I agree with whatm ost people are saying, I don’t think *** censorhship should be used at all. You can write without swearing (you can, for example, have a setting of posh aristocracy in which swearing doesn’t happen even if you talk about mature subjects) or you use it as you see fit
Specially for a 18+ game. 18+ for me implies that no censorhship on the content has been done and the only things I would expect/want warnings is very sensitive topics like sexual assault or trauma
im australian
swearing is an absolute given but not expected
i however would like for my MCs to say F*ck at any minor inconvenience
now for actual advice
I’d suggest, as others have, to have a warning at the start for strong language so that people are aware and can monitor their own exposure.
an option to have a sensored version would be cool and dandy but imagine the coding
or just use the handy dandy “frick” sensoring option, although that can tend to come off as more comedic
This is such an interesting post because I’ve noticed movies where there will be a lot of gore but the f-bombs will be at a minimum, almost making them more taboo when you do use them. I like it when people in alternate universes use made up swear words. You can never tell how serious or “bad” they are. I definitely swear a lot, in both English and my native language. I think maybe I like it when other characters swear because it’s natural (especially if you’re trying to escape/kill zombies). I don’t like it as much when the narrator swears too much. The asterisks would look strange to me. The only swear word that Brits are fine with but which the rest of the world frowns upon is the c-word, imo. Everything else is absolutely fine!
Hey,
Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I actually reference that in my story world and already mess with it for laughs. As personally I am concerned about a society that censors swearing or nudity more than it censors graphic violence.
But I feel I should clarify I am hoping to work in the option to have lighter versions of some of the more serious topics. Because I do believe people should have the choice. I am intending it to be 18+ because of the more graphic options that can be kept on. But I will have alternatives that are less gory or some of the traumatic aspects less in one’s face.
It will always have a degree of that because the main character is suffering from trauma. But I may give the option to tone down how graphic it is. I will have to check my energy levels.
Thanks for your response.
laugh
If only I had the time or the energy I would do a vampire the masquerade and make an Australian option where all the dialogue gets peppered with swear words 
Bit like the malkavian speech.
It’s canon all Malkavians are Australian, little known fact 
I avoid playing games with swear words, I find them annoying and unimaginative. But I also avoid other 18+ stuff, so if you’re already including a bunch of sex or violence, it probably won’t make a difference.
But what if they are imaginative swearwords?
You know, that’s a big trope in books and shows, ‘she cursed like a sailor, and said a few things I’d never heard before’, but most people I’ve seen just use the same 2 or 3 words over and over.
Except for Robb Sherwinn. He’s an amazing game author, and I love his work. I was running a profanity filter when playing his games, but he has so many imaginative and descriptive ways of being profane and vulgar that it constantly got around the filter. So if you’re into high-end, bespoke, premium swearing, he’s a great choice:
Cryptozookeeper - Details (game only runs on a very specific old file format)
Depends on your story and target audience. If you’re writing a very dark, violent story for adults, I doubt anyone is going to get upset about the occasional 4 letter word. Continuous swearing though is a bit of a different matter and unless done well can just come across as being try hard by substituting “shock” language for actual decent writing. Using the same swear words over and over tends to just make it get old quickly and lose any impact they have. It can work, but you need to make sure it fits the setting and are used right.
Being Australian, bad language isn’t really cause for major censorship here unless it’s excessive or in a book/show aimed at younger audiences, but that’s not the case everywhere and some people do get very turned off by it. (I’m honestly not a massive fan of excessive swearing despite not being offended by it.) Being an 18+ story you’re probably right, but if in doubt about who your target audience is, go easy on the swearing, or have the option to substitute with a made up in world swear word. (I reckon that looks better than replacing everything with **** in my opinion at least.) It’s easy to do, just have a variable at the start. Particularly if it’s zany rather than really dark, could just go with made up swear words and/or oaths that fit the world building anyway, although I’d go easy on the number you create to prevent it looking a bit silly unless you’re really good at it.
I’m all for swearing in artful, colorful, thematically appropriate amounts, and I think most of the CoG audience is the same. It’s a generally adult audience that expects mature themes.
However, I will add that there are some words that will offend even some of the most laissez-faire Americans, as they connote racist, ableist, homophobic, or misogynistic attitudes.
We know some Brits use the c-word all the time, practically as a term of endearment, but unless you’re writing Choice of Trainspotting (that is, a distinctly British, modern piece about modern British life), you’ll want to avoid that. “Pussy” is milder, but has negative, misogynistic connotations when used in conversation that you’ll probably want to avoid unless you’re writing very explicit sex scenes.
We also know that f** means “cigarette” in British slang, but, again, unless it’s Trainspotting, you’ll probably want to avoid it.
And in case you didn’t know, “retarded” and like terms used as a pejorative are hurtful and not cool.
The n-word and other ethnic slurs are right out, and the only way I’d stomach seeing them in a game is maybe, possibly, if it’s a dark and gritty game about the evils of racism, and the racists can get their asses kicked.
Of course, I’m absolutely no authority on this. I’m speaking from a more customer service standpoint of “these are the words I think will cause you some headaches and backlash from a US audience.” So, use at your own risk.
All the pitfalls @Khipsky mention above are helpful to be aware of. (Thank you for them, btw)
With that said, sometimes it is very difficult to be aware of everything all at once, while you are writing. This is why it is very important to get a wide-range of test readers, from as many different backgrounds and perspectives as you can.
If you can swing it, a sensitivity reader can help you navigate all the pitfalls as well.
Hosted Games will review your story before publication, but I would not rely on that reading as the only safeguard for your game… the point is, get as much feedback as you can on your writing.
I’ve recently faced this dilemma myself with my current WIP. Generally speaking, I try to avoid swearing. In my personal opinion, using excessive swearing presents a lack of creativity. Even with characters that are prone to explode and swear in anger, there are much better ways to show their deep anger and personality than tossing out a few curse words one after the other.
On the other hand, if a character that does not swear witnesses something shocking, dropping a swear bomb might just have the impact that you expect from that scenario.
Personally, if the ratings and disclaimers on the app sufficiently cover the materials you would put up an advisory for, then I would just not put any disclaimers in the story itself.
I think it all boils down to when to use it and which words to use, without overdoing it. At least that’s the rule I keep myself to.
If they’re reading an adult story I don’t think that swearing is something they’d care about, but I do think that swearing can be overdone, for instance we Okies don’t swear much, it depends on the individual obviously with teens swearing more, but where we lack in fitness we make up for in politeness. Even customer service is pleasant, on both sides of the uniform, I’ve only worked in Oklahoma, but I dealt with them in multiple states, and the Okies are generally (but not always.) More pleasant. I’ve met both both non Okies, and Okies who think swearing is a personality. Usually some sort of mix of teenage, Edmonder, non Okie, counter cultural, and over confident. When authors are like this you get results like this. https://youtu.be/yKwtYbx2GBI
My point is that swearing is cultural, and not everyone should curse every other line. Also the more you swear, the less impact they have, like how John Marston says Fuck about twice in his appearances, compared to your average GTA character, or how Bojack Horseman only has one fuck a season. Imagine if the Andrew Ryan speech was written with a bunch of swears, well you don’t have to, because I’m about to.
I am Andrew fucking Ryan, and I’m here to ask you a fucking question.
Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his fuckin brow?
No!’ says the idiots in Washington, ‘It belongs to the fuckin poor dumbass.
No!’ says the stupid man in the Vatican, ‘It belongs to God dammit.
No!’ says the moron in Moscow, 'It belongs to everyone.
I rejected those fucking answers; instead, I chose something fucking different.
I chose the fucking impossible. I chose… Rapture.
A city where the artist would not fear the shitty censor.
Where the scientist would not be bound by fucking morality.
Where the great would not be constrained by the small shit!
And with the sweat of your fucking brow, Rapture can become your city as well.
That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, mostly because the base was good, and I didn’t change as much as I could on purpose, but it doesn’t exactly scream intellectual. More so Twitter argument from someone with something to prove because of daddy issues. Actually that makes sense for Andrew Ryan, but my point is that the individual swears are basically meaningless when there are so many.
I tried to answer more questions then you asked, but this was my chance to talk about swearing so I took it.
it’s my opinion that if you can’t curse, don’t try. censoring words with asterisks is immersion breaking imho, and i think a warning that your story contains adult language would serve better.
My take on it… and I’ll add a trigger alert with it because I’m sure someone, somewhere will be offended. Please remember–it’s an opinion and it’s not a personal attack on anyone.
Don’t use the *** censorship. It’s ridiculous, in my humble opinion. Either use the word you think should be censored or don’t. Censoring like that is unprofessional (far more unprofessional than just saying the word) and childish. Which may be fine if you’re aiming for a teenie bopper crowd.
Personally, I not only have zero problem with cursing, I typically find it more “real” when characters (some of them, anyway) do curse. People curse, it’s a fact of life. Some people don’t, and that’s also a fact of life. Since characters are meant to be as “real” as possible in order to draw people into a story, it makes sense that you’d have some of both types in a story. Well, unless it’s set in some overly strict society where people are ostracized, attacked, and/or murdered in cold blood for using “wrong speak” (which, honestly, I’d love to read a story like that, especially one where someone decides some innocuous word like “is” is horrible and that causes an uproar, because it reflects so well on today’s sometimes overly-sensitive atmosphere).
That said, if you use the dreaded “bad language,” you will likely get some people who refuse to read it, get triggered, and throw tantrums over it. But if your story is aimed toward adults, that really shouldn’t be a problem because adults tend to deal better with controversial and mature things like “coarse” language better than the younger crowd.
The bottom line is that–and this is something I’ve learned over the time I’ve spent on the COG discussion boards–you’re going to have someone offended over something in your story, even if it’s one person or a small group. So, probably the best advice anyone can give is to try to find a balance between your vision and presenting it in a way that offends a smaller group of people. And I think cursing is not a big deal to the majority of people. If some or all of your characters curse, they curse–I think there are enough people who are fine with that or will read it anyway. There’s no need to force your characters to be someone they aren’t just to appease people who don’t like a few supposedly “bad” words.
Edited to add:
The best way I’ve seen of dealing with this for the MC, and it’s a way that makes the IF more personalized, was the way @Morgan_V handled it–she put in an option at the beginning so the MC could declare their own “curse” word. One of mine drops the f-bomb, while another says ‘poo!’. It fits their characters perfectly, and it’s used in the appropriate places. Really, I think that’s the thing you should focus on most–letting the words fit the MC–rather than letting reader preference guide NPCs that you developed and know better.
Yeah, I’m British too and I think either swear or don’t swear. A bunch of asterisks just look daft.
I tend to view swearing as a very important tool that should be used to best effect. I remember reading a Terry Pratchett book as a kid when Rincewind said “piss off”, or something mild towards the end, but- because it came out of nowhere- it was very shocking and effective. Conversely, I read Irvine Welsh’s ‘Ecstasy’ (and I’m a fan of his) but, in the last story, it felt like every other word was “cunt” and I just got bored and couldn’t finish it.