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.
It is old.
I live in Ohio. A lawsuit was filed two years ago (at the very least) to sue the makers of videogames for causing the murder of a young girl. It was thrown out of court.
You are giving her achievement and credit she did not earn, nor does she deserve.
Knock it off.
Where will "freedom of expression" be then? Out the window, of course. Liberals are only in favor if it when their ox isn't being gored.
I have 4 step daughters, one of them is heavily into video games, fighting games mostly, like Tekken and Mortal Kombat types. If it were my choice she wouldn't get to play them so much. Unfortunately it's her mother's call, and being a democrat she doesn't monitor the games very well.
Personally I think it is better to expose a child to violence in movies and games so that they are better prepared for coping with it when it happens in real life. At some point they are going to be watching these movies and games anyway, so why not when they are younger?
Most kids realize that games and movies are fake, and the sooner they come to that realization the better. Then they won't try to emulate what they see on the screen.
yes that is the most important thing
Non-security related censorship is generally not the Federal govt's job, with the exception of postal regulations. However, obscenity laws have a long-standing American tradition lately undermined by the left and their useful idiots. Rockstar Games is no better than a perv who provides porn to underage kids. Worse, even, because they are far more efficient and profitable.
I'm actually a bit surprised that the pornocrats have come under scrutiny for this. Why haven't they wheeled in Larry Flynt or Hugh Hefner, or the latest well-marketed prostitute? What does Paris think about this?
LOL
They should just put in an abortion mini-game and Hitlery would leave them alone.
Dictionary.com will do. But you left out a hyphen. :)
Main Entry: souped-up
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: mechanically modified to increase the power or attractiveness
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=souped-up
Nope, not a game player and not generally a prude. It just seems that having fun killing the good guys is not a good thing for kids to be doing especially in today's social climate. I can understand if the bad guys are controlled by the game and good guys get killed. That's life, the same as true war. But to have a player trying to kill the good guys is not an appropriate exercise.
That was the point of my post. Your character can be a good guy even though he's a gangster, and you are definitely supposed to kill some corrupt cops, the bad guys.
The reason stores are pulling the game is probably because AO is considered pornography, and it is illegal to sell, give, and show pr0n to a minor. Take Two and Rockstar will probably face federal charges of marketing pr0n to minors. And remember The Guy Game? It was pulled because one of the topless girls filmed was underaged at the time of filming, making the game child pornography, meaning that it is now a federal felony to sell The Guy Game, transport any copies of The Guy Game (possibly a federal customs violation), send any copies of The Guy Game through the mail (a federal postal violation) or to even be in mere possession of The Guy Game.
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