Australia’s Dangerous Proposal to Classify Mobile Games

For gamers still reeling in frustration that yet another high profile game has fallen victim to Australia’s antiquated Classification System comes the news that the Australian Classification Board wants to classify iPhone and other mobile games. Itnews is reporting that the Classification Board director Donald McDonald wrote to Censorship Minister Brendan O'Connor “regarding [his] concern that some so-called mobile phone applications, which can be purchased online or either downloaded to mobile phones or played online via mobile phone access, are not being submitted to the board for classification.” If the proposed internet filter demonstrates the Australian Government’s failure to understand the nature of the web, then this demonstrates their inability to understand the changing face of video games and the distribution of media in the 21st century.

This desire to classify all mobiles games is preposterous, dangerous, and ultimately proof of the Classification Board’s increasing irrelevance in modern culture.

BrainHex

I took International Hobo’s BrainHex test the other day and was surprised by the result: Socialiser-Mastermind. Socialiser, meaning multiplayer and social gaming (either online or with immediate company), and Mastermind, meaning puzzle solving and strategic thinking.

Mastermind is understandable as I’ve always been a fan games that require a little more thought, such as the Zelda series and RTS games, but Socialiser was a surprise. I’m not sure what else I expected, five years ago I might have said Conqueror (enjoys tough challenges and punishing failures. Plays for the sensation of victory), but lately I’ve found myself with less patience for games built around the classic hardcore mentality. Don’t get me wrong - I still enjoy a hard earned victory, it’s just I no longer get a thrill out of failing thirty times beforehand. Ten years ago I might have said Achiever (collects everything, plays all the game has to offer), but the completionist in me perished with Donkey Kong 64 (the ultimate collect-a-thon, which none the less I still completed to 101%), unless maybe it’s the odd Metroid game – but only because I’m a hopeless Metroid fanboy.

What We Have to Learn about Learning From Video Games

Over at Screen Play Jason Hill is talking about what video games have taught him. It’s a fun read, and of course the joke is that much of how videos games represent life is silly. This in turn has sparked Screenplay Reader James “DexX” Dominguez to reply with his own list of how video games lie.
Reading these posts got me thinking about what games actually do teach us. Cynics will laugh at the idea that games can teach us anything, unless maybe it’s how to steal cars and shoot people (a familiar argument that never ceases to contradict itself), while gamers on the other hand will claim that games can teach many things - but certainly not how to use a firearm.

Politicians will cite the teaching power of games when lobbying for stricter laws and censorship of violent and controversial titles, and indeed the fear of teaching our kids to be murderers and car thieves has been one of the key concerns in the R18 debate here in Australia. Yet despite all of this there is very little mainstream discussion about what games actually are teaching people. With so much money on the line you would think the critics might show some concern as to the facts they are basing their opinions on (though as we have seen, when it comes to video game censorship the facts often seem to be of very little concern).

I think there is fundamental misunderstanding of what games actually teach, and after reading the Screen Play posts I began to think about what games have taught me. I’m not talking about educational games or training simulations, (which are already in use by many schools, educators and businesses around the world) but the mainstream entertainment we play every day.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

I’m so glad to have played this game. I picked it up on launch day like so many others, but I didn’t know then what I was getting into. I was expecting a good game – I’d watched the videos, read some previews – but I certainly wasn’t expecting a potential Game of the Year. The gameplay is solid and engrossing, the art is great, the sound work is perfect, and the atmosphere never ceases to draw you in. There are plenty of reviews on the web for this game already that say exactly this, so I don’t feel the need to write another one here. Rather I want to talk about two things in particular that stood out for me from a professional point of view. Two things that set this game apart from all others I’ve played this year.