in any way, shape or form. You have to remember that we're not talking about rational people here. Rational people would understand the argument that free speech must be applied to all things. Irrational people, however, will not understand this argument and will interpret it as gamers saying they see nothing wrong with rape games.
The other real issue here is that we're talking about a medium that has yet to be established as artistic in the mainstream view. Most people either view videogames as an enjoyable hobby, a device for promoting social togetherness and well-being (thanks to the Wii and its blue ocean) or devices designed to turn children into serial killers.
I've yet to see a game ad posting review taglines like, "Powerful.", "An emotional thrill ride." or "Heartwarming.", probably because the mainstream just doesn't yet view the medium as something that can hit their emotions just as hard as any movie or book.
So yeah, I agree that defending this would basically be viewed as throwing our lot in with the developers of rape games when we should be doing everything we can to distance ourselves from them. Games already aren't viewed as being art or having any redeeming social value. Sending the message of support for rape games would be the last nail in the coffin for gaming's chance at rising above its current mainstream view and would bring the government down on the gaming industry like an anvil on a watermelon.
Show Posts
