Position Paper 3 - Digital literacy

   In this day and age digital literacy is important. We live in a world where all things are slowly becoming interconnected with one another and across the internet of things. The biggest thing that connects, one of the most globally done things, is gaming. Gaming is more than just a hobby; it can be a learning tool or a pastime. It can even be a job for some. what most people don't know is that not all video games are for everyone. The reasons you ask? Some people like my sister-in-law who struggle with epilepsy may have issues with some sounds and/or the flashing of lights and images in a majority of games. Some people feel dizziness or motion sickness induced by some 3D video games, especially many VR games. However the biggest culprit is content, the content of a game can be suitable for everyone or those who are 16+. With creation and release of games such as Mortal Kombat(1992) and Night Trap(1992) a controversy was sparked and the call for games to be rated was made. SEGA announced its creation of the V.R.C or Video Game Rating Council and began rating releases. Many news outlets began lambasting the VRC for its nonsensical and inconsistent ratings and the overall vagueness of each ratings. the Ratings were as follows:

	GA — General Audiences: Appropriate for all audiences. No blood or graphic violence. No profanity, no mature sexual themes and no usage of drugs or alcohol.
	MA-13 — Mature Audiences: Parental Discretion Advised. The game was suitable for audiences thirteen years of age or older (or teenagers). Game could have some blood in it and more graphic violence than a "GA" game.
	MA-17 — Mature Audiences: Not appropriate for minors. The game was suitable for audiences seventeen years of age or older. Games could have lots of blood, graphic violence, mature sexual themes, profanity, drug or alcohol usage.
	NYR or, Not Yet Rated: This rating only appeared in advertising and indicated that the game had not yet been rated by the V.R.C. The modern equivalents would be ESRB's RP (Rating Pending) rating and PEGI's TBC label.

The rating symbols appear above in their standard black and white format, but were typically recolored when appearing on actual box art. The overall dislike of the VRC rating system and the fact that other companies did not want SEGA rating their games. This lead to a fragmentation and different ratings boards for different areas of gaming. The sytem 3DO had a rating sytem determined by the developer of the game, the Recreational Software Advisory Council or RSAC rated PC games and focused on the intensity of the content and gave no age recommendations. These boards were seen as insufficient. a group of major video game developers and publishers, including Acclaim Entertainment and Electronic Arts along with Nintendo and Sega, formed a political trade group known as the Interactive Digital Software Association in April 1994, with a goal to create a self-regulatory framework for assessing and rating video games. While Sega had proposed that the industry use its VRC rating system, Nintendo representatives objected to the idea because they did not want to associate themselves with the work of their main competitor; instead, a vendor-neutral rating system known as the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) was developed. For a developer to receive a rating they are required to send in clips of the most violent and or extreme/questionable content with regards to the game's context, storyline, reward system, unlockable content, and other elements that may affect its rating. The ratings are as such:

		1994	Rating Pending(RP) This symbol is used in promotional materials for games which have not yet been assigned a final rating by the ESRB.
		1994	Early Childhood(EC) Games with this rating contain content which is aimed towards a preschool audience. They do not contain content that parents would find objectionable to this audience.
		1994	Everyone(E) Games with this rating contain content which the ESRB believes is "generally suitable for all ages". They can contain content such as infrequent use of "mild"/cartoon violence and mild language. Until 1998, when it was renamed "Everyone", this rating was known as Kids to Adults (K-A) .
		March 2005	Everyone 10+(E10+) Games with this rating contain content which the ESRB believes is generally suitable for those aged 10 years and older. They can contain content with an impact higher than the "Everyone" rating can accommodate, but still not as high as to warrant a "Teen" rating, such as a larger amount of violence, mild language, crude humor, or suggestive content.
		1994	Teen (T) Games with this rating contain content which the ESRB believes is generally suitable for teenagers (age 13 and up) and older; they can contain content such as moderate amounts of violence (including small amounts of blood), mild to moderate use of language or suggestive themes, sexual content, and crude humor.
		1994	Mature(M) Games with this rating contain content which the ESRB believes is generally suitable for those aged 17 years and older; they can contain content with an impact higher than the "Teen" rating can accommodate, such as intense and/or realistic portrayals of violence (including blood, gore, mutilation, and depictions of death), stronger sexual themes and content, partial nudity, and more frequent use of strong language.
		1994	Adults Only (AO) Games with this rating contain content which the ESRB believes is only suitable for those aged 18 years and older; they contain content with an impact higher than the "Mature" rating can accommodate, such as strong sexual themes and content, graphic nudity, extreme portrayals of violence, or unsimulated gambling with real currency. The majority of AO-rated titles are pornographic adult video games; the ESRB has seldom issued the AO rating solely for violence.

It is important for consumers of games to know these ratings and use them in purchasing for themselves or for younger individuals if they do not want them to partake in the content. In many if not all states an establishment can be fined for selling T or M rated games to children underage similar to the sale of tobacco or alcohol. These ratings a printed on the cover of every game with a more detailed description on the back of the exact content so you know more of what to expect within the game. These ratings are in place to make sure parents are aware of what they are purchasing for their child.