Sunday 25 July, 2010

Today was my third time playing GTA. I decided to watch the intro to the game where they talk about CJ and why he is returning to San Andreas. I am not shocked to hear the swearing anymore, but at one point in the intro the police said both "stupid Mexican" and the 'n' word. Why would the designers of this game choose to use such derogatory and racial language? That is not acceptable. If that language is frowned upon in the real world, then it should not be used in a video game.

I felt that I was repeating the same thing over and over this time. CJ would appear on the screen, I would have him run around and either shoot someone to get money/weapons or steal a car. Then immediately the police were chasing me, I would have CJ stop and fight, lose, die, and restart. I was hoping that I would get better and last longer and possibly survive some shootouts with the police, but I never did. I hate losing at the same thing repeatedly, so I was frustrated after replaying the same scene over and over. This game is very unethical because in order for the game to essentially begin - unless you want to run around aimlessly - is by shooting or stealing. I understand there are gray areas when dealing with video games, but I do not believe that falls into that category.

Why is it then, especially with the "n" words, that it is not frowned upon in certain communities and is, in fact, encouraged?

In terms of the ethics, if you play at doing things that are unethical (like in the game) would this reasoning also apply to, say, actors portraying criminals in movies? How is it the same and how is it different?