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Hit Dystopian Game 'Papers, Please' Lands on iPad Amid Publicity Over Censorship by Apple
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Meanwhile, the movie "Under the Skin" was iTunes' featured '99¢ rental of the week' last week (or two weeks ago?).
I'm not complaining or saying it shouldn't have been. It's just a very ridiculous double-standard and the app approval department standards-and-practices people need to catch up.
I'm not complaining or saying it shouldn't have been. It's just a very ridiculous double-standard and the app approval department standards-and-practices people need to catch up.
You can blow up and slash people into pieces with a hatchet, but showing even a hint of flesh is definite no-noI'll never be able to understand that......
Anyway, I bought this game before on Steam, it's quite good. I may get it again on iPad.
That's America for you.
Movies ARE very censored. They can show nudity to an extent, and that's it. Beyond that, they're labeled 'porn' and will not be sold at most stores.
Is everyone crying about Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Sears, etc. censorship of movies they sell?
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Companies can't "censor" anything. By definition, censorship is an official act of suppression. A bookstore would not be said to be "censoring" if they refused to carry pornographic books -- or if they chose to not sell books on any subject. This is a tempest in a teapot, without the tempest, and without the teapot. The careless use of the word censorship is just winding people up. Works every time.
I thought that way too, but ....
Honestly, after our female daughter came along and became a pre-teen, I have to admit I see this from another perspective.
The real issue is that, at least in America today, we have a culture that ties nudity directly to sex, and the sex is pushed upon people as the "in" thing you want to be doing/should be doing at every opportunity.
So yeah, it's not really so much a question of "How can you censor nudity and sex acts being displayed, yet you're ok with death and killing?" It's the fact that, generally, we're still pretty well grounded as a culture with the understanding that digitized killing and death in games, or the acts depicted on TV or in movies are NOT something you WANT to go do yourself. Sure, you hear about the exceptions in the news occasionally -- but half the time, those might just be excuses made after the fact that don't reflect reality. (EG. The serial killer movie I saw on TV last night made me do it!)
MOST people "get" the idea that killing, war and death are just storyline plot devices to generate some emotions or tension. However, teens who see sex acts or graphic nudity in their games, movies or TV shows are primarily just getting encouragement that it's ok... even "cool" or "expected of them" to do it themselves. Then you wind up with teenage pregnancies, broken families, financial strife and the rest of it.
Honestly, after our female daughter came along and became a pre-teen, I have to admit I see this from another perspective.
The real issue is that, at least in America today, we have a culture that ties nudity directly to sex, and the sex is pushed upon people as the "in" thing you want to be doing/should be doing at every opportunity.
So yeah, it's not really so much a question of "How can you censor nudity and sex acts being displayed, yet you're ok with death and killing?" It's the fact that, generally, we're still pretty well grounded as a culture with the understanding that digitized killing and death in games, or the acts depicted on TV or in movies are NOT something you WANT to go do yourself. Sure, you hear about the exceptions in the news occasionally -- but half the time, those might just be excuses made after the fact that don't reflect reality. (EG. The serial killer movie I saw on TV last night made me do it!)
MOST people "get" the idea that killing, war and death are just storyline plot devices to generate some emotions or tension. However, teens who see sex acts or graphic nudity in their games, movies or TV shows are primarily just getting encouragement that it's ok... even "cool" or "expected of them" to do it themselves. Then you wind up with teenage pregnancies, broken families, financial strife and the rest of it.
You can blow up and slash people into pieces with a hatchet, but showing even a hint of flesh is definite no-no
Anyway, I bought this game before on Steam, it's quite good. I may get it again on iPad.
A company or organisation can definitely censor. Maybe you are somewhat confusing "censorship" with the specific concept of "state-imposed censorship"? Censorship is not limited to what is imposed by the state.
I've got what is now effectively the "Director's Edition" on Steam, and yeah it's a pretty neat game. Nothing else like it out there.
This game looks about as fun as an office job. Could someone explain to me how it's actually any fun?
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Being unique doesn't inherently make it good though. Little Inferno was pretty unique (and I admittedly played through the entire "game") but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, and I wouldn't ever play it again. It had a fun soundtrack and art style. But that's the only positive things I can say about it.
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Being unique doesn't inherently make it good though. Little Inferno was pretty unique (and I admittedly played through the entire "game") but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, and I wouldn't ever play it again. It had a fun soundtrack and art style. But that's the only positive things I can say about it.
Apple actually says on their App Store Guidelines page:
So they don't view apps as artistic mediums, but merely as software. This is a foolish and weird view to take, but I think the real reason is that they want to keep the store as "family-friendly" as possible. They'd be better off improving parental controls though. It's very puritanical.
The problem I have with their actual dispute on Papers, Please is their Pornography guidelines:
Papers, Please use of pixelated nudity is not intended to "stimulate erotic feelings". Quite the opposite, it's designed to make you feel uncomfortable. They quote this definition, yet it seems in practice they make no allowances for any kind of nudity. Either that, or their review staff is so poorly trained that none of them understand the nuance between artistic nudity and nudity intended to titillate.
Censorship is an official act, by definition. Individuals and organizations can't be forced to promote or sell anyone else's speech or expression, because they have rights of association. Using the word "censorship" to denigrate freedom of association is a either a deliberate or unknowing act of emotionally loading the question. Either way, it's misleading and wrong.
Teens are still going to have sex, regardless of how much society attempts to stamp out all discussion of it. Usually stifling discussion of sex just makes "accidents" much more likely, both because they are uneducated about it, but it also seems more cool and something to rebel against your parents with. Many Nordic cultures are very open to nudity and sex, and I don't see Sweden and Norway descending into chaos and babies in the streets.
Anyway, in this particular case Papers, Please is about as far from making sex "cool" as possible. You play a border immigration agent for a dystopian, totalitarian state in the vein of old Soviet bloc countries. The whole purpose of scanners to check people for contraband mirrors the same discussion we've had about the TSA's scanners in airports. It's supposed to make you feel like you're intruding upon others' privacy. It's definitely not suppose to be arousing.
Pixel Art in general has really been growing and becoming more popular. Combined with the nostalgia that a new generation of game developers have for the old games we used to play from the late 80's and early 90's.
One thing to remember is that sometimes these games look pixelated on the surface, but underneath they're far more advanced than the old games. Take minecraft for example. Low res graphics on the surface, when you actually play it you'll find that the controls and how things act are extremely modern. I can't adequately explain it I don't think...