When gamers become parents

Game professional and mom Brenda Brathwaite follows the same practice in her home.

"If parents can't imagine setting their kid in front of "Scarface" or anything by Tarantino, then how can they consider "Grand Theft Auto" as an alternative?"

Brathwaite, a game designer for CyberLore studios, knows a thing or two about adult-style gaming. She was game designer for 2004’s M-for-Mature rated “Playboy: The Mansion” video game. And she is the co-founder of a sex in video games Special Interest Group (SIG).

“Having made the Playboy game, I know that the excuse some give that, ‘It’s just a game and completely innocent,’ isn’t true,” she said.

Brathwaite is an outspoken critic of the perceived inability of parents to manage their children's game playing time.

Referencing the uproar over the "Hot Coffee" code modification that allowed owners of the PC version of the "M-for-Mature"-rated “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” to access hidden sex scenes, Brathwaite was mystified.

"When Hot Coffee erupted into a big story I was wondering why all the parents were irate," she said. "What are you doing with the game in the first place?"

Brenda Brathwaite was the game designer for the "Playboy: The Mansion" video game, but keeps such M-rated fare in the office. At home with her daughter, it's all-ages fare only, such as "Katamari Damacy."

To guide her decisions, Brathwaite follows the industry ratings system, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, which embosses letter grades ranging from "E-for-Everyone" to "AO - Adults Only" on off-the-shelf video games.

She also enjoys playing “Katamari Damacy,” an all-ages game, with her five-year-old daughter. Everything else is kept hidden.

"At our house I have a console for my games," she said.  “I have my own office.  And she knows that when Mommy’s working she can’t come in.”

Tin Guerrero, a creative director for game maker Z-Axis, also keeps his own video gaming time private; he uses his two daughter's nap time to catch up on the latest releases.

Interviewed via e-mail, Guerrero wrote, "I never play any violent games or anything that will leave unwanted indelible images while my girls are around – this includes racing games (car crashes) and shooting games of most kinds.

"I figure that I am, like my neighbor, in that ever-shrinking minority of parents that attempt to understand what media is going into their kids' eyes and ears."

Starting a conversation
Eventually some games have a way of ending up in the living room. But rather than duck their head in the sands or ban the game outright, some game professionals say they attempt to use the controversy to stimulate conversation.

Rechtschaffner remembers when he purchased “Golden Eye: 007,” a popular and critically acclaimed video game based on the exploits of James Bond.

“It was the first first-person-shooter for our family console. And you’re shooting people. We talked about how it was being portrayed as a game and a sport.

“Anytime one of my talks turns into a lecture, [my sons] ignore me automatically," he said. "But it’s nice to get a temperature check on them.”

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