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Penny Arcade Expo - The Violence Thing and Beyond
Posted by Alex Quinn on 09-03-08I spent Labor Day weekend at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle attended by an astonishing 58,000 game enthusiasts. Scores of exhibitors, including leading game publishers, showed off the latest games. The weekend included music, films, and of course plenty of gameplay. The Expo also featured panels on all kinds of game-related topics—from design to piracy.
I was part of a panel entitled Video Games, Politics & Policy: “The Violence Thing” and Beyond. Joining me were Dennis MaCauley, Editor GamePolitics.com; Bo Anderson, President, Entertainment Merchants Association; Jason Della Rocca, Executive Director, International Game Developers Association; and Jennifer Mercurio, Director, Government Affairs, Entertainment Consumers Association.
Much of our panel focused on digital games and First Amendment rights for game sellers, designers, and consumers. As with other new media before games, policy makers are grappling with how to balance the right to create, distribute, and receive information with other societal concerns. In the case of digital games, the societal concerns most often cited relate to the promotion of violent behavior. The debate is ongoing whether or not some digital games do in fact promote violence. (For a lively discussion on this topic see the recent postings on the Games for Change Social Issue List.) Nevertheless, the violence argument has been repeatedly used by state and local legislators to justify restrictions on game distribution. For the most part, these laws and regulations have not withstood judicial challenge.
My remarks on the panel focused not on “The Violence Thing” but the “Beyond.” Games communicate many images and ideas. Games for Change believes that digital games are an increasingly robust and vital platform to explore the political and social issues we face today. When viewed in a wider context that includes education, advocacy, politics, and civic discourse, it is easier to see that games deserve as much First Amendment protection as any other medium, and barriers that impede the entry of games into the market place of ideas should be discouraged.
One potentially serious barrier is the erosion of Network Neutrality. “Net Neutrality” assumes that internet providers will not advantage certain content providers and consumers by blocking, speeding up, or slowing down the flow of information. Many social issue games are distributed via the internet; a tiered approach to content delivery could greatly impact the ability of these games to reach the public. A policy of net neutrality continues to ensure that every internet speaker and listener—whether through games or other media—have the same opportunity to connect.
The excitement was everywhere at the Penny Arcade Expo. The gamers who gathered on mass to hear from expert game makers, debate the merits of the latest games, and simply to play, were knowledgeable, critical, and deeply engaged—a testament to the vitality of this growing platform for cultural communication. Behold the new literati.