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~LarcenTyler:iconLarcenTyler:

Larcen E. Tyler  

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  • Deviant since May 21, 2004, 8:52 AM
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GTA 4 - A deeper look at the controversy.

Journal Entry: Tue Apr 29, 2008, 10:04 PM
  • Mood: Artistic
  • Listening to: Donald Fagen - IGY
With the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, (even though technically it should be 6 since you have Vice City and San Andreas, and no the 'spinoffs' don't count! XD) I naturally knew that this was gonna be a big event in more ways than one. Midnight releases, celebrating the true sequel in the series... and of course, the controversy. Yeah, this game series still takes a lot of heat from many people, and it always will, I'm sure. But there's a lot more to this controversy than what most people probably see on the surface.

Actually, let's start there, shall we? Yeah, you're a criminal who's trying to make a living in New Y-- *ahem* I mean _Liberty City._ Yeah, you gotta commit crimes to get money and get ahead. And yes, it's a free roaming environment where you're rewarded for stealing cars, killing people, and other things like that. So naturally, when a parent sees their thirteen year old playing it, they're like, 'How can they make games like this?!'

Um, hello? Did you try looking at the rating on the box? I mean, there are many ads that promote the ratings system. And if you look closely, you'll see that it's rated 'M' for Mature, indicating it's only appropriate for players who are seventeen years or older. Odds are, the parent didn't see it or just didn't care, but when they speak out like this, it's obviously hiding the fact that they didn't do their job as a parent well enough, and rather own up to that fact, they decide to place the blame on the video games instead.

Even though I wasn't alive for those eras, there's always been controversy for things like this. Like back in the 1940s and 1950s (or something like that) people were attacking comic books because of the things they portrayed. Then came movies and television, and then certain kinds of music, and now video games. There's always going to be types of entertainment which will draw negative comments from the crowds. Sad but true.

While a lot of people who follow this stuff would know it first became evident in 1993 with Mortal Kombat and Night Trap, it wasn't the first time that controversy like this occurred. Back in 1976, Exidy released a game called Death Race, where you had to run over gremlins to score points. The gremlins looked and sounded a bit too human, which resulted in the game being pulled after the public complained. And this was back around the time the Atari 2600 would've been state of the art!

In the early 1980s, there was controversy about the game Custer's Revenge for the Atari 2600, which I'm not going to go into detail about. Google it or look on AtariAge for more information. Simply put, the game drew negative publicity from Native Americans and women alike because of the content. Ironically, I actually agree with this game and the controversy surrounding it, since it was just plain offensive and insulting to begin with.

But anyway, back to the point. First off, what are video games? They're not real, even though they make look it. They sound real, but they're not. In fact, what you see, hear, and do is just countless billions of lines of computer programming code being processed at a speed faster than light (or something like that) in a way that causes everything to appear on the video screen the way you see it. Read, COMPUTER CODE. All the realistic figures, all the sounds you hear: They were recorded and built into the game. But there's NOTHING real about it.

I guess you could say I was raised well, since even though as a child (about three or four mind you) I always imagined that the game characters were real, I pretty much knew for the most part that they were fantasy. I never tried to go outside and eat mushrooms to grow big, or beat someone untill they were unconscious and take their money, or anything like that. Even when the Mortal Kombat controversy occurred, when I was only 13, my parents never had a problem with me playing those games, since I was able to distinguish reality from fantasy.

Which brings me back to the point about the parents: The parents don't pay enough attention to the content of the games, which is what leads to some of (read, SOME OF, but not all of) the controversy surrounding these games. The parents don't want to admit that they didn't do their jobs right. And to think some parents use these games as babysitters, sheesh.

In closing, I'm just going to say that Resident Evil, Metal Gear, Silent Hill, Hitman, and other 'Mature' rated games will always be here to stay, and there will always be controversy over them. But you just gotta remember that it's because these people think that nobody knows the difference between fake and real. And I know all of you who read my journals know it well.

Thank you for reading this, and if you got the game or plan to get it, enjoy it!

Friends:
:iconkd8lmno: :iconrajee: :iconkahoshiden: :iconkirbyslover: :iconpsylisiadragoon: :iconkiyarasabel: :iconstarlightlynn30: :iconliokaiser: :iconzurrid: :iconkyavalentine: :iconrosusonikku: :iconbloodrubiesnata: :iconryu-gi: :iconyuraofthehairfan: :icontomatodragon: :iconerik-delacroise: :iconblizzardwolf: :icon11j: :iconsandcastler: :iconsergevirusx: :iconshegosdrakken: :iconpsyconorikan: :iconparasitekola: :iconneophyte-blue: :iconcheshirecatny: :icondrakhand006: :icondavealvarez: :icondarksora501: :iconhect06: :iconblivoryss: :iconerevere: :icondemon-without-horns: :iconbleedingmoon114: :iconchrissy-hime: :iconticklishtikal: :iconmetafoxx278: :iconwitchygoddess10: :iconhomunculuslover:

Devious Information

  • Current Age: 28 (Forgot to change it when I was 27!)
  • Current Residence: Somewhere on Earth.
  • Interests: Video games, anime, writing, others...
  • Favourite movie: Resident Evil
  • Favourite band or musician: Too many to list
  • Favourite genre of music: Classic Rock, 80s, Modern Rock, Electronic
  • Favourite artist: Psylisia Dragoon, Scamwich, Tomato Dragon (just to name a few! :) )
  • Favourite poet or writer: S.D. Perry
  • Favourite style or digital art: Anime (primary), Sci-Fi, Fantasy, among others...
  • Operating System: Windows XP
  • MP3 player of choice: WinAmp
  • Shell of choice: Huh?
  • Wallpaper of choice: A Resident Evil Outbreak wallpaper someone did for me
  • Favourite game: Pole Position, Resident Evil series, Time Crisis series, Eternal Champions series, among others...
  • Favourite gaming platform: Atari 2600/7800, Nintendo (NES thru GCN), Genesis, Dreamcast, PlayStation2, and PC! (Whew!)
  • Favourite cartoon character: Eiko "A-Ko" Magami (Project A-Ko) and Scooby-Doo (Where Are You!)
  • Personal Quote: You said this deal was clean, Jin! -Hana Tsu-Vachel, "Fear Effect"
  • Tools of the Trade: Poser, PhotoShop, and good old pencil and paper!

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Devious Comments

~kawaii-lemming:iconkawaii-lemming: 1 hour 5 minutes ago
Thanks for the fav! ^-^

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=3
~Tazzer:iconTazzer: 1 hour 40 minutes ago
Thanks for the Fav and the Add :)
~pianistachick:iconpianistachick: 3 hours 3 minutes ago
thanks for the fav :D

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~DeadLady:iconDeadLady: 5 hours 10 minutes ago
^^
thank you for the :+fav: !!!
:rose:
~Miajite:iconMiajite: 5 hours 55 minutes ago
Thank U so much for the fav! >w<

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:heart: Be a perv...Love Icha Icha! :heart:
~cosmic1792:iconcosmic1792: 7 hours 17 minutes ago
thanks for the fav!

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~*. twilight series.*~ <3 it!!!!
~memories-gkm760:iconmemories-gkm760: 8 hours 7 minutes ago
Thank-you for viewing my picture XDXD I sound formal................
~XxXCloverXxX:iconXxXCloverXxX: 9 hours 31 minutes ago
thank u for the fave :3

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~windingkira:iconwindingkira: 21 hours 15 minutes ago
Thank you for :+fav: :)
:blowkiss:

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~~~~~~~~~~~Yeah.. I love dots.. Yeah.. I love my "Afro" hair.. ~~~~~~~~~~~
~blcksheep:iconblcksheep: 23 hours 48 minutes ago Mood: Thanks
Thanks for the fave!

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W.H.2.N
~Nana-1:iconNana-1: 1 day 9 hours ago
THank you very much :3
~Pahisman:iconPahisman: 1 day 13 hours ago
Thanks for the fave, pal! :heart:
=Ennev:iconEnnev: 1 day 15 hours ago
Thanks for the :+fav: :-)
~Frouwke:iconFrouwke: 1 day 15 hours ago
...and faving and then unfaving is even more sad. :)

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~Frouwke:iconFrouwke: 1 day 15 hours ago
No style. You only add things to your favs for fricking PAGEVIEWS. Do you know how sad that is? Only for pageviews?

Having these people thank you, pssht. You should thank them for giving you attention. :\

--
roses are #FF0000
violets are #0000FF
all my base
are belong to you


"Hey, let go of me, you son of a handbag!" - Johnny Bravo
~CheerBearsFan:iconCheerBearsFan: 1 day 17 hours ago Mood: Cheerful
You have added "Sexy Cheer Bear" to your favs. That makes me so very happy. Thanks!