Part 3,""[REDACTED]" Censoring Game Politics! Politics is not a topic normally discussed in relation to game rating systems, but censorship of political content--mostly in the form of political symbols--is quite common. Nazi imagery, for example, has a long history of being censored, both in Germany and elsewhere. Exactly why is such political content censored? Whom is it intended to protect? Who is censoring it? What obligation do commercial game makers have to comply with prevailing political views? What are the consequences for not doing so? And what effect does this back-and-forth have on the political imagination of gaming culture? Games discussed will include: Bionic Commando Wolfenstein Indiana Jones Death to Spies Metal of Honor (2010) Six Days in Fallujah First-Person Victim Tropico Shadow Complex Metal Gear "[REDACTED]" - Censoring Game Politics is part three of a running discussion series on censorship in video games. Konstantin Mitgutsch, one of our post doctoral researchers, is a/Scientific Board Member of/PEGI, the European games rating board. He wants people from local Boston industry, academia, and journalism to come and discuss various topics of game censorship - namely violence, sex, and politics - for a report he is currently compiling for PEGI. The goal of the report is to suggest changes to the current rating system. This session will take place in GAMBIT between 4 and 7 pm (coming late is okay) on Friday 2/18 (today!). It will begin with Konstantin giving a little context for his report, how game rating systems currently work, etc. Then we will play a series of games and discuss them while we play. The goal is to capture the conversation. While it is happening, a small camera crew will be filming. The video will later go up on the GAMBIT website as part of our normal video series, but the video will also be used for reference for Konstantin's report. "Blood, Sex, and Politics in Video Games: How Censorship Is Done (or Not)" MIT GAMBIT Game Lab researcher Konstantin MItgutsch , brilliant as he is, can't figure out how video games are rated. And that's saying something, given that Mitgutsch is a scientific board member of Europe's game-ratings group, Pan European Game Information (PEGI). "Game content rating system like the Entertainment Software Rating Board and PEGI were established to help educators and parents to make informed decisions on buying computer games," Mitgutsch says as an introduction to three videos he and colleagues at the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab are releasing about U.S. and European ratings systems. "But both groups have three core problems." First [mistake about playability]... Second [cultural differences]... Third [lack of context]... For the videos, GAMBIT researchers invited members of the local video game industry, academia, and journalism to discuss various topics of game censorship -- violence, sex, and politics. Mitgutsch is incorporating this research into a report for PEGI suggesting changes to the European ratings system. The first video in the series, "'Die!' Censoring Game Violence", will be released on Monday, March 28, 2011, with the second, "'Behave', Censoring Game Sex" to follow on April 4. The series will finish with "'(REDACTED)', Censoring Game Politics" on April 11. Videos can be seen at the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab Website. Video Produced by Generoso Fierro, Edited by Garrett Beazley