Feeling nervous

It doesn't help that I barely slept last night, so brace yourself if I'm not sounding optimistic. Today, I learned that along with having to continue doing the navigation I must also add sound to the game, and a little annimation. That would be fine except for the fact that we have a week and...I'm not really sure how to do that! I'm definitely going to try my best and put in the extra time when I can, it's going to be tough because I have a lot of other things to finish. I am willing to try, but I'm nervous that it's not going to come together. Monica says that if I study the template and model my navigation from it, things should go well. Unfortunately, I feel a lot of this stuff is a foreign language to me, but I'm willing to give it a shot. Although I'm really cranky today, I'm going to suck it up and try!

Wal-Mart sells Christian based video games?

Around 100 different Wal-Mart Supercenters in Texas have been selling Christian-based video games by developer, Left Behind Video Games. The success of sales encouraged the corporation to expand the sales in various Wal-Mart stores throughout the country.
Typically, I write about games that are violent and graphic, so why would I write about christian-based games? Well, I find them to be equally as controversial as the "bad" ones. I feel like if there are going to be religious video games to be sold at retailers, all religions should be covered, i.e. jewish games, ilsamic games, buddist games, etc. If we are allowed the right to freedom of religion, national chains should not back a specific one. It shows bias and discrimination to a certain level. Therefore, I have no problem with the development of religion-based video games, however I do have a problem with Wal-Mart supporting the sales of Christian games specifically.

Continuing the game

As the end is nearing, some changes and compromises have been made in order to make food forecast a reality. First of all, there will only be one year instead of four to win the game. and Secondly,there may or may not be a "did you know?" screen that pops up after the season. I am currently working on the transitions to the different seasons and creating the potential "did you know" screens, so we'll have to see how it goes. I think we need to have a few more meetings to see where we stand but I think each of us understands our roles and what needs to be done by the 27th. Wish us luck!

Game Developer Speaks Out Against Game Critics

Karsten Lund, the director of the upcoming game, Kane and Lynch: Dog Days, spoke to computer and videogames.com about parents and political figures who wish to speak out against violence in the gaming industry. Lund says, "I'm not an expert in psychology, but I do think that some of these opinions come from an outside crowd that's not really used to dealing with games, they just watch it and think, 'Oh it's got to be affecting people.'" Lund believes that video gamers, "know the difference between real life and games." he goes on to say, "Even Chess is a violent game about war you could say, right? Games are a chance to try stuff that you're not trying in real life and without having to face the consequences."
Although Lund makes a few valid points, I definitely feel that he is downplaying the effect that violent video games has on certain audiences. I also feel like using chess as a comparative example is unrealistic. Although the concept of chess is based around basic warfare, the player does not see a graphic depiction of people killing each other anywhere in the game.

New Week: New Task!

I FINALLY have the instructions and title screens linking to each other. Now I need to connect the start buttons with the opening scene. I have done the majority of the coding and now I am planning on ironing out the kinks. I feel that now that I have successfully completed one area of this task, it will be easier to understand how to do the coding for the rest of the game. I plan on finishing this task by the end of the week and begin linking the seasons together within the game. Last week, I was a little nervous, but I am starting to see that if each of us continues to do our part, we have a fighting chance of completing food forecast by our April 27th deadline!

Japanese Video game sparks outrage!

A Japanese game entitled "Rapelay" has been banned and pulled from stores, however it can still be downloaded on the internet. The object of the game is to have the main character rape women and young girls on a train, impregnate them, and then convince them to have an abortion! Out of all the controversial games that I have been blogging about, this is one of the most appalling. The idea that anyone would want to make a sport out of something as serious as rape is absolutely disgusting. The above scene is a clip from the game, where you can see a hand groping this random train rider and a script describing the set-up. I am absolutely disgusted by the game designers and anyone involved in this. I feel like there is a boundary line, and "Rapelay" successfully crosses it. Although the above scene is not a graphic depiction of rape, it is still encouraging something that is absolutely immoral in my eyes and the eyes of civilized society. I agree that the game should be banned, however I don't understand why it was even created in the first place. At one point is something created for "shock" value vs. creating something that is so ethically wrong that it is criminal. BOOO RAPEPLAY!

FOUR WEEKS LEFT

Today it has been brought to my attention that the deadline for Food Forecast has been set and a final product is to be expected by April 27th! I am getting a sense of panic, which has also been expressed by other members of team awesome. It is very clear that I will have to spend more time working on the coding and research aspects than what I have been this semester. Fortunately, I have a schedule that is open enough to allow me to spend a lot of time in the lab, which is necessary for this game to be completed in the time alotted. Although I have feelings of panic and worry, I feel that we still have the time and potential to rise to the occasion, and meet our previous goal of having "food forecast" completed by the end of the semester. It will be a lot of work, but I'm ready to buckle down and give it a try.

Takoma Big Lots mixup angers parent

Kara Petrich of Spanaway, WA, accidently purchashed a mislabeled video game for her 9-year-old daughter last week. Petrich was under the impression that she had purchased a video game from the "Petz" series, which is a virtual pet-caring video game. However, inside the box was a copy of "Sprung", a sims type game designed to be a dating simulator for teens. Petrich was shocked when her 9-year-old daughter encountered suggestive dialogue that included statements like, "make sure you bring your life jackets, condoms" and "You wanna rock my mountains, don't you?"
The reports claim that sprung is a game that is rated T for teens. From what I have understood, that rating applies to ages 13+. I don't know if it's appropriate to encourage thirteen year olds to engage in that kind of dialogue. I do think it's important that teens understand the value of safe sex before making the decision to have sex, however, condom talk and "rocking mountains" is a bit premature. I think the concept of sprung should be re-evaluated, or at least the rating changed to a higher maturity level.
Representatives from Big Lots, have yet to make a statement. This situation is being treated like a fluke within the industry, and from what I see, it is. Clearly something was being overlooked and someone accidently put the wrong game in the wrong box. In order to prevent such instances, I think it's important to pay more attention to detail, so the wrong game doesn't fall into the wrong hands in the future. Petrich warns parents to clearly observe the games that their children are playing, so they can decide what influences are being had on their children because, clearly, some of these games are more than what meets the eye.

First Week after spring break!

Well I should start off by mentioning that today is my birthday! Yay for being a young 26! Although I am happy that today is my birthday(I haven't reached the depressing ages yet), I am a bit saddened that I am in school, and no longer on spring break. But whatever, that's life. So, this week I plan on ironing out the kinks with the introduction screens, and hopefully FINISHING. This task has been the bane of my existence for the last few weeks, and I would really like to move on and do something else, so at least I could have something new to blog about. I will just have to wait and see what the rest of the week brings. It's really starting to be crunch time and I feel like there is a lot of work to be done if food forecast is going to be a reality. I hope we can pull it off! Go Team Awesome!

Rhode Island Bill backed by PTC

Rhode Island State Senators (D) Paul Jabour, (D) Beatrice Lanzi, and (D) Michael McCaffrey are sponsoring a bill which proposes fines and jail time for retail outlets that sell games rated "M" (Mature) or "AO"(Adults Only) to underage consumers. The bill proposes that violators will be fined up to $1,000 and sentenced to up to a year in jail.
The Parents Television Council (PTC) has come forward in support of the proposed bill. The PTC Rhode Island Chapter Director, Marcia Weeder released a statement saying, "Half of the retailers our chapter visited responded with contempt when it was pointed out that they weren't following the ratings when selling adult games to children. Obviously, penalties are needed tot enforce what should be a simple thing to control. If we can prohibit the sale of tobacco, alcohol, and pornography to minors without restricting the rights of adults, we can do the same with adult games."
I agree with the PTC and the State Senators of Rhode Island. I found it to be a bit surprising that video game ratings weren't legally enforced. People can't purchase tickets to an R rated movie without showing ID, so why shouldn't the same apply to video games with similar content? And more importantly what's the use of these video game ratings if there if children are still purchasing inappropriate games? The ratings seem arbitrary without retailer support. Upon reviewing some controversial games, it is very apparent that certain audiences should not be exposed to that kind of content. I applaud the state of Rhode Island as well as the PTC, with hopes that others will follow their lead.

Getting things squared away before spring break

This is the week before spring break and mid-term grades have been submitted, reminding me that the pressure is on as the second half of the semester is approaching. I am almost finished coding the action script between the "introduction" to the "instructions" screens. After doing countless tutorials, I'm finally feeling like this stuff is starting to make sense! To me, that is truly half the battle when it comes to working in flash. I'm also trying to stay current with my blogging and research as well. I'm still doing a little catching up from my brief leave of absence however, I feel like I am moving at a decent and steady pace.

Dead or Alive Paradise, Soft core porn? The ESRB seems to think so

The new PSP game, Paradise Dead or Alive has been striking up much controversy with the ESRB. The ESRB recently pulled the initial rating for the game changing it to M for Mature. Eliot Mizrachi, spokesman for the ESRB uses the words, "cheesy" and "creepy voyerism" to describe the game. Mizrachi continues to say that the game represents, "bizarre, misguided notions of what women really want" he continues, "Paradise cannot mean straddling felled tree trunks in dental floss thongs." The creater of the Dead or Alive series strikes back claiming that all of the Dead or alive series represents some sort of voyerism but denies any allegations that the game is soft core porn.
Upon reviewing the trailers, I can definitely understand the M rating. Although the characters don't appear to be engaging in any sexual activity, it is very apparent that there are very sexual themes in the game. The scenes that I've reviewed are somewhat reminiscent of the old playboy vhs tapes they would advertise on E! late at night when I was a child; women prancing around the tropics touching themselves in bikinis. Clearly, this is not a game designed for the younger audiences. Typically the ESRB doesn't make such comments upon reviewing a game, which is unfortunate. The comments made were very blunt, straight forward, and from what I can see, spot on. I think if parents received more honest feedback regarding a rating, they would make better purchasing decisions. Although it is not what one would call, "politically correct", it is still something the ESRB should consider.

Back to school: take 2

Last week, I was absent due to a death in the family, so this week I am trying to get caught up. I still need to finish my introduction/instructions page, which I've made some progress since my previous entry; there are buttons now! I just need to figure out how to activate the buttons, taking the player from the "Introduction" screen to the "Instructions" screen. I also plan on doing more research on the vegetables so we can start developing the "did you know?" portion of our game. I still need to find a few more winter crops, which is somewhat difficult because a lot of crops grow during two seasons instead of one. I thought about finding a way to incorporate the two crops on the separate seasons, but I felt that to be a touch complicated for amateur game designers, and confusing for 9-13 year olds. If we get to some advanced levels, that could be a good way to spice it up, but it's too soon to tell how far we are going to get in terms of coding. I'm trying to get back in the swing of things, so this week should be a busy one.

Back to School; Buttons Buttons Buttons

Buttons are the bane of my existence. I keep trying to figure out how to make them via google tutorials and that has proven to be a waste of time. Today, I felt like I began to be on the right track after I got Monica to help me. The task for my game is simple: go to the title page and make a button taking the player to the instructions page. Once I was able to make a button on the "title" page, I was on to the "instructions" page. I discovered that the font was too big on the "instructions" page, causing me to re-write and re-design the "instructions" page. Then going back to the "title" page, I found that I will need to re-design that too. The whole thing sounds tedious but it is helping me become more acquainted with flash, which is a major objective of the class. Although there is a lot of re-doing, I feel that I am beginning to develop a better understanding how to fix things as well as what to do. Hopefully, by the end of the week this portion will finally be cleaned up and completed! Then, it's on to the next challenge!

What is the ESRB anyway?

Since my topic is game censorship, a lot of my blog posts are going to be related to the ESRB. Therefore, I thought it would be useful to take a few minutes to explain exactly what the ESRB is and how video games are rated.

The ESRB stands for the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. It is a non-profit organization that was established in 1994. The ESRB assigns ratings and regulates the advertising of video games that are distributed in Canada and the US. The ESRB ratings apply to video games that are sold and distributed in Canada and The United States. Most major retail outlets and consoles will only support games that have received an ESRB rating. The ESRB rates approximately 1,000 games a year. The ratings exist as : E (everyone), E 10+ (Everyone above the age of 10), T (teens ages 13 and up), M (mature, ages 17 and up), and A (Adult, ages 18 and up).

The games are rated by at least 3 trained analysts who review many different criteria. Their identities are kept anonymous, and are not permitted to have any ties with any distributors or the game designers themselves, in order to keep the rating as an unbiased judgement call. The ratings are based on a questionnaire submitted by the game distributors listing all of the game content, as well as a DVD exposing such content. The DVD includes standard gameplay, differen scenes, graphic content (i.e. violence, sexual content, drug and alcohol use, etc.), as well as scenes that are "locked out" or "mini-games". Once the DVD and the questionnaire is reviewed, the raters must play the game. The raters develop an individual rating and meet with other raters until a consensus is reached. Once a consensus is reached, the rating is turned over to the distributor along with a list of factors which affected the rating. Once this is passed to the distributor it is up to them to maintain the rating or revise the game. If the game is revised the ratings process begins all over again. The publisher also has a chance to appeal the rating if they feel it is not warranted. Once the game is ready to be published, a final copy is sent to the ESRB. The ESRB evaluates the final package, making sure that the rating is properly visible to the consumers. Once everything has been approved, the games are then shipped off and sold in stores.

Snow Week

Being out for a week is great but it has put me behind on our game development. I'm still learning how to create buttons, but it has been useless without being able to sit at the computers, and work. I tried to simply use the time to catch up on rest so I can be completely re-charged and ready to get back to work! Because I have nothing really game design related to post in this entry, I added a nice little video for your viewing pleasure

7 Sins: Banned in the USA

In 2005 Atari released 7 Sins for Play Station 2. The object of the game is to help the main character reach the top of the social ladder by making decisions based on the "7 deadly sins". The game was deemed too hot for the US due to many graphic sex scenes. One scene in particular shows the main character drugging his date, looking up her skirt, and getting into bed with her, allowing the manipulation of her breasts to be simulated by the use of a joystick.
Personally, I think these scenes are a bit over the top. The whole manipulation of the breast thing? Seriously? I feel like people can watch the scenes of the characters engaging in sexual activity without this element of interactivity. From a marketing standpoint, however, I understand why they would incorporate something like that, because 1. sex sells, and 2. any attention is good attention. Audiences hear about a game that is too sexual for the United States, automatically someone wants to see why, and a game is sold overseas. People love to be shocked and entertained; controversy is always interesting. I'm not saying that it's right or moral, but it will make money, and in a business, that's what distributors want. So obviously, they are going to put as much sexual content as possible. As for the whole date rape drug thing, I don't see that it's necessary as there is already an abundance of graphic sexual content as it is. It also sends out a negative message, but if people are still killing in video games, then what's drug use really? In conclusion if a person has any sort of moral compass and wants to make money; the world of main stream game development may not be for them.

Working on our game

This week, we have been continuing work on "food forecast"; Joel has been coding the first scene, Lauren has been working on illustrating the vegetables, and I have been working on the introduction and instructions page. Last semester, we had a mini-tutorial on how to make buttons, and my job is to make a button that takes the player from the "introduction" page to the "instructions" page. Unfortunately, I forgot how to make buttons, so at the moment I am re-learning how to do that using youtube videos and online tutorials. My goal is to finish this task by the end of the week so I can move on to another section. On Tuesday, I found a few tutorials, however none of them matched the flash version I am using in the lab. I am hoping to have better luck working on it, or at least find that I can figure out how to apply the same concepts using trial and error. All of this is a learning experience, and I anticipate that I will be improving my skills as I continue to help work on the coding aspects of our game to the point where everything will become a second nature to me and simple tasks will seem effortless. I'm not there yet, but in time, I am confident that I will be.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was listed as the most controversial game of the last decade

In December 2009, techland.com released the list of the top 10 most controversial video games of the last decade and the list reads as follows:
1. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)
2. Super Columbine Massacre RPG (2005)
3. Manhunt (2003)
4. RapeLay (2006)
5. Mass Effect (2007)
6. Left Behind: Eternal Forces (2006)
7. Bully (2006)
8. Ethnic Cleansing (2002)
9. Resident Evil 5 (2009)
10. Six Days in Fallujah (2009)

I remember when the big controversy surrounding Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas emerged. There was this secret mini-game called "hot coffee" where the main character and his girlfriend engage in various sex acts. This was a big deal because the ESRB reviewed the game without seeing the hot coffee segment and gave the game an improper rating, requiring the game to be shelved, the mini game removed, and the rating changed. Although this is very controversial, I still believe that creating a game replicating the columbine massacre of '99 is above and beyond controversial. Until viewing this list, I had no clue that such a game would even be created, and cannot fathom someone sitting in a room and thinking that would make a great idea. Sick, very sick. I'm guessing the reason that the columbine game remains in the number two spot because the San Andreas controversy was more highly publicized as the Grand Theft Auto series was extremely popular at the time.

Development Plan

This week we are putting together our development plan on Globaloria. A lot of the questions in the exercise were pretty basic, and similar to what we've been asked in previous exercises. However, some other questions couldn't fully be answered at this point in time. There are still some aspects of our game that we have to discuss. For example, we're not sure how a player should be rewarded for winning, and we're also not completely clear on our scoring system. Developing a game requires a lot of detail, which is something that is more apparent this semester. This week, I'm hoping that my group can come together and make a few decisions so we can keep the ball rolling.
I also plan to start working on the programming practices, learning from others, and finding solutions exercises for the rest of the week. For now, that's all I got...

South Carolina urging parents to examine video game ratings

I went to the official ESRB website and stumbled across this press release. . . South Carolina Attorney General, Henry McMaster, launched a campaign encouraging parents to use the video game ratings as an aid for making purchasing decisions for their children. I agree that parents should know about the ratings and use them accordingly, however I believe that most parents already understand the meaning of the ratings because they are pretty self explanatory, (i.e. E for Everyone, M for Mature,etc). I feel that the clarity within the rating leaves no need for a PSA and is a waste of time. In general, I feel that there are much more important issues requiring PSAs for parents aside from being able to translate the game ratings on video games.

Tying some lose ends

There are a few different areas that will be covered this week in Game Design/Flash Games. Joel and I got together in class to help design the first scene of "Food Forecast" on our Team Awesome page. It has become apparent that there are still things that need to be considered for the development of our game. Sound seems to be a challenge, as we have not done any exercises with sounds and therefore do not really know what we will be able to produce for our game. We are also trying to figure out strategies to make the game more challenging as the years progress, as well as toying with the idea of granting the player special privelages within the game in lieu of a reward. We are coming up with some pretty good ideas, and although we've made a number of decisions, there is still a bit of brainstorming involved.
I have also been doing work on the Intro to Actionscript exercise. I am happy to see that Globaloria has responded to the class's request to make the exercises more cut and dry. I step by step format, which made everything very clear. I felt that it was easier for me to understand how things work, and apply the codes. After last semester, I was really nervous about how I was going to complete the exercises and furthermore, how it was going to effect our game. This makes me feel better, enabling me to feel more confident about the rest of the semester!
As a follow up to my brainstorming post, I have decided to do my weekly post relating to censorship and the ESRB! It's good to feel like I'm getting organized, so I can develop a game plan to get everything accomplished throughout this semester!

My Expectations For The Semester

This semester, I hope to get "food forecast" up and running. Team awesome is the only group returning from last semester which puts us ahead of the rest of the class. I think the extra time provided will ensure that our game will be completed by the end of the semester. I look forward to gaining feedback from other classmates and iron out whatever kinks were left over.
I hope to improve my knowledge of flash and illustrator, so our game can reach its full potential, and we all can make solid contributions. I've heard that Globaloria has made some changes and I hope that the flash exercises are easier to follow this time around, as it was my biggest challenge last semester. Overall, I am excited to return this semester and look forward to continue working with team awesome as well as Globaloria.

Brainstorming a topic...

This semester we have been asked to change our blogging format. In our 2 posts per week, we are asked to make one post about our progress in class, and the second blog on a specific subject related to gaming and expanding on it each week. I am currently thinking about two different ideas. The first idea would be to discuss the ratings and censorship of video games. I feel like the topic is interesting and I feel there is a lot to expand on which is important because I need enough content to fill 16 entries. Another topic I'm considering is the latest trend using game consoles for home exercise. Because this is a recent trend, there is a lot to report regarding the latest games as well as the success of these programs. I'm not sure which one I'm going to use, so any sort of feedback is welcome.