Lets talk about... Adolescent SotA players.

Discussion in 'Avatars & NPCs' started by Grave Dragon, Feb 4, 2016.

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  1. Ultima Codex

    Ultima Codex Avatar

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    Two thoughts here.

    Firstly, it's entirely possible that SotA will in general be appropriate, however you define that, for younger players...from a gameplay/content perspective, at any rate. Of course, it's also possible that it won't be...there's role-playing, and then there's role-playing, you know? I think that by being highly judicious and taking advantage of the selective multiplayer features, you can curate the SotA experience enough that your son can jump in. But, in the spirit of being realistic, that will require a fair bit of active effort from you, as I'm sure you're aware.

    Second...is it wholly realistic to expect that Portalarium can devote the time and effort to add additional controls at this point in the game's development? Like, in time for the point at which Episode 1 can be considered complete? It's something that could probably be added at some point in the future, but I'm not sure it's realistic to expect it to be in the v1.0 release of the game.
     
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  2. Miracle Dragon

    Miracle Dragon Legend of the Hearth

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    I really would like to see kids in the world. I don't care who's playing what, but yeah, being able to play out hunger games or Lord of the Flies in SotA would be a fantastic experience. So many games have only adult interactions - be it player to player or player to NPC - that having children both as players and as NPCs mixed in throughout all the experiences of SotA would greatly enhance the ethical/moral dilemmas, and our ability to make emotional player-created quests and story lines. Let's do it! I'm ready to dive down the rabbit hole if Alice is!
     
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  3. majoria70

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    For myself I'm not sure about what role playing I'll do and all. I know some have asked for nudity and the party I went to last week was all adult joking around definitely no childs party. Perhaps avoiding adult events would be all that's necessary for you. I just put my thoughts out there for you. I'm still of the mind this is overall no child's game.
     
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  4. Ultima Codex

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    Well, I'm saying we can only control what we do, not what other players do.
    On the one hand, it wouldn't be a Richard Garriott game if killing the occasional child wasn't an option.

    And on the other hand, maybe it's just my dim view of the nature of people and how they behave online, but yeesh...having playable kids in the game lends itself to potentially huge abuses.
     
  5. Daxxe Diggler

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    Grave, I love the idea of having some visual indicator that a player is not an adult. I also think that flagging the account as such is a good way to leave it in the parents hands to help protect their own children.

    If this was implemented properly, it would: restrict character creation to younger looking avatars or give them a special Title in-game, automatically lock the profanity filter on their chat windows, and restrict any item purchases/trades/gifts/etc. to add an extra layer of security (special password or something perhaps?). It might even have another check box option to restrict the account to SP Offline, SPO, or Friends Online modes. This would help protect the children from at least some adult content and protect the parent from the kids buying or giving items without their consent.

    I still think that SotA has a better options than most games though with just the Single Player and Friends Only modes. This is a great buffer of protection for them while still letting them experience some of the MMO social aspects of the game.
     
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  6. HoustonDragon

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    @RichardGarriott has told the story many times about how his mother freaked out and demanded he remove the "children" from U4 when the complaints first started, and he pointedly refused. It's been something in every game since in some form or fashion (except Tabula Rasa, where his assistant snuck it by him, and he was ticked). He's asserted there will be a version in Shroud :D
     
  7. Miracle Dragon

    Miracle Dragon Legend of the Hearth

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    As another thought.. rather than telling the system age information (which should by all rights remain private).. just being able to select the Maturity level you intend to play the game personally could do the trick, then the system can easily match maturity levels in selective multiplayer.. problem solved. Anyone reported to not acting within the proper maturity level can be 'forced' into another level or something..
     
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  8. Grave Dragon

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    It's now commonplace actually because most Japanese anime being encorporated into the MMO experience has not just child like characters, but very cutsie adorable ones at that. Tera is a good example.

    With that being said, THAT type of too certainly doesn't fit the SotA model imo.
     
  9. Krohon

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    Since the worst dangers for children are of physical nature (e.g. drugs, harm, illness and sex), and since they aren't exposed to that while on a virtual world like SotA, the game is already a protected environment.

    Children need the experience to grow, a morally healthy adult would most likely have been a child that was exposed to a rich set of experiences, not the one that grow inside a bubble. A child is not a child forever; they are humans that happens to be, for a while, children.

    I have a 14 years old daughter, she plays SotA from time to time. My approach is not to hide her the stuff but to explain and inform.
     
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2016
  10. Ultima Codex

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    Again, maybe it's just because I take a dim view of people when it comes to how they behave online, but that just sounds like a recipe for...problematic depictions. I'd hate to think that people would RP e.g. having sex with children, especially cutsie adorable ones, but it's not something I'd put it past people to do.
     
  11. Xi_

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    I do a lot of table top gaming and some of my friends once asked me why i never tried to get my daughter into such things. My answer applies here as well, and the answer is that I don't find it appropriate for kids to hang out with adults, they need to be doing stuff like this with there peers, we are not there peers, and as much as we as parents want and enjoy doing stuff like this with our kids they are better off doing so with there peers. I don't want to hang out with other peoples kids and really question adults who do.
     
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  12. Ultima Codex

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    This is, admittedly, one of the "red flags" I'm supposed to watch for when screening potential Scout leaders.
     
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  13. Grave Dragon

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    I dont think anyone in this thread suggested they wanted to play with other peoples kids. I certainly didnt.

    I can't agree with you at all related to parent interaction with their own kids. Peer interaction is important but doing positive things with your kids can teach them social skills, confidence, patience and a numbrr of other important life skills that they won't necessarily learn from other adolescents.

    Specific to the topic at hand however and reiterating again, this thread is not questioning whether kids should play SotA but that it is an inevitability that can be managed responsibly.
     
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  14. Xi_

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    I was trying to stay on topic but to try and remain so i will say that my stance is that I don't feel the game should make special care to manage other peoples children, it should be managed by the parents.
     
  15. Bowen Bloodgood

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    I've known kids who both in person and online seem more mature than many adults.. and at least one specific adult who.. at the time being in his 50s.. was very immature. I have long since concluded that maturity is not a direct result of age. :) But good parenting always helps also.
     
  16. Grave Dragon

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    Below is a list of tools that have been mentioned which will allow parents to manage their kids interaction in multiplayer online mode should they allow them to participate. It goes without saying that these do not eliminate all risks but I think its a good step forward.


    Parental controls...

    1. ...over purchasing, Gifting and accepting gifts.

    2. ...to lock the profanity filter to the "on" position.

    3. ...to disable whispers except from players on their friends list.

    4. ...to disable access to the forums and IRC chat.

    With parent monitoring, I think those four additional features would be sufficient to help encourage a positive experience.

    Thoughts?
     
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  17. Bowen Bloodgood

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    And I am suddenly and quite embarrassingly reminded of the Sims Online.. of course that team didn't exactly promote a child friendly atmosphere.. quite the opposite in fact in my opinion. That turned into a 'adult' game real fast.. the adult diapers and bondage outfits didn't help matters any. At least we don't have any of that.. oh wait.. cupid anyone? *eye-roll* and TSO was rated .. wow brain fart.. I wanted to say PG-13 but that's not a game rating. lol and I don't remember what's directly below M.

    Online interactions not rated by the ESRB.
     
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  18. Bowen Bloodgood

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    On this note I'll chime in as I've pretty much made it through the thread.. I'm basically with you on this one. While I don't have any real evidence of anything illegal.. I once knew a male RPer who was/is a school teacher who played a female characters and engaged in some very questionable RP with a guy that was commonly known to be a minor at the time. The whole thing really makes me weary and I know full well that given a large enough group of people.. there are going to be some out there who will turn a well meaning idea into a very bad idea.

    Good parenting is the best defense children have.
     
  19. Xi_

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    my fear is that sota will go from this:



    [​IMG]


    to this:



    [​IMG]
     
  20. Bowen Bloodgood

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    I find I'm actually in favor of 1-3.. 4 I'm not so sure about. I understand the thinking but these forums and I'm pretty sure the IRC are pretty well monitored.. but on the other hand I'm all in favor of a parents prerogative so it's fair enough. :)
     
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