It goes without saying, but everything offends someone. It’s an unavoidable truth. Even the most mundane and inconsequential something can send a person into a tizzy. Of course, the more controversial something gets, the more likely people will be offended by it. And this raises obvious and worthwhile questions. Should someone being offended by something actually matter? Moreover, should we let it affect how we approach our art, our creativity and the outlets by which we experience the unlikely, the outrageous and the utterly fictional?

“ ...the offended too often act as roundabout thought police, and it has to stop.

Hindu goddess Kali, depicted in Smite.

“ Why are games held to an entirely different – and completely hypocritical and unfair – standard?

Six Days in Fallujah was deemed too controversial.

“ But I say to game developers, make me think. Challenge me. Make me uncomfortable.

In short, should we let the fact that “everything offends someone” alter the landscape of gaming, trashing ideas in the process because it upsets someone?It's already happened with games such as Six Days in Fallujah and Tomb Raider. Should we succumb to the plight of political correctness and let it ruin the creativity of our industry like it’s corrupted so many other artistic avenues? Or should we stand up and say “anything goes” and encourage the creative minds that give us the games we love to push the envelope, social consequences be damned? Silence Dogood , he wrote, “without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech.” Yet, when reading a fellow IGN editor’s story about religion in gaming and specifically about offense taken by some over Hindu gods appearing in a game called Smite, I realized we aren’t heeding the words of Franklin or others who have, over time, attempted to protect our inherent freedoms of speech, thought and, indeed, creativity. We aren’t showing any of the “wisdom” Franklin spoke about because “public liberty” is being strangled by people who think that because they are offended by something, we should all be offended by it, too. In turn, the offended too often act as roundabout thought police, and it has to stop.Don’t get me wrong; you can be offended by anything you want. You can let other people’s words, deeds and art get to you however you deem fit. But the second you start confusing your own subjective notion of good taste with what that means for everyone else and project your own offended posture on the rest of us, you’ve crossed the line. When it comes to the game Smite and to the offense the Universal Society of Hinduism takes over the inclusion of Hindu gods in the game, we as a group of dedicated, money-spending enthusiasts should say “enough is enough.” If you don’t like it, don’t consume it. But don’t tell others that they can’t, and don’t ridicule the creators of something because their vision doesn’t fit your own. A trend such as this could very well obliterate developers giving us fresh stories and experiences in gaming moving forward.The recent episode over Tomb Raider illustrates this point rather vividly. Developer Crystal Dynamics dared to allude to sexual assault in protagonist Lara Croft’s story, something deemed over-the-top and inappropriate in gaming by some commentators. This even coerced one of the game’s producers to backtrack on earlier comments, stating that the game has no undertones of sexual assault even though it clearly does. But why should someone feel bad about including something like this in a game? Have you ever seen an episode of Law & Order: SVU? How about the movie The Accused? Why are games held to an entirely different – and completely hypocritical and unfair – standard? United 93 was released, I didn’t boycott the movie. When people want to rail on and on about conspiracy theories concerning what happened that day, I let them have at it. When some people said that we deserved what happened to us, I profoundly disagree. But I would never, ever tell them that I’m so outright offended by all of this that they should stop and that no one else should hear them out.Think about the nerve I’d have to say that because 9/11 hit so close to home for me and my family, films shouldn’t be made about it, books shouldn’t be written about it, and dissenting voices and opinions should be silenced all because I’m offended. It’s antithetical to a free society and has no place in an industry like ours that revolves around – and indeed relies upon – unhindered creativity.We’ve already let political correctness like this destroy gaming projects. In 2008, a game – Six Days in Fallujah – became so toxic to its publisher that the game never came out even though it was essentially finished. Why? Because various groups of peace advocates and war veterans alike deemed that because the Iraq War was still ongoing, Six Days in Fallujah couldn’t be experienced by gamers. Instead of letting the market dictate whether we collectively wanted the game, Konami let a few loud people tell us that because people died in Iraq, we couldn’t have this game. Never mind that we have hundreds of games about World War II – a war in which some 65 million people died – anything to do with Iraq should be censored. Why, because it just happened?When are we going to acknowledge that this mentality is destructive? When are we going to come to terms with the fact that by strangling creativity because of abstract notions of being offended and hurt feelings, we are doing a major disservice not only to ourselves, but to the people who want to give us new stories full of new ideas? By refusing to address this problem, we are stripping gaming of its ability to be ingenious. We’re telling game creators not to challenge us, not to make us think, not to make us uncomfortable. But I say to game developers, make me think. Challenge me. Make me uncomfortable.Gaming will only truly evolve into something greater than it’s become when we throw off the shackles of political correctness and dare to do what virtually all other forms of entertainment accomplished a long time ago. We need to be willing to be challenged, put in uncomfortable situations, and check our personal feelings at the start button so as to facilitate new experiences. This is what's needed to bring gaming to unknown heights.But are you in?

Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter andand learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.