Forums > Submission Feedback > EmP's 199X review

Wha...? This game has a trigger warning on it? Really? That's a thing now? Are they putting these on a lot of games?

Say it ain't so.

placid like acid

I predict we'll see this happen more and more as the perpetually offended generation takes root. Because heaven forbid you challenge anyone's mindset. Safe spaces and echo chambers and other Tumblr buzzwords and etc and etc.

I've played a few games that start with a trigger warning. The only time it ever felt even remotely applicable was Spec Ops:The Line and maybe *maybe* Ether One at a huge stretch. 199X is a decent way to burn a couple of hours, but contains exactly nothing to get 'triggered' over unless you subscribe to playing the professional victim.

For us. For them. For you.

The only game I've ever played that had anything close to a trigger warning on it was Silent Hill 3, and... Yeah. That game was probably worthy of it.

But an RPGmaker game? Seriously?!

placid like acid

Ugh. Everyone complains about the 'generation' but I'm of the mind that rape victims have the right to try to avoid the subject matter and trigger warnings don't really bother me.

Some are dumber than others I'll agree, but the kneejerk "waaa everyone is so sensitive" irritates me a little.

My Tumblr (Don't worry, I just talk about games)
My Steam Profile

"Personal relationships sour, and new world views are explored, accepted and despised."

The unmerry-go-round, one could be tempted to call it.
Hoping that "unmerry", being the bygone word that it is, don't trigger the youth.

https://www.necessarygames.com/my-games/loneliness

"Some are dumber than others I'll agree, but the kneejerk "waaa everyone is so sensitive" irritates me a little."

As long as it is not challenged that the trigger warnings that are going to be given will always represent the political and societal powers, interests, fashions and fads of the current time more than something coherently aimed at avoiding as much suffering as possible for every weak/unlucky person (starting from in-home abused children and elders, by far the two weakest groups), I have no problem with trigger warnings...

But they are no tool of Justice; instead, tool of politics (giving "the market" a good impression of your company is politics, by the way).
Which can, at times and in part, partially do good.

If every person who has received abuse, starting from the weaker categories and the worst types of abuse, were trigger-warned, I'd be happy with it.

https://www.necessarygames.com/my-games/loneliness

I could live my life quite happily without ever seeing a trigger warning. Good for me; I'm not the target for most of them, and, as such, understand that they do have their place. I'll fall back on the examples I've already used. Spec Ops exists to get under your skin and make you feel like you are an awful, awful person in an attempt to simulate in you a small slice of the dehumanization of warfare, of taking life, and you should absolutely be warned about this going in lest you think it's just another third person shooter. Ether One is a brilliant and beautiful interactive look into the very real issues that dementia will cause. This is a point blank awful condition that turns people you've loved all your life into someone you no longer recognise. It's a heartbreaking issue that's sadly affected millions so, yes, a warning is certainly appreciated here. I think it's a wonderful way of exploring and understanding the condition, but completely get why some would not want to go anywhere near it.

But it's also bloody ridiculous the subjects overly sensitive whiners will demand a trigger warning on. Point in case: 199X's trigger warning is completely pointless and absolutely without merit and, therefore, I exercise my right to make fun of it and the people who demand it. It's not even the worst I've ever seen. It's not even the worst by a long, long shot, and, should I ever write about them, I'll mock them, too. If you use warnings frivolously, they soon lose their meaning and just become background noise.

For us. For them. For you.

I guess I'm just more of an advocate for personal responsibility. If someone is so psychologically damaged that they can't handle playing an RPGmaker game, perhaps they shouldn't be playing video games at all? Perhaps they should be getting help instead. Expecting the entire world to cushion itself to make them feel more comfortable is not the answer. Freedom of speech is an important right that enjoy in the West. Let's keep it that way.

Trigger warnings are also a highly ineffective way to keep people safe, too. You know why? Because mentally ill people have very personal triggers. Game developers, movie producers, and content creators of all stripes cannot possibly account for them all. Someone might be triggered by a touching love scene just as much as a brutal murder or rape scene might set them off. It all depends on the person's damage.

With that said, if a video game is tackling a very sensitive subject or is highly graphic in some way (Off the top of my head, Mafia III comes to mind for its depictions of racism), a disclaimer is probably warranted. But come on. Use as appropriate.

Please note: I am saying all of this from the perspective of someone who has dealt with his own fair share of abuse and mental illness.

placid like acid