Weed worse than mass-murder? (As a game subject)

[JohnDoeNews]

So... I noticed something in the guidelines of the RPG Maker community.

Gore and bloody murder games are totally accepted, in fact they are quite normal within the RPG maker scene. Not nearly everyone write fairytales. complete DLC dedicated to psycho killers, gore and other violent graphics.

But when you make a game about a stoner, your game gets banned.

I don't care about my game being banned. (In fact, afterwards, I am glad. The prequel was a total failure) This is not a topic of my wining about my game no being posted. If it is against the rules so be it.

But I think this is very strange smoking weed in a game is not-done, while making a game about kids with shotguns shooting up the town, wouldn't be a problem. Specially since weed is part of some cultures, like Jamaica, but also my own homeland: The Netherlands.

So... My question is, like the title says: Is weed really worse than mass-murder?

[XIIIthHarbinger]

(I leave for a few hours to sleep)

(I come back & read the new posts)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhckuhUxcgA

[JohnDoeNews]

A few hours? You been away for centuries! In the mean time I have been married, become a widdower, be married again, got a son, become a widdower again, married for the third time, became a suspect in the case of the dying wives, became a widwower again, and a fututive, then I have been an inmate in county jail till my son who's an adult by now finally broke my out, then he became a widdow, now we're both suspected fututives. And that all during your nap.

That is why I don't like sleep. When you sleep, you miss everything!
https://youtu.be/JkK8g6FMEXE

[◢ k r i s ◤]

Well, having rules are good because it tells you where the goal-posts are. I'm not sure if you are familiar with it, but over here we have the ESRB who rate commercial video games. They are part of the IARC[en.wikipedia.org] and might act like another system you are familiar with. If your future goals include commercialization, you'll need to become familiar with these systems opposed to whatever arbitrary system they are using on the RMN boards.

Development studios place a lot of interest in abiding by the rules and guidelines of these age-ratings to maximize their target demographic and audiences, but outright censorship is not something they would do and censorship is often frowned on by the consumer. Censorship in the commercial world is usually more akin to something like Target banning GTA V from their store shelves[www.kotaku.com.au] or half the news anyone hears about video games in Australia.

Commercial censorship is usually bad, especially if it's because nobody told you the goal-posts ahead of time. Drug and Alcohol references would be graded from "mild" to "heavy" when denoting a Content Descriptor[www.esrb.org] but arguably neither are considered "so bad" that it would be inherently obvious to exclude from any submissions on the Internet. Especially since we have things like COPPA[www.ftc.gov] which enables a lot of people to assume the vast majority of users on the Internet are over the age of 13 (ie, "Teens" or older).

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If it was the RMN forums, they really need to update their rules if they are going to reject games that revolve around drugs. It's not fair to put in all the work and share it just to have it removed based on a factor that cannot be patched-out of the story. I'm also pretty sure other distribution platforms out there wouldn't rule out drugs and alcohol without also ruling out sex and violence and hate-speech - and including those in the rules ahead of time. If you don't care about that opinion, then fine - but there isn't much else to be said about this subject otherwise. It was their board, so it was their rules.

There is no conversation to really be had about this. Collecting our opinions about it here won't do anything to resolve that issue and wouldn't have any impact on your future distribution options either if you "worry about future [opportunities]".

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Unrelated, but I'm subbed to Censored Gaming on !yt and it's a fun way to keep up with modifications that developers make to squeeze into targeted-demographics of different age-groups in different parts of the world. Though most of the content is about how cleavage gets covered up as Asian content comes to the West...

[JohnDoeNews]

Ursprungligen skrivet av ◢ k r i s ◤:

Well, having rules are good because it tells you where the goal-posts are. I'm not sure if you are familiar with it, but over here we have the ESRB who rate commercial video games. They are part of the IARC[en.wikipedia.org] and might act like another system you are familiar with. If your future goals include commercialization, you'll need to become familiar with these systems opposed to whatever arbitrary system they are using on the RMN boards.

Development studios place a lot of interest in abiding by the rules and guidelines of these age-ratings to maximize their target demographic and audiences, but outright censorship is not something they would do and censorship is often frowned on by the consumer. Censorship in the commercial world is usually more akin to something like Target banning GTA V from their store shelves[www.kotaku.com.au] or half the news anyone hears about video games in Australia.

Commercial censorship is usually bad, especially if it's because nobody told you the goal-posts ahead of time. Drug and Alcohol references would be graded from "mild" to "heavy" when denoting a Content Descriptor[www.esrb.org] but arguably neither are considered "so bad" that it would be inherently obvious to exclude from any submissions on the Internet. Especially since we have things like COPPA[www.ftc.gov] which enables a lot of people to assume the vast majority of users on the Internet are over the age of 13 (ie, "Teens" or older).

----
If it was the RMN forums, they really need to update their rules if they are going to reject games that revolve around drugs. It's not fair to put in all the work and share it just to have it removed based on a factor that cannot be patched-out of the story. I'm also pretty sure other distribution platforms out there wouldn't rule out drugs and alcohol without also ruling out sex and violence and hate-speech - and including those in the rules ahead of time.

If that is the case, there is no conversation to really be had about this - RMN rules just suck and only the moderators there can change that. Collecting our opinions about it here won't do anything to resolve that and wouldn't have any impact on your future distribution options either.

Yes... Rules good, lies bad. It is just not what this topic is about. I know you said you didn't read all the replies, but... Please do, cause I just got the topic back on track, and you just jank it racht back off. This is NOT ABOUT THE RULES. This is NOT ABOUT THE FORUMS.

Did you even read the reply I wrote you? Cause it seems like you didn't, or you just totally ignore it.

[◢ k r i s ◤]

I edited last post after you quoted.

There is no conversation to really be had about this. Collecting our opinions about it here won't do anything to resolve that issue and wouldn't have any impact on your future distribution options either if you "worry about future [opportunities]".

Whether you compare to gun violence or sex or whatever else is arbitrary. Our opinions mean nothing compared to the rulesets you choose to abide by.

And according to your post this thread is absolutely about our "opinions."
If all you wanted was my opinion, I did that back in my first post.

[JohnDoeNews]

Ursprungligen skrivet av ◢ k r i s ◤:

Collecting our opinions about it here won't do anything to resolve that and wouldn't have any impact on your future distribution options either.

And this is why you need to read. This NOT why I made this topic, you guys make it about the rules, and the forum. This is about my project. I JUST explained it to you, and you just blab on about rules and the forum as if I said nothing.

Read.... Just read, or stay out of it.
If you choose not to read, then sorry, I choose not to explain it for the 723rd time.

The answer to your reply is already given... 222 times, at least. I stopped counting.

You don't even read the replies you reply on, cause I just told you this, but you rather blab on about rules and how I collect info to make my damn point...... YOU ONLY THINK THAT CAUSE YOU DON"T READ!!!

[JohnDoeNews]

Ursprungligen skrivet av ◢ k r i s ◤:

I edited.

There is no conversation to really be had about this. Collecting our opinions about it here won't do anything to resolve that issue and wouldn't have any impact on your future distribution options either if you "worry about future [opportunities]".

Whether you compare to gun violence or sex or whatever else is arbitrary. Our opinions mean nothing compared to the rulesets you choose to abide by.

And according to your post this thread is absolutely about our "opinions."

omg....... stilll???

Ursprungligen skrivet av BigFatX:

Ursprungligen skrivet av ◢ k r i s ◤:

I haven't read all of these posts, so I'm mostly just responding to OP.

Not being one who is interested in recreational drugs, I personally would rather experience drug-like euphoria in simulation or story placement opposed to reality. I guess the reason someone might judge a game more harshly for the depiction of drugs or alochol (same category really - "inhibitors" without medical application) might have a personal reason, like growing up in a region where drugs were viewed with harsh criticism and maybe were nurtured in to that decision.

I'm not clear where you said the game was removed from. You said the RMN forums removed your game? Their rules[rpgmaker.net] do say they reserve the right to reject content as they seem fit - it's just a forum after all. I don't see any rules explicitly about drug-references here though so that seems abritrary compared to their other explicit rules like: "We reserve the right to reject your submitted content on the basis that it sucks." :taloslol:

Yeah... the thing is... The rules is not what I am concerned with. The fact that my game isn't aproved on the boards, is fine by me. I accept that 100%, and am not fighting it or trying to discredit the forum for doing it.

My point of view, and the reason why I was asking your opinion on this is:
- I made a weed-themed game, and put a looooooooooot of time in it.
- In the future I want to try making money with my RPG Making.
- My game gets banned for being weed themed*
- Now I worry that releasing the full game somewhere else, might damage my future chances to make a brand for myself.

So therefore, would weed be a worse subject to pic for a game, than gun violence?

I liked the exapmle I gave Hajami (since that time I got result):
You promise your kid he can get a game, and he picks 2 games: 1 about a friendly stoner, one about gun violence.
Which game do you give your kid?

*Happened on RPG maker forum, but that doesn't matter to me. This is not a "I don't agree with their disaproval" topic.

Here, one more time... Read it, or stay out of it.

[◢ k r i s ◤]

You are super difficult to understand.

You wanted opinions about Weed vs Gun Violence. I shared my opinion. You don't want it now?

Make up your mind, silly.

Protip: don't mention controversy and drama like "my other, more interesting topic about how my game was removed from RMN" if it's not the focus of your topic. Set up a poll or something next time.

[Hajami]

Maybe next Time just ask a simple Question:
What would you Buy your 12 Year Old daughter, Dead Isle or the Stoner DLC for GTA5?
In case you are forced to buy her one of the two.

[Hajami]

Ursprungligen skrivet av ◢ k r i s ◤:

Protip: don't mention controversy and drama like "my other, more interesting topic about how my game was removed from RMN" if it's not the focus of your topic. Set up a poll or something next time.

And 10 Time this :). You are derailing your own Topic with those statements. People are just getting confused, u mention them , we try to anylize the question, than we get shouted at that those points dont matter, we get confused even more than you get angry while People just try to understand you. But atleast thistime we could cut it down to this simple Question of yours:

What would you Buy your 12 Year Old daughter, Dead Isle or the Stoner DLC for GTA5?
In case you are forced to buy her one of the two.

[JohnDoeNews]

Ursprungligen skrivet av ◢ k r i s ◤:

You are super difficult to understand.
You wanted opinions about Weed vs Gun Violence. I shared my opinion. You don't want it now?

No you didn't. You didn't tell me weed or violence, you told me why the rules won't agree, you told me you that me collecting opinions won't change that. You keep dragging RMN into it.

What do you think of me? I am trying to get you guys to say weed is better, so I can run to RMN and say: "See, they agree! Now put my game back on!"

Is that what you think I am doing here? Is that what you would do? Because... People often read others behavior, and fill the blanks in with their own habbits.

Ursprungligen skrivet av Hajami:

Maybe next Time just ask a simple Question:
What would you Buy your 12 Year Old daughter, Dead Isle or the Stoner DLC for GTA5?
In case you are gun Point by a Pistol and forced to buy her one of the two.

Sorry, but I disagree. If after 20 times saying it is not about the RMN forum, it is not about their rules, and still that is all they talk about, then sorry, but that is out of my hands. If people don't read, they don't read, no matter how you ask it.

Quote from the original post:

I don't care about my game being banned. (In fact, afterwards, I am glad. The prequel was a total failure) This is not a topic of my wining about my game no being posted. If it is against the rules so be it.

And thill people act like I try to get my right with RMN. Sorry, not my fault people don't read.

[JohnDoeNews]

Set up a poll or something next time.

Excuse me? Read next time. It is not hard.

[Hajami]

Ursprungligen skrivet av BigFatX:

Ursprungligen skrivet av Hajami:

Maybe next Time just ask a simple Question:
What would you Buy your 12 Year Old daughter, Dead Isle or the Stoner DLC for GTA5?
In case you are gun Point by a Pistol and forced to buy her one of the two.

Sorry, but I disagree. If after 20 times saying it is not about the RMN forum, it is not about their rules, and still that is all they talk about, then sorry, but that is out of my hands. If people don't read, they don't read, no matter how you ask it.

Wut? You previously just agreed that this Question is kind of what this Topic is all about and that it Helps you to finaly get answers. Now i mention it and you disagree?

And you are also starting to get Rude in your behavior. People try to be nice to you and you thank them with this snarky attitude. I hope this is just caused by Language Barriers on both Sides.

Edit: I would wish that Harbinger could explain this to you, not for me but for you.

[◢ k r i s ◤]

RMN mods won't change decade-old rules because our lil cesspool on Steam disagrees with them. You know how pretention they are over there :P

Besides that, they would need to put rules up for everything - not just "weed is more acceptable than gun violence."

And because you keep ignoring my first post - what part of "I would prefer drugs (euphoria or story-placement) in simulation" does not appeal to you as my opinion?

[JohnDoeNews]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Hajami:

Ursprungligen skrivet av BigFatX:

Sorry, but I disagree. If after 20 times saying it is not about the RMN forum, it is not about their rules, and still that is all they talk about, then sorry, but that is out of my hands. If people don't read, they don't read, no matter how you ask it.

Wut? You previously just agreed that this Question is what this Topic is all about and that it Helps you to finaly get answers. Now i mention it and you disagree?

I know. But I don't agree on that I should next time talk on the forum as if I am teaching 5th grade. Again, if people don't read, see one line, and focus their complete atention to it, then I can't help it.

I mentioned my game being banned, and repeated 100 times that it was NOT an issue. Still, everyone think it is an issue, and it is all they talk about, even though everything accept that 1 single line, was stating the opposite.