When was the last time you killed a child in a video game? If most of you are having trouble thinking of any besides Bioshock don't worry because that is the only instance I can think of. Now before I move on I should probably explain that I am not in anyway advocating child murder of any kind. So please don't report me to any type of government watch agency. Instead I am merely trying to understand how we as gamers can ever tell others that games aren't just for kids when most developers quite simply refuse to develop games of a more serious subject matter. Why does it seem that Irrational Games and Bioware are the only developers willing to cross that threshhold and flesh out their games with maturity?

I'm not saying that every game should just start throwing ammunition at players and unleashing them on a digital playground of kids. In fact I understand why developers don't allow more games to come out with more mature subject matter. The reason in my opinion has a lot to do with an unfriendly media that is either unable or unwilling to see games as nothing more than toys for children. This attitude can be seen in the attacks that were made upon Mass Effect when it was released in 2007. Remember when a certain news media outlet (FOX) released a fallacious report stating that Mass Effect allowed you to have graphic sex with an alien. The gaming community went into a frenzy upon hearing that story with many calling for the heads of those involved. With oppposition like that who would want to ever release anything more mature than shoot this guy to get this trophy.

But isn't this the very reason that developers should release more games of more mature subject matter. Excuse me for sounding cliche, but isn't the best defense a good offense. Shouldn't we as gamers and  be calling out to the developers and publishers to create more adult games. Why should we sit back and be pushed around when film makers are able to push the boundaries more and more every year. Don't games fall under the first ammendement and shouldn't they be given all the benefits that entails. Don't get me wrong I see that games like Heavy Rain are starting to push those boundaries more as well. I just think that games like Heavy Rain should be the norm and not the outliers. I mean really how can we expect others to us seriously if we don't begin to take responsibility for ourselves.