medic "plus" sign.

(signofzeta) #1

Lol, if that doesn’t get changed, the canadians will come knocking at your door, and Brink will probably be banned in Canada.

Also why is the Wolfenstein 3d XBLA medpack a heart and the Doom II medkit a pill, and the Wolfenstein medic symbol being a syringe?

No female characters, oh well, I don’t care about that.
Need steam to play. I guess I’m over it because that does not concern me.
Canadians not being able to play the game? Low blow man.

At least the world’s engineers who adopt the “wrench” as their symbol don’t come knocking at the door of the video game industry.

(DarkangelUK) #2

The red cross is 5 red squares, they had the same issue with ET I believe? Probably wrong though.

(signofzeta) #3

I heard the Canadian red cross wants their symbol out of violent games. I don’t know if Splash Damage knows about this, and to what parameters is their symbol to be out of violent games (does the symbol have to be red for example).

But Nerve and Endrant seems to have gotten the memo, which is why the cross symbol is absent in Wolfenstein multiplayer, Wolf 3d on XBLA and PSN, as well as Doom II on XBLA.

The red cross, or any cross depending on how strict the red cross is, is just like the swastika in Germany. I don’t know how much control the governments have over this, or if they care, but better be safe.

(tokamak) #4

There are no red crosses in ETQW.

(Voxie) #5

This was brought up a while ago and answered by Rahdo in this post. I wouldn’t be surprised if Brink will use red rods of Asclepius against white backgrounds, just like in Quake 4

(Slade05) #6

Well, screw Canada then.
:slight_smile:

(signofzeta) #7

[quote=Slade05;227685]Well, screw Canada then.
^_^[/quote]

waaah waaah, I’M TELLING NAIL… and stroggifier… and um…um…

The red rods of Asclepius was used in wolfenstein too, except it was white on a green bag. I think the cross symbol is rarely ever seen in ambulances anymore. So I guess in the future, which Brink is supposedly set in, shouldn’t have that symbol, unless in europe, there are some ambulances with a cross symbol still.

At least ambulances in Winnipeg have a blue asterisk like symbol with a white red rod of Asclepius on it.

Also in ET, if you look at the axis medic, the crusaders won’t be happy about that.

I posted a similar thread in the Bethesda forums, and apparently the community there, not the mods, don’t understand how serious this situation is.

Is the red cross related to the blue cross? Nah, probably not. One is insurance, the other isn’t.

(SockDog) #8

It’s called a trademark and has absolutely no connection to restrictions on swastika use in Germany.

(Szakalot) #9

Trademarking ANY red cross seems a little over the line though. Would be like coca-cola trademarking ANY bottle with black bubbly drink inside.

(Slade05) #10

Come on, this **** became an enterprise long time ago.
Just like Greenpeace and the rest.

(SockDog) #11

It’s not any red cross, it’s a specific design and colour and I expect there is restrictions on what the trademark covers and doesn’t cover. Just because the design is simple doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be protected.

(shirosae) #12

If that is the case, why can’t games just use any red cross that isn’t that specific design and colour?

I’ve been struggling for a few days to understand the argument put forwards by the Canadian Red Cross, and I think I know where I’m having problems: This David Pratt bloke declares that

(a)

"The fact that the Red Cross is also used in videos which contain strong language and violence is also of concern to us in that they directly conflict with the basic humanitarian principles espoused by the Red Cross movement,’’ Pratt said in a Jan. 31 letter to a Vancouver law firm that represents several Canadian game developers. "The crux of the problem is that the misuse of the Red Cross in video games is not only in contravention of the law, it also encourages others to believe that the emblem of the Red Cross is `public property’ and can be freely used by any organization or indeed for commercial purposes.’’

(b)

…the proliferation of red cross images in video games "debases the currency’’ of one of the world’s most recognizable symbols and could undermine the emblem’s effectiveness as a sign of neutrality, protection and humanitarian aid in conflict zones around the world.’’

Source.

but doesn’t give the slightest reasoning for how (a) leads to (b). Unless he’s suggesting that Somalian pirates or whoever are playing BF:BC2 between heists, I really don’t understand how these things are related. Are people going to open fire on the Red Cross because they think a wave of Rambo-Medics are coming at them?

Anyway, instead of asking videogame developers to put in a little message which says something like “Hey, we’re the red cross, and we’re an organisation that delivers humanitarian aid in real life war-torn areas. Here’s a link to our website where you can learn more about what we do, and maybe consider giving us a donation or something”. Instead, they’ve gone all Steve Jobs.

The whole thing makes no sense to me on any level. Every time I see this stuff I think I’m reading a spoof; is someone seriously suggesting that the proximity of the red cross logo to foul language is endangering the lives of their people in the field?

On the other hand, this is exactly the sort of thing I’d expect to hear from the Daily Mail. Maybe the media are misrepresenting the story?

(H0RSE) #13

Regardless of how many violent video games the red cross is used, it’s used in a positive way - at least a neutral way. It is used to show a medic player, or on medkits - it’s not like they use the red cross for an evil axis symbol or depict the Red Cross as a tyrannical organization hellbent on World Domination…This Red Cross guy needs to get laid.

(Nail) #14

the red cross is a trademark, to use it without permission is illegal. Ambulances don’t have red crosses because they aren’t run by The Red Cross

(DarkangelUK) #15

Unless it’s a Red Cross ambulance…

(Slade05) #16

I doubt people in war zones really have time or willingness to play violent games, through which they could somehow get wrong impression of red cross. I bet they could get it all in real life, teeheehee.

And this “debases the currency” analogy is simply brilliant.
Speaks volumes of them all.

(Berzerkr) #17

Then I would use the “Star of Life” instead of the red cross.
Problem solved. ^^

On Wikipedia (2000x2000px)

In my opinion, it looks best in red instead of blue.

(signofzeta) #18

[quote=Berzerkr;227765]Then I would use the “Star of Life” instead of the red cross.
Problem solved. ^^

On Wikipedia (2000x2000px)

In my opinion, it looks best in red instead of blue.[/quote]

those actually are in real ambulances, but in Winnipeg, it is blue instead of red. I think. I don’t really look closely enough. But google should help.

(SockDog) #19

They can as long as it is different enough to not be confused with the actual registered trademark.

I’ve been struggling for a few days to understand the argument put forwards by the Canadian Red Cross

<snip>

On the other hand, this is exactly the sort of thing I’d expect to hear from the Daily Mail. Maybe the media are misrepresenting the story?

Well I think it’s two fold.

  1. They just have to protect their trademark. I believe if they can be shown to have knowledge of it’s improper use and not act upon it then they forfeit the right to object later.

  2. The symbology of that red cross goes way beyond monetary value. The objection seems to be against a dilution of it’s meaning over time. Such dilution might mean someone is treated in a different manner than perhaps they would otherwise. We’re quite used to words gradually evolving in their meaning but do we need to do that with a symbol that can be the difference between life and death?

Yes, I’m probably coming across all Daily Mail moral outrage. Merely trying to see the logic behind this too. :slight_smile:

Ultimately if SD used a… designer label without permission on their clothes we wouldn’t even question them being told to remove it. Likewise they don’t use real weapon names as they aren’t licensed and I doubt the weapon makers would allow them artistic license to tweak power, firing rate and looks however they saw fit.

BTW - Wiki has a tiny snippet on the red cross symbology

(Berzerkr) #20

In germany the smybol is blue too, but I still think that this symbol in red is a good replacement for the red cross.