So it is time for part two of the “Rated M for Mature” discussion that I was going on about; the swear filter.
It is funny how much controversy a feature has that does not affect anyone other than those that turn it on, but there are a lot of people against it for very strange reasons. I can sort of understand some of their arguments and because of that I am doing this blog post a little different. I decided I am going to approach this as a Q&A for the swear filter system and why. All the questions/statements that I will be answering are REAL and have been made in the past for the times that I have asked DICE for a swear filter.
So lets just jump into it:
What gives you the RIGHT to tell me how to talk?
Well, first of all, in a game online, we actually have no Rights. There are consumer rights and political rights and all that, but when you are playing a game online, you don’t have the right of anything. Its why there are no swearing rules on servers as well as bans on certain weapons and getting banned for any reason off of a server. It is also why publishers are able to pull the plug on any game they feel like at any time.
But to better answer your concern is that the swear filter I would like to see in Battlefield is a Client Side swear filter. It would be a filter turned on or off by the user and would only filter the chat box for them. You would be free to curse all you want and I wouldn’t have to see how you can’t control yourself. So you can still be obnoxious and not bother me.
Do we really need a swear filter?
People are requesting a swear filter, so I don’t see why not. If you think about any feature in any video game, do we really need it? Do we really need color blind mode? People that have been color blind have been playing games without the modes for a very long time and the swear filter systems have been around much longer in gaming. Yes, color blindness is a disability, but it seems to be hard for a lot of people to stay civil with each other online as well and it affects more people with bullying and ruining a game. I am glad there is a color blind feature so others can enjoy the game. Shouldn’t those that do not want swearing also be able to enjoy it as well? It’s another choice we could have. The developers would be giving us more flexibility and control with the enjoyment of the game we purchased.
Don’t you think this will take time away from other, more important, features in a game?
I see many games take years to be made, are given huge budgets, and are tested over and over again only to be released broken and incomplete. Let’s be honest and just say that patches are meant to finish the game to begin with. People are asking for a feature that were in past games. A swear filter has nothing new or innovative in it. If we’re going to get standard things broken like vehicles, weapons, and maps, lets put a little time in for a swear filter. As for the Battlefield games, both Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3 still have plenty of broken things in them and there were plenty of time, money, and people involved that could have fixed them.
A swear filter would be a waste of money to develop!
Yea…no. The main reason I want a swear filter is to show others the game I am playing. I want to get people interested in the game and think about getting it. A swear filter would actually increase player count. I have had many gamer friends quite certain games because they were tired of the constant abuse and nonsense going on. It became a tiresome joke. They just wanted to have fun and unwind and instead are treated like someone working Customer Service at Wal-Mart.
Swearing adds realism and immersion!
That is true, it can. The problem though is there is no such thing as “realism” in a game. Also, game play over time becomes the “same ole thing” and it loses immersion very quickly. It’s why a lot of people never play single player a second time. Again, a client side filter won’t affect your immersion or false idea of “realism” in video games, yet give people a choice. This is really about choices for more people than just the ones that want to cuss and rant.
If you don’t like it, why don’t you play something else?
Why am I the one that has to leave to play a game series I’ve been playing since 1942? There was no swearing in Battlefield until BF3. I am asking for a feature, just like anyone asking for their precious M16A3 to make a come back. Why don’t YOU leave? The answer is because you want to play the game too. You shouldn’t have to leave any more than I.
Isn’t it hypocritical that you play a war game with violence yet don’t want swearing?
A lot of people really don’t understand hypocrisy and it’s meaning. Video game violence isn’t real and we all have to make our decisions on what we are going to accept in a game we purchase. The thing is that cussing someone out online IS real. Those are real words and a real attack on someone real. When I “kill” someone online, they are not dead for real. When you call me a hacker and wish me dead with cancer, that’s pretty real. Now if I was against war and violence, yet play the game, yes, that is hypocritical. Just because I play a war game doesn’t mean I want war in the world and everyone to be shooting at each other either.
Can’t you just ignore it?
Sure I can. Ive been ignoring swearing since any online game ever. The thing is, again, about choice though. Why do I have to? In the 1990s there were swear AND gore filters that I could turn on and off. Why are they gone now? Also, even though I can ignore it, why do other people HAVE to? Why can’t we be civil and just play a game? It seems that I have to be the one to make sacrifices while everyone else gets to do whatever they want. How about a compromise?
BUT I LIKE SWEARING!!
OK. With a client side filter you can swear all you want and others wont have to see it. It wont stop you from swearing. It may even loosen server rules. Instead of you getting banned for swearing others can be banned for not using the swear filter.
The game is rated M for a reason!
Actually, the rating is because of the content of the game itself, not what people are saying online. Just because it is rated M doesn’t give people the right to go all out full retard in chat. Everyone says how “This is adult content and we all need to be adults about it.” but the fact is, and we all know this, its not all adults playing and being adult doesn’t mean you automatically have to cuss and be an ass. I’m an adult and I’ve probably have said a handful of curse words my entire adult life. Doing well in life and getting along fine without it. So I know people can survive without cussing AND I’m not asking anyone to stop, I’m asking for a feature to reduce it BECAUSE we can’t be adult about how we act online. Remember, rated M for MATURE, not JACK ASS.
What are you, prude? Don’t shove your moral beliefs on me!
Well, if wanting more choice in a game and giving those freedom to not have to put up with people that cannot properly communicate and be an actual working part of a community is “prude”, then yes I am. As for the belief thing, I don’t care what you believe, but you are doing a good job shoving your vulgarity on my screen. Stop forcing your hate onto me. You don’t want to use the feature, don’t.
Why cant you just turn off the chat feature?
Why don’t you turn off your monitor while playing? Because you need it. Turning off chat turns off my teammates and squad and removes what few teamwork features there are in the game. I guess the real question is why don’t you not swear? I think that would be easier all around. This also answers why I don’t turn off VoIP, which won’t/can’t be filtered BTW. It takes more effort for you to swear in-game than it does for you to just play the game.
This feature is stupid and a waste of time and resources. It’s not going to be implemented!
Well, then don’t worry about it and I will continue to ask for it in each alpha, beta, release, and patch phase. Also, see what I said earlier in this post about wasting money.
Alright, so enough Q&A, I think by now anyone reading this sees my point and position on a swear filter. Yes, there are a lot of things to do and fix in any game, but that doesn’t change the fact that people want this feature and it is a feature that wouldn’t actually harm anyone or the game itself. It is not going to cost the developers any more time to make. It is not going to cost us features in the game. It is not going to cause the game to be any less broken.
I know it’s the internet, but it never ceases to amaze me how much people are against a feature that they do not have to use, doesn’t affect them, and doesn’t change game play. Feel free to test it out in forums. Ask for a swear filter for your online game, if it doesn’t have one, and see what happens.
Crunch Time 