Killing children?

[Mobster100]

I want to quickly state that I have no issues with this not being possible and that this thread is more in regards to me wondering, what is behind such decision.

So most games will not allow this, either by flagging them unharmable or simple not include them or however they choose to deal with it. The reason I ask this is because I thought they did it due to some legal stuff or something? or is it just purely because the company decide it to be like that?

Because I was watching a stream of Days Gone and in this game there are some children zombies called Newts, which the player kills like anything else.

So is there different rules about this, so if they just make them zombies and call them "Newts" or Orc children or whatever, then it is perfectly fine? Or again is it just a choice the individual company make and there is basically nothing wrong if they wanted to add such thing?

 

[Cyberway]

Damn, why these threads just keep coming up year after year...

 

[Mobster100]

Damn, why these threads just keep coming up year after year...

Not sure what you mean?

Doesn't seem to be a lot of them from what I can see. Did a search on the word "children" and can only see one posts about it, which have nothing to do with what im asking.

 

[Cyberway]

Not sure what you mean?

Doesn't seem to be a lot of them from what I can see. Did a search on the word "children" and can only see one posts about it, which have nothing to do with what im asking.

Well, Steam was spammed by these threads a ton, while I was reading it, not sure if its going anymore. Im at GoG.

 

[Mobster100]

Well, Steam was spammed by these threads a ton, while I was reading it, not sure if its going anymore. Im at GoG.

Ahh I see.

As I said it just made me wonder, when I saw it in that game, because you see it a lot, but just seems kind of stupid if you can get around it by simply making them zombies or by giving them another name, if that is the case of course.

 

[lelxrv]

There are no rules. It's a question of taste, artistic use and context. And probably age restriction.

 

[Zihlus]

It's basically taboo, cause the game would get the "dreaded" A rating and with an A rating not many places will be able to sell it...

So if you want to sell an AAA game to as many folks as possible you turn on the "Can't harm children" when you make your game. If the game was made to only be sold on say Steam or GoG then maybe, but CDPR wants to sell it in as many places as possible soooo.

The turning them into zombies does make it ok as they are not human anymore. but you will never see kid killing in any AAA game with the Rating system we have today. That might evolve one day but don't hold your breathe.

 

[superpunked2077]

There are no rules. It's a question of taste, artistic use and context. And probably age restriction.

"there are no rules, also its probably because of the rules"

But yeah a lot of countries have restrictions on media that have this content.

 

[Garrison72]

The only conceivable way this might happen is during a story related event, like killing a demon possessed child in Dragon Age Origins. There was to be a similar situation in a quest for TW3 but Doug Cockle protested and CDPR rewrote the narrative at his behest, which honestly surprised me when I heard about it since they're so uncompromising in their approach to themes. As for randomly killing kids, of course not and there's no reason to expect them to do it.

 

[superpunked2077]

It wouldd also be pretty controversial because, despite all the discussions you see about "why cant we" in general people actually dont like killing kids in video game and can be very off put by it.

Just take the "killing people no reaction -accidently killing dog crying" memes and amplify that feeling people get by 11.

 

[vyvexthorne]

Are there any random children even in the game? I remember that the early trailer had a kid in it but I don't recall seeing any just wandering around in the streets in any other trailer or anything. .

I think the main reason it's not in a lot of games is mostly due to controversy or rating. It might mean the difference between a M or AO rating. Mainly most probably don't have it simply to avoid any sort of controversy. You definitely don't want to end up on the wrong side of the argument on the morality of child killing.

 

[gregski]

Maybe it's because of, I don't know, just some basic human decency game developers have?

 

[ReptilePZ]

I also hate children (in games, too) but alas...

 

[Tree_Fox]

I don’t care about kids not being killable. Just don’t make them insufferable cunts.

 

[lelxrv]

Maybe it's because of, I don't know, just some basic human decency game developers have?

Poor Black Isle and Interplay.

 

[Guest 4318427]

Maybe it's because of, I don't know, just some basic human decency game developers have?

Come on, don't tell me you never had the urge to punt a kid (and their parents) across the room when one of them was running around and screaming in a public space.

Hopefully we'll still be able to run 'em over at least. They won't be injured, but I want to see some kid's body ragdolling off my MaiMai's hood.

 

[Brainweaver]

Maybe it's because of, I don't know, just some basic human decency game developers have?

So from what age does the brutal murdering become 'decent' according to you?

 

[gregski]

Poor Black Isle and Interplay.

Welcome to 2020!

So from what age does the brutal murdering become 'decent' according to you?

No specific age, "adult" is a good enough differentiator.

 

[lelxrv]

Welcome to 2020!

Dark future. Covid and oversensitive adults.

 

[Mobster100]

It's basically taboo, cause the game would get the "dreaded" A rating and with an A rating not many places will be able to sell it...

So if you want to sell an AAA game to as many folks as possible you turn on the "Can't harm children" when you make your game. If the game was made to only be sold on say Steam or GoG then maybe, but CDPR wants to sell it in as many places as possible soooo.

The turning them into zombies does make it ok as they are not human anymore. but you will never see kid killing in any AAA game with the Rating system we have today. That might evolve one day but don't hold your breathe.

There are no rules. It's a question of taste, artistic use and context. And probably age restriction.

So it is a rather strange system all in all, if I understand people correct.

I remember when seeing Days Gone for the first time, it sure did look like a AAA game and assume it is? But don't recall any reactions to the killing of Newts, but maybe there were?

Also who decide what a zombie looks like, or how zombified the model should look or behave, to be categorized as a zombie or non human? Because if you take the ones from Fallout (can't remember their name) which have radiation damage, they can talk and act like normal people, at least some of them. So they could make them into children and it would be fine to kill them as well and the company wouldn't have any major issues with it?

I remember another game as well, which were not about killing children, but a 2.5D shooter that got a lot of heat for being very violent and you had to kill everything, don't know if anyone remember what it was called? I never tried it myself, but looking at some of the other games on the market, I find it strange why there are such prominent reactions to some games like this shooter, but not others which are equally as violent. And again, hardly any reaction to a game like Days Gone, just because they chose to call them Newts and give them a zombie texture.

Imagine CP2077 had robot children in it, would people then be upset as well, because they would clearly not be humans, anymore than a zombie is?

It seems like a rather messy system of strange rules