A dark cloud has appeared over us ladies and gentlemen
The very fiber of gaming is being shredded for political propaganda and the world at large is casting a negative light over our hobby and overlooking the wonderful and positive things gaming does for the millions who enjoy it over the actions of very few. And we innocent people will pay the price.
Before I start this, I want to add that I never like to get political on this page and with the horrors over the weekend, I really don't want to be distasteful and make this about us and not the victims. I can't fathom the pain for their families and loved ones. Please do not make this a left vs right thing as it's toxic and will hurt the forums and just further this divide we seem to be facing the past 5 or so years. I know if it's anywhere we can discuss a difficult topic like this and still be loving and understanding. It's here
This is probably one of the bigger pivotal stories regarding games so I felt it really should be discussed. As censorship is truly a devastating idealogy for our hobby and would kill creativity. This isn't to go off the deep end hating on any political candidate or fighting but more to vent our feeling for what has transpired regarding our hobby over the weekend and try to see what we feel is going to happen especially with games like GTA 6 on the horizon. With the current climate, it affects video games so much at large that I have to make a post about it and try to save myself from the incessant anger I am experiencing
The Newshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B85VBIeUCbUFor those not caught up, political Pundits on both sides including the president have made speeches blaming Video Games for the horrors that happened, yes in 2019 video games of all things are being blamed for the atrocities that happened in Ohio and Texas. Literally the 1990s style Salem witch trial is back with the soccer mom baby boomers blaming Grand Theft Auto and Marylyn Manson for Columbine and any kid who does anything bad for the rest of time because being a decent parent and actually looking for real reasons is too hard. So blame anything but yourself or the society you live in. And not the obvious underlying reality of bad parenting and horrible school systems. Just blame M rated games.
As if all the crusaders or Lizzie Borden or dictators during WW2 were all corrupted by the Eminem rap CDs and Call of Duty.
Please for the love of god, make this idiocy stop. We know this not to be true.
We all have differing ideas of how things should be run, but i'm pretty sure on a page like this most of us do not agree with the censorship of artistic creativity the video game publishers and developers currently have to make the games we play. With a new mandate concerning the violence in video games. Rockstar will be screwed making GTA 6. As the game is meant to push boundaries and be crude. It's Grand Theft Auto for crying out loud lol.
But it also will effect franchises like Call of Duty, Resident Evil, Doom, Saints Row, Dead Rising, and pretty much any other graphic video game or movie that depicts murder and shootings.
The level of flabbergasting stupidity being possessed by some of the ignorant non gaming baby boomer generation yet again is mind numbing. It's like anything they don't do or care for it to blame for all the evils of the world and not their abusive parenting tactics, Vietnam war era inspired rhetoric and racism and their constant need to control everything and everyone. Why can't we as a society come to grip with the fact we can't stop killers from killing? Ever. Like literally impossible. We can't make it harder, we can't make it less widespread. We cannot stop it. Take guns away, censor movies, do away with porn. You can't stop it. Prohibition didn't stop drunks from drinking. You can't take away the tool to stop the mechanic. Humans have unlimited means of doing harm to people. It's sad but something we have to face.
We as a society and the world all over glorify shootings with the media not with the video games. Every shooter gets their infamous moment in the spotlight. It's what they crave is the attention. The only way to slow it down is to stop flipping the lid. Calm down, and address mental health and the broken systems in place. Including prison reform systems, educational areas and especially medical issues regarding mental health screenings and addressing red flags from people with prior history of mental illness. This type of thing is why it's done and why it won't stop.
But as a whole, Where do you guys think gaming is going to go from here. Do you think GTA 6 will be forced to be watered down? Will Rap Music be effected? And do you think Trump will succeed in clashing with video game developers regarding violence? Basically a 100 percent violation of freedom of speech and freedom of artists to create anything.
In the 90s a issue like this arose, I called it the mothers against gaming movement but I think it had a more formal name. It even went to the supreme court shortly following Columbine. But it got laughed out of court and games were still allowed to be on shelves with the same level of censorship as movie media. I hope that same decision holds again.
Thank you for sharing everyone, and I hope all of you have a happy week. Sorry for a negative post but sometimes our culture gets the negative light and not all the positivity games spread for millions of people. It's pretty sad