Persuasive gaming: Taking Serious Games Seriously

Serious games are games that try to do more than entertain, they try to teach the player about a subject or make a point about a topic. Many times however, serious games' real point gets overlooked for it's gameplay and outward appearance. Critics attack violent themes and crude graphics and miss the point that the game designer was trying to make by dismissing the game as insignificant or trashy. There are many games that do this and very few get any kind of recognition. One of those that did was America's Army. Games that have recently come out that have caused controversies like this are games such as Rockstar's Bully and Insomniac's Resistance: Fall of Man.

Rockstar's Bully is an interesting game because it puts you in the shoes of a bully at a boarding school. Many critics see it at its surface level and condemn the game for its violent themes and influence it might have on kids. What they do not see, however, is its critique about school and bullies. Ian Bogost of Serious Games Source writes, "The game certainly sets the stage convincingly. The player's character, Jimmy Hopkins, is dropped off at Bullworth Academy by his disinterested mother and step-father, who are on their way to a lavish honeymoon. This introductory cut-scene doesn't provide a complete back-story for Jimmy, but it does suggest that his home life has been less than supportive. The implication is that his father was never around, and his mother is much more interested in her boy toys than in her son. Jimmy feigns disinterest, but also offers a telling one-liner: 'Why did you have to marry him?'" This context is important because it shows the real comment being made about bullies. From this short cutscene in the beginning, the player can instantly get a good look into Jimmy's life. This game makes a critique about the home lives of bullies and makes a fairly sharp jab at parents. Many parents don't realize or care about the formative influence they have on their own kids, and Bully tries to bring it to the forefront.

Another main theme that Bully confronts is the "social ills of high school." The game portrays bigger and older kids shoving Jimmy if he stands in the wrong place or yelling insults at him. As Jimmy, you see what's wrong with your school and you start to bully the bullies in an effort to bring about change since the administration of the school is completely ineffective. Most critics use this area of the game to condemn it. They attack the violence depicted in the game (both physical and verbal) and do not see the comment being made about schools, specifically boarding schools. The serious tones in this game are completely overlooked in favor of its surface. Critics would rather denounce the game than admit it has a real message to give.

Another game that has come under criticism is Insomniac's Resistance: Fall of Man. Bogost also wrote an article for Gamasutra on this game's controversy as well. He states that the Church of England has threatened to sue Sony for their depiction of Manchester Cathedral in the game. It was stated, "Sony issued a public apology. In their statement, Sony apologized for offending the church or the residents of Manchester, but not for including the cathedral in the game." Bogost writes about how the in the game backstory, the cathedral had been converted into a hospital and the Chimera (the alien race pictured to the right) attacks the cathedral and kills all the humans inside. He makes the point that the church was being depicted as churches have for a long time. A place for helping the poor, impoverished and hurt. The Chimera's attack on the church shows the inhumanity of these alien creatures because they destroy the hurt and sick people inside the church. The do not however, destroy the church building itself, not even seeing it as a monument. This creates a deep-seated feeling of the Chimera as the "other." The Chimera are completely inhuman and uncivilized, not even distinguishing between civilian targets and military targets. The game puts the cathedral in a favorable light and uses it to evoke a righteous anger from the player. They desecrate a church, a "marker of human ethos" and kill all the wounded inside. The designer uses the cathedral to evoke a righteous feeling from the player. The cathedral's desecration is not just wanton destruction. It serves as an outrage to the player they these creatures would defile such a place without even taking notice of its significance in human history and mindset.

In today's world critics and lawyers are so caught up with "violence in video games" and the affect it has on children (whose parents should read the ESRB ratings and decide if their kid should even play it) that they overlook the real affect and message it has. Many games out there have a real message that gets overlooked for its more shallow themes and no one is willing to look deeper. More and more games are classified as serious games now and effort should be made to at least find the deeper message than throwing the game away at the first sign of something the viewer might find distasteful, maybe it's there for a reason.