Fallout 3 and Game Violence's Taboo

Brother None said:
Simply put: with killeable kids, they would practically not be allowed to sell the game in the United States. This is true for Bethesda as it is for everyone.

But does child-killing really mean instant AO rating? Both the original games were rated M despite including it rather unapologetically. Granted, I know precious little about their criteria, and the graphics' realism may factor in heavily; but wouldn't it be possible to, say, include it without gory animations, just kids dropping dead without any blood whatsoever?
 
Were the original games actually rated? Was the ESRB really around much at the time? (I really don't remember, it has been that long since I have seen the original packaging)
 
Seymour the spore plant said:
But does child-killing really mean instant AO rating? Both the original games were rated M despite including it rather unapologetically.

Yes, child killing is automatic AO.

The original games were in a different era, when the media and politics were slightly less insane and uninformed about games.
 
I think death and killing are different when it comes to the sims. It's different; natural death (granted you can induce it) vs. bullet to the head.
 
Brother None said:
Seymour the spore plant said:
But does child-killing really mean instant AO rating? Both the original games were rated M despite including it rather unapologetically.

Yes, child killing is automatic AO.

The original games were in a different era, when the media and politics were slightly less insane and uninformed about games.

I don't think that's entirely true, as The Sims and Bioshock feature children dying or getting killed. In fact, children play a prominent role in Bioshock and the choice to kill or save them is unavoidable.

The over-the-top violence in Fallout 3 is probably what would cause the ESRB to give it something higher than an M rating, but I find it incredibly hard to believe that they would give it the dreaded AO rating just for having children die in it.
 
I doubt FO3 would get AO if kids would only die by dropping on the ground and that's it- like permanent unconsciousness, without any gore. You'd still get the "bonuses" from doing it (child killer etc) but ESRB wouldn't be pissed of so much.
 
Well, in Bioshock you can't see the children dying right? The screen just goes black. The visual would make it AO for fallout, I think.
 
Well it isn't the player action as Bioshock shows, and it isn't visually seeing a child die as Fable 2 shows. I really don't see how the combination of the two changes anything.
 
Can't you just imagine a well placed VATS shot with bloody mess? I'm sure that would get the attention of a few people...
 
Haha, yea, you see what it does to a super mutant, imagine what it would have done to a child?

Splat.
 
People falling apart into chunks look much more neutral than lovingly touched up death animations of Fallout.

Tramell Issac - Artist
Tramell joins us full-time, having recently come from Tachyon Studios. He has an outstanding sense of humor, and is responsible for most of the death animation touch-ups. His quality of work can be seen in the exploding kid animation.
 
"But then we began to think, really what benefit would there be in killing the kids in the game? It just seems gratuitous, unnecessary and cruel."

WTF??? the game is FULL of stupid gratuitous violence!
 
Sigh. When will these people realise that bloody gore and sex is not all that makes a game mature. To claim that the original Fallout was centered around violence and killing children is preposterous and, honestly, a stupid statement. Further proof that they think it was the violence that made the originals so fantastic. I'm angry now.
 
TychoXI said:
"But then we began to think, really what benefit would there be in killing the kids in the game? It just seems gratuitous, unnecessary and cruel."

WTF??? the game is FULL of stupid gratuitous violence!

You just don't get it! Violence is fucking COOL.
 
When heads go BOOM! I cannot help but laugh uncontrollably for hours on end! That's my kind of dark humour.
 
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