Thomas L. McDonald has been covering games for 17 years.
He is editor-at-large of Games Magazine.W
hen the original Evil Dead was released,
it became an object of morbid fascination
among young horror fans for a single reason: It
was unrated.
That’s right, Evil Dead was so sick and
twisted it couldn’t even be rated!
Of course, we had to see it, which meant
sneaking in. Did it warp our fragile little minds?
Well, yeah, a bit. Did it turn us into antisocial
mass murderers? Not that anyone can prove in a
court of law, no.
And yet, it’s not something to which kids
should have ready access. The limited rating was
exactly right, even though efforts to keep us out
were farcical. And this was only Evil Dead, which
is positively tame compared to the torture porn
crowding multiplexes now.
A few years ago, that torture porn made the
leap from movies to games with the execrable
Manhunt, a game of remarkable sadism and
violence that still managed to snag an M rating,
perhaps because the ESRB ratings board was
busy fumbling under the couch for its crack pipe.
By the time Manhunt 2 showed up on its desk (in
its rollout console versions), the ESRB was off the
pipe and serious about being a good example of
how an industry can police itself. They slapped
that sucker with an AO (Adults Only) rating.
Naturally, the perennially irresponsible
Rockstar Games was simultaneously outraged
and overjoyed. Outraged because many major
retailers refuse to carry AO games, thus affecting
the bottom line. Overjoyed because now Rockstar
can play the oppressed artist who has to censor
its own work in order to get it out. (“Unrated
Director’s Cut Coming Soon!”)
Nonsense. If Rockstar valued “artistic integ-
rity” so highly, it would release the game as-is
using alternate retail channels, damn the results.
That’s what Sam Raimi did with Evil Dead. But
this isn’t a beleaguered artist pushing the bounds
of free expression: It’s a company looking at the
bottom line. It has no right to unfettered access
to every corner of the marketplace. If Wal-Mart
decides it doesn’t want to carry a product, then
tough luck, buddy.
And here’s a little rule of thumb: If your “artistic
integrity” relies in any way on Wal-Mart shoppers,
then you don’t have any, so just shut up about it.AO-K
GAME THEORY
THOMAS
MCDONALDquickstart THE BEGINNING OF THE MAGAZINE, WHERE ARTICLES ARE SMALL
10 MAXIMUMPC SEPTEMBER 2007
A
Boston University student is chal-
lenging the RIAA’s crackdown
on campus P2P activity. For the last
several months, the RIAA has been
leaning on universities to deliver settle-
ment notices to any student with an
offending IP address. If that course
fails, the RIAA fi les a John Doe lawsuit
to obtain identity information from
the ISP and then proceeds with legal
action. It’s this latter practice that
prompted the BU student, known aptlyas “John Doe,” to
fi le suit against the
organization. At
issue is the RIAA’s
right to subpoena
information about
an individual without
that person’s knowledge
or ability to mount a defense. His case
seems to have merit; the U.S. District
Court for New Mexico recently denied
the RIAA a similar discovery request.Student Stands up to the RIAA
Lawsuit calls bunk on the org’s method of fingering file-sharers
T
he biggest complaint folks have about using 3D monitors is that
extended use can lead to headaches and even nausea. It’s a conse-
quence of stereoscopic imaging, in which a screen’s pixels are divided
into two nearly identical images with slightly different perspectives to
trick your mind into perceiving 3D. Diminished image resolution and a
narrow viewing sweet spot are two other shortcomings of the technique.
PureDepth (www.puredepth.com) has found a way around these issues
with its Multi-Layer Display (MLD) technology. MLD utilizes two dis-
tinct LCD panels, one atop the other, separated by a buffering layer. So
there’s true depth between the screens, and when an image is separated
between the two, with foreground info on one screen and the background
on the other, the 3D effect is convincing—from any angle. A display driv-
er can perform image separation on existing content, and the company
plans to release simple programming tools that will allow developers to
take full advantage of the tech. PureDepth predicts its MLD technology
will be available in brand-name gaming monitors next year.LCDs with Real Depth
An alternative monitor technology could do away with the 3D dizzies
Preview