I picked up Rock Band 2 today. We “B” Toyz had two copies left when I called them, and I hurried down and got one. Yay!
I came home this evening after a great day out with some friends, dropped it into Ye Olde Xboxe, and set about starting a tour. One of the nice things about RB2 is that there is no longer a differentiation between “solo tours” and “band tours.” It all seems to be lumped into one single game mode. I approve of this.
And this means my band needs a name. Awesome. The band name I used in RB1 was “Distinct Kicking Motion,” after a phrase used no less than eight times in the NHL Rulebook to describe one of the criteria for disallowing a goal, a rule change the NHL instituted in 1996, presumably to increase scoring, since that seems to be the intent behind most rule changes in sports. (Before then, if the puck went in off of a teammate’s skate, the goal didn’t count. Period.)
So. Tap-tappity-tap (or, in this case, a fair amount of tedious cursoring around with the D-pad on the guitar, since that’s where I was logged in and so couldn’t use my Chatpad), and I hit Start to lock it in. And I get this:
“Your intended band name is not what most would describe as “classy.” You can continue to use this name locally, but it will not be visible on Xbox LIVE unless you change it in the Band Profile.”
The hell?
I just went back and experimented for a moment (because I wanted to get the exact wording of the admonishment above), and I isolated the issue: “Kicking Motion”? No go. “Distinct Motion”? Nuh-uh. “Distinct Kicking”? Totally fine.
The word “motion” apparently triggers the RB2 obscenity filters.
Again, I say: the hell?
I’ve got an e-mail in to Electronics Arts demanding an explanation as to how I developed this whore mouth all of a sudden. I’ll let The Four Of You know when I hear back.
So, first off, I would like to thank the religious right for their vigilance, watching over the English language for my own safety and bitching and moaning enough that censorship like this has become part of the national discussion, so that I am protected from filthy, disgusting words like “motion.” Well done!
And then, a message for all of those 12-year-old kids who think band names like “The Bung Felchers” and “Cöckgöbbler” are the pinnacle of hilarity, such that EA is pressured to add the filter in the first place: Fark every single one of you. Go back to Halo 3 and leave the rocking to responsible adults, huh?
Yup, lamest part of the entire franchise. Back at RB1, I wanted to name my rocker Fabozz, since I use that handle a lot. “Not classy.” After some experimentation, I think “abo” was the problem… I guess that’s derogatory in Australia? Do they even sell Rock Band in Australia?Cöckgöbbler, by the way, would work just fine, because their filter isn’t smart enough to translate accented characters.
Actually I added the umlauts and became Distinct Kicking Mötiön (because I do so love jokes that work on multiple levels) and it still kicked it back at me. Ditto replacing the o’s with 0’s.
I did find out what was going on, and will tell you offline. :)
Well telling him offline does nothing for me. ;) So what was the deal with “motion”.
~lk
As it happens, the people responsible for that particular trigger filter agree that it’s a little overzealous and are cleaning things up such that “Motion” will be deemed “classy” very soon. :)