Offensive games are nothing new. Throughout gaming's short history controversies have been slapped onto just about every title out there, whether they're justified denouncements or not. While some developers are sensitive to the issues that fuel these criticisms, others are seemingly oblivious that their creations might be offending gamers. It's not a topic that deserves to be shrugged off either. All too often people resort to flimsy justifications in order to defend their favourite titles rather than simply accept that the game has flaws. As people who work with an incredibly interactive medium, game developers certainly possess some level of responsibility in how they choose to present sensitive issues like gender, race and sexuality in their work. However it's not enough to simply cater to the desires of an audience that supposedly wants nothing more than cleavage, violence and muscles: gamers are not such a homogenous group, and nor should they be. Intention is everything: offensive moments are sometimes brought into existence by nothing more than circumstance. In other cases the developers are merely guilty of either misjudging something or neglecting it. This doesn't make them misogynists, racists or homophobes - it simply highlights that something has gone somewhat awry in the production of the game in question.
