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Post by terryallenuk on Oct 1, 2021 11:02:34 GMT -5
China recently introduced a set of guidelines for video game developers in the midst of an industry-wide crackdown. Further details concerning those guidelines have now been released, hinting at the level of control and censorship Chinese authorities are imposing on developers. According to the South China Morning Post, regulatory reviews will flag anything that violates Chinese laws, leaks state secrets or seems to promote superstition, gambling, violence or self-harm. Specified in a memo from a recent internal training course organised for developers by the Chinese state's gaming association, compliance with these guidelines and a display of "a correct set of values" are necessary in order to ensure games will be approved in the future. While these guidelines may seem broad, the memo also stated that the rules will be implemented in much stricter and more specific ways. As an example, video games set in a post-apocalyptic world in which survival depends on killing will not be likely to pass. Neither will video games that allow players to make certain choices. "Some games have blurred moral boundaries. Players can choose to be either good or evil... but we don't think that games should give players this choice... and this must be altered," the memo read. It was previously reported that, along with film and television, video game characters described by Chinese authorities as "effeminate males" and LGBTQ+ storylines will be effectively banned from screens. The memo also provided more details on this ban, stating, "If regulators can't tell the character's gender immediately, the setting of the characters could be considered and red flags will be raised." This applies to male characters dressed as or behaving like a woman. Settings were also covered in the memo. Specifically historical settings, which the memo stated should not "distort facts or deliberately provoke controversy." It added, "Historical figures with established narratives must not be refashioned." Furthermore, the memo specifically warned against video games depicting any version of Nazi Germany or Japan. Any game that encourages players to kill "barbarians" could be seen as spreading colonialism, while games featuring Japanese warlords could be seen as glorifying militarism. Oddly, the memo also seemingly warned against creating games that resembled Japanese video games. "Many current Chinese games now look more Japanese than Japanese games." The memo also touched on the use of religion and use of symbols. Crucifixes and swastikas, for example, should be used with caution, according to the new guidelines. The Chinese Communist Party-ruled government has cracked down across all forms of entertainment. In the realm of video games, authorities have placed an increasing amount of pressure on tech giants and developers such as Tencent and NetEase, as well as gamers themselves, with minors now prohibited to play more than three hours a week. www.cbr.com/report-detail-china-strict-game-guidelines/ |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2021 11:57:50 GMT -5
...interesting. Here's another CBR article from a couple of weeks back: The Chinese Communist Party-ruled government has placed increasing pressured over video game companies over the course of the past year. State-run media outlets have expressed the view that there is a widespread video game addiction issue across the country, with some outlets going so far as to liken gaming to drug use. As a result, shares across the major video game companies, including Tencent, have plummeted by as much as 10 percent.Link: www.cbr.com/china-slows-down-new-online-game-approval/ |
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Post by kemp on Oct 1, 2021 17:22:02 GMT -5
I'm against any big government censorship and control, always a worry when corrupt governments try to moralise and take freedoms from their respective populations in making their own choices.
On a personal level I think video games, for the most part, are just garbage and a waste of time, but that type of thing should be left for families to decide.
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Post by karasuthecrow on Oct 1, 2021 21:11:47 GMT -5
Interesting, according to may interviews Tencent has a "Hands-off" approach of their companies so we have some possible scenarios.
1-Because Funcom is not in China (geographycally speaking) they can do whatever they want.
2- Games are going to be "ok" while being develop outsite of China and once they enter in the country they will be checked and censored.
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Post by cromfelge on Oct 2, 2021 3:58:11 GMT -5
It was previously reported that, along with film and television, video game characters described by Chinese authorities as "effeminate males" and LGBTQ+ storylines will be effectively banned from screens. The memo also provided more details on this ban, stating, "If regulators can't tell the character's gender immediately, the setting of the characters could be considered and red flags will be raised." This applies to male characters dressed as or behaving like a woman. This is a thing they are pushing very hard in China right now, not just for video games. Japanese and Korean culture has kind of a big impact in China and androgynous styles are common in their media, as you can see in K-Pop or Anime. They are banning ads now that include men of that style and try to heavily work against this trend, to get "manly men" and push masculinity. Pretty weird stuff going on over there now.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2021 7:01:40 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2021 7:19:50 GMT -5
Interesting, according to may interviews Tencent has a "Hands-off" approach of their companies so we have some possible scenarios. 1-Because Funcom is not in China (geographycally speaking) they can do whatever they want. 2- Games are going to be "ok" while being develop outsite of China and once they enter in the country they will be checked and censored.
Companies won't bother making a version for us and then an edited version for China, they will just make one version that will sell in China and the rest of us will have to put up with the censorship. Plus China has rules about receiving edited content, they expect to receive the same product as the rest of the world and since their market is so big they are getting their way. Remember Deadpool 2? It was too violent for the Chinese market and was banned there, that is why they then made that pg-13 version "Once upon a deadpool" or something like that, it was made so it could be classified as a new movie that could enter the Chinese market.
Games won't be very much impacted by this since China mostly plays cell phone games and the government is cracking down on even that, where this will impact will be in the movie industry where it is already taking place. We will be seeing movies that will follow Chinese guidelines as no company will risk missing out on a market of that size. |
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Post by cromfelge on Oct 2, 2021 8:02:30 GMT -5
Companies won't bother making a version for us and then an edited version for China, they will just make one version that will sell in China and the rest of us will have to put up with the censorship. Well there are a lot of example of companies localizing games depending on political views in different countries, especially China. Activision Blizzard (partly Chinese owned) for example made quite a few hints on Tracer, one of the Overwatch heroes, being lesbian. They edited that for China, Russia and other places with rules against that. Also, China has lots of edited versions of all kinds of games all the time already. For example, the depiction of undead and a lot of symbolic stuff around death are not allowed in China, so almost every game has to be edited for the Chinese market. However, I agree that it is a thing to worry about, especially in the movie industry, where you can not just replace a few textures to make it pass the laws.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2021 8:58:56 GMT -5
I think most of this stuff is very much an internal matter for the Chinese.
What effect will it have on the entertainment in the English speaking world?
I dunno, but, I think Hollywood will find it difficult, strategically, in the future, if they expect or rely on a certain amount of ticket sales from movie theatres in China like they did only a couple of years ago.
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Post by kemp on Oct 2, 2021 10:13:19 GMT -5
I think the left having nothing to worry about for the time being, they will be free to push their ideology onto us via Hollywood and games for some time to come, at least until the next cultural counter revolution. As far as Conan and films are concerned it may not be all that bad to cater for a Chinese market that wants men to be men and women to be women heheh  |
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Post by robp on Oct 2, 2021 11:10:37 GMT -5
So Communist China is going "anti-woke" with concerns about "non masculine man." That must be confusing to the Western right "anti-woke" crowd, I mean do they support the Communists or not on this?
Funnily enough, I found out the other day that Odin and Loki were pansexual, that must also be confusing for some.
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Post by cromfelge on Oct 2, 2021 11:23:17 GMT -5
So Communist China is going "anti-woke" with concerns about "non masculine man." That must be confusing to the Western right "anti-woke" crowd, I mean do they support the Communists or not on this? Funnily enough, I found out the other day that Odin and Loki were pansexual, that must also be confusing for some. I hope that this will open the eyes of some people on the left who still defend China because they hope them to be a counterweight and alternative to America.
The pansexual thing is a very modern interpretation of the stories but so is heterosexuality. Zeus had Ganymedes too for example, still the Greeks didn't think of their God as bi or pansexual.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2021 13:07:40 GMT -5
Companies won't bother making a version for us and then an edited version for China, they will just make one version that will sell in China and the rest of us will have to put up with the censorship. Well there are a lot of example of companies localizing games depending on political views in different countries, especially China. Activision Blizzard (partly Chinese owned) for example made quite a few hints on Tracer, one of the Overwatch heroes, being lesbian. They edited that for China, Russia and other places with rules against that. Also, China has lots of edited versions of all kinds of games all the time already. For example, the depiction of undead and a lot of symbolic stuff around death are not allowed in China, so almost every game has to be edited for the Chinese market. However, I agree that it is a thing to worry about, especially in the movie industry, where you can not just replace a few textures to make it pass the laws.
Those are good examples, but they are minor changes. We have been seeing similar things since the nes days, with Nintendo not allowing religious symbols for example. But how do you edit stories to fit with these new rules? You don't, as it would affect the core product.
This will only get worse as the people of China become more wealthy and the market becomes ever more important for corporations. I've believed for a while now that our entertainment would become very safe and middle of the road to avoid upsetting anyone and this will only add to that, creating very bland shows and games that can't be offensive to people from all over the world.
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Post by cromfelge on Oct 2, 2021 14:12:28 GMT -5
Yes, definitely. Many movies like the Marvel ones already are like this, they try to appeal to everyone and they kind of succeed but then again, are all mediocre.
The most extreme case of this is how sexuality is treated in different parts of the world. Whenever I see older European movies, I am shocked by how open and sexual everything was in the 70s or 80s and how prudish everything has become today.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2021 4:05:23 GMT -5
So Communist China is going "anti-woke" with concerns about "non masculine man." That must be confusing to the Western right "anti-woke" crowd, I mean do they support the Communists or not on this?Funnily enough, I found out the other day that Odin and Loki were pansexual, that must also be confusing for some. I guess, from the videos I've seen on YouTube this is considered a threat with western men going the opposite way with heroes no longer as masculine as they used to be in modern comics and movies |
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