10 Ways Video Games Were Forced To Control Players
4. Get Censored For Trying To Type Profanity - Psychonauts 2
A somewhat cheekier and more light-hearted example now, with the great Psychonauts 2.
In the level "Cruller's Correspondence," players will need to use a typewriter to address a letter, but players being players, of course they couldn't resist but try and write something naughty with it.
However, anyone who tried to type a rude word on the letter quickly discovered that they're unable to.
Once the game realises what you're trying to do, it'll replace the offending, word-completing letter with a hash.
And in case you still haven't quite got the memo yet, Mail Clerk Ford will additionally admonish you out-loud for your rudeness, saying, "Such language in a high-class establishment like this!"
Given that Psychonauts 2 is targeted towards a younger audience and the in-game dialogue never lets profanity go above "damn," "hell," and a very occasional "ass," it's easy to appreciate why Double Fine did this.
All the same, it predictably wasn't long before a mod was released that removed all the censorship from the typewriter. Options are a good thing after all, right?