My incredibly long title should get you primed to reading this long, powerful, and scathing personal account of the recently passed legislation banning violent videogames in Venezuela. After the jump you’ll find the essay in its entirety. I’ve taken the liberty of inserting some pictures lest you find yourself wandering.

If I get fined for writing this (Article 13, promoting the use of violent videogames), so be it. If I go to jail because I carry rooms in my hard drive or in an R4 card for my brother, next time I return to the country, so be it. But I’d rather go to jail than betray the gamer culture, partially responsible for making me the person I am today.

[BoingBoing]

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(Please excuse the  one-day-later post but this couldn’t wait another whole week). *Ahem*. . . Hello there, fellow Dark Diamond readers and friends, and welcome back to another one of my very well-received coverages about events that gather our one similar trait; that what makes us wake up early on a cloudy Saturday to be ready just in time to assist the one event you’ve been waiting all year long: The -anime- Halloween Party (because most of the other parties . . .just don’t cut it).

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When one thinks of Left4Dead, what is the first word that pops in your head? Hell it may not be the first word, but a some point “zombie” is sure to surface. Also, you might say, violent… This frames what will be our discussion: real-life vs fictional violence and zombies.

Each of these topics can be thoroughly exhausted, but what got me writing on this topic was the recent classification of Left4Dead 2 by the Australian ratings board (their version of the ESRB) as “refused classification”. This essentially means Valve’s zombie hit will not be able to be sold unless changes are made to the final product.

Why was it refused? It’s all in the terminology. In Left4Dead you play against the “infected”.

“The game contains realistic, frenetic and unrelenting violence which is inflicted upon “the Infected” who are living humans infected with a rabies-like virus that causes them to act violently.”

So the infected are living humans and not living corpses. As Fidgit editor, Tom Chick points out, “Since the Infected aren’t dead, since they’re simply sick, there’s a much different moral quandary when it comes to killing them. It’s a whole different kind of violence!”

And there lies the difference: Shooting sick granny, over bloodthirsty, violence induced granny causes you to act morally different. And for the developing psyche of an adolescent, who knows what damage may be done coupled with their loud rock music and loose morals. *points to DDN younguns* This is clearly someones issue, but I’m not sure why. I can understand if in the course of zombie/infected hunting you have a story track where you get to shoot the non-infected human, thereby making you a de facto death panel, but games are games right?

I think the bigger argument encapsulated in this is: “think of the children”. As a now, dusty semblance of an adult; I can argue parents should watch what their kids buy and monitor them so that if they find something objectionable, take it away. However as a kid, when my parents didn’t want me to watch Bevis and Butthead I just went over to a friends house. The same can be said for videogames. What really strikes a cord with me is I consider this unnecessary regulation and censorship. While I’m glad it isn’t in my home country, much like the German assault to videogames, I consider it my personal duty to rant.

It bothers me, but is it really that important? Similar to how American standards of decency have changed over time, do you think I should just cool my heels? In the grand scheme of things it doesn’t directly affect me.

An ominous sun spread its rays on the misty city where I’m living right now, probably warning me of terrible events that were going to happen more soon than later. . . but since I’m such a distracted fellow I didn’t mind much and proceeded to the anime reunion I was so eager to assist since 2 months back. . . 

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Last week I had the bittersweet opportunity to assist to one of the now many otaku gatherings in the city I’m currently studying in. – “It was an adventure!” – of course I could say that but I won’t, simply because this event was light years away from being more interesting than going to the store at midnight to get some milk for my cereal. That would be betraying my own principles and lowering my standard on entertainment even more, which is happens too often in the anime and videogame community nowadays . . .

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When I first got my original Xbox and began to play the original Halo, it was mesmerizing. I remember playing with friends for hours, replaying old missions for secrets. We even created a drinking game called Balo= Beer + Halo. It was epic. The game kept me from sleeping, eating, and allowed me to ignore the outside world. As the series became more popular, my anticipation for HALO 2 grew to unattainable heights. I was let down. The 3rd Halo helped to keep me in the fold, but still to this day I hold the original in high regard. Weaved into the storyline was the genesis of a saga; the music emotive, and the action unprecedented.

Fanfiction, Red vs Blue, novellas, a possible(then cancelled) feature film and now an anime series. This trailer features several highly notable productions house’s take on Halo. The grit of war, the loss of love, and the perseverance of the human spirit. Depending on the studio I am excited to see more of what’s to come, but I’ll let you judge for yourself. Without further ado I present: Halo