Autumn, a game about rape

[MysticSlayer]

Like it's so different then most games you can't even hold it to the most general ceria of fun. In fact I am very sure this kind of game shouldn't be fun, but apart from that I would have no idea.

I think that "engaging" is what most people are going to now in light of games that people enjoy but aren't really "fun" in a traditional sense. Games like Spec Ops: The Line, BioShock, The Walking Dead, and most horror games aren't really "fun" in a traditional sense, and they certainly can't be compared to, say, Call of Duty or Halo in terms of what resonates with us. If I remember correctly, this is also why some are calling for a redefining of genres, considering simply explaining mechanics is starting to fail us in describing what makes the game enjoyable to us.

Still, I think regardless of these major successes, a lot of gamers still haven't wrapped their minds around the idea that game can be anything but fun. It's even more noticeable when they diverge from standard mechanics and themes. For all the success games like Spec Ops: The Line have had without being "fun", many of them still use themes and mechanics we are all familiar with.

And on top of that, there's the whole gender politics debate going around that I'm sure have left people cynical to anything that tries to explore these ideas. People won't mind about you being honest in your advertising about your story's themes if they are about the military, humans vs. aliens, or slaying dragons. They will care if you start advertising in like honesty when those themes revolve around something like this because, well, you know, reasons!

I really don't understand how games like this are supposed to be powerful.

From the video description:
"We believe that an interactive experience, where you walk in someone else's shoes, is the best medium to explain what words alone cannot".

Not true. There is a reason why people say "the book is better than the movie"

I'm not really sure how comparing a movie to a book is relevant when the developer was comparing a game to a book.

 

[RavingSturm]

Aside form the ill-conceived premise what else does this walking simulator hope to deliver? Do you take up virtual Krav maga or go to therapy sessions in this game to deal with what happened?

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

From a game aspect, there're no textures pointing to laziness (although some might consider it an 'artistic choice', it's done poorly), and the trailer itself dropped framerate at times. There also seems like there's nothing to do.

From a... er... artistic point of view, I can see how some people might like it. I enjoyed The Stanley Parable for it's comedy, subtlety, and creativity, so I guess some people might enjoy this for it's... drama, or talking about serious issues (although being in a deserted part of town, alone, without means for self defense, not calling for help, seemingly not reporting it to the police, etc, could send the wrong message).

Then again it's only a trailer, so you never know. (although games usually come out worse than their trailers).

Look, I'm not trying to be negative here, but chances are this won't be all that great. Just going by the trailer and dismissing everything but the mood, it's on the nose. I think we can all guess who'll give this a 10/10 no matter what though.

 

[San Martin]

So a single-paragraph description and two-minute trailer is enough for some people to completely write a game off? At least wait 'til it's out!

 

[endtherapture]

That first part where you're being chased by that douche was creepy as fuck.

It's cool that someone is trying something like this, even if it isn't game I'd ever play personally.

Yeah the first bit was super creepy and actually made me feel something.

Looks like the rest of game was just walking around doing nothing though.

 

[freaper]

If they go for more of the first part I'd be on board. Maybe they could make it more surrealistic, in the creepy sense? I'm assuming there were no textures because it's still in development?

Fair warning to anyone who somehow first scrolled down [sub]to this comment and then watched [sub]the video on youtube...[/sub][/sub]

Anyway, don't read the youtube comments if you want to keep some faith in humankind (as if you guys needed another warning).

 

[Savagezion]

I don't really like it when games try to sell themselves on a particular gimmick like this, especially when the topic is very serious, and especially when the game looks like arse.

What's jsut wrong with writing an fucking story that deals with stuff like this, and sell it on the fact that it's actually a good story, because that's actually fucking rare in this industry.

Oh wait, my mistake, that'd take actual effort.

This, so much this. The scene where she is being chased is ridiculous and actually perpetuates a myth about rape being some guy walking the streets looking for a woman to pounce on and rape. Like the rape bogeyman. (Which is what he looks like) Most rape cases are where the rapist forces themselves on a person they know. What I found creepy about the game was that the 'protagonist' sees people as just non-descriptive figures. Gender is the only real distinguishing feature about them. Not even the player character has any distinguishing features when she looks in a mirror. That would probably be an apt mindset for a psychopath. No dialogue, no nothing, and everything is nondescript. This game comes off as trying to appear 'deep' without actually having a message to deliver other than "being raped fucks with your perception" which... um... duh. But by the looks of it, they don't plan on exploring how. They are just gonna throw very vague and generic images at you and hope it comes off as deep and insightful.

 

[rgrekejin]

Since literally every other game that attempts to deal with "Serious Issues" has been some combination of tasteless and insulting to the people it's attempting to advocate for, perhaps we should all just get together and agree that videogames may not be a workable medium in which to have discussions about topics of societal importance.

 

[loa]

my theory is its trying to make cash on these traumatic events, which if true is quite sickening

Companies are "making cash" on war and crime far more often, even portraying it as a fun pasttime and no one bats an eye.
Does that sicken you too?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Is it just me or does the rapist in the teaser look a lot like Elijah Wood in Sin City?

Well, it's just a shadow with white shades, but still...

 

[TravelerSF]

I'm not that impressed by the fact that the trailer focuses so heavily on the physical act of rape and the mental trauma is represented by a soft music montage. "Getting raped" in a videogame does not help the player to understand the victim. The game has to somehow walk the player through the emotional damage it has caused, either by dialogue or other means. And that's immensely difficult. I didn't see that happening here so I remain sceptical for the time being.

 

[CrystalShadow]

Well... That was... Something. Horror as a genre confuses me.

And um, while I support the concept of this game, I can't make much of the point it's trying to get across.


Personally, I've given thought to trying to do a game about this subject, but I really couldn't come up with a concept for it that would really get the point across (or worse, be wildly misinterpreted).

I got especially stuck because in my experience the core element of the event itself is having basically no control over what is being done to you. (And yes, I do have personal experience with it, please don't ask though.)

The problem here is that this goes against the fundamental idea of what a game is about.
I guess that could work as a contrast, if handled carefully, but... It is quite challenging.

(I was also hoping to try and convey the message that how you dress and act, and such isn't such a big factor in whether you will get raped or not. And also to convey the varied situations in which it can happen - and indeed the common ones which are not the whole being jumped by a scary stranger in the street scenario...)

But... No matter how I twisted the idea around in my head I just couldn't make it fit in a way that would have the intended effect on someone potentially playing it.

And with a topic like this, I'd say a poorly implemented game/idea would be worse than none at all...

 

[Azure23]

Yeah no thanks, I don't need a game to tell me what getting raped is like. I'll give this game my full support (as long as they are employing survivors on the dev team) in hopes that it'll have some sort of positive impact on public perception of survivors but I've gotta say, I don't see this working out.

 

[Riotguards]

Companies are "making cash" on war and crime far more often, even portraying it as a fun past time and no one bats an eye.
Does that sicken you too?

yeah i can see how it is hypocritical to say that one is sickening while the other is not but then where do we draw the line? how about abortion doctors because we have games of war therefore we can have games of other traumatic events

while war and rape are in the same category (i.e. traumatic events) one has a purpose for existing (i.e. contra, call of duty, etc being more on self glory and less on the fact that people die) while the other just provides some type of "experience" which quite frankly is not something we really need

TL;DR my argument is that a game has to have gameplay and how do you make gameplay out of rape trauma?

 

[Techno Squidgy]

So, seeing as this is a less than two minute trailer, I'm going to reserve judgement until I actually see the full game. Colour me interested, I want to see where they go with this, if they manage to pull off what they're hoping to pull off.

Companies are "making cash" on war and crime far more often, even portraying it as a fun past time and no one bats an eye.
Does that sicken you too?

yeah i can see how it is hypocritical to say that one is sickening while the other is not but then where do we draw the line? how about abortion doctors because we have games of war therefore we can have games of other traumatic events

while war and rape are in the same category (i.e. traumatic events) one has a purpose for existing (i.e. contra, call of duty, etc being more on self glory and less on the fact that people die) while the other just provides some type of "experience" which quite frankly is not something we really need

TL;DR my argument is that a game has to have gameplay and how do you make gameplay out of rape trauma?

I believe the point is that it's supposed to make you think about the topic and encourage you to try and see things from a perspective other than your. Consider it a thought-experiment tool or something similar.

I don't know if it's accurate to describe this as a game. Games attempt to entertain you. This looks less like it's trying to be entertaining, and more like it's trying to be though-provoking. I really am curious to see what the finished piece looks like. Not sure what I'd call it if it's not a game though. An Interactive Thought Experiment?

 

[FirstNameLastName]

Looks like a pretty neat art style with heavy ambient occlusion and no textures. Also looks kind of trippy.

Spoiler: Will I be playing it?

Hell no.

It looks like yet another of the "interactive experiences" that will open the whole debate about what is and isn't a game. And while there is nothing wrong with that (The Stanly Parable is an awesome game) I find that without game play, these types of experiences live and die on their story, music and visuals.

Judging from the theme and the trailer, the music seems exclusively melancholy, so not really my thing.
The visuals see fine, but not enough to make me play the game.
As for the story, it seems too overly concerned with its arty message to bother with plot, setting or characters, so it in turn lives and dies on its message. And what is its message? That rape is not a nice thing? That people don't like being raped? That rape has long term consequences for the victim? I'm really not sure what else there is to say about rape, so I have my doubts it will express any new ideas about the topic.

Either way, by all means the people can release it. I'm sure some people will find it interesting, while absolute cretins will ***** and moan about its status as a game.

 

[seris]

the first scene during night is fine, loved how the male figure had the bright white eyes. But everything after that doesnt really convey what a rape survivor would be feeling. The lack of textures in the world makes it look like buildings rendered in a 3D architecture modeling program

 

[Fox12]

I don't know, seems a bit too on the nose, but maybe it'll have an effect on others.

Things like rape in games should probably be handled a bit more metaphorical than just 'You're raped now, feel bad/sad/scared'.

It's an important tipi to discuss, but I'm not sure this game really captures the horror of sexual assault. It doesn't help that the game actually looks pretty peaceful and relaxing, as opposed to depressing. I'm sick of mentioning silent hill 2 in these threads, but I still believe it did the best job of handling these kinds of topics. Angela's sections were haunting. It was also interesting to view the world from the view of a perpetrator of violence, as opposed to a victim.

It doesn't help that most rapists aren't shadowy figures in the dark. They usually know the victim, which only makes it worse. This adds feelings of confusion, betrayal, and guilt to the pain. I don't think this game can capture that.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I don't know, seems a bit too on the nose, but maybe it'll have an effect on others.

Things like rape in games should probably be handled a bit more metaphorical than just 'You're raped now, feel bad/sad/scared'.

It's an important tipi to discuss, but I'm not sure this game really captures the horror of sexual assault. It doesn't help that the game actually looks pretty peaceful and relaxing, as opposed to depressing. I'm sick of mentioning silent hill 2 in these threads, but I still believe it did the best job of handling these kinds of topics. Angela's sections were haunting. It was also interesting to view the world from the view of a perpetrator of violence, as opposed to a victim.

And not just Angela. If James' anguish over...

Spoiler

...killing his wife, because he couldn't mentally cope with her agonizingly long sickbed anymore, and his pent up lust likely causing him to bang a nurse while his wife was dying a painly long and slow death...

...was portrayed as bluntly as I just described it, it would never have been able to snake its way into the minds of fans the way it did.