Chris Crawford on Game Design

Sleaze

The worst consequence of the domination of the games industry by young males has been the steady descent of aesthetic standards. In the early Atari days, games were meant to be family fun—clean, upbeat, even cute. There were, of course, always those who sought to make money by appealing to the more sordid interests. One of the first of these was a videogame for the Atari 2600 entitled Custer's Revenge. In this sublime work of art, the player as General George Custer must cross the playfield, avoiding a snowstorm of thorny tumbleweeds that threaten to injure his exposed and erect member. On the opposite side of the screen waits an Indian maiden tied to a post. A successful traversal yields the rewarding opportunity to rape said maiden with ...