Posted on 07/23/2005 6:07:43 AM PDT by CollegeRepublicanNU
With many video games, there's no "game over" screen, no reason to ever get bored. In a long-standing practice called "modding," fans create their own new chapters, artwork and other twists to extend the lives of their favorite games. Many game makers freely encourage the practice and give away free software tools to help.
But some in the industry are now wondering about the ratings implications posed by mods after a Dutch programmer created one that unlocks a hidden sex level in the violent action game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas." After all, video games aren't like the feature films you see in the theater or get on a DVD. They're made of software code. They're malleable.
The Grand Theft Auto mod, called "hot coffee," was developed by Patrick Wildenborg, who made downloads freely available on the Internet about a month ago.
Most major retailers promptly removed the game from store shelves after the Entertainment Software Rating Board, an industry body, changed its rating Wednesday to "adults only" from "mature."
Like souping up car engines or expanding the capacity of TiVo digital video recorders, modding is largely unsolicited and uncompensated.
For most, modding is all about the love of games, not of dollars — though many large publishers have found ways to cash in on the tinkering that can change the way characters appear or add elements the creators hadn't intended.
Though most mods are written for PC games, it is becoming increasingly popular on consoles.
In 1999, modders turned Half-Life's "X-Files" world of government conspiracies and alien invasions into Counter-Strike, a multiplayer game that pits soldiers against terrorists. The mod, which remains popular to this day, had completely new maps, weaponry, graphics and sound effects.
Half-Life's owner, Valve Corp., eventually released Counter-Strike to commercial success. Many workers at the Bellevue, Wash., company are themselves former modders.
"Hot coffee" in many ways is unique among mods because it accessed content left in the game by its maker, Rockstar Games, instead of adding new material, said Jeff Gerstmann, senior editor at the review and news Web site GameSpot.
When the sex scene was discovered, Rockstar initially blamed malicious hackers for the problem but later conceded that the material had been left in the game by its commercial developers.
It depicts the fully clothed lead character having sex with a woman wearing a thong and T-shirt. The mini-game can be won or lost depending on how well players fill up an "excitement meter."
Even though Rockstar admitted the mini-game was hidden in the retail game, the "San Andreas" ratings flap could change the way game companies view mods.
In a statement, the Entertainment Software Rating Board's chief, Patricia Vance, called on the industry to proactively protect games from illegal modifications by third parties, "particularly when they serve to undermine the accuracy of the rating."
But completely stopping modders could to be a near impossible task, said Sid Shuman, an editor for GamePro.com.
"It's something, frankly, that digital entertainment is not really well equipped to deal with. You can't really stop people from making changes," he said. "People will always find where that one file is, and they will always be able to modify it."
Another catch is that the game-development process involves programming concepts or levels that are never fully explored but left in games because altering or removing them could cause other parts to stop working.
"Grand Theft Auto" was released in October with an "M" rating, for players 17 and older. It was last year's top console game, selling more than 5.1 million copies in the U.S., according to market analyst NPD Group. Xbox and PC versions were released last month.
Rockstar has now stopped making that version of "Grand Theft Auto" and is working on secure update that complies with an "M" rating.
In a bit of irony the company is apt not to find amusing, Rockstar says it will also offer a downloadable patch to fix the sexual content in current PC versions.
Best Buy has already taken the game off its sheleves and other stores have been reported doing the same.
It is NOT the Governments job to censor our lives. Censorship begins at home, where are the parents when these kids are playing these games?
She discovered the scum bag husband in one of them.
Hillary is just upset that the hidden adult scenes were heterosexual.
This is the same woman who introduced herself to me by appearing naked in the hallways in front of my apartment door and then puking under the door.
So uncouth!
If Rick Santorum had been against "Grand Theft Auto" there would be organized marches for the game.
This is stupid. Most games don't have hidden porn levels. The reason GTA is in trouble is because the porn was put in by the developer.
The developer is not responsible for questionable content created by the user anymore than Sony is responsible for kiddie porn if their cameras are used to create it.
I concur.
Agreed.
lol. Hillary's trying to get Tipper's ladies into her own fold.
The already-in-existence games prices are soaring, but retailers are pulling GTA off the shelves, so Rockstar's revenues will be hurt. I'll bet whoever is responsible for that hidden level is being flogged about now.
Hilllary is barking up the wrong tree if she thinks she can stop this. What I think will probably happen is that, given the notoriety that this has generated, modders will construct their own sex levels entirely independent of the original game, the way Half Life Counterstrike originated.
She won't push any harder - her work here is done. She got her name attached to a problem that she "solved"- all that's left is for her to pull it out during the 2008 campaign to show everyone how powerful she is and how much she cares about your kids (gag....)
Don't forget, the game developers and the rest of the entertainment industry will probably be the largest group out there bankrolling her campaign after George Soros. She won't want to push too hard and risk pissing them off. As far as the industry goes, they'll be happy to let her have this cheap little symbolic victory if it helps the cause, just like drug smugglers arrange to have the corrupt cops on their payrolls make a few cheap busts so they can parade their success in the media and keep their jobs.
Stores took GTA: San Andreas off shelves because the ESA (formerly the ESRB) re-rated it Adults Only, one rank higher than its previous Mature ranking. Most stores will not sell AO-rated games, period. It's the kiss of death for any title, just like how most places won't carry NC-17 movies.
Rockstar is removing the code that the Hot Coffee patch unlocked, and the game will be re-rated Mature.
This has actually kept Hillary away from the gaming industry, because the gaming industry solved its "problem." (I think this Hot Coffee deal was a bunch of BS, to be honest.) Look for the ESA to issue a press release in a couple of weeks talking about how they're continuing to educate consumers and parents about game ratings, yadda yadda.
Point is, Hillary, Lieberman, Lee, and the rest are less likely to bother the gaming industry now. There aren't any other targets of opportunity, unless Hillary wishes to eviscerate Doom 3 for depicting violence against the forces of Hell. Actually, when phrased like that, I guess she will get offended by Doom 3.
GTA has been the best selling game all year I believe. RockStar will be very upset if this game goes sour.
I believe that they are already working on a new edition. This game will be a year old this October.
It's not "souping", it has nothing to do with soup. It's suping as in "Super", to make better. Okay I'm done.
Anyways, if the game is already marked "mature" how are minors buying it in the first place? Retailers and parents who aren't doing their jobs that's how. The sex could and should be left out of the program, but if all the children safeguards are in place but not enforced, then changing the rating and publicizing the story will only act to redouble the sales of the game, placing more of them in the hands of those they are attempting to protect.
If Hitlery were more concerned with the real sex going on under her roof several years ago the sexually explicit materials wouldn't be so pervasive in society today. Not even mentioning the sexually explicit materials forced on children in public schools today. Books and other materials which not only defend homosexuality and promiscuity but endorse them do more to corrupt the minds of children than do a game. Kids aren't forced to play the games.
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