Game is rated "12+" but has strong alcohol reference

@karstenx1971 Ahoy, there! While there is an inventory item called a "tankard" to drink "grog" it is entirely optional! There's no need to put limitations to such things as puzzles or change the rating. The rating is there as a guide, but it is ultimately your decision to purchase the game or not. :D

@karstenx1971 said in Game is rated "12+" but has strong alcohol reference:

As the title says, when looking gameplay videos there is a rather strong alcohol reference in the game where you have by standard items in your characters inventory that let you drink obvious alcoholic beverages.
I would find it better if "boozing" was an option and you have to solve a mature quest before you can do it.
Another option would be make the game rated 18+, which is probably the faster and easier way.

The game has a minimum rating of "Teen" currently shown on the webpage which is described as the following:

Teen
Crude Humor
Use of Alcohol
Violence

However, the ESRB rating is more detailed:

TEEN
Content is generally suitable for ages 13 and up. May contain violence, suggestive themes, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and/or infrequent use of strong language.

No offense, but I am pretty sure the game rating is realistic enough. You have to be 18+ to drink, but you don't have to be 18+ to see drunk people. This is a videogame. It is the parent's job to teach their kids how to see the world and what is right to do and what isn't. Also the difference between video games and the real world.

The rating is realistic, I personally see no reason why should they care to take out something that adds to the game's piratey part. (Also, isn't it better if the kids are drinking ingame and joking about it, rather than trying it out for real instead?)
Edit: TBH they did list alcohol at the rating page of theirs too. I think they did everything to show what the game may include and may matter to parents/kids.

I think teenagers should be kept away from the internet as well - cuz there is some wild [mod edited] online.
And a cartoony pirate game is the mildest thing out there even with some drinking and killing and stealing and killing sea life.

@KgmsHylian Got it right, there are different rating systems but alcohol use is not really a biggie and voluntary.

@karstenx1971 said in Game is rated "12+" but has strong alcohol reference:

@siriondb said in Game is rated "12+" but has strong alcohol reference:

I think they should add smoking.

I mean, if teenagers are drinking, they're smoking too, right?

yeah sure, and dont forget harder drugs like c*****e and heroin or what?
Alcohol is a drug like any other drug, at least in the European Union alcohol is considered a drug.
So the game shows you basically that drugs are a funny thing and are easy to get and to consume.

I know i have no chance to change anything about this, i just wanted to make sure i said my opinion.

I'm sorry to break it to you, but it is easy to get to. But as we listed below, the game does show the rating and describes the content beside just the rating. It is also not 12+, but 13+. This is a cartoony game that shows thata if you drink alcohol, you may fall off things and vomit. Yes it is funny and as far as it looks from your writing, you have never ever drunk anything or got tipsy with friends. Rating the game higher will NOT stop your kid from going and drinking themselves senseless. YOU have to stop them from doing that. YOU have to tell them, that everything should be taken with good measure.

Alcohol is listed as a drug, in Europe or wherever else too, but let me tell you I did not see it banned or restricted to doctor's receipt anywhere. You can easily get to it (sometimes sadly even as a kid). This is again something that should be taught to the kid by the parents.

Did you ever see Tom and Jerry? The amount of violence and alcohol and what-not in those? Loved it as a kid. Grew up as a normal human being still. Never did drugs (if you count alcohol as strongly, then yes), never drank myself senseless either. I got taught by my parents and teachers the basic way of life. Stop relying on ratings and then blame them after if your kid goes ape-s crazy. If they are 12-13 and have no idea what alcohol does, because you restrict them from even knowing what it is, then I am sorry, you did a bad job at parenting. Those kids will eventually be too curious and get too drunk, get into accidents and what-not trouble.

(Oh and my fellow forum pirate was making a sarcastic comment with that smoking, since you did not seem to catch it..)

@karstenx1971 Sure alcohol is a drug. And making it fun to consume in some sense is wrong and should be explained. That's where parents come in, alcohol usage must be explained at home as soon as one is exposed to alcohol usage. And if you are from EU, that will come at a really young age.

It's about culture, not banning stuff or pretending it´s not there.

Oh and ratings... I don't even know what rating is on GTA, but I sure meet a lot of 10-year-olds there - its not the rating that magically makes all naughty nice.

Edit: to add to this, they do a pretty good job showing what being drunk is, I tried to drink myself to death few times - sad it's not there.(no sarcasm or anything I really would like that, would make some lovely conversation on the ferry of the dead)

If you hit at the alcohol you can hit at the whole pirate thing too. It could give kids a false impression about the fun of a Pirates life and could lead to a life full of criminal seafaring terror.

I think the thread posters argument is not really convincing.

All of these arguments should be taken care of by decent parenting... if yer a parent, ya know what yer kid can handle, n ya know what they can't. That pretty much sums it up lads n ladies.

A little too sensitive about the subject matter I'd say.

As someone else has said, drinking a beverage shouldn't be looked at as fun? ( Let's face it, it is and can be fun to have a real life drink with some good friends) but pirating and stealing from other people and the entire concept of the piracy in game is all well and good? You're making lives more miserable by stealing peoples hard earned loot in game than you are drinking in game ;)

I guess kids shouldn't watch the disney pirate movies (Let's be real here...lol), since jack is essentially an alcoholic and when under the influence (all the time) might as well be a superhero.

Chances are if you're that sheltered, you're not playing a game where theres potential to be told where to go, what you can do, and what someone may or may not have done to your mom.

*online interactions not rated by the ESRB ;) much like real life i suppose. Can shelter your kid from drinking alcohol, but they're eventually going to come across someone wasted enough to make them ask questions

@karstenx1971 said in Game is rated "12+" but has strong alcohol reference:

@blodhgharn said in Game is rated "12+" but has strong alcohol reference:

@karstenx1971 How does alcohol make you drunk in the game?

No, but it makes kids believe that alcohol is a funny thing and should be tried , because its so easy to get and is only fun.

Well, my 8yo kid asked me what was that thing players were drinking so I used the game (my char) to show her.

She didn't find that funny not being able to control the character properly and having the vision all swirled up, complaining that it wasn't able to go where she wanted to go and unable to see well.
I told her that's usually what happens to drunk people, not being "in control". She quickly understood how dangerous that would be, if it happened IRL, providing me with some examples from the top of her head of what could happen to someone in that condition (some of which actually happen in-game, like falling of the ship, etc).
...and she's 8yo. By the time she saw the rest of the (green slimy) effects of the "drunk" state, she was already disgusted with the thing.

This is not a way to teach kids but... I'm ok with using some of these "simulations" to help her draw her own conclusions rather than simply being told what not to do, "just because" or worse, learn the hard way with the wrong/harsh kind of learning experiences.

So I'm actually glad how "drinking" is handled in SoT.