Profanity In Games

[SilverSpook]

I'm working on an adventure game right now, writing script, and I'm at that point of having to make a decision about whether and how much swearing to include...

The themes and content of my game are somewhat stark, dystopic future-noir that partly place in a Section 8 Public Housing ghetto made out of a landfill, filled with angry poor people, drug dealers, gangs, etc..  I'm worried about the game ringing hollow and unbelievable without cursing, but also don't want to "scare off" those who are offended by swearing.  I know it would be unbelievable to me since I was a social worker and know the underpriveleged don't say, "Oh darn," when they get into a fight with an ex or get served an evic notice.

I'm thinking I have a few options...

1.) Just go full rated-R, keep the swearing, offend some people, but make it a bit more believable.

2.) Bleep out the swearing... that could be annoying?

3.) Work the "evolution of language" angle since it's Sci Fi, and insert "future slang" curse words.  Like "Frak" in Battlestar Galactica, "Shtako" in Defiance, or Chinese profanity in Firefly.

4.) Rewrite the story to be PG-13 or PG.  Might make the game fall flat pulling some of the punches.


Kind of at a mid-game crisis right now.  I'm aiming for the indie, adventure-gaming crowd, and I'd like to reach a good size audience.

What do you guys think personally, and in terms of the entire gaming community?

[Babar]

Do 3, or have cussing in-game, but with an option to switch it off (which would turn it into "oh darn" and stuff, I guess).

I don't think this issue is worthy of a mid-game crisis. Keep on at it!

[Retro Wolf]

Fuck it, put whatever YOU want in it. It's your game.

[SilverSpook]

Thanks for the quick turnaround on the advice, guys!

That's a good idea Babar about making the game customizable to taste.

Also like your rebel attitude Retro Wolf!  Thanks for the support!

[Lasca]

I'm with the wolf, do it the way you want! Which feels like no 1 from your descriptions.
I do however believe that swearing sometimes is used too extensively because writers believe that it adds authenticity. in my opinion it often has the opposite result. So, be careful!

[Scavenger]

I don't think there's enough people out there sensitive to swear words to worry about. Slurs, on the other hand, you may want to avoid them, or make up a whole new set of them to describe the sociopolitical layout of the world.

Just don't make your game as swear-wordy as The Orion Conspiracy, haha.

[NickyNyce]

IMO you should go all out and make it rated R. From the sounds of it, this is what you wanted to do in the first place. I don't think you should be scared that people don't like cursing. You can't have your cake and eat it too. IMO, I don't think I want see a game with weird words that I don't understand as curse words. This is similar to making a horror game, but you're afraid that people might get scared. If the game will play better, and is true to what it is that you're making, that's when games feel the best. You can do this in a subtle way and not over do it, and that may be the best approach. Just choose your wording carefully. I love the idea of making the game you envisioned and want to show people. Once all these weird choices of making everyone satisfied get in the way, it tends to ruin things, or at least change the game from what you originally wanted to make. Take movies for instance. They do this in movies all the time. They try to make everyone happy, and the movie ends up suffering in the end. Having an option to change the setting might be OK too, but this isn't going to make people buy your game because they have this option. Cursing is part of life, and if that's the story you're telling, it should be in there...I would expect it!

Please make the game you envisioned.

[SilverSpook]

@Lasca: Good point about overdoing it with the swear words.  I feel like, if it's legitimately justified by the character's emotional state, cultural background, etc.. then it's ok.  But if it's just left-n-right f-bombs then the cursing becomes a crutch for a lazy or writing, kind of like just throwing a crying baby into a scene to make it more dramatic.  *coughrobocop2cough*.

@NickyNyce: Thanks for bringing up the problem of trying to pander to everyone.  "Design by committee" has an epic failure rate!

[Baron]

I also vote 3, since you can then invent swear words that sound even dirtier than real swear words.  But like many have also said, it's your game, so let the profanity rain down hard if that's the atmosphere you're going for.  Just put a warning on it and I'm sure that'll scare away anyone with sensitive eyes/ears.

[Frodo]

I vote for No 1 - keep the swearing in, and make it believable 

I get the feeling, this is the tone you were aiming for, anyway 

[David Ostman]

You can't please everyone, and trying to do so will probably water down your game, making it a diluted experience for all. Just make the game you want to make and come to terms with the people who will be put off by the swearing are just going to have to be put off by the swearing

(As for option #3, it just doesn't have the same impact as the proper, real words, so then you might as well just go with "darn it". BSG with its "frak", and the Farscape with "frell". Two great shows (Farscape in particular), but those words kept bringing me out of the experience every time they were used.)

[SilverSpook]

Hm, I was just thinking of how Wadjet Eye approaches things, since they've been pretty successful. 

Primordia uses "bssod", right?  I can't remember what the policy was in the other titles. 

[Snarky]

Commercial or freeware? If commercial, there are, uh, commercial considerations. If freeware it's only about how to best convey your vision to the audience you want.

Swearing is tricky, however you do it. I wouldn't just worry about offending people, but about whether it actually works in context. It's hard to write swearing well, and unless it's ubiquitous it tends to stand out and be very noticeable (see for example "The Longest Journey"), so if it's not convincing, people are going to notice. Are you planning on voice acting? You might want to try it with actors to hear how it actually sounds before you make your final decision.

You should do what you want, obviously, but some things to consider:

1) If you're aiming for a wide audience, don't underestimate the number of adventure game players who would be put off by swearing, or the strength of their reaction. Some people really mind a lot (even if the game is full of murders, for example). I think Wadjet Eye experienced this on one occasion.
2) It's pretty easy with AGS to make bleeping or muting optional, so if you're just trying to avoid offense (and not using it for deliberate artistic effect), I'd definitely recommend giving people the option to hear it uncensored.
3) Personally I think made-up swear words are almost always ridiculous and way more intrusive than an actual curse. The Chinese swearing in Firefly is one of my big dislikes of that series. ("Frak" is better than most because it sounds close enough to "fuck" that you can just kind of pretend.)
4) Toning it down might make sense if you are aiming for a commercial release, and if the game is not already "R-rated" for other reasons (explicit sex or extreme gore). Otherwise I think you should just try to write the dialogue to sound as natural as possible (both as individual lines and to fit with the game as a whole). That might mean strong swearing, or it might not.

[SilverSpook]

Thanks for the advice, Snarky.  What did you think of Primordia?  They do use fictional curses there, but I thought it didn't really break the immersion of the game, which was pretty thick. 

I am aiming for an eventual commercial release, so expanding the potential demographic while not alienating the "hard core" end of the spectrum is a thing, for Neofeud.

I get the difficulty of writing swearing well, but for the kind of characters and overall "millieu" of the game, I feel it would almost be more noticable and unbelievable to leave the swearing out.  Have you seen Chappie?  I've got pro/antogonists that are basically Die-Antwoord "zef" gangers but without the Afrikaans and more cyberswag.  Gold-plated prosthetic arms, Six Billion Dollar Ballers, basically.  I have a hard time trying to imagine Ninja or Yolandi *not* dropping a "bitch" or a "fuck" on a regular basis.  It would just feel sterilized, castrated, to me. 

I have a hard time imagining Kara Thrace saying, "Shoot!" or "Damn you!" every two seconds between slugging Saul or whoever pissed her off last.  Can you imagine the SyFy channel and the culture Thought Police getting their collective panties in a bunch with the litany of F-bombs if she said, "Fuck" instead?  Her damaged-goods, razor-clawed, acidic persona would fall flat without the cussing.  I can see why the BSG folks made the choice. 

I'd be interested to hear from Wadjet-Dave, though I'm certain he's swamped to death by fanmail and requests for Technobabylon sneak-peeks.

[Snarky]

In Primordia, I think the fact that they're robots makes a made-up swear word more justified, and I think "b'sod" is pretty clever; cute, you might say. But it really doesn't have any impact as a swear word, or in making characters seem truly rough and hard-boiled. Rather, it feels a bit tongue-in-cheek. Which is fine, if that's what you're going for. If you want the swearing to be taken dead serious, though, I'd stick with something that people actually say in anger.

[Ghost]

I would also go for option 3 if you really aren't quite sure how things'll pan out and you'd like to play it safe. As Baron said, making up some swearwords can add a nice rich feeling to a game. I remember playing Planescape, where you're covered in oddly familiar-sounding yet totally in-universe slang and mild swears, it made me think that yes, this really is stuff that is part of the game's setting and culture. It was absolutely justified and never felt offensive.

Another thing: There's something about swearing (and other "forbidden") stuff that can draw in additional audience. If there is a reason for the strong language, you may win people over by just sticking to what you want to put into the game. While there can be controversy, you can also get people saying "Yeah well it IS rough and PERSONALLY I would've done it different, but that game is true to its material and doesn't go the easy route, and that I can respect." I'm not suggesting to use pure "shock value" to get some buzz, I just have followed several discussions where people agreed with mature themes because they, too, felt treated as "more adult" by a game/movie/book.

[Michael Davis]

I think you can find a middle-ground. I think a little written profanity "hits" a lot harder than spoken: for instance, this sentence (which is very profane, fair warning to anyone who doesn't like the f-word):

Spoiler

Fuck that fuckin' motherfucker.

[close]

I think, seeing it spelled out like that, looks, just, god awful, like, I'd be embarrassed for my mom to read that haha

But I think if I heard it said at a bar, I'm not saying I would love it but it would sound "normal".

So I say all that to say, a little swearing goes a long way on the written page.

[NickyNyce]

I don't mind curse words, especially when playing a game. This is a game, and not a meeting in the board room that we're talking about. We are in the comfort of our own homes playing a game. I think there is a big difference. It can be uncomfortable when you are around company and out in the street in front of certain people, but I think games are in a different category. But I do think that you can over do it. So there is a fine line that you shouldn't,  or don't need to cross, in order to get the message across. If it's written well and placed properly, it can give a game a good street atmosphere. If you do too much, it can feel like you're trying too hard. Balance is the key.

[ManicMatt]

Reminds me of writing music. Someone once gave me feedback that I shouldn't use the 'f' word in my song. That instead of "It's all fucked up" I should sing "It's all messed up" but I wasn't convinced - it didn't carry weight.

there's the option of less offensive swearwords perhaps? Such as "shit!" and "bugger!", and "crap!".

[selmiak]

pffft, I'm with retrowolf here, just fuck it and write the character you want to write. People that are offended by swearwords might also be offended by drugdealers in ghettos. So they won't play your game anyways.