The Language Factor

Over the past couple of months I have debated whether or not to change my reviews to include mature language.  I realize that it is an important issue for parents, one that is almost certainly more important than gambling or, at times, even substance use.  However, I have a few reasons why including language is a bit beyond my current capabilities.

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First, and most importantly, is the length of time it takes to go through each game.  Watching a movie is a two to three hour experience, maybe four at most if you’re watching Titanic or Lord of the Rings or something along that line.  The minimum amount of time I spend playing on a game is around five to ten hours, and my average time is closer to fifteen.  Keeping track of the amount of times any character swears over that experience is a difficult process, one that would draw me out of the experience of the game.  I have always had to play a fine line between keeping games fun and turning them into work, and I know that even something as simple as recording each swear word in a notebook will turn games into a much less enjoyable experience than I would like.

Secondly, the number of times that any character swears in a game can change drastically depending on the player’s actions.  A movie has a set script that can be searched easily and never changes.  There are plenty of games where the frequency of swearing depends directly on the player’s actions and approach to different situations.  For example, Iron Bull in Dragon Age: Inquisition would occasionally drop f-bombs in his conversations, but in order to see this the player has to have conversations with Iron Bull or bring him along in his party during missions.  It is entirely possible for a player to naturally miss these language elements in the game just as it is entirely possible for a player to frequently have these elements pop up.

A few obscenities might not be out of place here.

Another great example of this is from Gears of War.  If the player manages to get an active reload, the character will often yell some positively-affirming obscenity (i.e. “Shit yeah!”).  However, if the player doesn’t go for the active reload, the character won’t say anything.  If a player goes through the entire game without attempting the active reload, the amount of obscenities he will be exposed to is significantly lower than a player who attempts the active reload.

But without Gears, I also wouldn't have "Who wants toast?!"

My point is that there is often no way to accurately count how many obscenities are said in a particular game, nor even which obscenities are being said.  My count could drastically change depending on my actions, and while my frequent thoroughness in my gameplay will usually expose me to all of the mature content it would be a mistake to call this type of thoroughness “typical” amongst gamers.

However, as I said before I do realize that this is an important factor in parent’s decisions about games, so I am going to reiterate my current policy and make sure that I double down on its significance.  If the mature language in a game is noticeable, irritating, or doesn’t match the mood or tone of a game it will definitely get mentioned.  If a game like Dying Light throws in a few f-bombs, it isn’t going to significantly affect my age recommendation and so I probably won’t mention it.  If, on the other hand, characters like Kirby or Mario start dropping a few f-bombs that will definitely be an issue.

This is something I have done with a number of games in the past and the system has worked out well.  Usually these games already feature more than enough mature content of other types to make it so that I haven’t had to increase a game’s recommended age purely based on language, but there is a first for everything.  When language becomes an issue, I promise that it will get mentioned.