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Offline Compynerd255

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Content Rating System
« on: March 10, 2011, 10:33:16 am »
I don't know about you guys, and I don't know how to put this tactfully, but I think that calc gaming has evolved to the point where we need a content ratings board. As I have played several notable games, I couldn't help but double take at some of the stuff I find:
  • Swearing of different degrees in several RPGs
  • Graphic violence
  • Adult/Criminal themes
  • Sexual overtones
  • And other things...
I'm not naming specific games because I don't want to aggravate anyone, but it's multiple people.
Now, I'm not saying that these games should be taken down. I just think its fair that people who don't find this stuff palpable be warned that they will find it in there. A good community rating system I've seen is the one on XNA Games. Just tell me what you think about this.
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Offline JustCause

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Re: Content Rating System
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2011, 10:45:22 am »
I feel like it's an author's responsibility to give warnings for these kinds of things, but I don't think a full-scale rating system is necessary. Or possible. Though it would be gratifying to know that calc gaming has become big enough that such a system is necessary.

Also, http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Apalpable&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
« Last Edit: March 10, 2011, 10:45:58 am by JustCause »
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Offline Compynerd255

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Re: Content Rating System
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2011, 11:48:03 am »
You do have a good point, JustCause. Authors should warn their users of such content. However, different people have different standards, and what might be considered perfectly fine to one person might be appalling to another person. A rating system would standardize the opinion.
If we wanted to create a calc rating system, what we could do is when people review the game on Ticalc, Omnimaga, or any other rating site, they would also give the game content ratings based on several scales for individual pieces of content. Then, the game's calc rating would be the average of all of the ratings the game has gotten, weighted according to the rater's Respect level (e.g. a person who simply gives random values to the ratings without even playing would not have as much of an influence as a person who actually plays the game and gives honest ratings).

And yes, I didn't realize that palpable was the wrong word. A better word would be palatable.
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Offline Raylin

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Re: Content Rating System
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2011, 12:51:05 pm »
I think a rating system is silly.
Why?

1) It's a calculator and is therefore not enforced in any way. If you slap a MATURE rating on a game, guess what? Immature kids will still get the game (even more so than before). That's more traffic towards the adult material and away from the normal games.

2) Different standards between people, but that's just a reiteration of what's been said.

3) A rating system (especially on ticalc.org) will require users to register to download stuff. This (in ticalc's case) is a terrible idea.
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Offline Michael_Lee

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Re: Content Rating System
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2011, 02:46:38 pm »
I don't think that a rating system would ever work, for the following reasons.

1)  For the most part, people don't care.  For video games in mainstream, the primary reason why they have ratings is not because the kids want it (although a few might), but because the parents do.  I highly doubt that any parent would even know that there is an issue with calculators.

2)  It would be counter-productive.  A mature rating would only deter those who wanted a rating system in the first place.  For most of the anoymous (and probably immature?) kids who visit ticalc.org, a mature rating would probably attract them.
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Offline DJ Omnimaga

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Re: Content Rating System
« Reply #5 on: March 10, 2011, 04:32:57 pm »
I'M not sure why some people are so uptight about swearing, to be honest, no offense Compynerd. It's just a word, and the words darn/dawn/hell aren't even bad words. I was surprised when you told me you felt that Illusiat 13 was filled with swearing because I don't think it has that many. I think a rating system would be a bad idea, same for warnings about possible mild language, because of the points raised by other people above. I only would rate a game as mature if it really has an extreme amount of questionable content, personally, and such game wouldn't even make it to ticalc.org anyway. The current rating system that exists is that a game will get rejected from ticalc.org or taken down if it has a certain level of swearing/bad themes.

People are not going to censor their game just for one or two people out of 100. They'll just try like me to use some common sense and not make their RPG NPCs swear every 2 word or so, for example. And the rating system would be too much work, especially for games that are extremly hard.

Personally I will never put a warning about swearing in Illusiat 13 description, because unlike what you claimed to me in a PM, I do not feel it has enough swearing (if any at all) to warrant a warning.

As for the forums I don't want to censor people by disallowing swearing nor let anyone call someone out just for saying one bad word out of habit. It will make people even more scared of posting.
« Last Edit: March 10, 2011, 04:37:45 pm by DJ_O »
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Offline Michael_Lee

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Re: Content Rating System
« Reply #6 on: March 10, 2011, 05:20:15 pm »
Hmm, I hope this thread isn't going to cause more drama.
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Offline Yeong

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Re: Content Rating System
« Reply #7 on: March 10, 2011, 08:43:37 pm »
I think the storyline is more important that sensoring stuffs.
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Offline DJ Omnimaga

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Re: Content Rating System
« Reply #8 on: March 10, 2011, 08:47:10 pm »
Quote from: Michael_Lee on March 10, 2011, 05:20:15 pm
Hmm, I hope this thread isn't going to cause more drama.
I don,t think so. I think it's just an issue with some people perceiving some bad words as not as bad as other would or vice-versa, and some people dislike bad words.
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Offline qazz42

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Re: Content Rating System
« Reply #9 on: March 10, 2011, 08:50:27 pm »
pff

1. Rating never work, it is just about parents getting what their kids want in order to get them to stfu and gtfo. (you would not beleive some of the things pre-schools have said to me D:)

2. Heh, I think people who know how to get games on their calcs are mature enough to handle some of the things you mentioned

as I said, this is just my view on it, so do not take it as fact
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Offline ralphdspam

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Re: Content Rating System
« Reply #10 on: March 10, 2011, 10:05:24 pm »
IMHO, it is up to the programmers to censor their games and warn users of objectionable content.  If the content is really bad, I believe the Mods can take care of it. 

Compynerd255's plan would be good if calc games were out of hand, but I have not run into any M rated calc games yet.
...Actually, there is one: http://ourl.ca/8940 jk
« Last Edit: March 10, 2011, 10:28:09 pm by ralphdspam »
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Offline DJ Omnimaga

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Re: Content Rating System
« Reply #11 on: March 10, 2011, 10:18:19 pm »
Lol that last one wasn't even bad, it's just that there was an unrelated program with a questionable name in the animated screenshot. :P
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Offline Compynerd255

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Re: Content Rating System
« Reply #12 on: March 11, 2011, 11:56:32 am »
You all have excellent points. Most people actually wouldn't care about a rating system - or anything that is highlighted by a rating system - and having one would cause more problems than it solves. I guess I'm part of the minority that's overly sensitive to that kind of stuff.

EDIT: Oh, and it wasn't just bad words I was considering. I've also seen sexual innuendoes in some games (like at the end of Marc the Superkid), and graphic violence in others (such as Gemini). But yeah, that's a lot more rare.
« Last Edit: March 11, 2011, 11:59:03 am by Compynerd255 »
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Offline DJ Omnimaga

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Re: Content Rating System
« Reply #13 on: March 11, 2011, 05:31:51 pm »
Yeah fortunately there aren't many such games around and usually if there is bad content it's generally not bad enough for the average user to be censored from ticalc.org. The only example of ticalc.org game and program that got rejected/taken off from ticalc.org for innapropriate content was Drug Wars and an ASCII porn program (the latter triggered the Ticalc.org CD controversy in 2001)
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