Gaming Grows Up

by Rob Reebel 

Anybody who plays video games, or is a regular at RPGamer, has probably noticed that a lot of video games these days are taking on "mature themes." This has caused quite a stink among some reactionary gamers out there, who think games should be restricted to things like Mario and Donkey Kong. Let mature subject matter, they argue, stay in books and movies where they belong and out of the gaming realm, which they presume to be strictly children's entertainment. This, when examined superficially, seems like a sound argument. There's just one problem with it, however.

Gaming is not just for kids anymore. I remember playing my first video game at the age of 2 or 3 on my dad's Atari 800 back in the '80s. I remember getting an NES at the age of 7 or 8. I remember loving cutesy kids' games. Can anyone guess why? Here's a hint. I was a kid at the time. In fact, a disproportionately large number of video game players in the days after the Nintendo-fueled second electronic gaming boom were kids. But nobody stays a kid forever. I grew up on video games. My tastes have evolved as I have lived to the ripe, old age of 17. Mario and Donkey Kong just don't entertain me anymore. I am not alone in this aspect. An entire generation has grown up with a controller in its collective hand. This means, of course, that the industry must grow up with us or lose a huge number of customers. That is exactly what mature content in video games is about. Gaming grew up with us, just as we did with gaming.

"But Rob," you might be saying. "I'm offended by some of this content! What are the kids going to do for fun?" Well, there are lots of answers to this. Perhaps we'll be the only video game generation (I'd hate to see that). Perhaps kids will just have to avoid Mortal Kombat and Final Fantasy Tactics (I'd like to see a toddler wade through the masses of text in that game) and stick to more kid-appropriate titles. The way I see it, the PlayStation is just a more "mature" console. Nintendo is still making kid-friendly games, just as it always has-- let America's elementary schoolers take refuge there, just as we did when we were their age. Even the PlayStation, as few seem to notice, has a fair share of titles I wouldn't mind showing to my 10-year-old cousin, such as Klonoa and Gex.

As for those of you who are offended by subject matter, maybe you should stick to kiddie fare, too. Stop complaining so much. There are plenty of us who can keep things in perspective. I seriously doubt that the authors of Final Fantasy Tactics actually have it in for Catholics. Sure, the similarities were all there, and as one person has said, nobody was fooled. But let's remember that it is just a game. And let's remember that it is a fantasy setting. Just making the church leaders greedy wouldn't have been enough. In a fantasy setting, you might as well make them into demon-worshippers; it's congruous enough in a world where every priest has the same healing powers as Jesus. And why not be critical of past wrongs? The way the Catholic Church has demonized its opponents through the centuries, it seems as though it (at worst) is just getting a taste of its own medicine. An institution can burn at the stake as many opponents as it can find, but a few centuries down the road, it should expect to have people parody history, even if the institution in question has dramatically reformed into something altogether agreeable to most (much as the Catholic Church has done).

Final Fantasy was one of the purely escapist fantasy titles out there, and the kid in me has always appreciated that. Final Fantasy VI was, in my opinion, as good as the games are ever going to get. I did regret the passing of the series into a darker, more futuristic, more gritty world, but in the end, I have come to appreciate Final Fantasy VII as being just as artistic as the last six. And part of the reason that Final Fantasy had such a squeaky-clean fatade is because of censorship by Nintendo. There was plenty of suggestive material in earlier games; the Big N just thought that its Stateside loyal following of pre-adolescents wasn't ready for it. Sony has a platform that has managed to appeal to those same gamers at an older age, and that's what this fuss is all about. We're not playing Nintendo anymore.

Some of us were prepared to have Nintendo's veil of censorship and forced sugar-sweetness lifted, and we appreciate not having our maturity insulted. The ones who cry bloody murder at more mature games really are immature, unable to appreciate the artistic vision of game designers. They have every right to complain, but I wonder when they will be adult enough to let others enjoy themselves and to acknowledge the fact that video games must grow up, just as the people who play them must.

I also wonder what sort of games will be made to appeal to us at age 60...