our bruises seem to surface like mud beneath the snow
So, there's this game on Steam's Project Greenlight. Here's the game studio's own description of their game:
Now, first and foremost, while this sort of "everyone's scum they all need to die" game form isn't my cup of tea, and I'm fairly sure it doesn't contribute to the best community of players, in and of itself it's just another game. There are good games and bad games; games that enlighten, games that destabilize. As a survival horror fan, I can honestly say I've played games that have given me nightmares, so I have little ethical ground to stand on where the whole "psyche-injuring games" genre exists and is.
That having been said, the reason I know about this game at all is that some of the "fans" voting for it want to see female game designers (like Zoe Quinn, Brianna Wu and others), as well as female game critics (like Anita Sarkeesian) as killable NPCs in the game.
Let me say that again, because it sounds vaguely important: supporters of Hatred, the game, want to see representations of real women as adversaries to hurt, mutilate and murder in the game.
There's a petition to keep the game off Steam, as well as a petition to keep the game ON Steam. People seem exceptionally polarized about this work. But that's not necessarily my main concern.
The next comments are presented without corrections.
From TequilaGundam:
How'ver, such ethical wrangling aside, there's a lot of truth in this, and in the pages and pages of comments I'm not quoting, simply because it would take too much time out of my life to read through them all. The bulk of the supporters of this game really seem to want it greenlit for two reasons, neither of them based on the quality or playability of the game:
Hatred fills your whole body. You’re sick and tired of humanity’s worthless existence. The only thing that matters is your gun and pure Armageddon that you want to unleash.
You will go out for a hunt, you will clear the New York outskirts of the humans with a cold blood. You will shoot, you will hurt, you will kill, you will die. There are no rules, no compassion, no mercy, no point of going back. You are the lord of life and death now and you have the full control over lives of worthless human scum.
You will also run, you will need to think, you will need to hide and fight back when armored forces will come to take you down. You will have no mercy for them, because they dare to come in your way.
Only brutality and destruction can clear this land. Only the killing spree will make you die spectacularly and go to hell.
Features:
- Mad journey into the Antagonist's hateful mind.
- Isometric shooter with best features of its kind.
- 7 free-roam locations -starting from the outskirts of New York State and ending at...
- Fight against law enforcement (police and stronger forces).
- Gathering equipment off the dead and spreading Armageddon upon society.
- Destroying everything on your way, hunting and fighting back.
- Discovering the plot evolving in a non-linear way.
- Unreal Engine 4 PhysX system boundaries pushed to the limits
Now, first and foremost, while this sort of "everyone's scum they all need to die" game form isn't my cup of tea, and I'm fairly sure it doesn't contribute to the best community of players, in and of itself it's just another game. There are good games and bad games; games that enlighten, games that destabilize. As a survival horror fan, I can honestly say I've played games that have given me nightmares, so I have little ethical ground to stand on where the whole "psyche-injuring games" genre exists and is.
That having been said, the reason I know about this game at all is that some of the "fans" voting for it want to see female game designers (like Zoe Quinn, Brianna Wu and others), as well as female game critics (like Anita Sarkeesian) as killable NPCs in the game.
Let me say that again, because it sounds vaguely important: supporters of Hatred, the game, want to see representations of real women as adversaries to hurt, mutilate and murder in the game.
There's a petition to keep the game off Steam, as well as a petition to keep the game ON Steam. People seem exceptionally polarized about this work. But that's not necessarily my main concern.
The next comments are presented without corrections.
From TequilaGundam:
Anythying that pisses off SJW is fine by me, gonna buy this as soon as it possible. (December 15)From The Gentleman Spy:
Cant wait to fuck faggots up.(December 15)From Shavot:
(December 15)
I CAN'T WAIT TO KILL INNOCENT PEOPLE!From jakey1995abc:
(December 15)
If we preorder do we get a free AR-15 in the mail? (December 15)From Chakracat:
Dear God please let there be an Elliot Rodger skin.From goga777:
(December 15)
Excellent, I'll wait, moral fags are forestedFrom KDolo:
(December 15, translated from Russian)
Can there be a Sanita Aarkeesian skin?From spacecat:
(December 15)
Looking forward to modding this so I can ice ppl I depise IRLFrom Creepter:
(December 15)
Apparently this game is "problematic". Good. For every agressive progressive retard demanding this game to be pulled and censored, you get five up-votes.From MilkshakeMakerMilkshakeTaker:
Let the game come, and let the SJW's cry.
(December 15)
Can I kill kids?From demasa:
(December 15)
Do we get extra points for killing SJW? I want to drink more of their delicious tears.From (null):
(December 15)
Feminist Convention DLC plsFrom Dexter:
(December 15)
Will Pre-Order because you are standing against the SJW cancer infesting gaming. Thank you for your service.From Fatal Pulse
(December 15)
I have saved up all my internalized racism/misogyny for this!From Le Robo Pope:
(December 15)
Children NPCs? Office shooter DLC? Elliot Rodger skin for pre-ordering? When?From Buck ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ:
(December 15)
Voted yes, needs children though.And then, there was Club_Shrimp:
(December 15)
1. This game is so laughably juvenile and emotionally stunted. It just reeks of attention-seeking, cynical shock-shlock, and the worldview / philosophy of the whole thing is pathetically shallow and childish. The description reads like something some metalhead teenager who think's he's superior to everyone else would write. The appearance of the main character almost confirms this. Aw yeah, trenchcoat and long hair, I'm so cool and above it all. Nobody understands me, and no has it all figured out like me. Horseshit. Why do you all want to support this garbage? Why is THIS garbage the figurehead of so many gamers' demands for freedom of speech? Seriously, get some taste.Comment two:
2. It's easy to tell that the quality of the game doesn't matter to most of you who are greenlighting it. All you care about is revenge against "SJWs." With such a misguided mindset, I can guarantee you that a great many awful, juvenile games will inundate the gaming world just because of your tantrum-politics. Actually look at this game - it's clearly trash. It's funny because most anti-sjws claim to care only about the quality of games and not their political content - something which their attitudes toward this game directly contradict. This game is a political vehicle for anti-sjws - quality is finally irrelevant to them.Comment three:
3. That said, this game promotes toxic ideological ideas. The creators have said they are against "totalitarian ideology," but what's more totalitarian than going on a killing spree? Killing and murder are FUNDAMENTALLY authoritarian - the eclipsing of the will of other people with your own absolutist will. See the description: "You are the lord of life and death" - a classically totalitarian, authoritarian sentiment. This whole game is a puerile, intellectual mess. Quality control was made for garbage like this game.Comment four:
4. Should freedom of speech allow the promotion of ideological ideas that are fundamentally anti-freedom? Because that's what this game does - it glorifies them. If you claim that everyone is free to do and say what they wish, what about people who enslave and kill? Does your concept of freedom allow such behaviors? Is that not contradictory? Allowing such things brings about UNfreedom to a great many people, and suddenly, people AREN'T free to do as they please. There must be limits to such freedoms lest freedom turn into it's absolute opposite. If you value freedom so much, you shouldn't be allowing people to promote behaviors and ideologies that are fundamentally about the absolute negation or annihilation of freedom.There's a very problematic phrase in there, "limits to such freedoms". Is there a limit to freedom? Well, yes, in many ways, both in theory and in practical application, but as it applies to this game?
How'ver, such ethical wrangling aside, there's a lot of truth in this, and in the pages and pages of comments I'm not quoting, simply because it would take too much time out of my life to read through them all. The bulk of the supporters of this game really seem to want it greenlit for two reasons, neither of them based on the quality or playability of the game:
- That it will irritate non-GamerGaters, and thus, provide the GamerGaters supporting Hatred the opportunity to enforce their misogynistic beliefs; and
- that it will either be moddable, or the game will actually choose to code in NPCs to kill based on SJWs, feminist activists, and other chosen targets of GamerGate.
Comments