Murder, Sex and Censorship: Debating the Morals of Creative Freedom (60:33)
Brenda Brathwaite
Game Designer, Savannah College of Art & Design

James Paul Gee
Tashia Morgridge Professor of Reading, University of Wisconsin

Jason Della Rocca
Executive Director, IGDA

Leland Yee
Assemblymember, California State Government

In the last year, over a dozen bills targeting video games were put before state Assemblies and Senates throughout America. In other countries, video games were banned outright. Legislators seek to control their sale and their distribution. They complain the industry is out of control and ratings do not work. And in the wake of the "Hot Coffee" scandal, we face irate politicians and the FTC again.

What does this mean for game developers? Should they tone down their content? Should they let government regulate the sale of videogames? Exactly how harmful are games? This panel brings together the leaders in the games debate – Jason Della Rocca, executive director of the IGDA and Assemblymember Leland Yee of California, sponsor of numerous bills seeking to regulate the sale of video games to minors. Also joining the panel will be Prof. James Paul Gee, educator, video games researcher and author of "What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy." Other panel members to be announced.

Attendees learn about the history of video game legislation and the current state of the industry, and hear views from all sides – the developer, the politician, the educator, and the parent. Armed with this information, attendees gain a much better understanding of the issues surrounding and facing the games industry as well as those who seek to make the industry a "safer" place.

You can now download the 'Murder, Sex and Censorship: Debating the Morals of Creative Freedom' GDC Radio panel (.MP3, 13.8 MB).

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