Argosy code of honour

The Argosy code of honour is an internal policy at ArgosyMTM Group, written by the late Michael Shires in 1954. It originally applied only to animated productions, but expanded to the entire Argosy unit (excluding MTM) circa 1985, and since Ellen Peck took over the entire company in 2006, has applied to all units. This originally excluded ArgosyMTM Labs, but since 2021, Ellen has decreed that Labs “projects” fall under the code of honour as well, allegedly due to some projects doing things she disagreed with.

History
The code of honour was written by Michael Shires in 1954, and originally applied only to animated productions. However, around 1984 or 1985, it was adopted as policy across the Argosy Media unit. A similar “gaming code of honour” was used by MTM Interactive (now ArgosyMTM Interactive) while working on the Mitchell van Morgan games, almost identical to Shires’, but with additional points about “not making a game too easy” and “making sure a normal person can beat it”. In 2006, after Ellen Peck and her family gained control of Argosy and MTM from Corus to form Argosy Communications (now ArgosyMTM Group), the “code of honour” was made a company-wide policy.

In 2014, Ellen Peck decided to add a fourth point, to discourage attempts to be “hip” which quickly became dated. Some people thought that this was disrespecting the legacy of Michael Shires, but most people agreed with Ellen that it was “probably something Michael wouldn’t have liked if he was alive today”. In 2021, a fifth point was added, strongly discouraging association with cryptocurrency and blockchain ventures.

Some of the divisions within ArgosyMTM Group have their own “addendums” to the code of honour; for example, ArgosyMTM Interactive has additional points relevant to video games.

The original code of honour
All Argosy animation must follow this code of honour: These 3 simple rules tell you what you need to avoid to make an entertaining cartoon.
 * 1) No potty or toilet humour. It grosses people out, and makes them less likely to watch something again.
 * 2) No political humour. It just dates the cartoon in 5 or 10 years, because politics is always changing.
 * 3) No using cartoons as propaganda, unless World War 3 happens. Cartoons are made to entertain people, not to shove political opinions down people’s throats.

—Michael Shires

MTM Interactive’s gaming code of honour
Here at MTM Interactive, we admire the intentions of Michael Shires’ “Code of Honour”. However, it was written before video games were a “thing”, or were even thought to be a good idea for someone to invent in the first place. We added a few points, and now have our own version here, which we call the “Gaming Code of Honour”.
 * 1) Avoid toilet humour. It grosses people out, and makes them not want to play a game.
 * 2) Avoid references to current politics. We want people to still play our games 10 years from now, and politics is always changing, so political references will date the game.
 * 3) Video games are not a vehicle for propaganda. Games are meant to be fun, and having an opinion shoved down your throat is the opposite of fun.
 * 4) Don’t make a game too easy to beat. If you can beat a game in a few seconds, you won’t have a lot of fun with it. Games are meant to challenge people.
 * 5) Make sure a normal person can beat your game. Extremely hard games just make people angry, and we don’t want games to make people angry. Don’t make games too easy, but don’t make them too hard, either. Like Goldilocks, settle for “just right”.

Current code of honour
Without Michael Shires and the Shires family, Argosy and MTM wouldn’t be where they are today. Michael made a “code of honour” for cartoons, with 3 simple points of what to avoid to make a good cartoon. When I came in, I got the executives to extend this code of honour to the entire Argosy unit, including live-action productions, and since I became owner and CEO, I extended it to the entire ArgosyMTM Group. These 3 simple points still work today:


 * 1) No potty or toilet humour. It grosses people out, and makes them less likely to watch something again.
 * 2) No political humour. It just dates something in 5 or 10 years, because politics is always changing.
 * 3) No making political propaganda, unless World War 3 happens. We make content to entertain people, not to shove political opinions down people’s throats.

But since then, some things have popped up that good ol’ Michael wouldn’t have expected. Two more points cover these things:


 * 1) Don’t try too hard to be “hip”. This means no “fellow kids”-type humour or meme references. Like political humour, it just dates something in 5 or 10 years, maybe even less.
 * 2) Avoid crypto, blockchains, NFTs, “Web3”, and other convoluted technology. There is no good that comes from these things, only art theft and damage to the environment.

With these 5 points, you have everything you need to make a good example for future generations. Cartoons, movies, and TV shows that will be enjoyed for generations, and aren’t tied to the latest fad that will die out in a few years.

—Ellen Peck, CEO and President of ArgosyMTM Group, President of Argosy Media, and Head of Argosy Animation Studios

“Point 6”
An unofficial “Point 6” (formerly “Point 5” until the “no crypto” point was added in 2021) has been widely repeated by animators working on The New Aaron Show: “Don’t put your fetish in the show; kids are watching!”