What Games Like Kiss Me are Teaching Children
Seemingly Child Friendly Games Actually Teach Intolerance
Jul 22, 2009
“Kiss Me”, a computer game recently released by Mumbo Jumbo and Territory IT through Big Fish Games, is the sort of thing that at first glance would put the minds of most parents at ease. It's a color matching game featuring small, cute animals like kitties and puppies that has no violence, no sex and no bad language. It’s a game about pets kissing each other in chaste, adorable ways.
However, after only a few minutes of play, it becomes clear that this kind of game is more sinister than its cartoony facade lets on. The gameplay itself has the potential to teach children to be intolerant of homosexuality and interracial marriage, and could even send the message that heaven itself is reserved for heterosexual, mono-racial couples only.
Exploitation of Christian Imagery at the Beginning of “Kiss Me”
The game starts with a comic book style introduction, with a group of cartoon animals sitting around a campfire. One of the animals tells a story about a fabulous place called the “city of happiness” whose gates “are only opened for those who are in love”. Coincidentally, this city is in the sky, and the mention of gates brings forth very clear traditional images of heaven. as well as a feeling of exclusivity.
At this point though, one’s only objection to the game would be its manipulation of religious imagery – the idea that only people in love can enter into heaven is contrary to the focus of most Christian denominations, though traditional nuclear families and marriage are often encouraged. Many Christians might argue that loving Christ, having faith in God, obeying God’s will or good works are ways one enters heaven, not “being in love” and therefore might find this portion of the game offensive or subversive since it seems to be using Christian imagery.
Don’t Color Outside the Lines
Perhaps more troubling are the messages that the game promotes about love, sexuality and gender – that “only boys and girls of the same color match together” and “girls have bows in their hair and boys don’t”. The entire basis of the game is “matching”, not just in terms of colors like most “matching” games, but in love – all the imagery and language, from the very beginning, makes it clear that the game is about animals falling in love, and that in love matches you can “only match boys and girls of the same color”.
Because the game is about cartoon animals, a person cannot know for sure if the intolerance in the game’s concept, imagery and language is intentional or an oversight, but regardless of intent it can still lead a child to apply its ideas to the outside world. These ideas can also create internalized angst for a young child – for instance, a child whose parents aren’t “the same color” or a girl who doesn’t enjoy frilly boys in her hair. Games like this might also promote further difficulties during adolescence for youths whose feelings don’t necessary lead them to a person of the “appropriate” gender or “color”.
The Dangers of Intolerance
The very concept of this game is one which, in a young child, can create ideas that promote intolerance. Children of the age range for which the game seems to be designed quite often apply ideas in situations in which they aren’t necessarily applicable. It would be very easy for a child playing this game to accept its restriction of “love” between cartoon animals as applicable to real world human beings, leading to confusion about sexuality, race and gender that could lead to intolerance towards others and the child herself. The danger lies not in the intent of the game creators (which certainly could be benign) but in the possible effect the game could have in the development of a child’s beliefs about the world around him.
That is always the risk with computer and video games – while they have the capacity to be wonderful learning tools – that a child’s ideas about the people and the world around him should be based on reality he interacts with on a daily basis. A child who begins to rely too much on entertainment to learn about life is at serious risk of forgetting how to think for herself, how to experience life first hand and prevents the formation of good judgment while promoting intellectual laziness.
Many parents worry about excessive violence or sexual content in the media, but parents should also be concerned about the values that are being promoted in the games their children are playing. Games that promote intolerance negatively impact children’s ability to form their own ideas, learn from their parent’s values and grow into healthy, intelligent adults.
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