Developer Vicarious Visions Weighs in on New York Game Legislation

June 5, 2007 -

In recent weeks, GamePolitics has been closely tracking several video game bills before the New York legislature.

Now, a pair of video game developers based in the Empire State have weighed in against the proposed legislation, stressing the economic benefits of the game industry and noting that the ESRB system and console parental controls are already in place.

In an op-ed for the Albany Times-Union, Karthik Bala, CEO and Guha Bala, president of Vicarious Visions (Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam) write:

We are deeply troubled by the prospect of New York enacting legislation that would treat video games differently from other protected, creative expression...

We founded Vicarious Visions when we were in high school in Rochester. One of us (Karthik Bala) chose to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for an undergraduate degree because of the RPI Incubator Center. Vicarious Visions began in that incubator center...

In 2005, we became a part of Activision... but we are committed to long-term growth in the Albany area... We have worked hard to keep strong, creative "home grown" talent here in New York, rather than having them leave for places like California and Florida...

At a time when New York is working hard to maintain its competitive edge... we have to avoid stigmatizing video games and game development in our state.

We know many in our state may not like the content of some video games, and, to be frank, we do not like some of it either. However, a better way... would be to... encourage use of video game ratings and parental controls...

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Comments

Submitted by Daniel (not verified) on Tue, 06/05/2007 - 08:46.

Good for them. ^_^

Submitted by Serrenity (not verified) on Tue, 06/05/2007 - 08:56.

It's good someone is finally speaking up. Even better that it made it in the newspaper. This, I think, is what the Assembly was trying to avoid--mainstream media coverage. At least, with this article in a major newspaper, we should see more and larger response from the industry at large.

Submitted by MaskedPixelante (not verified) on Tue, 06/05/2007 - 09:14.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance Gold Edition? Does that have all the new characters in it already?

Submitted by E. Zachary Knight (not verified) on Tue, 06/05/2007 - 10:09.

I am glad to hear that a game development studio is speaking out against these bills. Hopefully this will fall in the laps of the supporters of the bills and they could learn something.

Submitted by Wilddog (not verified) on Tue, 06/05/2007 - 10:54.

I agree, it is about time the politicians stop concentrating on doing parents' job for them. This nonsence is just pandering to an older generation that can not imagine anything but a black or white option for any issues. Especially since it seems that the game industry is an easy target to pound upon

Submitted by Black Manta (not verified) on Tue, 06/05/2007 - 14:02.

@Masked Pixelante

Yeah, it does. As soon as I heard about it I thought, "Ok. I'm getting an Xbox 360 Elite."

Submitted by Vicarious Visions pens op-ed on troubling NY game bill at Be (not verified) on Tue, 06/05/2007 - 14:13.

[...] [Via GamePolitics] [...]

Submitted by hayabusa75 (not verified) on Tue, 06/05/2007 - 17:12.

@Wilddog:

Good thing we have no problem with pounding back.

Submitted by CyberSkull (not verified) on Tue, 06/05/2007 - 22:03.

More studios need to speak up against these laws.

Submitted by Tina Dl (not verified) on Thu, 08/23/2007 - 22:51.

Really, when are these parents going to start taking control when it comes to there kids; always blame it on someone or something else, rather than being responsible parents. Freedom of choice!! Freedom of speech!! Freedom of artistic taste!!!

Shout box

Andrew Eisen: PETA has a ton of gems but my personal favorite is "by wearing the skin of an animal [it's refering to the Tanooki Suit], Mario is sending the message that it's OK to wear fur." http://gamepolitics.com/2011/11/14/peta-targets-mario-latest-campaign02/03/2015 - 3:39am

Goth_Skunk: I was drawing a blank for examples of animal abuse portrayed in games and that one was the first that game to mind, due to how ridiculous it was.02/03/2015 - 3:32am

Andrew Eisen: And if anyone's wondering about the "stabbing a rat" thing, that was PETA on a sequence in Battlefield 3. http://gamepolitics.com/2011/11/07/peta-upset-over-battlefield-3-rat-backstab02/03/2015 - 3:05am

Andrew Eisen: Just to be clear, no one is suggesting games need to follow some inclusivity checklist, no one is asking for games to be forced to conform to any particular standards, and Sarkeesian and her ilk also want more from games, not less.02/03/2015 - 3:04am

Goth_Skunk: I am all for getting games to explore more issues as they get larger in scope, but I am *not* in favour of them being forced to conform to standards of political correctness. I want *more* from my games, not *less.*02/03/2015 - 3:01am

Goth_Skunk: But nitpicking about things like Damsel tropes, or meeting a non-white, non-hetero character quota, or stabbing a rat to crawl through a pipe is a ridiculous waste of time, in this member's opinion.02/03/2015 - 2:56am

Goth_Skunk: Games *do* have messages and meaning. And not all of them are comfortable, either. And they do so while keeping the experience enjoyable, meaningful.02/03/2015 - 2:50am

Andrew Eisen: That's enough, folks.02/03/2015 - 2:11am

MechaCrash: You know what else is uncalled for? Your whiny tone policing.02/03/2015 - 1:54am

Sora-Chan: @MechCrash my complaint is more direct at how you reacted. When someone is leaving you do not run up behind them and kick them in the ass out the door. Hense, what you said, was uncalled for. It doesn't matter who it is.02/03/2015 - 1:40am

Andrew Eisen: Plus (and I know you didn't say otherwise, I just feel it's important to point out) there's nothing wrong with discussing the elements of games that you take issue with or find problematic.02/03/2015 - 1:34am

Andrew Eisen: Matthew - That's one way to handle it but you'd potentially be missing out on a ton of great games. After all, just because a game has elements that may rub some the wrong way doesn't mean they aren't worth playing.02/03/2015 - 1:33am

MechaCrash: Save your crocodile tears. I'm glad to be rid of the people who complain when games get treated as a form which can have messages and meanings and demand they be relegated to simplistic toys, to be played with and discarded.02/03/2015 - 1:12am

Sora-Chan: @MechCrash Simpley put: Uncalled for.02/03/2015 - 1:03am

MechaCrash: Thank you for confirming you want games to remain the playthings of children and not art of any kind, Wonderkarp, and good riddance.02/03/2015 - 12:23am

Goth_Skunk: The tropes that bother me the most don't appear in video games: Dumb/Jerk Jock trope, Narcissitic Psycopath (when male), and Dad Is A Homophobe But Unaware Child is Homosexual.02/02/2015 - 10:22pm

prh99: They can make zombie games all they want, I just wish they mix it up a bit. My use vampires etc or some Lovecraftian horrors.02/02/2015 - 10:09pm

Matthew Wilson: I tend to be on the side of free markets. if you do not like a trope, do not buy a game that uses that trope.02/02/2015 - 9:59pm

prh99: MechaTama: Yeah, the zombie apocalypse stuff is just getting old, and infestation scenarios aren't much better.02/02/2015 - 9:57pm

MechaTama31: I just catch a whiff of zombie and my eyes just sort of glaze over and my attention drifts elsewhere.02/02/2015 - 9:52pm

All shouts

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