3 ms·

Steam vows to never publish Hatred, a mass-murder simulator

7 points by nvarsj 12y ago

pmoriarty 12y ago
Wait. I don't get it. Isn't pretty much every game where you kill lots of people (ie. most every FPS, TPS, etc) a "mass murder simulator"? What makes playing those ok and this not?
- forgottenpass 12y ago
  What makes playing those ok and this not? Some combination of being an easy target, and giving the murder simulation a slightly more depraved coat of paint than normal. Even before Valve took this action, the game "Hatred" had become a political football of sorts. In the larger game development culture a set of social views have become fashionable that like to use social pressure to police the content of games. The existing games do get heat, but I suspect there is a combination of both being grandfathered in, and that they are large properties/genres with publishers that can afford to weather the criticism. Also, it's a much bigger risk to Steam to de-list popular titles from publishers that have or would like to have competing digital distribution platforms.
- ubertaco 12y ago
  Technically, yes, that's what they are. Tonally, though, "Hatred" is in a different category. From an Ars Technica article: "This is the time for vengeance, and no life is worth saving, and I will put in the grave as many as I can," the protagonist says in the trailer. "It's time for me to kill, and it's time for me to die. My genocide crusade begins here." (full article link here: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/12/controversial-shooter-hatred-taken-down-from-steam-greenlight/ http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/12/controversial-shooter-...) Yes, other games -- particularly FPSes -- focus in on killing enemies as a driving mechanic. The difference here is the mechanics vs the focus: in many/most other FPS games, killing enemies is the (still very problematic) mechanic by which a story is told. It's the thing that makes the story into a game. In "Hatred", the story is "you hate everyone, make them all die." The FPS mechanics here exist in service of the player acting as a genocidal psychopath, with zero condemnation of said genocidal psychopathy -- in fact, it seems to be condoned.

7 points by nvarsj 12y ago

Wait. I don't get it. Isn't pretty much every game where you kill lots of people (ie. most every FPS, TPS, etc) a "mass murder simulator"? What makes playing those ok and this not?

forgottenpass 12y ago
What makes playing those ok and this not? Some combination of being an easy target, and giving the murder simulation a slightly more depraved coat of paint than normal. Even before Valve took this action, the game "Hatred" had become a political football of sorts. In the larger game development culture a set of social views have become fashionable that like to use social pressure to police the content of games. The existing games do get heat, but I suspect there is a combination of both being grandfathered in, and that they are large properties/genres with publishers that can afford to weather the criticism. Also, it's a much bigger risk to Steam to de-list popular titles from publishers that have or would like to have competing digital distribution platforms.
ubertaco 12y ago
Technically, yes, that's what they are. Tonally, though, "Hatred" is in a different category. From an Ars Technica article: "This is the time for vengeance, and no life is worth saving, and I will put in the grave as many as I can," the protagonist says in the trailer. "It's time for me to kill, and it's time for me to die. My genocide crusade begins here." (full article link here: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/12/controversial-shooter-hatred-taken-down-from-steam-greenlight/ http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/12/controversial-shooter-...) Yes, other games -- particularly FPSes -- focus in on killing enemies as a driving mechanic. The difference here is the mechanics vs the focus: in many/most other FPS games, killing enemies is the (still very problematic) mechanic by which a story is told. It's the thing that makes the story into a game. In "Hatred", the story is "you hate everyone, make them all die." The FPS mechanics here exist in service of the player acting as a genocidal psychopath, with zero condemnation of said genocidal psychopathy -- in fact, it seems to be condoned.