Appearing in the online edition of the People’s Daily’s [via Quartz], the Chinese state media mouthpiece, the Chinese government has drafted some new rules for gaming. These rules were created by the Chinese government with help from several major Chinese gaming companies. The guidelines divides gamers into four age categories: Gamers below 6, below 12, below 16, as well as those 18 and older.

Certain rules are only aimed at certain age groups. One example being the “recommendation” that those under 6 not play video games on their own. This is something I can actually agree upon. Although I’m sure their are plenty of parents too lazy or incompetent to play games with their children. Not to mention the ones that are just straight up neglectful and want their kids to go away and leave them alone.

There are other rules that apply to all gamers as they affect the kinds of things that can be implemented in video games. One rule is that games should not feature any sort of romance between young people. This means everything from full on sex to simple hand holding. And when they say “young people” they are not just talking children. No, the Chinese government is talking characters 16 and under. They even go so far as to say games shouldn’t even hint at sexual activity or feature romance in it’s plot.

Additionally, the Chinese government wants female video game characters to dress “more appropriately”. Part of that “appropriateness” is that the female breast must be at least 3/4 covered at all times. So, no bikinis or extreme V neck shirts. To further push idea of “appropriateness” the female character dress code will not allow clothes that are not “appropriate” for the setting they are in. In other words, no sexy outfits in any environment which does not have sexy outfits in real life. So, no sexy female outfits at all.

These rules are still being worked on, but don’t expect them to get any less restrictive. My only hope is that game developers outside of China give the communist country a big middle finger. We are already seeing light censorship from Sony, I would hate to see it get worse. It will get much worse if the major console companies continue to do business inside China, which, with the release of their anti-tariff letter, they seem insistent on doing.

(Thanks for the news tip Voice for Fanservice)