Eurogamer's hostile interview with David Cage over depiction of domestic violence

Surely it depends on the reviewer, I don’t like Aoife or Johnny’s reviews generally but the main journo’s seem fine. They also have very different writing styles. Donlan is a favourite.

They get news from where’ve they can, what games site doesn’t do that? Also a few sites don’t do scoring, they said they removed scoring to get them off Metacritic’s site so it’s kinda the opposite of a publicity stunt.

jawafour wrote:I suspect the brevity of the footage, combined with the aformentioned apparent lack of context, is a factor.

Precisely, which is why SoK saying “but it’s in the game” is particularly dumb.

So are those condemning this doing so just out of some anti-Cage sentiment or because you actually believe that these are subjects which should be off limits in games? Do the same people have a problem with these things being dealt with in literature, TV or film?

I don't think the boundaries for gaming subject matter should be so tightly restricted, as long as things are handled in the right way then we have everything to gain from finding ways to explore these subjects in an interactive medium - both from the creators and the players perspective.

Won't somebody think of the fictional children?!

A movie that contains child abuse wouldn’t release a trailer showing just that scene with no context.

I’m out y’all.

That was Detroit's debut trailer?!

If only we could take your word for that.

Oh! Oh! Best part of interview: interviewer taking issue with motion controls Yeah, because pressing X would better convey the seriousness of the situation.

Shake controller to quiet baby

Photek wrote:Gemini WTF are you even talking about? You’re now creating an argument against a tweet engineered entirely inside your own head. Why are you so triggered? You dating Cage man?

I guess you missed all the tweets posted above.

Knoyleo wrote:Shake controller to quiet baby

/straight to hell

I agree, I have hoover up every single interview, trailer and sound bite on a game to have an opinion on a standalone trailer. Shake your controller to Hug your Cage pillow tighter.

See? Can't take your word for gooseberry fool.

I've played all of 1 of Cage's games all the way through so I have zero reason to take any of this "personally". (Played about 60 mins of Beyond and thought it was meh.)

And with that *I* will bow out of this thread. Watch how it's done, Photek. *wink*

Always forget you’re 16, sorry man.

Gemini73 wrote:Ah yes this particular tweet is a beauty...

"The trailer for Detroit: Become Human is beyond appalling. Domestic violence is game entertainment now huh?"

...but no doubt this same individual, along with millions of others, has been mowing down innocent civilians in GTA for years in the name of entertainment, but that's okay because that's fun and allowed.

That's my exact point.

Some people are so deluded, protective and patronising of women that they view domestic violence as more appalling than death.

Like, there's a whole game profiting off of the back of the worst war in human history dude, as an arcadey power fantasy.

People are stupid, and a lot more sexist than they realise.

The only way games will get better at tackling these issues is if we let them try.

AndyXL wrote:

jawafour wrote:I now visit Eurogamer far less frequently than I used to. It was my number one place for discovering videogame news but, personally, I feel it has lowered its standards and now often publishes stuff with the sole intent of creating controversy and seeking attention. I guess, as it is a news and reviews outlet, there is nothing wrong with it taking that line if it wants to.

However, the "controversy" approach has turned me off.

FAKE EDIT: I'm not saying this as a specific reaction to the handling of the Detroit news; more as a general feeling about the site that I've had for a few months now.

Jawa, I completely agree with this assessment - word for word.

I really don't like the writing style of the reviews either - they try to be too clever.

Fade wrote:

Gemini73 wrote:Ah yes this particular tweet is a beauty...

"The trailer for Detroit: Become Human is beyond appalling. Domestic violence is game entertainment now huh?"

...but no doubt this same individual, along with millions of others, has been mowing down innocent civilians in GTA for years in the name of entertainment, but that's okay because that's fun and allowed.

That's my exact point.

Some people are so deluded, protective and patronising of women that they view domestic violence as more appalling than death.

Like, there's a whole game profiting off of the back of the worst war in human history dude, as an arcadey power fantasy.

People are stupid, and a lot more sexist than they realise.

The only way games will get better at tackling these issues is if we let them try.

The hypocrisy is astounding that's to be sure.

On that, though, and like SoK, I'm bailing on this debate for now and Dead Space is too entertaining right now anyway.

Fade wrote:

Gemini73 wrote:Ah yes this particular tweet is a beauty...

"The trailer for Detroit: Become Human is beyond appalling. Domestic violence is game entertainment now huh?"

...but no doubt this same individual, along with millions of others, has been mowing down innocent civilians in GTA for years in the name of entertainment, but that's okay because that's fun and allowed.

That's my exact point.

Some people are so deluded, protective and patronising of women that they view domestic violence as more appalling than death.

Like, there's a whole game profiting off of the back of the worst war in human history dude, as an arcadey power fantasy.

People are stupid, and a lot more sexist than they realise.

The only way games will get better at tackling these issues is if we let them try.

Considering the message of the trailer can be explicitly read as the positive solution to a domestic abuse situation always being only a handful of choices away (distilled by a few button presses/actions by a player on the sofa), I don’t really hold out much hope that it’s going to truly handle the themes with the sensitivity required.

I have no doubt video games can tackle these kinds of issues, I don’t think this one can in the way it’s suggesting it will.

Cuttooth wrote:

Fade wrote:

Gemini73 wrote:Ah yes this particular tweet is a beauty...

"The trailer for Detroit: Become Human is beyond appalling. Domestic violence is game entertainment now huh?"

...but no doubt this same individual, along with millions of others, has been mowing down innocent civilians in GTA for years in the name of entertainment, but that's okay because that's fun and allowed.

That's my exact point.

Some people are so deluded, protective and patronising of women that they view domestic violence as more appalling than death.

Like, there's a whole game profiting off of the back of the worst war in human history dude, as an arcadey power fantasy.

People are stupid, and a lot more sexist than they realise.

The only way games will get better at tackling these issues is if we let them try.

Considering the message of the trailer can be explicitly read as the positive solution to a domestic abuse situation always being only a handful of choices away (distilled by a few button presses/actions by a player on the sofa), I don’t really hold out much hope that it’s going to truly handle the themes with the sensitivity required.

I have no doubt video games can tackle these kinds of issues, I don’t think this one can in the way it’s suggesting it will.

It's a game about androids.

Have you seen Ex Machina?

Spoilers: an Android is locked in a room, she escapes, kills her abusive creator and imprisons the man who helps her inside the house.

Fiction doesn't always have to relate to real life. It's fiction.

Fade wrote:The only way games will get better at tackling these issues is if we let them try.

Fade wrote:Fiction doesn't always have to relate to real life. It's fiction.

Bloody hell, why even bother trying then with such an easy out if they screw it up?! It suggests creators have no real responsibility to tackle heavy, real world everyday social problems they choose to frame their fiction with sensitivity and thought, because they aren't creating some non-fiction narrative.

They absolutely do in my view, especially for something that'll be treated as a pretty big release with a large marketing budget.

I do not think treating domestic abuse as a series of right/wrong escape choices is a very good way of handling the issue. In fact I think it's counter to how so many domestic abuse victims see themselves having a lack of choice in the situation they're in. A very common point of view is to wonder how victims stay with their abuser and this does nothing to help with potentially understanding that.

I mean no offense with this, but a large part of people wanting video games to be treated as a serious, mature art form but without letting 'politics' or heavy criticism get involved in it smacks of not wanting their hobby and way they spend their time to not be treated as a some joke. Treat it as a serious art form. Then realise what that requires.

I can't wait for the innevitable "All failures to prevent child abuse montage" videos, so people can finally see that video games are the perfect medium for tackling difficult subjects.