Glen Atwell
Shaun InguanzoWANTED: An R18 video game classification in Australia
July 11th 2008 06:54
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Shaun Inguanzo
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Have your say to the Attorney General - we've even helped you to write a letter!
FALLOUT 3 is perhaps the most anticipated action adventure game of the year, and certainly has fans of Bethesda's other open world RPG series, The Elder Scrolls, salivating at what is to come this October.
But here in Australia, the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) has refused to classify the game, meaning it will be banned from sale in the country.
The issue, according to the OFLC's report, is due to the main character's use of morphine - a prescription drug - which Computer Games believes is used quite substantially throughout the game.
For years now, Australian gamers have been calling for an R rating on their video games, as movies have, to avoid a refusal of classification.
And for those years, we've been denied it, despite the odd burst of verbal activity from bureaucrats.
While we can understand the OFLC wanting to keep this game away from kids, it is time video games grew up, as their longest-serving fans have, and allow for mature content.
Fallout 3 is not about taking drugs. In the context of the game, it is a health system function, just as Max Payne popped pills to survive, and just as players of the new Battlefield Bad Company jab themselves mid-game to avoid death.
In fact, this one gripe on which the OFLC hinges its decision borders on an insult to Bethesda, which has invested countless time into developing the game as somewhat of a work of art, and also to gamers who are mature enough to discern the real from the unreal.
Did the OFLC play the game? Did its members bother to understand the context of the morpheine taking? And would it make any difference if the drug had have been called 'fairy dust'?
It's time for mature gamers to begin placing pressure on our politicians to review this matter and call for an R rating in video games.
Below is a letter that Computer Games has drafted to Australian Attorney General Robert McClelland, who can get the ball moving on the censorship matter.
If you want to help make a difference, then we urge you to either copy and paste this letter with your full name into an email, or to write your own and send the correspondence to:
attorney@ag.gov.au
Please include in your subject 'Wanted: an R18 classification for video games'
LETTER
Dear Mr McClelland,
I am a mature aged video gamer who is upset by the Office of Film and Literature Classification's refusal to classify a forthcoming, blockbuster video game, titled Fallout 3.
I am writing to you to urge the Federal Government to take action against this refusal, and to also consider the introduction of an R18 rating for video games.
Playing video games is NOT just child's play - it is a legitimate, popular, and fun method of entertainment which many adults enjoy, and want to continue to enjoy, without censors ruining the experience.
The Board's decision surrounds the use of morpheine by the game's protagonist, which in the context of the game serves as a health system, given the game is set in a fictional, post-apocalyptic environment.
This is not the crux, or the point, of Fallout 3, and the larger portion of the game, involving blockbuster-film style action and storytelling, is no different to similar games that have been allowed classification.
It is also worth noting that Fallout 3 is not the first game to include drug use, but that it is the first to be banned.
Another game, Max Payne, and its sequel, Max Payne 2, have both offered gamers the ability to take pain killers in order to regain health.
I believe that I, as a mature gamer, am entitled to play this game in Australia under the knowledge that the game, like most movies, is a work of fiction.
I also believe that it is fair that children are protected from mature age content.
Therefore, I propose the formation of an R18 rating for video games to protect these young people while ensuring adults and older gamers are not denied the right to quality mature aged content - as they are not if they choose to watch movies.
I urge you to consider this message, and look forward to your response.
Yours truly
<put your name here>
R18 : We want it for games, and we want it now!
FALLOUT 3 is perhaps the most anticipated action adventure game of the year, and certainly has fans of Bethesda's other open world RPG series, The Elder Scrolls, salivating at what is to come this October.
But here in Australia, the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) has refused to classify the game, meaning it will be banned from sale in the country.
The issue, according to the OFLC's report, is due to the main character's use of morphine - a prescription drug - which Computer Games believes is used quite substantially throughout the game.
For years now, Australian gamers have been calling for an R rating on their video games, as movies have, to avoid a refusal of classification.
And for those years, we've been denied it, despite the odd burst of verbal activity from bureaucrats.
While we can understand the OFLC wanting to keep this game away from kids, it is time video games grew up, as their longest-serving fans have, and allow for mature content.
Fallout 3 is not about taking drugs. In the context of the game, it is a health system function, just as Max Payne popped pills to survive, and just as players of the new Battlefield Bad Company jab themselves mid-game to avoid death.
In fact, this one gripe on which the OFLC hinges its decision borders on an insult to Bethesda, which has invested countless time into developing the game as somewhat of a work of art, and also to gamers who are mature enough to discern the real from the unreal.
Did the OFLC play the game? Did its members bother to understand the context of the morpheine taking? And would it make any difference if the drug had have been called 'fairy dust'?
It's time for mature gamers to begin placing pressure on our politicians to review this matter and call for an R rating in video games.
Below is a letter that Computer Games has drafted to Australian Attorney General Robert McClelland, who can get the ball moving on the censorship matter.
If you want to help make a difference, then we urge you to either copy and paste this letter with your full name into an email, or to write your own and send the correspondence to:
attorney@ag.gov.au
Please include in your subject 'Wanted: an R18 classification for video games'
LETTER
Dear Mr McClelland,
I am a mature aged video gamer who is upset by the Office of Film and Literature Classification's refusal to classify a forthcoming, blockbuster video game, titled Fallout 3.
I am writing to you to urge the Federal Government to take action against this refusal, and to also consider the introduction of an R18 rating for video games.
Playing video games is NOT just child's play - it is a legitimate, popular, and fun method of entertainment which many adults enjoy, and want to continue to enjoy, without censors ruining the experience.
The Board's decision surrounds the use of morpheine by the game's protagonist, which in the context of the game serves as a health system, given the game is set in a fictional, post-apocalyptic environment.
This is not the crux, or the point, of Fallout 3, and the larger portion of the game, involving blockbuster-film style action and storytelling, is no different to similar games that have been allowed classification.
It is also worth noting that Fallout 3 is not the first game to include drug use, but that it is the first to be banned.
Another game, Max Payne, and its sequel, Max Payne 2, have both offered gamers the ability to take pain killers in order to regain health.
I believe that I, as a mature gamer, am entitled to play this game in Australia under the knowledge that the game, like most movies, is a work of fiction.
I also believe that it is fair that children are protected from mature age content.
Therefore, I propose the formation of an R18 rating for video games to protect these young people while ensuring adults and older gamers are not denied the right to quality mature aged content - as they are not if they choose to watch movies.
I urge you to consider this message, and look forward to your response.
Yours truly
<put your name here>
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Comment by Glen Atwell
Computer Game
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Comment by Cheap Video Games
Surely its pretty easy.
No ID = No R18 video games
Comment by Liam
r18games@gmail.com