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Dirty Words on games

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by LucasDaltro, Jul 4, 2012.

  1. LucasDaltro

    LucasDaltro

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    I'm creating the storyboard of my game right now and I in this game the character does a lot of jokes full of sarcasm,but sometimes he uses dirty words.It gonna be a 2d platfomer it's not target for kids,but you adults will care if a 2d platformer character use a lot of dirty words?
     
  2. angrypenguin

    angrypenguin

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    Who cares what we think? Figure out who your target audience is and find out what they think.
     
  3. MadRobot

    MadRobot

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    I wouldn't care, per se. But swearing is an art. And like any art, not every style pleases everyone. The general advice I've heard for including "controversial" material in games, literature, etc, is this: include it if there is a very specific reason it *needs* to be there, otherwise get rid of it. A piece of advice I saw once from an editor of a magazine I used to read, regarding fan fiction, said something like "adding foul language doesn't make a piece of writing more mature, it's just reduces the number of people allowed to read it." Something like that.

    On the other hand, it's your game, so make what you think the target demo will want.
     
  4. goat

    goat

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    I think it best you leave the dirty words out because I'm quite sure that there are some you'd find offensive. Besides, dirty words are for 14 teen year olds and high school dropouts. Suggestions that you research what your audience prefers are silly given the lack of research by the typical person posting in these forums. That you're even asking the question tells me you know how lame cus words are anyway.

    Bottom line: cus words don't make your game cool, edgy, intelligent, or provocative. They are filler and a disguise for lack of that in your game.

    Besides that if you are targeting your game towards kids the content of the game itself must not be suitable for children if you're thinking of including cus words to make it entertaining.
     
  5. angrypenguin

    angrypenguin

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    How does that even make sense?

    You're right, people here need to research more stuff themselves a lot of the time. So surely encouraging them to do so is the opposite to a silly thing...
    Actually, he specified that it's not aimed at kids.



    Something else that's worth considering, though, is that if you want this to reach a wide audience then it has to be marketable, and overdoing the explicit language will cut your options in that regard quite significantly.
     
  6. ZeroByteDNA

    ZeroByteDNA

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    The use of expletives has its place. People all around us use them - not everybody though and not in all situations. Is the expletive used because it makes sense for the character and the situation or is it just being used to be cool/garner attention/etc?

    At times, not using the proper expletive for a character in a situation can come off looking outright silly - trying to use "clean" language instead, can come off making it look like story time at the local preschool - unrealistic as you can get...
     
  7. jasonkaler

    jasonkaler

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    If dirty words have no place, then why are they used so often in movies?

    If it fits your game, then put a label on the cover: Warning, contains strong language.

    The only people you're really going to offend / exclude are the seriously religious and 10 year olds who's parent buy games for them.
     
  8. burnpsy

    burnpsy

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    If you want a comparison, Lucas, I only have my characters use strong language where it makes sense. For example, one character in my current project is based on the average 12-year-old on Xbox Live who swears like there's no tomorrow, completely uncensored, until a certain character breaks the fourth wall and presses the "censor" button.

    As such, I agree with MadRobot.
     
  9. goat

    goat

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    Do you know how much money and time it costs to do real research? And to waste it on a topic that's a non-starter like cussing in games?

    I've seen the lamest television and games that got past censors with ease but put a cus word in and you'll stop it in its tracks.

    You really want the hassle of dealing with Apple and cutting off as potential customers with warning stickers of crude violence and lame swear words?

    Wolfenstein most assuredly sold millions to kids though common sense tells you it should have been censored. Had they added cus words they would have gotten censored.
     
  10. angrypenguin

    angrypenguin

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    No, but I do know the exact length of a piece of string. ;) Not all research costs the same.

    And some simple (and very cheap) research will tell you whether this is an issue for your target platform and audience.

    Some simple (and also very cheap) research will tell you whether it's important to the character you're trying to portray, as well. There are some characters where it would be utterly out of place and spoil the effect, where there are others where the exact opposite is true. For instance, I wouldn't try and portray an angry mob of long-term prison inmates by giving them eloquent language and a calm tone.

    Warning stickers might be just what you need to cut through to your target audience. But how do you know whether that's the case? Research it. ;)

    Wait, what? If Wolfenstein should be censored then so should a large proportion of all video games.
     
  11. ZeroByteDNA

    ZeroByteDNA

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    Those two words...bold/underlined...are you going off of what the ESRB (other national rating board works with) - OR - is that just representative of your personal beliefs on the matter?

    Obviously, if you're making a Mature (much less a Teen) rated game - you're going to be cutting off potential customers. Parents won't buy your game for their five year olds. People that do not want to see such things, will not buy it. Etc, etc, etc.

    However, if they're not your intended audience...who gives a #$!%, eh?
     
  12. Morning

    Morning

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    What kind of "dirty" words are we talking about? Generally cuss words or more nonstandard sexually related ones? Because there is a huge difference.
    What matters is if they fit, do they feel natural in the dialogue, would the dialogue be different/lose it's meaning without these words? Do they fit the character? Because using "F***","S***" 10 times in 1 minute is neither funny nor interesting. Now if you use some vulgar words to make a pun or a joke, that's entirely a different matter. Then you also have to know why you're making games? To express your artistic ideas to the world or to maximize profits.
     
  13. Alex Cruba

    Alex Cruba

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    It would be fun to have a character swearing 2 minutes all overlayed with a beep... The more fun would be to be able to force the character to swear... I would lmao, rofl and lol all the day...

    U know.... We have an popular tv cop from the 70-80's here... He was really a tv star and he used to say "S***" over 10 times in one episode sometimes...
     
  14. DallonF

    DallonF

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    I'm not the type of person who swears, or even includes "swear" words in quotes. It just feels wrong to me, as it should - if it didn't feel wrong, they would be ordinary words and nobody would use them because they don't make that much sense.

    I almost always try to avoid swearing in my games. If a character's personality leads them to swear, I'll censor it or have it happen off-camera somehow.

    That said, sometimes swearing can be used effectively, if you're the type of person willing to put it in your game. One example that comes to mind is the movie Independence Day - pretty much every time somehow swears, it's used for massive comedic effect. "You did NOT just shoot that green **** at me!"
     
  15. Morning

    Morning

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    I think swearing is normal and should not be limited because it's a "bad word". Swearing can show anger, frustration, stress. It also makes things feel more serious when used right. Obviously these days everyone swears like mad so it lost the effect it had before.
     
  16. Farfarer

    Farfarer

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    If you're aiming to make it funny, there's a lot more creative wit and humour that can be derived by thinking around swear words rather than using them.

    To use Monty Python as an example;
    "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries!" is far funnier than "F*** you!".
     
  17. hippocoder

    hippocoder

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    I fart in your general direction.
     
  18. LucasDaltro

    LucasDaltro

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    Thanks for the feedback guys:D
    When I did this post I was starting my storyboard and it was 2 am hehehe so I was very sleepy,now reading the doc I can see that without the saying "F***" and "S***" sometimes(not always,only when he's very mad).After your feedback and a good rest I understood that my game need to be as I want otherwise it will look like AAA game without AAA features.The story is full of sarcasm and bad jokes about video games if I didn't put some dirty words it will look like this:
    And that's not the appropriate language for my character.It's better make some religious rednecks mad than turn my game into a joke(ok it will be a comedy,but I want the game content as a joke and not the future game reviews).
    Ow ok thank you guys!You're awesome:)
     
  19. Morning

    Morning

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    You should leave that in. That line never ceases to entertain me.
     
  20. Khyrid

    Khyrid

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    If it's a navy game it would be funny to move ships around and they reply with cussing in their confirmations of your orders.
     
  21. bartleycollin

    bartleycollin

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    REPLY TO "ZeroByteDNA": I Entirely disagree. Clean language is Not preschool. That's Just ridiculous. Clean language is courteous to those who don't Like Cuss, Curse, Swear ect. Using clean language in your games, means even more people can play it. Now If your game is meant for Adults, It's your choice if you use expletives. I'm Completely disgusted, That you think Clean language is "Unrealistic". That's pathetic. I'm a young teen, and I see no point in talking like a truck driver.
     
  22. MaxieQ

    MaxieQ

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    If you hit your thumb with a hammer, you're not going to sound very much like Ned Flanders in the Simpsons. The word choice will be more colourful than that.

    I was amused by someone that complained about the concubines in Dishonoured. I think this is on the same level. He was playing a game that either means he'll be a stabby madman that crawls and blinks around on roofs, but objected to the demure women of the game. If a game is about being a stabby psychotic madman running around causing rampage and carnage with extreme violence, it's kind of late to worry about the occassional "f**k".
     
  23. llde_chris

    llde_chris

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    Likely possiblities are arghhh, ow and ouch etc. The norm in one in culture is not applicable everywhere.
     
  24. superpig

    superpig

    Drink more water! Unity Technologies

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  25. npsf3000

    npsf3000

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    Poor writing.

    Unless you're very specifically trying to go for specific realism which happens to include swearing, the vast majority of the time it's laziness.

    Even if you've been shot, hit your thumb with a hammer etc... that's an opportunity that shouldn't be wasted with same meaningless expletives.
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2012
  26. nipoco

    nipoco

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    I doubt he'll read that. Seems he's no longer active here.
     
  27. hippocoder

    hippocoder

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    I don't know, I'm not sure I'd like a bunch of swearing pretending to be entertainment. Sounds like the crappy sort of movies you might watch, but don't get far with most of the general public. Any classy movie, even a gangster movie, will use swearing as an effect with impact, if the character was hurt, rather than tripping out endless fcuk words. I don't think swearing is something to AIM for, but should be used only if that is genuinely what the character would say.

    If your character is going to swear a lot, I'd probably think its not a character I'd enjoy playing tbh. Swearing is not a substitute for a clever dialogue or entertainment so use it sparingly, and rarely.

    I don't agree there. I think if I'd been shot I'd swear a fair bit. Swearing was shown to make pain feel less painful in a recent BBC documentary I watched with stephen fry. It appears to be a natural response to pain. I agree because from my own experience of a shattered kneecap, having bones set without anesthetic, and indeed... stubbing my toe... I have sworn! :)

    But for comedic effect? I'm not sure. Could easily turn out being quite rubbish and childish. I think the real mistake people make trying to write comedy is that they think the swearing is what causes the laughter - it generally isn't - it's just the situation and character's reactions that cause the laughter. I can't think offhand of any movie that actually made me smile or laugh by swearing alone - can you guys?
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2012
  28. npsf3000

    npsf3000

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    Correct, and after you eat food you usually go to the toilet. Yet somehow most movies don't focus on the toilet scene.

    Just because that's possibly what someone would do doesn't make it a good or effective use of dialog. As such I maintain it's lazy writing - with the exception of high realism films.
     
  29. Khyrid

    Khyrid

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    Swearing in a game is the same as nudity or any other politically incorrect content, if it makes the game more entertaining and it's used intelligently, it can be good, but it's all too easy to use such content cheaply in place of better quality content. It's like thinking "sugar taste sweet and sweet is good, so I'll just dump sugar on all my food!" The key is moderation.
     
  30. Myhijim

    Myhijim

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    I'd not go overkill on the whole swearing part as If there is too much it is going to completely narrow down your audience.

    I also believe putting too much in a game can really ruin it.... For example Gears Of War 3. Great game but seriously, they overdid it alittle.
     
  31. Myhijim

    Myhijim

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    That is the best comparison I've heard in a long time! xD