What adults want from games

This industry is all grown up - it's time for our games to act like it

Words: GamesRadarMatthewKeast on May 28, 2011

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Ymo7 - May 28, 2011 4:08 p.m.

Hey Matt, if you isn't satisfied with the games we have nowadays, stop playing and complaining. Games are meant to be fun, not to be totally perfect and for whiny grown men.
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bitchassafriBLAMamericANTISTA - May 28, 2011 3:42 p.m.

i really think that games should have a whole lot less of the killing faceless enemies. jesse james killed 17 people and he is considered a legend of the west, but a quarter of the way through red dead redemption john marston has killed 147 people and he is practically unknown. THERE WAS A FIREFIGHT! no one died in that firefight but it was still cool
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North83 - May 28, 2011 3:07 p.m.

Would I EVER love to see child-free online gaming!!! The children replying to this article are a great example why. Until you have the electric bill in your own name and understand how to file your taxes and manage your mortgage.... I'd rather game with your mommy or daddy.
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Telekinesis - May 28, 2011 2:59 p.m.

And men being portrayed as muscled perfectly handsome "grizzled, grizzled, grizzled" isn't sexist? *you're* sexist.
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JLThatshilarious - May 28, 2011 2:45 p.m.

Well, actually I'm not proud to say I've never cussed anyone out, it's just not in my nature is all. So stratch that. :P
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JLThatshilarious - May 28, 2011 2:43 p.m.

I am a fourteen year old, and I realize what screaming boneheads we can all be. I apologize for my "peers". I try to be as polite as possible when playing a game, and I'm proud to say I've never cussed anyone out. I also think other kids are smarmy little brats that need to be taught a lesson. It's just like you've said, disciplining children seems to be a thing that has gone down in popularity. I'm pretty mature for my age, and there are others like me (I hope) . . . it's just their hard to find. Once again, sorry for the other little shits my age.
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nokeisoka - May 28, 2011 2:15 p.m.

Rather than match making with 18+ only which would be hard to implement and easy to get around. I'd much rather like every game or all of the nin sony ms networks having an option to vote kick people for various reasons ie immaturity exploiting etc and having a filter setting for your account to not group with people who have been vote kicked for reason X more than Y times.
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amizbarone - May 28, 2011 2:12 p.m.

Lol at all the teens here claiming they are mature and that Keast is generalizing. Everyone thinks they're mature at the age of 15. And everyone thinks they're capable of deep, meaninfgul thoughts at the age of 15. Then you grow up and realize how much of an idiot you were at that age.
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Gahmah - May 28, 2011 1:54 p.m.

dear god, your becoming an old white suburbanite with too much work going into your job and family to have the spare time to enjoy your interests, and think everyone should have games catering to that, parts of your article I'll agree with, but overall it just seems like your getting old.
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philipshaw - May 28, 2011 1:08 p.m.

Great feature, couldn't agree more with this
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Fusionmix - May 28, 2011 12:40 p.m.

"Almost without fail the “empowered” female character is just a man with tits. We’re talking about giving the girl a huge gun and having her callously murder bad guys with a smirk. That’s videogames’ idea of a strong woman? Guys, the opposite of helpless is not steroids." Amen, brother. This is what irks me most about the vast majority of female characters in games. Everything in this article is pretty much spot on. :D
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MancisFrorkYorgan - May 28, 2011 11:43 a.m.

I don't agree that 18+ lobbies and forums would automatically guarantee enjoyable online gaming and engaging conversation. In my experience, the veil of anonymity leads many -- regardless of age -- to spout pointless insults such as 'faggot'. Adults, I'm afraid, are just as prone to spouting these insults as the kiddies. A lot of people enter legal adulthood bearing the mind of an illiterate, bad-mannered eleven year-old. Furthermore, I don't agree that the character of Ivy is 'sexist' in any manner. I believe that the 'sexist' term is misapplied here. Whoever designed Ivy is -- in my opinion -- not sexist. Instead, the designer was surely acting out his/her fantasy and perhaps attempting to pander to the fantasies of others. In addition, I agree that female characters should be given more independence and should not be reliant on their male counterparts. However, it cannot be said that all women are tough, modern, ass-kickin' 21st century females -- indeed, many 'real' women bear more resemblance -- physically and emotionally -- to the helpless maiden Princess Peach than they do to a character such as Faith from Mirror's Edge or even Ivy. Despite the fact that Ivy is ridiculously scantily clad, it cannot be denied that *she* is a tough, modern, ass-kickin' 21st century female. Phew. That's my rant over. I'm fifteen. Can I join the 18+ lobby now?
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TheDigitalG - May 28, 2011 9:40 a.m.

Lol the teenagers claiming they're mature. You ain't mature till you're 21, kids! I've never met anyone under 18 who isn't insanely annoying.
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austincharlesbond - May 28, 2011 8:25 a.m.

Why does no one mention the Paper Mario games when discussing comedy in games? Super Paper Mario is way funnier and wittier than Psychonauts!!
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quincytheodore - May 28, 2011 8:24 a.m.

I want to comment something profound, but I'm hungry, a bit drunk and insomnia.. Uh, girl.. appearance should be like Aya brea / Chell with clothes on, a bit torn is okay, but no butt cheek exposed, not that I don't like it, moving on... Personality should be like Tali. The mature option, no going to happen. I understand some parts, like blood or gore, but overall gameplay to accommodate mature mechanics is too idealistic. Simply put, the devs are too lazy.
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funster - May 28, 2011 7:54 a.m.

Sigh @ comments from under-18s claiming Keast underestimates them, when Keast made it clear he knows there are mature under-18s as well as immature over-18s out there. And this from kids/teens claiming they are 'mature'. I wouldn't be so sure about that.
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Mamudo - May 28, 2011 6:02 a.m.

Great article! To be honest sexualized characters don't really bother me as long as all the women are scantly clad and the men are in full body armor. At least in soul calibur (yeah Ivy's costume is completely ridiculous) the male characters, for the most part, are pretty good looking guys (and some are shirtless). Not gay, but c'mon Kilik and Sigfried are hot. And I give them some credit for having a fully armored female, Hilde
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DeltaForce - May 28, 2011 5:56 a.m.

Perhaps devs could add an "submit licence number" option that can allow people over 18 to play the 'mature' mode while those under cannot. Just an Idea. And there should be a competency test to allow people to just talk online, I've had my fill of bigoted retards spewing their diareha of the mouth over the chat.
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BlindMarksman - May 28, 2011 5:45 a.m.

*Reads the name of the Author of the article* Congratulations Matthew Yeast! You are now officialy one of my favorite GR editors or writers, etcetera! I like the subtle but more focused writing on this article. And i agree with actually most of it. I remember a friend of mine actually saying that if videogames didn't have violence, then they wouldn't be any fun. I wanted to slap him in the spot. Although i am not an advocate of violence in my videogames, i do admit that adding a necessary amount can spice up the gameplay, but i hate the fact that nowadays it has seemed to gain the foreground in game design. i think there should be more "T" games to be honest, because nowadays, either the content of the games is either way too downtoned or way too over the top. But well... that is only one of the ample topics that you covered greatly. Thanks for the great read Matthew Yeast!!! P.S: I know your name is Matthew Keast, but i just said Yeast anyway, you know, for the Lulz...
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BlindMarksman - May 28, 2011 5:45 a.m.

*Reads the name of the Author of the article* Congratulations Matthew Yeast! You are now officialy one of my favorite GR editors or writers, etcetera! I like the subtle but more focused writing on this article. And i agree with actually most of it. I remember a friend of mine actually saying that if videogames didn't have violence, then they wouldn't be any fun. I wanted to slap him in the spot. Although i am not an advocate of violence in my videogames, i do admit that adding a necessary amount can spice up the gameplay, but i hate the fact that nowadays it has seemed to gain the foreground in game design. i think there should be more "T" games to be honest, because nowadays, either the content of the games is either way too downtoned or way too over the top. But well... that is only one of the ample topics that you covered greatly. Thanks for the great read Matthew Yeast!!! P.S: I know your name is Matthew Keast, but i just said Yeast anyway, you know, for the Lulz...
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