GTA, Humor, and Protagonists - Wordplay and the Discourse of Video Games - page 87

copious amounts of violence and of ensive sexual content. Also like its
predecessor, Vice City has the potential to lure young gamers into its
seedy underworld of crime, violence and vice. 14
Particularly interesting in this case are the ways in which fears about sex,
violence, and the threat to children are set of with powerful trigger words,
like copious violence, of ensive content, and the risk of luring in the young.
Similar criticism from the PTC was prompted by the release of Grand Theft
Auto IV , which was described as being “littered with sex scenes and wan-
ton violence.” 15 The president of the organization contended that “this bru-
tally violent video game must be kept out of the hands of children, and
we are calling on all major retailers to reconsider any decisions to sell this
game.” 16 In seeking a retailer boycott of the game GTA IV is likened to
pornographic magazines and handguns because, for the PTC, the threat
of children simply seeing the game in stores poses a moral hazard. A like-
minded critique describes the series as “one of the original sandbox games,
a game that allows you to go anywhere and do anything, in any way you
would like. And I mean anything—kill, rob, highjack cars, and more seed-
ier [sic] ventures not fi t for print.” 17 The openness of the game is clearly
disturbing for critics who are both afraid that GTA games will be played
by children and that players possess relatively free choice within the game's
design, even if there are consequences for actions built into the game. 18 A
particular fl ashpoint for criticism is Jack Thompson, a lawyer who fi led
multiple lawsuits predicated on the belief that the games are “murder simu-
lators” that train players to engage in real-life behavior in a manner that
mirrors in-game activity. 19 The issue with GTA for critics is closely related
to the design of the game world that, in its openness, of ers the option for
players to choose to engage in reprehensible actions.
Gamers and scholars often respond to these critiques in similar ways,
with an exasperation that depicts those criticizing the game as unreason-
able. The original GTA review on IGN anticipates many of these criticisms,
beginning with,
OK. Push aside all of the Senator Lieberman nonsense. Pretend this is
just a videogame for a moment. Get yourself in the mood for a strange
kind of innocence. When you're through to the other side, and can play
Grand Theft Auto with a clear mind, you're going to have to admit to
yourself, sooner or later, that there's nothing quite like Grand Theft
Auto . Here, it's fun to be bad. 20
The author recontextualizes how GTA is described, presenting himself as
in opposition to critics who are prone to nonsense claims. He contends that
GTA is best played by the innocent, who can revel in the opportunity to be
bad in a video game, where the consequences are not what they are in real
life. The same author's review of GTA III continues in a similar vein, with