Taking Bully Seriously?

simoniker writes "There's been plenty of controversy about Rockstar's PS2 title Bully, but does it actually have anything to teach players? Ian Bogost looks into whether the game actually has a social message, explaining: 'Taking Bully seriously means acknowledging that the game has something to say about the world, not just that the world has something to say about it. It means assessing how effectively the game tackles the topic of bullying and how meaningful its claims about it are.' His conclusion? 'Sweeping away all the dust that Bully left in the wake of its release, it's hard to defend the game, not because it might be a pubic nuisance or a danger to kids, but because it could have been so much more of a scathing critique of high school social politics than it turned out to be.'"

Scathing Critique?

I don't know about the rest of you, but when I play a video game, I don't want a "scathing critique of high school social politics," or anything else for that matter. I want something that entertains and engages me. Whatever happened to fun for fun's sake?!?

La! Release it upon the PC.

[It] could have been so much more of a scathing critique of high school social politics than it turned out to be.

Well, I am sure this issue will be addressed by the many copy cat games which will follow. Or perhaps in the charity-commission games which will contain a bold and powerful message against bullying.

I want to play Bully. Not because I want to run around beating up children or because I think the whole premise is amusing, but because the plot and story seem different and new compared to the current crop of games. I am sick to the back teeth of Animal Crossing: Wild World. It doesn't follow that I do not appreciate the seriousness of bullying or understand the horrendous burden placed upon the bullied.

Some people just need to take a deep breath and realise that entertainment = entertainment and that if they do not feel it is commensurate with their own agenda or message, they should do a better job themselves of getting that message out, rather than hoping other agencies/industries will.

public?

hehe he said pubic.

Yes it could be a social commentary.

Even as a game we can have an interesting social commentary in it. But in the end, games are about having fun, and Rockstar isn't known for their social commentary, they are known for open world game play.

I do agree Rockstar can use better writers, their characters aren't exactly inspired (unless inspired means "We just used Tony Montana and gave him a little Ray Liotta acting") So them trying to give a social commentary would be like monkeys acting out shakespeare. You won't get the point, but it could be entertaining, or sad.

Anyone expecting something better than what they got from bully needs to realize that outside of GTA Rockstar isn't a "solid company" they aren't even a good company in most respects. The best thing they can do is just make GTA styled games. If you want social commentary go talk to or read a 14 year olds live journal or blog. Want less angst go watch something like the basketball diaries. For the rest of us I think it's better we get fun games than games that are impactful, it's great when games are both, but it's a rare occurrence, and definitely not something Rockstar has ever attempted (noticeably) or is likely to exceed at.

I'm looking forward to playing it...

... not because I expect a fully realized system of high-school popularity politics, but because I want to play Skool Daze 2006 in glorious 3D. So far as I've heard the setting is very much a Beano Annual kind of thing. Elements of Winker Watson, elements of the Bash Street Kids. All done with a GTA engine. Sounds fantastic.

Pubic nuisance?

not because it might be a pubic nuisance or a danger to kids

Does the game come with a STD or what?

Pubic Nuisance

Oh noes, Jack Thompson is going to have a field day with this new "pubic nuisance" feature!

Concentration Camp Tycoon

I want someone to make a Concentration Camp game where you play the Nazis and see if it causes a ruckes near as big as a game about schoolyard bullies.

Games are games

it's hard to defend the game, not because it might be a pubic nuisance or a danger to kids, but because it could have been so much more of a scathing critique of high school social politics than it turned out to be

Games are about fun. Since when do they have to worry about including a social message?

Take Mario for example. Bowser is attempting to institute a tyrannical rule over the Mushroom Kingdom. This is fertile ground for a scathing critique of invasion and dictatorships, but that would make a really boring game. What's fun is establishing, yes these are bad guys and then beating the shit out of them :)

It may have nothing to say, but

It may have nothing to say, but its still every picked on geeks dream come true. I can imagine many a young geek will be taking out his frustration with this. If I had this option when I was kid it would have avoided many poundings as I tried and often failed to stick up for myself.

Grups

I think it's a kool idea and plan to give it a spin. Good or bad, I think it's a creative idea, certainly like nothing we've seen before from a video game...

I've said it before and I'll say it again - games aren't JUST for kids, I think us grups can handle a few bullies, or at least have fun tryin.

If you don't like it go play "Hello Kitty Island Adventure" and shaddup.

Why be fun when you can be dull?

...it could have been so much more of a scathing critique of high school social politics than it turned out to be.

I really can't think of anything I'd be less likely to see/read/watch/participate in than a "critique of high school social politics". Sounds like something shown at 3:15am on the public access station.

I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with games having more depth, but the thoughts they provoke should enhance the game, not make me fall asleep.

Violence OK. Kissing? Not so much.

People will accept the violence. But the kissing [foxnews.com] may be over the top for a lot of male gamers.

We all love the lesbians, but male on male still doesn't sell well to the mainstream.

Of course, Jack Thompson did his best to help publicize the game, so we'll have to see how well it does.

What's the big deal?

I mean, seriously. I remember playing this game years ago! [wikipedia.org]

Has this one just become a big deal because the Spectrum couldn't handle full motion 3D graphics? Bully seems to be just a logical evolution of Skool Daze, a game that's over 20 years old now but was great in its time (and I played it recently on a Spectrum emulator and enjoyed the hell out of it, still!). Hell, it even had the "homosexual content" thing down where you could kiss guys, so even that's nothing new.

Having said that, I'm actually looking forward to picking this one up and playing it. I have always enjoyed Rockstar's games and I see no reason I won't enjoy this, too. I doubt it's going to turn me into a bully because (a) I'm not at school; I'm in my 30's and (b) Grand Theft Auto didn't turn me into a carjacking gun-toting villain except maybe for a few hours every few days when I got time to play it! If you seriously can't separate fact from fiction enough to play a game like Bully, then you probably shouldn't go to the movies, or watch TV... or hell read a book!

Re:Canis canem edit

[i]Bullying happens. People messing with other people happens[/i]

Life's not fair, so I can hurt people however I want, right?

[i]Rockstar's job in developing Bully was to make an entertaining game, not to push some progressive agenda[/i]

Who said they were under an obligation to do so? The author of the article certainly didn't.

Re:Canis canem edit

Wait a minute, how is Bogost trying to advocate the destruction of an art form? What he's trying to say is that Bully could have been much more had they taken it seriously instead of making it like their usual fare. There's no "OMG! Hate! Burn it!" message there, and it's depressing that you saw that.