Its Called Perspective People

  Hi, Musing Matt here and boy have I been busy. These past two week have been that time of every spring semester just before spring break. It is during this time that the apparently masochistic teachers try to cram as many assignments and exams as possible. But now its spring break for the next week and that means- diddly squat. I will still be going to work and working on assignments for school. The only difference is that I don't have to work quite as vehemently.
  Anyway, the topic for today is one that annoys me to no end. Ignorance. One of its more recent manifestations revealed itself to me in an article on http://www.escapistmagazine.com/. It is, among other things, a gaming news site and I spend a fair amount of time there. Last week I found the article in question and after reading it, I sighed then got really angry as the implications of what was said hit me. 

Here is a link to the article: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/116231-Family-Values-Groups-Launch-Email-Campaign-Against-BioWare.


  Some of the things said in this article are so presumptuous and ignorant that I felt that a response to the article was needed.
  The Florida Family Association (http://floridafamily.org/) and the American Decency Association (http://www.americandecency.org/) have joined an already established e-mail campaign against BioWare for including the OPTION of characters having same sex relationships in "Star Wars: The Old Republic" They are concerned about the impact this will have on their children. Here is the problem with that. The game is rated "T". For those who are unaware, that rating comes from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). The rating means that no one under teen age should be playing the game. Not no one under teen age can buy the game. These ratings are put in place for a reason and parents should be paying attention to what they are buying for their children.
  The take action form is just ridiculous. There is a link to it in the article so go read it because I will be using it for the rest of this column. Its not very long but it has plenty to curdle the blood. Let's start with the first quote.

"American families grew up with the Star Wars film series that was family fare.  The films contained no profanity, no nudity and no sexual situations."   Ben Kenobi and Han Solo both say "damn" in "A New Hope", Princess Leia is half naked in "Return of the Jedi", and define sexual situation. The problem here is that the "Star Wars" had family appeal because it was a classic, future fantasy telling of the hero's journey. That story base has been used time and time again and when done right it works. The original trilogy is also a classic example of using only what was necessary to tell the story. There was little cussing because it wasn't necessary. There was no nudity because it wasn't necessary. And any scene that has sexual tension is a sexual situation and "Empire Strikes Back" had plenty. I'm not George Lucas, Frank Marshall, or Kathleen Kennedy so I can claim no authority in regards to making those movies but it seems to me that the more family friendly nature found in the trilogy is more of a by-product than an intention. "Star Wars video games are for children."   I cannot disagree with this enough. But instead of going on a tangent I'll let the ratings speak for them selves. "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" -Teen "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords" -Teen "Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided" -Teen "Star Wars: Empire at War" -Teen "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" -Teen "Star Wars: Republic Commando" -Teen "Star Wars: Battlefront" -Teen "Star Wars: Dark Forces" -Teen   I'm sorry. I can't just leave it at that. That one small sentence contains a large portion of the ignorance and presumption that I was referring to earlier. Who do these people think they are? Do they have any direct connection to the "Star Wars" franchise? No. Do they have any connection to the film industry? No. Video game industry? No. Taking that into account, do they have any right to say who "Star Wars" games are or are not for? No. And before any of you get on the freedom of speech kick, I believe in the freedom of informed speech. It stipulates that if you are informed on a given topic, you have the freedom to speak on it. If you are not informed on a given subject, you have the freedom to keep you mouth shut until you get informed. "An overwhelming percentage of the 1.7 million games sold are being used by children who do not need to be exposed to this propaganda."   First, who's fault is it that this overwhelming percentage of players are children. Is it BioWare? No, the fault lies in the parents who bought the game without knowing what was in it. Second, calling an OPTIONAL character element propaganda is ridiculous and ignorant. ITS NOT PROPAGANDA!!  The definition of propaganda is "information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view." This definition is from the Oxford English Dictionary which is used by many academics around the country. Relationships in "The Old Republic" are an option made entirely for the purpose of making deeper more enriched characters. This is what BioWare does. Anyone who has ever played one of their games knows that characters' growth and depth is very important to this developer. Now, homosexuality is not a political cause or political point of view (that is what that wording means by the by). There is also neither bias or nor misdirection involved. As far as I know the developers have said nothing for or against homosexuality. So, calling its inclusion, as an option, in the game propaganda is either ignorant or an attempt to make a mountain out of a molehill. Or both.   Now, speaking in terms of rights, BioWare has every right to include this option in their game. Its their game. If someone wanted to make a mature rated "Star Wars" game, they would have every right to do so. BioWare has a great track record of making great games with well told stories and interesting, deep characters.   The e-mail campaign is wrong. It infringes on the developers right of creative expression. However, there is something that these groups have the right to do if they don't like the game. Don't buy it. They have the right to boycott the game. This all goes back to our basic rights as consumers. "If you don't like it don't buy it."   BioWare has done nothing to deserve this animosity. All they have done is make quality game and push the video game medium forward. I respect the company and their accomplishments and I look forward to experiencing Mass Effect 3 when I can afford it.