Mother launches attack on epilepsy inducing video games
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Videogame developers may be forced to cut scenes from their offerings if tests show they could cause epileptic seizures, if a British mother's campaign for a change in the law is successful.
Somerset dentist Gaye Herford launched the campaign after her ten-year-old son suffered a seizure while playing Rayman Raving Rabbids on his Nintendo DS.
She's hoping to persuade parliament to introduce a law making it illegal for publishers to release a game without first testing them for sequences that could trigger epileptic attacks, such as strobe lighting.
While TV programmes and films must already be screened for such triggers, no such tests are mandated for video games.
Ubisoft, developer of Rayman Raving Rabbids, has now voluntarily chosen to test all its games.
Some 35 MPs are already thought to be backing the campaign, which was yesterday presented before the House of Commons as an Early Day Motion.
COMMENTS
Not Black & White
As a few posters have mentioned already, it's not as easy as turning off the epileptic seizure sections in the game. For one there are many types of ways that one can get a seizure, not to mention that some are more sensitive than others.
And it's not as simple as testing the game and removing the sections that probably will cause them still doesn't guarantee that it won't cause seizures anymore. There's always the possibility that the game will cause a seizure because of an abnormality in coding.
I rather see a rating system that judges the possibility of a seizure. There's some definite things that will cause a seizure, so the company can base their scale on that.
But in all reality, those who know they have it, or a family history of it, are smart enough to know that they are taking a risk every time they play a game. They can't blame the company because no one forces them to play the game in the first place.
Im gonna murder every last one of you.
Manhunt and an illegally downloaded version of Manhunt 2 has made me into a mindless violent thug because i have no will or personality of my own. I am also under the legal purchasing age, but my mum bought me it, so she will no doubt have a lot to say about the evil developer that made me the monster i am. To top it all my hamster had a siezure and thats pretty much pushed me over the edge. Now. If you could all kindly post me your details, i'll get round to each of you in turn. It's societies fault and you lot are society.
Barrier to entry
It sounds all nice and fluffy, but this kind of thing will mean that only large developers with a substantial test team (Will they have to hire a range of epileptics?) will be able to afford it.
Expect a big "Yes" from EA et all and an "Oh Sh!t" from the likes of Bohemia Interactive who clearly don't have any test team at all..
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