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Microsoft Turns Landmines into Flowers
Looks like the landmine movement will soon reach the desktop. Microsoft is changing the game MINESWEEPER to placate those who thought the game was insensitive to landmine-plagued communities worldwide. With the Vista release you will be able to, at least virtually, turn landmines into flowers ...
There have always been a small but persistent group of users who disliked minesweeper as a concept because they felt it trivialized the problem of land mines. For those of us living in North America, land mines are an abstract entity that you really only see in a movie, but in many parts of the world people are killed or maimed by mines on a daily basis ...One of the realities of making something with the reach of Windows is that it is almost impossible not to offend someone somewhere with anything you do ...
In the minesweeper case, since we were doing a re-write anyway, we thought it would a good time to address these concerns. We added a preference that allows users to change it from looking for mines in a minefield to looking for flowers in a flower field. Now, personally I am not a fan of using flowers here—I mean, you WANT to find flowers, right?—but this was an established alternative in the market and none of the other ideas we had (dog poo? penguins?) could pass the legal/geopolitics/trademark/etc. hurdles
Even I think this is kind of silly, but since they started ... why stop there? Why not put an option into the game to turn a real minefield into flowers with a link (for those users who find the thought of virtual mines on their computers repugnant) to donate to relief groups that remove REAL mines? Groups like Mines Advisory Group, HALO Trust and Adopt-a-Minefield can always use the money. Now THAT would make a difference.
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Comments
Good point.
Of course, they could always follow Clemens' guide: 'a man's first duty is to his own conscience and honor' and simply stop doing 'money-grabbing crap like that' and instead use their resources and influence to become a positive Societal influence.
Yeah, right... dream on.
>a small but persistent group of users who disliked minesweeper as a concept because they felt it trivialized the problem of land mines...
Yeah, bubba - it's known as the 'voice of reason'.
>One of the realities of making something with the reach of Windows is that it is almost impossible not to offend someone somewhere with anything you do...
Especially when it's vacuous, no-real-value shite.
>allows users to change it from looking for mines in a minefield to looking for flowers in a flower field...
Sweet. Perfect for the granola-commune children.
I blame us. We don't have to buy 'destructive crap' and could instead use our power-of-one influence to send a positive and life-affirming message.
Yeah, right... dream on.
Posted by gulliver at October 1, 2006 1:04 AM
The object of the game is to evade mines not plant mines and have people blow up. I could not see how offending the minesweeper game is.
On the other hand, diversity exists and we should respect people who think it's offensive especially when people die because of it.
Why put donations, this isn't an application for charity and understanding and being sensitive to diversity is good enough, but adding donation links is far too stretched...
Posted by Milo Riano at October 1, 2006 6:41 AM
Gulliver - perfect slant on this October 1. Some frivolous activity though is HEALTHFUL - it means downtime & recreation is being pursued.
Posted by sean at October 1, 2006 11:17 AM
I think the bigger picture is that the idea will evenutally trickle down to over 10M vista users by the time 2012 comes by.. and thereby increasing awareness on the EXO/mine's .
MSFT has done a good thing in a small way.
Posted by /pd at October 1, 2006 4:40 PM
Why are we making such a fuss about a simple logic-against-the-clock game that is about avoiding trouble and actually reaffirms the message that if you stand on one, you get blown up? If we're going to get this hung up about respecting people's feelings then why stop with Minesweeper? Lot's of people don't like gambling or games arcades, so are we going to pull all the card and pinball games Microsoft give away? Bigger picture: what about all the computer games that glorify war, violence, killing, reckless driving etc etc?
You could pitch this as MS doing their little bit but it looks to me like a not even half hearted measure by someone whose more worried about offending a pressure group than in carrying out a thought-through, anti-violence programme. It's pure tokenism.
Posted by Mark JF at October 2, 2006 5:09 AM
Hi Mark - Tokenism? .... Mmmmm …. I guess it is no different than healthcare managers who are clinically obese; smokers; have unhealthy diets; do not exercise; and yet tell the rest of us to look after our health :-) Confucius he say ... 'Beware person who speak with forked tongue.'
Posted by Trevor Gay at October 2, 2006 5:25 AM
Trevor - there's a huge difference. A healthcare manager who works unstintingly on promoting healthcare measures and who tries to be part of a preventative as well as remedial system gets my appreciation whether s/he's fat or skinny: he might be ignoring his own advice but what he's doing is A Good Thing. A major, international software company whose products include gaming items and which - however unwittingly - provides a platform for violent games cannot remedy this by turning mines into flowers.
You can argue that MS have no control over what is written onto their platform and I'd agree. My point is that a pitiful gesture like this with Minesweeper is tokenism. If MS genuinely feel this way, then they a) should be more consistent about their own games; and b) could and should take a stronger leadership role in trying to eradicate some of the more violent games played on their operating system.
Posted by Mark JF at October 2, 2006 7:05 AM
"Programme" - and next "colour"? I'm outraged! :>]
Posted by sean at October 2, 2006 8:08 AM
Mark - I hear what you say about MS. Maybe giving a few million quid from profits to support the work on the ground to get rid of landmines would be a more practical way of making a difference. Confucius he also say .. 'I more interested in what people do than what they say' :-) By the way, some of my best friends are overweight, unfit but nevertheless dedicated managers, nurses and doctors in the NHS. To me personally it looks like the wrong image. ‘Do as I say not as I do’ springs to mind. Frankly I still don’t see any difference to the MS thing. Would you feel happy about government saying that all MP’s are excused paying income tax while everyone else will pay more tax?
Posted by Trevor Gay at October 2, 2006 8:22 AM
OMG, this one is hilarious. TV commercials touting the most violent of games, blowing away people by the dozens feature the xBox logo and sounds....and they do a PC correction to minesweeper?
You can't make this stuff up!
Posted by Jeff at October 2, 2006 4:18 PM
Sounds like a major minefield for brand management. In the publics eye an endorsement of a certain charity or NGO will also be construed as an endorsement of any political viewpoints given by said charity.
Furthermore, it would quickly get annoying. Should you include charities supporting dyslectics, the blind and the poor with Word, Paint and Excel respectively.
I have great admiration for Bill Gates who seems to understand that the company was founded to make a profit, but that he is free to spend his personal fortune in a way that he sees fit.
Posted by Daran at October 4, 2006 12:26 PM