London Review of Books weighs in on Manhunt 2

by Ross Miller { Aug 9th 2007 at 3:55PM }

British novelist and journalist John Lanchester has penned a piece for the London Review of Books discussing the Manhunt 2 ban. While not taking sides, Lanchester does opine that the BBFC's decision will help the industry if it gets developers to focus more on pushing video games as a form of art.

The article gets some important facts right, specifically when it comes to how the public and news outlets can unfairly blame video games for acts of violence.

However, others facts presented seem based on a lot of FUD, particularly with Rockstar's history. Lanchester wrote that the infamous sex sequence was "unlockable," implying it could be done in-game without modifications (not true). He also talks about Bully (or Canis Canem Edit in the UK) in a manner to imply public outcry was justified, when anyone who did play the game realized it actually punished bullying and rewarded you for being a good student.

[Thanks, amit]

Lanchester asserts that it was Grand Theft Auto: Vice City that "convinced [him] that gaming has the potential to be an artistic medium comparable to film or television." And while he seems to imply support for Manhunt 2's ban, he provides no details about the game other than what the BBFC had written. What does Lanchester really know about the game, and is it enough to validate him writing on the topic?

We feel that banning a game is not something that should be condoned to push an industry into other subject matter. Would Lanchester argue that Pulp Fiction being banned would be good if director Quentin Tarantino would be pushed into other territories? We hope not.

Tags: ban, bbfc, manhunt, manhunt2, rockstar, taketwo

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jeff @ Aug 9th 2007 4:11PM

"Lanchester wrote that the infamous sex sequence was "unlockable," implying it could be done in-game without modifications (not true)."

It *was* "unlockable" in the strict sense of the word. The fact that he's not using industry jargon here is nothing against him. You wouldn't expect a novelist to go around talking about different "SKUs" or weapons that are "nerf'd" either.

The point he is making is that the sex scenes are on the disc. That's true. They can be unlocked with anyone who happens to hold the right key, in this case a bit of script that unlocks them.

It's at least as inaccurate to call hot coffee a "mod", which is what everybody calls it (it isn't a "mod" because it's not modifying the game, just showing you more of it), as it is to say it's "unlockable".

hvnlysoldr @ Aug 9th 2007 4:18PM

Cheat device. Something not found in the game is necessary to find the on the disc scene. While technically Hot Coffee was on the disc and game code, under normal use is unreachable. It would take conscious effort with a mod chip or cheating device such as an Action Replay in order to access the material. Therefore unlockable is not the correct term since it implies through effort in-game it can be reached and is something that is a reward for players.

Almack64 @ Aug 9th 2007 4:58PM

@hvnlysoldr
I actually have to side with Jeff on this one. Even your own rebutal is referencing exactly what he was saying.

Yes in "our terms" (ie the lingo of video game circles) unlockable does imply something that can be obtained by doing something "in-game" but that was Jeff's exact point. The term unlockable generally simply means something that is unaccessible without the neccessary key. Which is exactly the case in this situation. That key just happens to be some form of code modifier which just happens to be available to just about anybody who wants it.

I think to the general public the idea of something being "unlockable" is that it does take some "conscious effort" effort to get to it.

But whatever.

Shagittarius @ Aug 9th 2007 4:56PM

How about calling it 'Unused code which could be exploited".

borntokill @ Aug 9th 2007 5:14PM

What an idiot. He starts off well enough and seems to have actually played vice city. But its obvious that his experience is very limited and he is way out of his league in this subject. 1) He says that GTA rewards players w/ points for wreaking havoc, when there is no point system. 2) The comment about a sex game being unlockable is misleading for obvious reason, plus it would have been more honest if he mentioned that the "sex" shows clothed, poorly rendered, poorly animated characters. Meanwhile other M games like Leisure suit larry are much more graphic and dont need to be hacked since they are part of the games. 3) He says Bullys moral panic was real, not mentioning (or realizing perhaps) that the panic came long before the game was released or even previewed. Also he implies that Bullying can't or shouldn't be used as a basis for games, when theres been plenty of games and movies (for ex. Ant Bully) that have done exactly that, but were not mentioned. 4) He says Manhunts ban is a good if it helps them get into the arts section; implying several things: #1 that Manhunt is not art, yet he makes no assertion that hes played or even seen the game. #2 That one game, whether its art or not, represents the whole gaming world. Well by that logic, we could say porn represents all of film. Whether Manhunt is perceived as art or not, does not reflect of video games as a whole, nor should it affect whether or not its allowed to exist. #3 That censorship is a good thing, specifically government censorship over a society, even adults. Thats probably the stupidest implication he makes since, as a journalist, he is allowed to speak his mind. Yet, that same freedom of expression, he does not believes should be extended to others. What an asshole

Geoff @ Aug 9th 2007 9:21PM

1) He says that GTA rewards players w/ points for wreaking havoc, when there is no point system.

Well... yes and no. There may not have been a strict points system. But the missions did award you cash, which appeared in the corner as a form of points system, so I can see the confusion. Fact is, the GTA games - points or not - rewarded you for inciting chaos. You unlocked new parts of the city, you got money, all the rest. I won't damn them for it - I loved the games.

I think this guy hits the nail more or less on the head, if, as someone suggested earlier, you remember that he isn't talking to (or a member of) the l33t gaming set. His language is slightly out of kilter (the Hot Coffee thing was a hidden unlockable, but only on a technicality), but his points are nonetheless valid. This is also one of the most reasonable arguments I have read concerning the Manhunt fiasco - from either camp.

He points out that Nintendo are trying to branch away from the teenage boy / young adult male market. There will always be a place for such people (I hope), but in order to get into the Arts sect, games need to appeal to everyone.

Word of the street. @ Aug 9th 2007 5:48PM

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City that "convinced [him] that gaming has the potential to be an artistic medium.
-----------------------------------------------------

Wait,What? o-0.

Warrior @ Aug 9th 2007 6:06PM

Yet another "journalist" who doesn't do his research... Big surprise there.

Word of the street. @ Aug 9th 2007 6:22PM

Talking about the hot coffee mod was it really necessary? , I know this is the kind of stuff that can be answered by a simple phrase like "only queers didn’t like the hot coffee mod ololol" but seriously.

I mean like every other man I welcome any gratuitous sex scene but c'mon is not like I'm watching porn is more like watching polygons doing each other in a cheap minigame that only horny teenagers could consider hot.

IMO the Hot coffee was totally unnecessary and only lead to more unneeded controversy in the videogame scene that leads into stupid laws that end hurting everyone. If any developer is going to put naked polygons please do us a favor and don’t do it or at least put real porn instead (a good girl on girl movie is always welcome :D).Well what I’m trying to say is that please devs don’t put unneeded stuff into videogames, if people really liked cheap videogame sex mixed with other adult only issues such as drugs, racism etc games like Custer's Revenge would have been very popular.

Mr Khan @ Aug 9th 2007 6:50PM

Yeah, a captivating, 3D porno game isn't possibly on anything under the power of the PS3/360, and people have proven to not want them on consoles. There's a reason Custer's Revenge constantly sits on the lists of "Worst games ever"

But as to his commentary, he at least tried to be objective, and its not his fault he's ill-informed