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The guy who created this rant is one of my favorite computer game commentators. His new video is very relevant to PoE -- "mature themes" was a major point in the original pitch video, discussed briefly by all three of the featured game designers. That's why I created this topic here and not in 'Computer and Console'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRsqAmuxjNk&feature=c4-overview&list=UUI3GAJaOTL1BoipG41OmfyA Most important line, at least to me: "But I'm not using this term [realistic] in the literal sense, I'm using it in the literary sense." I had the exact same train of thought a few years back, based on movies I watched. Mature doesn't mean extreme violence or showing titties to me, it's something else.** I would argue that Sofia Coppola's 'Somewhere' is one of the most mature movies Hollywood ever produced, yet it was panned by most critics and viewers. Boring, eh? You got to be an adult yourself and willing to look hard for small details to understand the depth of that movie, to relate to it. It takes viewer effort to unfold as an experience, as it's not the usual spoon-fed fairy tale. Back to PoE: - Josh stated in a trade show presentation that PoE is "for readers" - In a recent interview, he stated: "Exploration is one of the things we wanted to reinforce for this game, and part of that means look around. Walk around. Figure it out. We don’t want to be vague, but talk to people. Use your eyes and brain." These statements coming from the creative lead give me a warm, fuzzy feeling that they understand how to deliver mature content that isn't just about Ultra-Violence and/or objectification of women (and occasionally, men). If you like that stuff, sure, PoE will feature them most likely, but hopefully only as means to create a story, not ends by themselves. TL;DR To me, mature means two things: -- It deals with the problems of real-life adults (sometimes in a metaphorical manner) -- It presents its topics with a realistic approach (realistic in the literary sense) ** Since I'm from the EU with different standards, showing titties is absolutely no big deal for me. When you're a baby, you suck a tit several times a day, so it's a very natural sight, even though the cultural norm requires to hide them... (in many primitive cultures, women don't hide their breasts). Violence, mutilation, etc. now that's really disturbing, but also not the typical problem/situation that an adult has to deal with. I don't worry about someone chopping me up with a chainsaw, but I do worry about dying alone, without family and/or friends, for example. So if you want to sell me a movie/game with 'mature themes', start thinking about how to present an abstract concept like 'loneliness' in that medium... And you may end up with a work of art like "The Company of Myself", which is the highest rated puzzle game on Kongregate.