Autumn, a game about rape

[Vigormortis]

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.

This was what I was thinking.

Thing is, a video game offers a powerful platform from which one could tell a story like this. Literally putting the 'reader' within the perspective of the story's lead can make for a more impactful experience.

Shame this game doesn't seem to be doing that. It looks more like it's relying on cheap scares and a suffocating level of pretentiousness.

A topic like rape, and the traumatic effects it has on those unfortunate enough to face it, deserves far better.

Even their method of showing the emotional trauma after-the-fact looks like it leaves a lot to be desired. Simply having the world presented as grey-scale, and all people as faceless entities, screams more of lazy design than it does of deep, thoughtful artistic expression.

Wouldn't it make more sense to, say, have one of the later-game options be to try to enter into a romantic relationship with someone, but then present certain things that would better reflect the emotional trauma rape victims experience? Like having the visage of the romantic figure change to something grotesque and sinister the closer the player character gets, either physically or emotionally. Or perhaps the player could be plagued by shadowy figures that follow the player where ever they go, but remain always on the periphery of the player's vision. You could even limit the appearance of such figures when the player is around others they know or trust. Or for a mix up, have them become more prominent when the player is around other characters that their character once trusted, but of whom have some similarities to the player's attacker.

Still, criticisms aside, this project seems to be trying to do more than DepressionQuest did. So kudos to that...

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

as for the game personally i think its a bad idea, first of all, as a game the idea doesnt sound entertaining in the slightest,

First, that's just like, your opinion man. Also, why do games have to be entertaining in a traditional sense?

i dont know, does a plane need to fly?

games are a mean of entertainment, their only purpose is to entertain

Games are a medium of expression. They exist to express. Games are a medium of pronography, they exist to sexually gratify. Games are a medium of Willem DaFoe. They exist to show us his goblin-y glory. Stop defining art so narrowly.

second the graphics look more lazy than minimalist,

With the amount of effort that was clearly put into the lighting effects, I'm pretty certain not putting in textures was a concious decision rather than just a bit of laziness.

lighting effects which also look underwhelming

this is how you pull a minimalistic style

You realize that the difference between the two is use of color in light effects right? Which this game does? So there actually isn't a difference? There aren't textures on that image you showed either, or at the very least there is no need for them.

third the gameplay doesnt seem to me much different from the other dime a dozen "walking simulators",

True, but most games are very similar to other games. Still, I think this has some merit. I really hope they put enough effort into the gameplay to make it stand out on that front as well, like Stanley Parable did.

what gameplay? walking simulators barely have any gameplay, that is the problem

If you think that Stanley Parable had no gameplay then I question the value in continuing here.

fourth, what is the end goal? to overcome your trauma and live hapily ever after? to live feeling exposed, vulnerable and miserable for the rest of your life?

Why does a game have to have an end goal? Seems a bit dumb to me.

because its a video game, even games with no end such as minecraft and the Sims have implied goals, survive

Why? Seems like a pretty artificial thing to me.

as a mean to give a message, i think it also fails, nothing short of being raped oneself could really convey how a rape victim feels, worse yet, it might end up oversimplying how a rape victim truthly feels

I don't not exclude the possibility that media of any form can help relate the feeling of some personal experience. And even an oversimplification of such experiences is better than absolutely nothing.

"And even an oversimplification of such experiences is better than absolutely nothing"

no it wouldnt, because you end up trivializing the whole thing

I would rather someone talk about something in a limited, simplified manner than never have the topic addressed at all, at least because then we can learn how to address it better in the future. And I find it really assuming of you when you say that any and all attempts to address rape in a medium will be an oversimplification of the issue.

 

[Riotguards]

I would rather someone talk about something in a limited, simplified manner than never have the topic addressed at all, at least because then we can learn how to address it better in the future. And I find it really assuming of you when you say that any and all attempts to address rape in a medium will be an oversimplification of the issue.

if this was not related to a traumatic event i would support your ideal, experience simulations like Autism, blind/deafness, etc all have something which we can learn from and perhaps how we can all approach it in a more positive light from our experience

buuuuuut

this is a traumatic event, i cannot speak for us all but the torture scene in GTA 5 was not fun nor was it something we would play as a game or experience and then traumatic events like "burning house" simulator or family member going crazy, etc, etc are also something that while we can talk about it shouldn't be put into a game / simulation

now this rape aftermath simulator teach's us what exactly? WE CANNOT understand how the person feels at all as it is something which we haven't felt, why someone will feel immense paranoia like the game portrays or why the everything is black & white is also something which we cannot tell unless we experience this as well

furthermore its most likely that this does not speak for anyone who's experience this trauma (or assuming the developer is themselves a victim) so in the end you'll not only make the victims feel annoyed that they've been portrayed wrongly but also spread misinformation to people who are generally interested in this subject


i honestly do not like the idea of this game simply because its a delicate subject, this isn't a subject which we should try to emulate in order to try educate people because in the end its not going to help at all

 

[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.

This was what I was thinking.

Thing is, a video game offers a powerful platform from which one could tell a story like this. Literally putting the 'reader' within the perspective of the story's lead can make for a more impactful experience.

Shame this game doesn't seem to be doing that. It looks more like it's relying on cheap scares and a suffocating level of pretentiousness.

A topic like rape, and the traumatic effects it has on those unfortunate enough to face it, deserves far better.

Even their method of showing the emotional trauma after-the-fact looks like it leaves a lot to be desired. Simply having the world presented as grey-scale, and all people as faceless entities, screams more of lazy design than it does of deep, thoughtful artistic expression.

Wouldn't it make more sense to, say, have one of the later-game options be to try to enter into a romantic relationship with someone, but then present certain things that would better reflect the emotional trauma rape victims experience? Like having the visage of the romantic figure change to something grotesque and sinister the closer the player character gets, either physically or emotionally. Or perhaps the player could be plagued by shadowy figures that follow the player where ever they go, but remain always on the periphery of the player's vision. You could even limit the appearance of such figures when the player is around others they know or trust. Or for a mix up, have them become more prominent when the player is around other characters that their character once trusted, but of whom have some similarities to the player's attacker.

Still, criticisms aside, this project seems to be trying to do more than DepressionQuest did. So kudos to that...

Yup. If they'd divide the game into pre- and post-rape parts there's a lot they could do. After introducing the player into the game mechanics during the first part they could cripple them during the second part. Walking alone, in the night could turn into a disorientating and unpleasant experience. Daily functions could be interrupted by minigames which draw your mind back to the rape. Visual images or distortion could make regular human interactions difficult, or even possible. The overarching narrative could be a new relationship which you try to make work, despite how badly the rape has harmed you both emotionally and sexually. Failures could cause you miss meetings, skip eating or showers and just generally keep pushing you further away from society.

Granted I'm not a game designer and a lot of the things I mentioned could end up being very gimmicky, but I just would've wanted to see the designers to actually try to take advantage of what GAMES can do as a medium.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

I would rather someone talk about something in a limited, simplified manner than never have the topic addressed at all, at least because then we can learn how to address it better in the future. And I find it really assuming of you when you say that any and all attempts to address rape in a medium will be an oversimplification of the issue.

if this was not related to a traumatic event i would support your ideal, experience simulations like Autism, blind/deafness, etc all have something which we can learn from and perhaps how we can all approach it in a more positive light from our experience

buuuuuut

this is a traumatic event, i cannot speak for us all but the torture scene in GTA 5 was not fun nor was it something we would play as a game or experience and then traumatic events like "burning house" simulator or family member going crazy, etc, etc are also something that while we can talk about it shouldn't be put into a game / simulation

What makes trauma unplayable? I don't think games should be limited in that sense. They are capable of relating trauma. They are capable of expressing these things.

now this rape aftermath simulator teach's us what exactly? WE CANNOT understand how the person feels at all as it is something which we haven't felt, why someone will feel immense paranoia like the game portrays or why the everything is black & white is also something which we cannot tell unless we experience this as well

If something cannot be related to than nothing can. I do not think that humans are so alien to one another that it is impossible for them to relate to each other's traumas. Done right, I think the game could relate the trauma of rape.

furthermore its most likely that this does not speak for anyone who's experience this trauma (or assuming the developer is themselves a victim) so in the end you'll not only make the victims feel annoyed that they've been portrayed wrongly but also spread misinformation to people who are generally interested in this subject

Any information on rape is misinformation regarding someone's experience, but the same can be said of any kind of experience, so I don't see your point. And if the developer has indeed experienced this trauma, then why are we telling them that they have no right to try and relate it to others? That is a truly awful kind of cruelty.

i honestly do not like the idea of this game simply because its a delicate subject, this isn't a subject which we should try to emulate in order to try educate people because in the end its not going to help at all

No subject is so delicate that it cannot be portrayed.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

Games are a medium of expression. They exist to express. Games are a medium of pronography, they exist to sexually gratify. Games are a medium of Willem DaFoe. They exist to show us his goblin-y glory. Stop defining art so narrowly.

you have to be joking

you talk exactly like someone who does not know what art is

video games were not created because some artist somewhere wanted to make "super artsy bros", they were created to entertain first and foremost, a game made not with that purpose is not a game

You realize that the difference between the two is use of color in light effects right? Which this game does? So there actually isn't a difference? There aren't textures on that image you showed either, or at the very least there is no need for them.

you havent played antichamber have you?

If you think that Stanley Parable had no gameplay then I question the value in continuing here.

correct, the stanley parable barely had any gameplay, is was little more than a choose your own adventure book

or course the stanley parable was SOMEWHAT redeemed by its humor, which made the whole thing ENTERTAINING, but i dont think making fun of rape is the best idea

Why? Seems like a pretty artificial thing to me.

you are joking right? i mean i wasnt sure at first but now im almost convinced

its a video game, almost none of it is non-artificial, its the the product of algorithms and instructions assembled in a language made by humans for machines, the machines then take these instructions and processes them in thousands upon thousands of logic gates and calculates thousands upon thousand of mathematical results per second, the end result of this 100% artificial feat of human ingenuinty is the game that is then presented in your monitor/TV

take it from a software engineer, theres nothing natural about a computer program, is logic, made by humans, for machines

at best software can become a mockery of nature, somewhat simulate it, but that game threw away any pretense of that the moment the main character shrunk to the size of a mouse

I would rather someone talk about something in a limited, simplified manner than never have the topic addressed at all, at least because then we can learn how to address it better in the future. And I find it really assuming of you when you say that any and all attempts to address rape in a medium will be an oversimplification of the issue.

you think rape is not addressed? you think the public at large isnt aware of rape? you think most sane people support rape?

and now you think im not givign video games credit for what they can accomplish?

listen pal, im no rape victim, but im pretty sure no video game can ever tell you how it feels to be raped, neither can any movie, painting or book, none of them can ever tell you what it feels to be shot, what it feels to lose a person close to you, etc

those are things only the person experiencing it knows how it feels, because at the very depths of this intricate machine inside our heads we know it all is not real, no book, movie, painting or video game will ever make us forget that, atleast under normal circunstances, and thats the big difference

because for the person that was raped it doesnt end when they turn off the PC

thats why a game about what it feels to be raped will invariably fail, and its pretentious as shit to make one thinking it could ever work, a game involving rape in some way, as an extra element into the narrative, thats a different thing, just like games often involve death into the narrative

 

[Riotguards]

What makes trauma unplayable? I don't think games should be limited in that sense. They are capable of relating trauma. They are capable of expressing these things.

i never said it should be limited, i just said an experience simulation is a bad idea, a traumatic event such as the torture scene in GTA 5 is more relatable than just having a torture simulation game

what exsactly do you gain out of a truama experience simulation which would educate you enough that it would justify its existance, this isn't a game its most likely being pushed as an experience which is to educate people but when that "education" is already a know topic to everyone who is not a scumbag then what exactly do you gain from it

If something cannot be related to than nothing can. I do not think that humans are so alien to one another that it is impossible for them to relate to each other's traumas. Done right, I think the game could relate the trauma of rape.

this is not what i was talking about at all, if you were to play this game but instead of it being about rape trauma its instead about depression you'd come to a completely different conclusion than what you would with the rape trauma experience

with the depression simulation you can actually RELATE to said person because we have all experience one form of depression or loss of life but the majority of people have not experienced rape, so by that logic how can we come to relate to something that we can't understand

just like the Autism simulation there was at least something relatable but that cannot be said about rape

Any information on rape is misinformation regarding someone's experience, but the same can be said of any kind of experience, so I don't see your point. And if the developer has indeed experienced this trauma, then why are we telling them that they have no right to try and relate it to others? That is a truly awful kind of cruelty.

and how exactly would you prepose a rape experience simulation would provide said information if its all misinformation, anyone who is old enough to play this experience simulator already knows that rape is bad (well fire world none scumbag) so this would be preaching to the choir

No subject is so delicate that it cannot be portrayed.

there's a limit to imitating a subject that is already considered delicate, its the same reason we do not have 9/11 simulations

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

Games are a medium of expression. They exist to express. Games are a medium of pronography, they exist to sexually gratify. Games are a medium of Willem DaFoe. They exist to show us his goblin-y glory. Stop defining art so narrowly.

you have to be joking

you talk exactly like someone who does not know what art is

video games were not created because some artist somewhere wanted to make "super artsy bros", they were created to entertain first and foremost, a game made not with that purpose is not a game

I know that games are an artform, that other artforms have addressed this, and that other artforms also started out as entertainment first and foremost. If you want games to be nothing more than entertainment, then go live your close minded life, but don't humor yourself into thinking you actually have an argument to support that.

You realize that the difference between the two is use of color in light effects right? Which this game does? So there actually isn't a difference? There aren't textures on that image you showed either, or at the very least there is no need for them.

you havent played antichamber have you?

I've watched my friend play a good deal of it. Pretty certain that most of that can be done with just lighting effects. Further, I really don't see why all other games which are going for a minimalist artstyle need to look like anti-chamber. This game is trying to use it's visuals to portray alienation and depression (I presume) and bleached out visuals with faceless people does an excellent job of that.

If you think that Stanley Parable had no gameplay then I question the value in continuing here.

correct, the stanley parable barely had any gameplay, is was little more than a choose your own adventure book

or course the stanley parable was SOMEWHAT redeemed by its humor, which made the whole thing ENTERTAINING, but i dont think making fun of rape is the best idea

Wow.

Why? Seems like a pretty artificial thing to me.

you are joking right? i mean i wasnt sure at first but now im almost convinced

its a video game, almost none of it is non-artificial, its the the product of algorithms and instructions assembled in a language made by humans for machines, the machines then take these instructions and processes them in thousands upon thousands of logic gates and calculates thousands upon thousand of mathematical results per second, the end result of this 100% artificial feat of human ingenuinty is the game that is then presented in your monitor/TV

take it from a software engineer, theres nothing natural about a computer program, is logic, made by humans, for machines

at best software can become a mockery of nature, somewhat simulate it, but that game threw away any pretense of that the moment the main character shrunk to the size of a mouse

Good job misrepresenting what I was saying. And given that I am also a software engineer (working towards it at the very least), I am pretty aware of what a fucking algorithm is. I was saying that the rule that games must have goals is an artificial one, one you just made up, one without purpose.

I would rather someone talk about something in a limited, simplified manner than never have the topic addressed at all, at least because then we can learn how to address it better in the future. And I find it really assuming of you when you say that any and all attempts to address rape in a medium will be an oversimplification of the issue.

you think rape is not addressed? you think the public at large isnt aware of rape? you think most sane people support rape?

No. To a degree, in that they could understand how it makes survivors feel. No.

and now you think im not givign video games credit for what they can accomplish?

Given that you seem convinced that all games must exist for entertainment first and foremost, yes, you really aren't giving them credit.

listen pal, im no rape victim, but im pretty sure no video game can ever tell you how it feels to be raped, neither can any movie, painting or book, none of them can ever tell you what it feels to be shot, what it feels to lose a person close to you, etc

They can, to some degree or another. They can definitely help.

those are things only the person experiencing it knows how it feels, because at the very depths of this intricate machine inside our heads we know it all is not real, no book, movie, painting or video game will ever make us forget that, atleast under normal circunstances, and thats the big difference

And if a person who experiences those things wants to try and relate those feelings, is it some entirely futile endeavor? Is man so inherently alien to man that empathy is functionally impossible? No.

because for the person that was raped it doesnt end when they turn off the PC

A fact I am acutely aware of thank you very much. I don't need your help to know that. It doesn't change the fact that I would like others to understand how such a thing feels, at least for a short time. It doesn't change the fact that I would like my own experiences to be understood. I want to reach out to people. I want to speak to someone. And so I will defend the idea of someone else doing likewise.

thats why a game about what it feels to be raped will invariably fail, and its pretentious as shit to make one thinking it could ever work, a game involving rape in some way, as an extra element into the narrative, thats a different thing, just like games often involve death into the narrative

Talking about an entirely human experience, attempting to relate it, that cannot be, in any shape, way, or form, pretentious. It just isn't. And I refuse to let my personal experiences be relegated to side stories and minor characters for the sake of your low-brow thoughtlessness. What I have lived through is not pretentious. What I have dealt with is not pretentious. It was human. It was life. And you will never convince me that any effort I or anyone else may make to relate such circumstances is "pretentious." You will never make me believe that it is too irrelatable, too thoughtful, too emotional, too painful. Because I was fucking there. I lived through it. And I know what it was. And I will not be silent for your sake, nor should anyone else.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

What makes trauma unplayable? I don't think games should be limited in that sense. They are capable of relating trauma. They are capable of expressing these things.

i never said it should be limited, i just said an experience simulation is a bad idea, a traumatic event such as the torture scene in GTA 5 is more relatable than just having a torture simulation game

what exsactly do you gain out of a truama experience simulation which would educate you enough that it would justify its existance, this isn't a game its most likely being pushed as an experience which is to educate people but when that "education" is already a know topic to everyone who is not a scumbag then what exactly do you gain from it

What is gained from any kind of expression? I think that in this case a more empathetic understanding of the subject is very possible, and that is certainly not a bad thing.

If something cannot be related to than nothing can. I do not think that humans are so alien to one another that it is impossible for them to relate to each other's traumas. Done right, I think the game could relate the trauma of rape.

this is not what i was talking about at all, if you were to play this game but instead of it being about rape trauma its instead about depression you'd come to a completely different conclusion than what you would with the rape trauma experience

with the depression simulation you can actually RELATE to said person because we have all experience one form of depression or loss of life but the majority of people have not experienced rape, so by that logic how can we come to relate to something that we can't understand

just like the Autism simulation there was at least something relatable but that cannot be said about rape

Not everyone has experienced chemical depression, but I do believe that it can be related in such a way that others can understand. Likewise, not everyone has experienced rape or its after effects, but I believe that people are capable of understanding. And I just do not apreciate being told that my experiences are so alien that my fellow human beings cannot understand them. If anything, that is a far greater insult than any well intentioned attempt at portraying rape could ever be.

Any information on rape is misinformation regarding someone's experience, but the same can be said of any kind of experience, so I don't see your point. And if the developer has indeed experienced this trauma, then why are we telling them that they have no right to try and relate it to others? That is a truly awful kind of cruelty.

and how exactly would you prepose a rape experience simulation would provide said information if its all misinformation, anyone who is old enough to play this experience simulator already knows that rape is bad (well fire world none scumbag) so this would be preaching to the choir

It can help you understand how it makes another person feel, if only in their case, if only for a moment, and that is still worth the effort.

No subject is so delicate that it cannot be portrayed.

there's a limit to imitating a subject that is already considered delicate, its the same reason we do not have 9/11 simulations

I think we could. If we can have movies on the subject, addressing the emotion of it, addressing the fallout, then we can have games do the same. We can have games do better.

 

[Darknacht]

as for the game personally i think its a bad idea, first of all, as a game the idea doesnt sound entertaining in the slightest,

First, that's just like, your opinion man. Also, why do games have to be entertaining in a traditional sense?

i dont know, does a plane need to fly?

games are a mean of entertainment, their only purpose is to entertain

Serious movies also are not movies and serious book are not books, people need to understand that all serious artsy fartsy stuff needs to have their own names.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

I know that games are an artform, that other artforms have addressed this, and that other artforms also started out as entertainment first and foremost. If you want games to be nothing more than entertainment, then go live your close minded life, but don't humor yourself into thinking you actually have an argument to support that.

other artforms remain entertainment, nobody watches movies to be bored, nobody plays games to be bored

ok ill go sit and live closed minded in my huge pile of fun, atleast i wont be bored out of my skull thinking that you have to be an art conossieur to enjoy video games, also

"but don't humor yourself into thinking you actually have an argument to support that"

what an amazing way to finish your paragraph, nothing says open minded like "shut up, you are not right, you will never be right"

I've watched my friend play a good deal of it. Pretty certain that most of that can be done with just lighting effects. Further, I really don't see why all other games which are going for a minimalist artstyle need to look like anti-chamber. This game is trying to use it's visuals to portray alienation and depression (I presume) and bleached out visuals with faceless people does an excellent job of that.

one game shows a representation of non-eucliden 3D space, the other has no textures, guess which is which

"This game is trying to use it's visuals to portray alienation and depression (I presume) and bleached out visuals with faceless people does an excellent job of that."

so you dont even know why if the minimalist art style has a reason to be, you just assume its brilliant?

Wow.

yes the game was utterly simplistic

in fact, i think you could port it into text adventure format, theres no problem solving or reflex skills involved, no time limit, and the final outcome is merely the result of a few A, B, C or D decisions you make

all the wandering around in first person, is just filler, there isnt even a lot of interaction going on

Good job misrepresenting what I was saying. And given that I am also a software engineer (working towards it at the very least), I am pretty aware of what a fucking algorithm is. I was saying that the rule that games must have goals is an artificial one, one you just made up, one without purpose.

so the idea of giving purpose to a game is without purpose?

are you aware of what you are saying?

No. To a degree, in that they could understand how it makes survivors feel. No.

wow, ok youll have to provide me with some evidence if you actually want to support such ridiculous claim

i think the fact rape IS A FREAKIN' CRIME and nobody seems to have a problem with it staying that way, im inclined to believe people in general, think rape is not good

people cannot truthly understand how a rape victim feels, not without experiencing it themselves

Given that you seem convinced that all games must exist for entertainment first and foremost, yes, you really aren't giving them credit.

just because i think planes should fly first and foremost doesnt mean i dont give planes credit for what they can accomplish

They can, to some degree or another. They can definitely help.

no it doesnt work that way, we are aware is not real, thats why we cant fully relate to being raped

And if a person who experiences those things wants to try and relate those feelings, is it some entirely futile endeavor? Is man so inherently alien to man that empathy is functionally impossible? No.

i dont have to understand entirely how you feel in order to feel bad for you, when you are feeling depressed, vulnerable, scared or alone, those are basic feelings people can relate to because most people have felt them at one time or another, when someone we care for is feeling sad, we can relate to that and we know thats not something we desire for the people we care for

A fact I am acutely aware of thank you very much. I don't need your help to know that. It doesn't change the fact that I would like others to understand how such a thing feels, at least for a short time. It doesn't change the fact that I would like my own experiences to be understood. I want to reach out to people. I want to speak to someone. And so I will defend the idea of someone else doing likewise.

im not calling the game to be banned, im saying its a terrile game and it will fail, theres a difference

Talking about an entirely human experience, attempting to relate it, that cannot be, in any shape, way, or form, pretentious.

yes it is, when you think your empathy and understanding can break all barries and extend to things you have never ever experienced in your life, you are incredibly pretentious

It just isn't. And I refuse to let my personal experiences be relegated to side stories and minor characters for the sake of your low-brow thoughtlessness. What I have lived through is not pretentious. What I have dealt with is not pretentious. It was human. It was life. And you will never convince me that any effort I or anyone else may make to relate such circumstances is "pretentious." You will never make me believe that it is too irrelatable, too thoughtful, too emotional, too painful. Because I was fucking there. I lived through it. And I know what it was. And I will not be silent for your sake, nor should anyone else.

i present you

suicide guy, a suicide simulator

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

as for the game personally i think its a bad idea, first of all, as a game the idea doesnt sound entertaining in the slightest,

First, that's just like, your opinion man. Also, why do games have to be entertaining in a traditional sense?

i dont know, does a plane need to fly?

games are a mean of entertainment, their only purpose is to entertain

Serious movies also are not movies and serious book are not books, people need to understand that all serious artsy fartsy stuff needs to have their own names.

are you implying people are not entertained by serious movies and serious books?

ridiculous

 

[Darknacht]

as for the game personally i think its a bad idea, first of all, as a game the idea doesnt sound entertaining in the slightest,

First, that's just like, your opinion man. Also, why do games have to be entertaining in a traditional sense?

i dont know, does a plane need to fly?

games are a mean of entertainment, their only purpose is to entertain

Serious movies also are not movies and serious book are not books, people need to understand that all serious artsy fartsy stuff needs to have their own names.

are you implying people are not entertained by serious movies and serious books?

ridiculous

There are lots of depressing but very good books and movies if your definition of 'entertaining' is broad enough to include them, than a game about dealing with the effects of being raped should be able to be 'entertaining' too.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

Talking about an entirely human experience, attempting to relate it, that cannot be, in any shape, way, or form, pretentious.

yes it is, when you think your empathy and understanding can break all barries and extend to things you have never ever experienced in your life, you are incredibly pretentious

You know what? Fuck this shit. I'm done. I don't know if I generally dislike your posts, but I am just fucking done with your shit now. Ignored.

 

[Vigormortis]

Yup. If they'd divide the game into pre- and post-rape parts there's a lot they could do. After introducing the player into the game mechanics during the first part they could cripple them during the second part. Walking alone, in the night could turn into a disorientating and unpleasant experience. Daily functions could be interrupted by minigames which draw your mind back to the rape. Visual images or distortion could make regular human interactions difficult, or even possible. The overarching narrative could be a new relationship which you try to make work, despite how badly the rape has harmed you both emotionally and sexually. Failures could cause you miss meetings, skip eating or showers and just generally keep pushing you further away from society.

Granted I'm not a game designer and a lot of the things I mentioned could end up being very gimmicky, but I just would've wanted to see the designers to actually try to take advantage of what GAMES can do as a medium.

Precisely.

And based on the trailer and game description, they seem more inclined to show everything as bleak and gloomy, expecting the players to think, "Oh how dark and dreary life becomes after being raped!", rather than presenting situations and choices that would make the player feel how traumatic the experience is.

It's a terrible design philosophy that trivializes the struggles real rape victims face.

Granted, the final product may do more than what is on display thus far. I certainly hope it does, as tackling a topic such as rape in a mature, meaningful manner would be just the sort of thing video gaming needs to mature as a medium. However, I'm not holding my breath.

But at least some devs are trying. The efforts may leave a LOT to be desired, but at least some are trying.

 

[BleedingPride]

I think it's an interesting idea and I am open to trying it to open my awareness and broaden horizons. Also holy shit @ that comment section. The trolls are strong with this one.

 

[cleric of the order]

"Another" what?

What relevance do two entirely unrelated game have to this?

Intention is everyone, and this seems to be the intention of a lot of youngish, hamfisted game devs to miss handle a dangerous topic for the sake of edginess and street cred.

My own personal beef with this game is it seems to make the event beyond traumatic.
I understand the premise i understand the idea, perhaps this is just the mind blindness but this whole thing seems over dramatic.
Mind you while i have never been raped, I have lived in a state of violence all my life.
For most of my life I've had to worry if my dad was drinking and was going to bust down the door.
I've nearly died multiple times and I can say quite plainly that while living with object of my fear, i was able to function, i was able to live as a normal human being, when he was not out of sight. You really do get over it. it drains you sometimes yes but I seriously feel that anything this game is going to convey is over and beyond that level.
Andy Warhol said it the best, when he was shot by Valerie Solanas,
"Before I was shot, I always thought that I was more half-there than all-there - I always suspected that I was watching TV instead of living life. People sometimes say that the way things happen in the movies is unreal, but actually it's the way things happen to you in life that's unreal. The movies make emotions look so strong and real, whereas when things really do happen to you, it's like watching television - you don't feel anything. Right when I was being shot and ever since, I knew that I was watching television. The channels switch, but it's all television"
But the visual metaphors they tried to display, on top of being entirely clique are really over hyping from my understanding.
If they really do overdramatize it it should a true lack of empathy. these people need a little help, a little compassion, a silent patient kind of help, perhaps simply solitude. not to be paraded around the streets of Roma, like a prize.

 

[Savagezion]

I am not a real big believer in the word pretentious. I understand people using it from time to time but it tends to leave a bad taste in my mouth most often. The problem is the word is usually used in a pretentious manner. (Yay irony) As most people usually never substantiate why they find it pretentious and thereby end up sounding pretentious towards the thing they are calling pretentious and instead like to use the word as shorthand for "I have better taste than those who like this". Which is a pretentious attitude.

Personally, I think the visual communication in this trailer is just downright poor and perhaps lazy. The trailer doesn't offer anything into why they chose this aesthetic. You can't actively draw from it without injecting thing from your own perception into it. However, if you have never been raped, you are at risk of projecting the wrong thing into it thus undermining the entire purpose of the game. Imagine if the trailer had shown a cutscene where an NPC or the PC had expressed a psychological perspective that coorelates with that imagery. This would be much better as you are explaining why the audience is seeing things the way they are. INstead of making them guess or imagine why.

I don't know what it is like to be raped, but I can imagine. And I can do that without a video game that makes me imagine. Thus the entire point of this video game is moot for me because I can imagine what it is like to be raped without the need of it. The game wants me to inject meaning into it with my imagination, so what exactly is it offering? What do I gain by using this game as an imagination helper?

You could argue that this game sets limitations to the imagination to help "guide" your imagination and impose restriction to help keep your perspective contained into a more focused or precise perspective. HOwever, from the trailer it seems everything is a blank slate so where is my guide? As well, going back to the beginning and seeing that they intend to use the mythical rape bogeyman (which I have named the rapist in this game) you have to ask "what if they set false parameters for this supposed guide?" Not only does that undermine the point of the game, but now the game may serve to work against what it is trying to achieve.

I haven't played the game. However, considering that the aesthetic is not explained in the trailer and the terrible opening sequence regarding the rape bogeyman - I have to say that the trailer speaks more in favor of this game being pretentious than it does against it. That is not a term I use lightly.

The problem with the rape bogeyman is if we assume that somewhere out there, if a woman plays this game and takes it to heart - she may start to develop social anxiety towards males through irrational fear. IF she already has social anxiety this game has just enabled it and reinforced it. However concerning actual rape statistics, you have reinforced an irrational fear in the wrong place (John Q Public walking down the street) and as a primary threat. But hey, yay art.

 

[Karathos]

Based on the trailer this feels like another case of a walking simulator telling me I should feel certain feelings. You can't just make a game, say it's about a certain subject matter, and then tell me to feel bad. At worst, I can't say I'd be surprised if people actually came out after release and said this game belittles the experience.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

If I were a game designer, I'd personally resist having something like rape in my game as it feels like reaching for low hanging fruit and an easy manipulation of emotion. That said, if my boss put a gun to my head, the best way I can think of to include it would be a sort LA Noire style crime drama where you play as the police officer investigating the crime.