The sun after the storm

The release of Tera, a game that has been expected impatiently by the European and American fans for several years, should have been a moment of incredible joy and excitement, a weekend spent sharing enthusiastic Youtube videos and screenshots. Instead, a storm of anger and protestations against Frogster, the European publisher for Tera, has overflowed the forums.

Everything started when a player discovered that the blood slider had been removed from the game. Feeling betrayed, the community immediately responded against the censorship caused by the 12+ PEGI rating. Letters and petitions had been sent from all over Europe. Websites such as Massively, Eurogamer and Gamebreaker published articles about the case. No one can deny that all of this was bad PR for a game that already had to compete with other big titles.

The intention of the community had often been misunderstood and sometimes criticized. The fans did not fight for mere details such as a "blood slider" but yelled their indignation because such a low rating would obviously mean more censorship in the future. Tera had been created for a mature audience. The universe can be dark and gloomy, the armors and character animations are suggestive, and the gameplay includes a very complex political system. These features are not aimed at younger audiences.

We DO LOVE Tera, and we can not accept the fact that our beloved game is being destroyed, diminished, censored. We want to make sure that it’s soul won’t be stolen in order to fit the tastes of an audience that wasn't supposed to even look at the game. We simply want to protect Tera in it’s original artistic shape.

Four days later, Frogster posted an open letter to the community which, in their eyes, was supposed to be reassuring. But nowhere did they seem to say something about changing the rating. Will Tera be safe from any unnecessary censorship? Will Frogster keep their word? Will Tera EU ever receive a rating any higher than 12+? Only time will tell. 

Meanwhile, the world of Arborea is invaded by thousands of players, eager to explore every inch of the two Titan's dream. It seems that Kumas and guilds battles are keeping players busy...and much more quiet.

- Elloa, for Samael News

Posted in: article