How do you age rate a game?

[Frindis]

Well, for starters I do not look at the age rating done by PEGI. Just looking at Fifa and it's 3+ should be enough evidence of a content rating system not working as intended. So, how do I rate a game? Let me give an example:

GTA V online has 18+, but does that mean nobody under the age of 18 should play it? Well, yes and no. The game got drugs, violence, swearing, torture, and sexual content and for the most part, this is something most people at the age of 15+ have seen before. It is not like they just happened to walk outside of a cave and see the sun for the first time. The one thing that makes this game stand out is because of the torture in the main story of the game. This is something I personally found to be pretty horrible and why I feel 18+ is a correct age rating. So, while I would not let anyone under 18+ play the main story of the game (or at least not that scene), I would have no problem with someone being 15+ play the online part of the game. I would also like to point out that people are different when it comes to how much they tolerate, so it would off course be advisable that parents take this into consideration.

I believe a game that purely focuses on or has large elements of violence with the pure intention of shock factor, should get a high age rating. Games like Hatred or Manhunt deserve an 18+ rating based on both purely being about violence for the violence's sake.

How do you age rate a game?

 

[Pifanjr]

I'd base it on the age at which I would personally be comfortable recommending a game to someone.

So for GTA V for example, while I agree that most 15 year olds would probably be fine playing the online part, it's not something I would encourage.

Just because they've seen stuff with drugs and violence before doesn't mean I'd feel okay recommending seeing more of it.

Of course, parents can do with age ratings whatever they want, they should be able to tell if their children are old enough to play certain games.

 

[Zloth]

No kids and WAY past any age rating system limits, so I don't have to do this at all.

Except Saints Row: The Third. That's rated M squared. You must be of an age old enough to have 18+ year old children to play that game.

 

[watdahecc]

I see the age rating as just a mere suggestion. If you're mature enough as a 17-year-old at 10, then it'd be okay to play an M-rated game, I think. The reason age ratings exist is so kids don't learn or experience stuff they're not mature enough to handle or understand.

 

[Berious]

The torture scene really put me off GTAV. Stopped playing soon after that. If anything that game should be AO.

 

[Frindis]

@Berious Exactly for that reason my nephew is not allowed to play that part of the main story.

 

[Zloth]

I see the age rating as just a mere suggestion. If you're mature enough as a 17-year-old at 10, then it'd be okay to play an M-rated game, I think.

"Mature" is hiding a lot of complexity. Emotional maturity is in there, critical thinking ability, straight-up neuron connection counts... it's all stuffed into "maturity" and treated as one thing. You might find a 10 year old that can beat the average 17 year old at one or two of those parts but I seriously doubt you'll find a 10 year old that can do that over most of them.

 

[Berious]

"Mature" is hiding a lot of complexity. Emotional maturity is in there, critical thinking ability, straight-up neuron connection counts... it's all stuffed into "maturity" and treated as one thing. You might find a 10 year old that can beat the average 17 year old at one or two of those parts but I seriously doubt you'll find a 10 year old that can do that over most of them.

Deffo "can handle it" and "can understand and put it into context" are different things. Your prefrontal cortex (involved in long term planning, regulating behavior, personality, etc - the "adulting" bit of the brain) doesn't finish developing until you're early to mid 20s

Adolescent Maturity and the Brain: The Promise and Pitfalls of Neuroscience Research in Adolescent Health Policy

Longitudinal neuroimaging studies demonstrate that the adolescent brain continues to mature well into the 20s. This has prompted intense interest in linking neuromaturation to maturity of judgment. Public policy is struggling to keep up with burgeoning ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov