« Rev03: Exert Your Influence | Home | The HoneyComb Engine »
Murder, Sex, & Drugs
By Corvus | July 6, 2009
As long time readers of my blog, you’ll likely know that the topical trio represent three of my core val… No, sorry. I just watched some Brutal Legend promotional materials and got a bit carried away. Let me start over.
I am moderating a panel titled at PAX this year. Here’s the official blurb:
Murder, Sex, & Drugs
Do video games have a cultural imperative to present serious topics seriously? That is the question the panelists will explore as they invite the audience to a discussion of video games, their focus on violent interaction, and their handling of sex, gender identity, and drug use.
I have five wonderful panelists lined up (alphabetically in this case):
- Nels Anderson, programmer with Hothead Games
- Max Battcher, developer with Enlark
- Damon Brown, journalist and author of Porn & Pong
- N’Gai Croal, consultant with Hit Detection, LLC
- Deirdra Kiai, programmer with Hothead Games
Each panelist will briefly introduce themselves and talk a bit about their perspective on the topic and the rest of the panel will be spent taking questions from the audience. We’re currently scheduled for Sunday afternoon in the Serpent Room (how very apt).
If you’ll be at PAX this year, we hope to see you there!
Tagged:panel, pax. | 6 Comments »
July 6th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Sounds interesting. I hope you’ll be able to keep it from devolving into everyone agreeing that games don’t currently handle any of the above very well.
July 6th, 2009 at 10:11 am
I demand audio and transcripts!
Also, sounds like an okay if somewhat well-trodden topic – I just hope no one brings up the “juvenile developers” thing like one person at GDC did, sigh. This needs a look from all angles – not just developers who make the games in the first place, but what buyers want/demand, what publishers want/demand, and the journalists too, who rarely take it all seriously themselves.
I also hope there is some comment that absurd, funny, or incorrect usages of the items discussed can sometimes be just damn fine, and fun, like in all other media
– and that the use of such topics in the vast majority of all other media can also have a high percentage of non-serious usage too, which is fine.
Shame N’Gai hasn’t got a site, guess he got board of the whole blogging thing (well, apparently well before leaving Newsweek mind you – since his posts just stopped months before his departure!). Nice to see he’ll voice his opinions.
Anyway, I can’t exactly get to this, so it’d be just nice to know what happens, if you’d kindly post notes perhaps, if you can’t get audio
July 6th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Man, now I have to go to PAX.
July 6th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Wow! What a panel! I doubt I’ll be in any position to be there in person, but I’ll be watching and waiting via the internet to hear how it goes. =)
July 10th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
[...] to the awesome Penny Arcade Expo this Fall? Catch our Sunday afternoon panel “Murder, Sex & Drugs“, about how vices are depicted in video games, with former Newsweek editor/tech writer [...]
July 13th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
[...] place on Labour Day Weekend in Seattle (again). I’m slated to participate in a panel called Murder, Sex, & Drugs, organised by my friend Corvus Elrod, and I’ve also been asked to participate in the [...]