An Eye for an Eye

An Analysis of the Impact of “Mature” Games on the MMORPG Genre

May 3, 2007

Since they became more than just a novelty and developed graphics beyond moving blocks and balls, video games have come under fire for every sin that our children (and some adults) can commit. Everything from addiction to myopia has been linked with playing video games, and parents are quick to jump on these recent high-tech creations as the root of all evil. They have heard that games allow their users to become totally engrossed in the world, and why would anyone want to escape reality? In a nutshell, video games are the current favored scapegoat of the United States.

Video game violence is perhaps the most notable among the list of video game “concerns”. Like the so-called “link” between Dungeons and Dragons and Satanism in the early 1980s, the “effects” of violence in video games have spread from household to household, causing frightened parents and grandparents to urge their children to stay away from that monstrous behavior.

Old women in the airport, eager to talk to anyone who lends an ear, quickly turn away when they discover you play video games. “They’re awful,” one particular woman said to me. “They aren’t anything but garbage.” A palpable fear of video game violence has penetrated our society.

Even our nation’s tragedies are blamed on video games. Although other violent media has penetrated every screen or speaker that we own, video games are the easiest source to blame. Lawyers like Jack Thompson are eager to connect any violent act by a young male to the violent media that can be played via a joystick, controller, or mouse.

“The common denominator [in school shootings] being the immersion of the perpetrators in incredibly violent entertainment, most notably video games,” Thompson recently stated in a Fox News interview. While such a generalization is nowhere near the truth, there still remains a lingering question in the minds of many adults: Do violent video games engender violence in our children? It’s a question many gamers would rather see disappear from the minds of other adults, but it remains a prevalent part of our national fabric.

Enter the MMORPG

MMORPGs, on the other hand, have been relatively unscathed by violent video game protesters and crazy lawyers. While MMORPGs have had their own share of problems with accounts of addiction, divorce, and online abuse, there has been relatively little violence associated with our online virtual worlds. But with the current crop of MMORPGs that are standing on the horizon, those members of our society against violent video games will quickly turn their gazes towards MMOGs.

MMORPG acts of violence will soon become all too real, and Funcom’s Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is the vanguard for this type of “mature” MMO. The developers at Funcom have declared outright that they are prepared to push the limit of the ESRB as far as possible when it comes to sex, violence, and the use of drugs. The world of Robert E. Howard, author of the Conan novels, was not a pretty one, and it held every sort of morally incorrect act that folks could think of.

With this in mind, Funcom has created a world where decapitations run aplenty, women (and men) try to “thank” the player with certain “favors”, and players are encouraged to kill each other. This raw, rich world is a complete fantasy – but the avatars are still very human and the action is equally as gritty as anything you might see in any of the Grand Theft Auto titles.

And Age of Conan is not the only upcoming game to aim for a “M for Mature” rating. 2Moons from Acclaim has been marketed as a game where there is no mercy for the weak, and players have been encouraged to submit dialogue with quotes including nearly every swear word in the book.

The World of Darkness MMO, announced late last year by CCP|White Wolf, is also primed for a more mature world. If you look through any World of Darkness, Vampire the Requiem, or Werewolf the Forsaken storytellers manual, you’ll see numerous images of blood, gore, terror, sex, and even some sadism. If that isn’t a recipe for a mature game, I don’t know what is.

All of these games are looking to go beyond the typical “T for Teen” ratings that most other MMORPGs have been granted. They are striving for worlds that are a bit more adult in nature, which adds another layer of complexity to all the other “baggage” that MMOs have been carrying for years.

The Smallest Ripple

In my estimation, the rise of violence (and other adult themes) in MMORPGs will bring a great deal of attention to the MMO marketplace. While MMOGs are still essentially video games, the immersion and inherently addictive nature of MMO gaming may cast a different, harsher light on the violence in MMOs. For, despite the violence located in Grand Theft Auto, the player was still only “killing” computer generated images. In MMOs, you’re killing other players who are controlling computer generated images. Pllayers who can talk, interact, and have a vested interest in the world around them.

You see, many of the arguments you see in the defense of Grand Theft Auto, revolve around it being “just a game” that emulates reality rather than employs it. These aren’t real people that you’re killing, they’re just artificial simulations. Even multiplayer shooters like Quake, Unreal, and Halo can escape the critics and protestors because of the quick and painless concepts behind the game. These are people who are also trying to kill you, who have guns, and very rarely interact with you. It’s more like a high-tech version of paintball rather than a immersive world.

But in Age of Conan, 2Moons, and the World of Darkness MMO, we’ll be stepping into a whole new realm. From the descriptions I’ve read of Age of Conan in particular, there will be battlefield areas…but those areas will have elements that aren’t strictly for PvP. Thus, a totally defenseless person could get “ganked” and beaten to a bloody pulp without even realizing there was somebody stalking him or her. Include blood and gore, and it may be a totally different experience than any sort of “PKing” we saw in other MMOs.

The World of Darkness MMO – if PvP is included in the final release of the game – may be the most problematic of the entire bunch. And this is because the World of Darkness is set in a pseudo-version of our reality. You’ll have police officers, restaurants, and a host of modern “people” to kill. Guns, baseball bats, chainsaws, these things may all be included in the final release of the game. Imagine the sort of criticism GTA received…now put that in an MMO space.

The repercussions could be enormous.

Creates the Biggest Wave

Once the analyzing gaze of the public falls on MMOs, there could be very dire consequences for MMO gamers and developers. People are already fearful of violent video games, and they have qualms about the addictive nature of MMOGs (just look at the WoW South Park episode). Combine those two elements together, and we could see some severe limitations on the forthcoming generations of MMOGs. Every one of our past, present, and future MMOs will be dissected from top to bottom. Every piece of cyber sex, griefing, and abuse will be aired to the public. Not that we have a whole storage bin of dirty laundry, but we do have a collection. No one likes seeing or smelling dirty laundry, but it is bound to happen if things progress down the worse possible scenario.

However, at GDC I had the opportunity to discuss the future of the Age of Conan with Funcom, and Jørgen Tharaldsen, Product Director for the company. He said that they would be working very closely with the ESRB to make sure the game was rated correctly and that there wasn’t anything that could push the NC-17 boundary.

Still, at least this journalist hopes that all of the developers of these upcoming “mature” MMOs are very, very, very careful when it comes to marketing and developing their games. I think the upcoming adult MMOs should hide nothing, and let everyone know that the games ARE violent. Don’t hide behind pretty pictures or fancy words. These are violent games, but players are being violent in a “fantasy” world. It’s a world of make believe, and nothing more.

In the end, I look optimistically at the upcoming mature MMOs as the next step in the growth of our genre. I want these games to be released to the market and to find popularity and success.  My only worry is that egomaniacal voices like Jack Thompson or quick-blaming parents might find these games as the answer to their prayers. They want something to blame for our nation’s tragedies.

As MMO gamers and developers, we just need to make sure that they don’t lay their blame on our favorite past time.

What are your thoughts or feelings? Do you have concerns about the violence or “adult” themes in these upcoming games? Let me know by emailing me!

Ten Ton Hammer is your unofficial soure for Age of Conan, 2Moons, and the World of Darkness MMO news and features!