Swearing in RPG Maker Games

[Orgaya]

I'm not a native speaker of English and thus probably not aware of all the nuances, but the C-word does sound somewhat jarring, so I'd vote for replacing it with the, eh, female dog alternative, or something which might be partly related to the captain's personality or other traits.

That isn't the word that's being used. B*tch is. I agree that the former is too strong for the tone of this game, and should probably be reserved for grungier types of stories or just a better writer than me.

 

[HeroLite]

well, i use 'em in junk i make. everyone's busted out the ol' swear card at some point, no use denying it, they're gonna be a part of anyone above the age of 15's vocabulary, even if just by a small amount. a more casual insult would probably be "jacka*s", that's what i use when i'm just messing around anyway, no actual seething hatred going on.

 

[boyflea]

Cool - I was coming at this from a 'family -freindly' angle I guess, so yes your points are very true: there should not be censorship or restraint if using language effectively to sell a style of story-telling: written down, swearing is more deliberate and potent, and guess this is where the jarring can occur.

For me, I starting swearing when I was like 6 and have regretted it in later life I guess

 

[kaukusaki]

I cuss like a sailor. My first word wasn't mama, it was sh!t. But in my games I don't use offensive language at all. (However in my novels I go all out depending on subject and character lol). I get creative with the swears in my games. Not that I'm self censoring or anything I just find it weird if I find cursing in games and I've played my fair share .....

 

[Olivia Lebedev]

I think using swear words and stuff in a game or anything really should be used only when you mean to be blunt or firm in what youre saying... frustration is a way to justify swearing i guess... also I dont think it would suit just any one character it should fit their personality and the tone of the scene should be right. Am I rambling? I'm rambling..

 

[XIIIthHarbinger]

Hmmm, I am probably the last person who you should take advice from on this topic, considering I am about as subtle as an aborted fetus fired out of a potato gun at a political protest, & I've never met a sacred cow that I didn't want to butcher on general principle.

However, I find people's wholly arbitrary & utterly irrational fixation on certain words as being "offensive" to be by turns comedic & moronic. You can & I routinely do, hurl about insults with hardly any profanity that are far more vicious, than the kind of lazy amalgamation of a "curse word" plus an adjective or noun most people use.

For example, yesterday I told someone that they are a walking, talking, defecating, advert for the societal benefit of eugenics. Believe me I've said MUCH WORSE with little to no profanity; when I was in the service they use to call me "The Walking EO Complaint".

The question is not whether something is "offensive", nor should it be for that matter; the question is what is the tone you are trying to set for your story, & who your characters are. If you don't want your characters to express less than PG rated sentiments in anger, it's important not to let them do it in other scenarios. On the other hand if you have characters who are adult in their methods of expression, it's important to keep that consistent.

 

[SamJones]

I rarely see a game where profanities are used effectively. Unfortunately they, when found in a game, provide the same effect as piss stains in a pub toilet. They highlight the lack of aim and skill half a dozen pints of lager can provide.

 

[Caitlin]

My father, before he died, used to curse like a sailor and then, there are people who don't curse at all. While I do use an occasional curse word, but for me, it depends on a great deal of things.

1. The age group - if you are talking about a young child, use creative curse words or even older curse words as they are mostly nonsense these days. They no longer hold the OMG, that it used to, and that leads me to the next thing that I take into consideration.
2. The country - Sometimes, people have curse words that do not mean anything in your language or culture, so I take that into consideration.
3. The character personality - The personality of the character is very important, so if you have a nice girl and suddenly, she starts belting out curse words like a sailor, you might reconsider the ways she speaks.
4. The sort of game you are creating - If you have a mature sort of game in the inner city, I would imagine that you would hear quite a bit of cursing, and even in a horror game, you might hear a little cursing. Of course, this goes into the whole know your character discussion.
5. Treat cursing, even if it's nonsense, like you would salt. It adds flavor, but it shouldn't be the whole flavor of your game.

Strangely enough, I curse when really upset, but when I make my game, I rarely use curse words. So, go figure, right? I am not against cursing, because I am sort of realistic when it comes to life. Yes, there is going to be cursing, but you don't have to draw attention to it. It's just about common sense about how much and if you should include cursing.

 

[boyflea]

Some great posts here - thankyou! I agree that nothing is sacred or blasphemous and enjoy creative put-downs as you guys have shown here. People will be offended by all manner of things, and of course children should not be encouraged to swear, but aside from that I think the message here is 'be creative and keep in character'. thanks again!

 

[SamJones]

[...]but aside from that I think the message here is 'be creative and keep in character'.

AND keep things parsable for the player. I don't care whether it is "in character" for 90% of your character's vocabulary to consist of a single invective because they are a big bad sailor or the ghettoest gangsta who ever ghettoed. If the profanities instead of accentuating the dialogue swamp it with noise and make it hard to follow what is being said then that is bad writing on your part.

 

[kaukusaki]

the ghettoest gangsta who ever ghettoed.

thanks for the game idea lol

 

[SamJones]

thanks for the game idea lol

You're welcome. Is the game going to be any good?

 

[boyflea]

All new game ideas are good (well, mine are )

And yes; I would amend my summary to 'be creative, keep in character and keep moving things forward'

 

[Eviticous]

I would take out the e and place a n before the t. But thats me. I have no issue with swearing in Rpg maker games, but because we have to keep the games PG13, you could say ass instead of cu .....t

 

[umbralshadows]

I got friends that swear every other word an friends that have never cursed in their life. If ya have trouble coming up with what swears should go where or a character thats known for swearing every breath ya could always use symbols ta say theyre swearing instead of write out the word thouh I think a character that curses so often would be tha butt of a joke rather than a character taken seriously.

 

[bgillisp]

What you will want to keep in mind is the culture that your game takes place in. It would make little sense for someone to use today's swear words in a medieval culture, as they wouldn't understand what you are saying (and vice versa). For that reason, I went ahead and made up a few swear words for my game, which, via the context (and a few people reactions) you will eventually figure out what those words mean. Besides, if you get creative like that, you can get situations like this to occur.

Character 1: You...you...clotdoof!
Character 2: How dare you talk like that in front of a lady!