Hi all! I want to start work on my game soon, but I have a few concerns regarding my planned characters and storyline; basically, I'm afraid of putting hours of work into crafting and entertaining and colorful cast of characters, only to have my game shot down because someone finds the game's content "objectionable."

Because of this, I was wondering if there were any official guidelines as to what we can and cannot get away with in our XBLC games. If not, feel free to speculate with me. Speculation is a healthy exercise we can all do together to avoid working for a little while. =)

My game, for example, is going to feature two main characters. The main (playable character) is going to be a youngish girl (14,15,16,17,18?) and the other main character is going to be her boss, who will be providing her with mission briefings and morale support throughout her journey (he can't dirty his own hands, after all). Her boss will also constantly be showering her with unwanted affection, marriage proposals, and sexual advances (harrassment?) It'll be creepy in a light-hearted and ridiculous manner, but nothing will be too explicit. I'd rate everything I want to put in the game as "Teen" by American standards and probably even lower by those of other countries. I'd have no problems with letting my eleven year old brother play it.

Would my game be too explicit to you, with its healthy amount of innuendo and slightly pedophillic (in a light-hearted and sentimental way! :3) undertones, or would you be forced to shoot it down for sexual references?

What are your takes on swearing? Can we say damn? ***? ***? Is it volume of swears that determines how "explicit" the game is?

What are your takes on violence? How much is too much?

How about sex and drug references? Can we have any of those at all? What drugs can we reference? Is a good natured (but drunk) inn-keeper okay while an angry heroine addict is not? Can we talk about sex? Can my sprites be topless? (Castlevania, anyone?)

What rating should be shooting for? Everyone? Teen? Mature? (Probably not mature, hahah!) What rating is the top we can hit?

Thanks for your opinions, everybody. I'd like my game to make people smile, but I don't want it getting rejected after putting hours of hard work into making the script absolutely hilarious and charming. It'd be a real shame. Anyway, feel free to discuss. I'll stay active in any discussions that come up.

Now I suppose I have to get back to work, since I have no more reasons to procrastinate. D:

For a PC game - its your problem. Do whatever you like though publishers may insist on you conforming to one of the ratings standards.

For XBLCG you need to abvoid the following things completely:http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3545/sponsored_feature_democratizing_.php?page=6

And then you game is rated on the following things: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3545/sponsored_feature_democratizing_.php?page=3 (note that each rting have 'hint' text which you cant see in that screen shot). However even a 4 rating on every one of those does not stop you being published though it might stop some people frmom choosing to play.

 

Note that these are screens from the beta, some things will likley change for the final release.

Stick me in the camp that says there's no such thing as funny pedophelia. But half the anime I've been subjected to seems to involve people hitting on 14 year old girls so the feeling must not be universal. I think you can still tell the story you're trying to tell while following the restrictions for XBLCG.

there's no such thing as funny pedophelia

The problem is that, biologically, children turn into women/men at a pretty early age. A few thousand years ago, when the rigors of education, college, and jobs were non-existent, you could expect to have moved away from the family unit and started your own at the age of, say, 15. (Of course, you didn't live longer than 30 or 40) While our society has advanced, and the amount of growing-up we have to do to become "adult" is larger by an order of magnitude (in some sense), our biology has not. Thus, the question of when someone becomes a man/woman from being a child is quite thorny, and different cultures have different norms. Google for "age of consent" and you'll see different definitions from 13 years to 20 years or so, plus looser definitions involving things like power differential or relative age. After all, when most people died in their 30s, having a 50-year-old hitting on a 15-year-old (who probably was already the common law wife of some other teen-ager) just wouldn't happen all that much. It's also a problem that the laws versus the norms of a country, territory or popular group may not be in sync (sometimes going one way, sometimes the other).

The safest thing to do would be to stay away from the subject as far as you can. If you want to be edgy, then that's intended to be allowed by the grading system, as long as you stay within reasonable boundaries. "Sexual innuendo" is for example one of the grading levels. For example, if you make your protagonist 18 years old, then I believe your game will be allowed by reviewers in the current XBLCG territories -- but nobody can know for sure until it tries to pass review. Personally, I think that the reasons stated for rejection on the beta games ranking site would not apply to the game as you describe it, but it's really up to each individual reviewer. If you worry about legality, as opposed to how reviewers will rate your game, then I suggest finding a lawyer specializing in that area.

Personally, you can just go and make a game as explict as YOU please (everyone has their definition of "too explict"). All I ask is that you give yourself "limits". The last thing I need is a media circus pointing fingers at the game industry for an incident involving a minor as though we are at fault.

IF your submitting this to the Community Arcade, then go with the Creator's Club's definition of "too explict". Remember,you (and others working on this game) are soley reponsible for what you put in it.