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To Mr. Atkinson

The other day I walked into a Pizza shop and waited for my meal. A plasma TV was on display showing channel V (the music channel). I watched as a Father and son walked in and sat down beside me. The sons eyes were glued to the screen. I also began watching it.

First a film clip was shown where 10 people (majority female) danced around in a room completely naked in sexual poses. Small content filtering bars barely covered them. The father was not watching the clip but his son was very intently.

The clip that came afterwards was ‘Flashing Lights’ by Kayne West. At the end of the clip a woman in her underwear is seen killing a man in her car with a shovel. The video can be seen here:
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=mEccxPPwXmI

At first I thought that maybe I should complain to the storeowner. Perhaps write them a letter. Maybe complain to the police. Maybe these things should be restricted.

I’m going to University and am studying to become a teacher. I was ducks in my earlier degree. I’m also an avid gamer. If you have stuck with me this long I would like to thank you for your patience. I’m not here to complain about your stance on the R18+ issue (although one of my favourite games has been affected by the ban: Silent Hill, violence being an integral part of the emotion the game is trying to produce, horror).

I just wanted to let you know that as a teacher and also someone who takes care of children on a regular basis I agree with your points. But at the same time violence, sex, and other adult themes are (and will always be) part of life. There are so many forms of adult themes that children already have access to. A child could purchase a game for $100. That same child is still able to purchase a R18+ DVD (ie: pornography) for less than

My final point:
If you REALLY care about the children of this country, instead of keeping things from us launch a government ad campaign that educates parents and adults of the ratings system (not just for games, for movies and other media too). We have already seen similar campaigns for smoking and fatal car accidents. Build up the Australian people’s morals instead of their ignorance. Make them aware instead of blinding them from the world that will always exist around us.

The western world is going to continue down this trend of moral depravity with or without us. It is only going to get worse. Please make sure our people are ready for the decline in values not by building walls on our shores but rather our minds. We must adapt.

Sincerely,
James *********

P.S: If you haven’t already seen this:
http://www.kotaku.com.au/games/2008/07/michael_atkinson_no_r18_for_games_in_australia_why_it_hurts_children.html

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A small cottage industry? Wow you’re as out of touch as he is. The global gaming industry is now arguably larger than the film industry.

The reason people in this country put up with having their lives dictated like this is because Australians are politically ignorant and stupid. Australians are too laid back to really consider the long term consequences of not giving a shit about how their country is being run.

The best case scenario of this is GTA4 which was released in Australia with very minor edits which allowed it to be sold to 15 year olds in this country. These edits did not remove any of the most explicit material from the game and unlike the rest of the modern world where the game was only to be sold to 18+ year olds, in Australia it was legally sold to kids!

Surely an 18 Rating would mimise the instances of this occurring and would make it clear to parents that certain content is not suitable for those under a certain age. It is then up to parents to monitor what their children are purchasing, viewing and playing.

I think the most frustrating part of this whole debate is the sheer lack of understanding and inconsistency from those against an R18+ rating.

Part of me understands there fears, I totally agree that children shouldn’t view these products, most of my fellow game developers do as well, one of the reasons we are so keen to see the R18+ rating in Australia.

It’s a very easy leap to make that the depiction of drugs, violence and/or sex in video games will somehow corrupt our youth.

The problem is it is naive and ill informed.

If there was any compelling proof for their arguments I’d stand behind them 100% and I make video games for a living.

The funny thing is, I don’t think that most studios actually use the full potential with which the subject matter has to offer.
In film and literature you will often find it used in a provocative manner, however in games on the most part any depth is generally boiled down into uninspired shock value. Maybe thats why we are such an easy target?

However, this is not to say games can’t use these themes to produce thoughtful, confronting and meaningful comments on the human condition.

To stifle our creative freedom is appallingly archaic as it is, but to halt our personal freedoms as consenting adults is an attack on our very rights and for me something far more frightening than what they are trying to protect us from.

Apart from the obvious fear of a police state mentality, I have two major issues with the stance of AG Michael Atkinson.

Firstly, if he has such a strong moral issue with the content contained in R18+ media it should be a consistent one, his current stance shows more political posturing than passion, by attacking one section of the community he is seen to be ‘protecting the kiddies’ however he hasn’t offended the majority by saying something along the lines of, “All violent and sexual media should be banned in Australia.”, that would be too much of a risk.

In some ways I’d at least respect that amount of conviction however this is merely a stunt to appease his constituents.

Secondly, the continual vilification of the interactive nature of games is really quite flawed.
To somehow find a link that since I have a controller to manipulate the actions of a game I am somehow more likely to be adversely effected by it content is ridiculous.

If that was the case then surely the fact that literature uses 100% interactive thought to create immersion is far more troubling?

I can tell you right now that the human imagination is far more capable of atrocities than any of the media that would fall into the R18+ rating.

When I read about wartime atrocities the images my mind conjures up are far more confronting to me than anything I have seen or will see in film, TV and games yet there is no one wanting to see literature banned.

In the end it just feels like Michael Atkinson and his supporters have unwittingly aimed there moral cannons at the wrong people.

Education is the key, not the typical knee jerk censorship politicians are so fond of.

It all depends on how hard our leaders want to work, or in this case ‘be seen’ to be working.