River Raid

River Raid is programmed by Carol Shaw, the first female game designer. It is the first video game to be indexed in Germany in December 1984 by the Federal Review Board for Publications Harmful to Young People (BPjS).

“The video game ‘River Raid’ is glorifies and trivialises war. As the applicant rightly points out, the player should think into the role of an uncompromising fighter and destroyer. This is clear from the game instructions. Sniper qualities are required in the game. The firing of enemy targets is highly rewarded. The destruction of an enemy tanker, helicopter, fuel storage or jets brings up to 100 points, the destruction of an enemy bridge 500. The use of military force is rewarded; whoever has destroyed most of the targets gets the most points. He has the opportunity to receive the “River Raider” award. The game ‘River Raid’ is also trivialising war, because the war is not objectively presented soberly; war events are presented as automated events brought about by technical aids and thus primarily deprived of moral value. The horrors and sufferings of the war of aggression are neither mentioned nor indicated in any way.

The video game ‘River Raid’ has emotional and aggression-enhancing properties. In older youths, playing ‘River Raid’ leads to physical cramping, anger, aggressiveness, scattered thinking, difficulty in concentration, headache, etc. The computer generates aggression in the context of warlike events by playing; since, apart from the command/obedience ratio (it must be shot and the enemy destroyed), no differentiated social rules are offered for dealing with anger and feelings of destruction, it can be assumed that aggression tendencies, even in extra-playing situations, especially by children and young people at risk, cannot be adequately controlled. Aggressive behavior patterns are playfully practiced.”

In 2002, Activision applied for a re-examination of River Raid; the game has since been released without age restriction.