Autumn, a game about rape

[Haerthan]

Snip

... Holy Jesus ..............................

I saw the trailer, what a way to scare the s*** out of the viewers. Usually games that are 'meant' to be scary tend not to, but somehow this simple project with the girl avoiding the guy in the ally ... that was freaken creepy. My heart was racing and i'm a guy (to be fair, guys can be raped too...)

This project doesn't anger me, but i'm just speechless as to why someone's making this. I mean are we supposed to feel bad, scared, or hopeless? I want to understand the victim, believe me but what good shall it do being in their shoes during and after the crime? ... I just don't know. Maybe it's a good thing this game is being made for me to question so many things, but on the other hand, i'm feeling to conflicted to encourage this game in being made. Uncomfortable with how disturbing it is, but maybe that's the goal of the developer. He/she wants us to feel this uncomfortable because that's the reality of a rape victim's case. I even helped people through such harsh situations but to see myself in the girl's shoes as it happens? ... God man ........... I don't know.

Well I believe they are making it to raise awareness of sorts. One of the developers apparently managed to get away from a sexual assault without suffering much (that sounds weird on paper). Even without that, who is anyone to say that such games shouldn't exist? Which is why I am of the opinion that every game has a point (yes even you COD- don't aske me though, no idea what your point would be). The point of this one is to question ourselves, to challenge ourselves. I hope they are successful. I really do. And I hope the troglodytes yelling "this is no game" (or yelling it to Gone Home or other interactive story like that) stay home. I don't want piss in my self-challenging of my thought patterns.

 

[Haerthan]

ITT- a bunch of people who make me question my desire to make video games. Ever. And I don't even want to make art games. Generally speaking. I wonder, if I ever tried to make a game related to my experience with rape, would I get called a pretentious snob as well? Or would I get a pass for having a penis?


OT- Looks decent honestly. The lack of textures actually serves the game well from what I can tell, I like the different bits of visual warping and what not being used to display a rather tortured perception, the last little bit where the hat and glasses show up on the random guy is pretty nice. Hopefully they don't just put you completely on rails with it throughout, as that would be a bit disappointing. The later portions will probably be what it will all have to hinge on though (in my opinion at least). The experience of being raped sucks, but living with it is the thing that honestly is both easier for people to understand and probably a good deal more necessary.

Yea the lack of texture was interesting to say the least. Is that how a survivor sees the world? Devoid of any colour? I mean rape is a really disgusting act so its consequences on the victim must be deeply profound. Are the lack of textures and colour a way to show that profoundness? I am quite interested to say the least.

 

[Scow2]

i hope you get to have revenge on the rapist in the game. i would make him die as slowly and painfully as possible.

That largely defeats the point.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

ITT- a bunch of people who make me question my desire to make video games. Ever. And I don't even want to make art games. Generally speaking. I wonder, if I ever tried to make a game related to my experience with rape, would I get called a pretentious snob as well? Or would I get a pass for having a penis?


OT- Looks decent honestly. The lack of textures actually serves the game well from what I can tell, I like the different bits of visual warping and what not being used to display a rather tortured perception, the last little bit where the hat and glasses show up on the random guy is pretty nice. Hopefully they don't just put you completely on rails with it throughout, as that would be a bit disappointing. The later portions will probably be what it will all have to hinge on though (in my opinion at least). The experience of being raped sucks, but living with it is the thing that honestly is both easier for people to understand and probably a good deal more necessary.

Yea the lack of texture was interesting to say the least. Is that how a survivor sees the world? Devoid of any colour? I mean rape is a really disgusting act so its consequences on the victim must be deeply profound. Are the lack of textures and colour a way to show that profoundness? I am quite interested to say the least.

Generally a lack of color is used to portray depression and the lack of details could be alienating. Those are definitely two potential responses to rape. For me it was a kind of frightened guilt. I knew something was very wrong, and I wound up blaming myself to some degree.

 

[Dansen]

Aren't most rape incidents carried out by a person(s) whom the victim already knows on some level? It seems like the guy in the beginning was a stranger, on the street no less.

I hope there is a genuine desire to make the game and not just some ill conceived attempt to gain publicity by doing something controversial.

 

[OldNewNewOld]

I could see the game kinda work as a pseudo horror game. Like an open world where you go from home to job and back and days pass by. You may or may not be attacked whenever there is no one around. You can always get away. But when you get raped (I... this sounds so fucked up for a game (-_-') ), you might be "attacked" by "phantoms" in the future. Like the bus scene. Suddenly someone there just starts attacking you in from of the people. He chances into the person that raped you and starts running towards you. The moment he's about to get you he turns back to the normal model and walks by. It would/should simulate the fear.

Though I don't see this ever being a bigger gamer, or even paid game. Seems like a 20 minute experience you could find on Newgrounds for free.

And even with all this, the game would fall into the trap that many crime analysts are warning about. It has a name but I don't know. It's about how TV shows showing the random street rape make people believe that's the only type of rape making it easier for people to overlook other kinds of "silent" rape.

 

[Haerthan]

ITT- a bunch of people who make me question my desire to make video games. Ever. And I don't even want to make art games. Generally speaking. I wonder, if I ever tried to make a game related to my experience with rape, would I get called a pretentious snob as well? Or would I get a pass for having a penis?


OT- Looks decent honestly. The lack of textures actually serves the game well from what I can tell, I like the different bits of visual warping and what not being used to display a rather tortured perception, the last little bit where the hat and glasses show up on the random guy is pretty nice. Hopefully they don't just put you completely on rails with it throughout, as that would be a bit disappointing. The later portions will probably be what it will all have to hinge on though (in my opinion at least). The experience of being raped sucks, but living with it is the thing that honestly is both easier for people to understand and probably a good deal more necessary.

Yea the lack of texture was interesting to say the least. Is that how a survivor sees the world? Devoid of any colour? I mean rape is a really disgusting act so its consequences on the victim must be deeply profound. Are the lack of textures and colour a way to show that profoundness? I am quite interested to say the least.

Generally a lack of color is used to portray depression and the lack of details could be alienating. Those are definitely two potential responses to rape. For me it was a kind of frightened guilt. I knew something was very wrong, and I wound up blaming myself to some degree.

Hmmm. You know I never put much thought into it. I can, however, see how that would work. Now I am definitely interested, definitely interested. If just the trailer makes me put some thought into it, granted that should be taken with a grain of salt, usually I am interested. So yea I really hope they nail it, but considering what I know so far, most likely they will nail it.

Then we will once again have the needless debate of what constitutes a game.

 

[MirenBainesUSMC]

I guess my question is where is the entertainment value in the long run other than some electronic medium that is supposed to educate someone concerning the concept of rape? I'd say a face to face talk with a victim ( I don't like saying victim because it demeans the person, I'd rather say survivor).

I think one of the posters in the thread had already said what I basically support and that is, if you really wanted to convey the horror of a rape, its more hard hitting if you can simply write a very good scene and have it created within the game to give emotional impact.... and since talent like that is very scarce in this industry, I shall not hold my breath. Whomever wrote for The Last of Us could probably do it.

I also believe that attempting to create a traumatic event is also dangerous, particularly if we are dealing with something like the Occulus Rift. You could very well trip someone into believe they actually were raped and now they'll be affected mentally by it ---- I said " COULD" because we really don't know the sensitivity of some people and their mental strengths. This idea can go both ways --- you could even feed into a deviant person's mind and make them worse just as much as you could teach them the other way... the human mind is a very chaotic thing.

I personally think they should just leave it alone but... we live in very experimental and destructive times. The next thing they'll sell you is a re-creation of Abu Grab in which your flogged, beaten, water boarded, and humiliated to teach you that being in a military prison camp is the bad thing. Oh and wait! We have " Prison Camp: North Korea" DLC comming soon!

 

[Joccaren]

To be fair, I haven't watched the trailer, but the rest of the comments have outlined it for me.

But is sounds like it probably won't work. Depression Quest somehow managed, though I think that was largely a result of how the game was made; Text, and you were given choices. For each choice, something would still go wrong, and despite making all the 'right' or what seemed logical choices, your character would still end up feeling upset. That sense of no matter what you do, its not going to help, and having to take the long path through things to start getting better, is probably why it managed to whilst not have someone experience depression, at least give them some ability to empathise with those who have.

Rape, however, isn't something that simple. You could probably do it better with a text based thing than it sounds like this game is going to do, but honestly if you're going to do rape, I think you need to do the real deal of it. Not as in IRL. Have a normal game. Naturally, it needs to be known for its mature story. Don't advertise it based on rape at all. Have it seem to play 'normally' for whatever type of game you make it. And then have it happen. Preferably have it as a family member or friend the player has gotten close to, and make it confusing and in first person enough that they can't see what's going on, but eventually they can figure it out.
The game would also preferably be pseudo open world, and not have restricting goals and story such that you can say "At this point you get raped". More just you have a need to go to wherever it is you get raped in normal gameplay, and one time that you do it it happens.
I don't know if you could make a good game to tackle the subject, but that's where I'd start from. You can't just say "You were raped, run from the bad guy" and expect people to understand. That just sounds like a really poor taste setup for a horror game. Music is powerful, and a good soundtrack can help express feelings - but putting that into a basically horror/walking simulator isn't a great extension on that. You're better off just using the music by itself. You need to make at least that point of the game about rape, but not make rape a game.

Is it something that needs to be done? I don't really think so, but if people think it does then, well, whatever. Trying to spread empathy isn't something I can condemn. Is the way to do it? I don't think so.

 

[sombrero_joe]

Sounds like it will be a darling of Games Journalists everywhere. 10/10 from both Polygon and Kotaku definitely.

That being said people can make whatever game they want I don't give a shit. I will however notice if I start to see it all over the internet, while other much better indie titles don't see much support short of from the steam community.

I also agree with others in that this is much better told within the context of a greater story. Make the story take place in a dystopian future full of gangs and poverty. The main character who was a victim of a traumatic rape fights both for her mental health and her survival in a chaotic city.

 

[Alatar The Red]

Sounds like it will be yet another one of these extremely linear walking simulators where the game and the developers are trying to make a point.

So due to that and the subject matter the game will obviously be praised by certain sites no matter what the gameplay is like.

I mean it could be interesting and well made but honestly imo the chances are that it'll be a one dimensional walking sim that tries to make people take it seriously by going "look at us, we have sad music and a taboo theme".

Also the trailer with its dark alleyway and a creepy dude running to catch you is already somewhat worrying as far as a game of this subject goes.

 

[b.w.irenicus]

Hmm I myself am not exactly interedted, but I do find it... "strange" (to put it politely) that some people are even quetioning the existence of the game in the first place? Since when do games or art need a justification to exist? people feel the need to make this game, some people will probable be interested in it and play it, that's it, nothing more to it. It has every right to exist as Call od Duty or other games have. Will it be good? Fuck, I don't know and don't care.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Well, this ought to be interesting to watch unfold.

 

[Schadrach]

Another?! Didn't we say all we needed to say with The Path and Depression Quest?
I mean what perspective could this game offer that justifies its creation? What new ideas are they bringing? What, that rape is bad? Somehow I think people figured that out without another pretentious indie game.

Oh I'm sorry, it has Oculus Rift support and a cheap soundtrack! Brilliant! 11/10! If you don't buy it, you're just not smart enough to get it!

This is the Escapist forums, not Kotaku...

As for my take, good for them if it's well done. I, as always, support as many people as possible making any games they want to make about any subject they want to make them about, though I reserve the right to trash any that are poorly made for being poorly made, and to give my wholly subjective opinion of their individual narratives. I'd argue that's the superior path towards greater diversity in gaming, rather than the "you need to tick the following boxes in every game or it's sexist/racist/ponyist/whatever and we're going to call you out for being bigots" approach.

For example, I think Depression Quest is terrible and lacking both skill in execution and artfulness and that Actual Sunlight [http://store.steampowered.com/app/288040/] does a better job with the concept (the reveal regarding the therapist was a nice touch in Actual Sunlight [http://store.steampowered.com/app/288040/]) and Neverending Nightmares [http://store.steampowered.com/app/253330/] covers some adjacent concepts in a mildly more "gamey" fashion, but I'm certainly not going to say Depression Quest shouldn't have been made. It's far from my favorite game with the initials DQ though.

As for the two games I mentioned above, both are fairly short though Neverending Nightmares has multiple endings and does a lot less to make it clear how things are meant to be interpreted. Both were on show at PAX East 2014 (where I first saw them -- Neverending Nightmares was in the Kickstarter room and Actual Sunlight had a fairly nondescript booth in the indie section [like weirdly nondescript to the point where it's nondescript-ness kind of stood out among all the flashing lights and colorful signs]), and I had talked a friend of mine into playing the NN demo with headphones on, and having reached the end he turned to me, took off the headphones and said "Whoever designed this game was a sick fucker." Upon which, the man who had designed the game, having had quietly come up behind him while he was playing and watching intently without being noticed said, "Thank you. I created it to help me deal with my issues", in what was exactly the wrong mix of matter-of-factness and utter calm.

 

[norashepard]

Man idk about this. It's obviously not finished yet.

On the topic of games about rape, I think a REALLY good one was Winter Voices. Man that game did it right. It was all about the aftermath, the mental toll. Annnnnd it was basically ignored by the public at large. Though that was probably because the gameplay was pretty dang hard and also difficult to learn at first. But shit, if I ever see a game get that close again, I'll die happy. It didn't turn the assault into a gameplay mechanic. That's step one to not coming off as a complete asshole.

This game though, while I'm sure it's coming from a place of good intentions, seems a little off base. It appears (right now) to be about the event itself. I'm especially wary because it's a "stranger in a dark alleyway" thing, which is usually not how things go down. Plus, with no words and really no action besides walking around, I'm skeptical this can really say anything beyond "Boy, doesn't this suck? Yikes.". Yeah. Rape sucks! What more do you have to say about it? Being a survivor is about a lot more than what I saw in that vid.

Of course, it's not finished yet, so when it is we can judge for sure.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

I really like that aesthetic. I can think of a few game ideas where that could work. I can't read anything on the game itself yet though. It's built on a single premise and seems to have a single gameplay mechanic. How well it does depends entirely on how well it makes it's point, which will be impossible to tell unless you play the game yourself.

On the gameplay vs story argument, I'm a fan of good stories. If the story is good enough, I'll overlook most any bad gameplay.

 

[Smigglebops]

Although I don't believe the game will be in any way successful in achieving its intended goal, I do believe that games like this have a right to exist. Even if it does end up being horribly offensive or unrepresentative of actual victims, I appreciate the fact that the developers tried and if it's all that bad it will most likely crash and burn and the internet can have a field day shitting all over it.