Poll: Can a game ever make you say "This game should not exist"?
- Thread starter someguy1231
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The Ethnic Cleansing game. Yes. This is real.
Apparently there are some others of the same breed existing to promote such things. As with the 'Journals of the Zion Elders', such things should not exist.
I would be petty and say Final Fantasy X-2, but apparently some people enjoyed it despite the huge departure from the themes and characters of the first game, which I loved. It's like the complaints everyone had about Beast Machines coming after Beast Wars factored up to eleven.
Apparently there are some others of the same breed existing to promote such things. As with the 'Journals of the Zion Elders', such things should not exist.
I would be petty and say Final Fantasy X-2, but apparently some people enjoyed it despite the huge departure from the themes and characters of the first game, which I loved. It's like the complaints everyone had about Beast Machines coming after Beast Wars factored up to eleven.
Yes, a game can offend me enough to make me think it shouldn't exist.
Air control, that fish based game by the same devs, and several things from Digital Homicide come to mind. And what the hell, I'll throw "hack slash loot" onto the pile too.
...What, you thought I meant "it offends my feelings"? Nonono, I mean "it offends my every instinct as a writer and game designer because it's just THAT shitty".
If a game offends my feelings (say, like the Yandere simulator where you can bully rival students to the point of suicide), I'm going to just go "I really don't like that" and pass on the game and just express disapproval. I'm not going to ask that the game cease to exist or be banned. You'll never grow as a medium unless you push the boundaries, even if they're just being pushed in a juvenile pointless way (see Hatred), so these games have their place.
Air control, that fish based game by the same devs, and several things from Digital Homicide come to mind. And what the hell, I'll throw "hack slash loot" onto the pile too.
...What, you thought I meant "it offends my feelings"? Nonono, I mean "it offends my every instinct as a writer and game designer because it's just THAT shitty".
If a game offends my feelings (say, like the Yandere simulator where you can bully rival students to the point of suicide), I'm going to just go "I really don't like that" and pass on the game and just express disapproval. I'm not going to ask that the game cease to exist or be banned. You'll never grow as a medium unless you push the boundaries, even if they're just being pushed in a juvenile pointless way (see Hatred), so these games have their place.
Har har har, good one.Deathmageddon said:
I agree.
Riiiiiiiight, I forgot that kind of shit exists. Yeah, ok, I think I'll make an exception and say that nazi puff piece games might be worth a ban. Hard not too, considering it's the fucking nazis.WhiteFangofWar said:
Technically speaking, any game that you just don't like can make you say "this game should not exist." Ever play Sonic '06? I'd imagine there's a fair number of people who would believe that the game shouldn't exist because of how horrendously bad it is.
However that's not what we're talking about, I suppose. From an artistic standpoint - that being a standpoint which one can find a game actually offensive - I'm sure there's plenty of people out there who would see a game like Hatred, for example, and say "This game should not exist because x, y, and z." They have the right to that opinion if they choose to hold such an opinion, but the fact of the matter is that the game does exist...as such having such an opinion matters very little, and essentially just equates to "I really don't like this game."
In short, if someone walks up and says "This game shouldn't exist because I find it offensive", just tell them "Well cry me a river then build yourself a bridge and get over it." If we're going to declare videogames to be art - a notion I fully support - then there can't be any taboos, just as there aren't any taboos in any other form of art.
For example, I personally think Hatred is an incredibly stupid idea for a game...the entire concept was built to create a controversy engine that ensured it would sell well on launch day and I find that kind of controversy-whoring to be nothing but some developers making a money grab. Still, to remain consistent, it is technically someone's artistic vision. So while I think it's incredibly shallow of the developers to make such a game, I'm not going to say that such a game shouldn't exist. In fact, I'm actually kinda glad it exists, because the next time a developer tries to come up with a scheme like that hopefully we'll all see through it.
However that's not what we're talking about, I suppose. From an artistic standpoint - that being a standpoint which one can find a game actually offensive - I'm sure there's plenty of people out there who would see a game like Hatred, for example, and say "This game should not exist because x, y, and z." They have the right to that opinion if they choose to hold such an opinion, but the fact of the matter is that the game does exist...as such having such an opinion matters very little, and essentially just equates to "I really don't like this game."
In short, if someone walks up and says "This game shouldn't exist because I find it offensive", just tell them "Well cry me a river then build yourself a bridge and get over it." If we're going to declare videogames to be art - a notion I fully support - then there can't be any taboos, just as there aren't any taboos in any other form of art.
For example, I personally think Hatred is an incredibly stupid idea for a game...the entire concept was built to create a controversy engine that ensured it would sell well on launch day and I find that kind of controversy-whoring to be nothing but some developers making a money grab. Still, to remain consistent, it is technically someone's artistic vision. So while I think it's incredibly shallow of the developers to make such a game, I'm not going to say that such a game shouldn't exist. In fact, I'm actually kinda glad it exists, because the next time a developer tries to come up with a scheme like that hopefully we'll all see through it.
What should or should not exist?
The only time I question a game's purpose is if it's unoriginal garbage marketed on outright lies.
Because if we cannot be honest at the most basic level about what we're doing, it isn't worth doing.
There are seemingly endless ways to make a living by lying to customers and none of them are helpful to us or society in the long run.
The only time I question a game's purpose is if it's unoriginal garbage marketed on outright lies.
Because if we cannot be honest at the most basic level about what we're doing, it isn't worth doing.
There are seemingly endless ways to make a living by lying to customers and none of them are helpful to us or society in the long run.
Well, the game had the best battle system in the series before FF13LR got released. So yeah, there is a good reason why some people like it(me included). Everything else about the game was shit but if I can have fun with the gameplay then I don't really care about anything else.WhiteFangofWar said:
World of Warcraft
Not because it offends or repulses me in any way, but because it's a company run by egotistical jerks and the game itself has ruined more lives than anyone dares to count.
The gameplay has also always been pedantic to mediocre at best, and nothing in that game isn't a retread of something else that was done better but got less recognition elsewhere. If you talk to 'the community' however, you'd think it was the best thing to happen to gaming since Mario Bros.
So while the game itself is a fine braindead action RPG particle EXTRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAVAGANZA! The sins of its developers and the vitriolic zealotry leveled against you by the 'community' if you don't dedicate your every waking moment to mastering the game at every level, or dare challenge the efficacy of our lord and savior Activision Blizzard, make me inclined not to miss it at all. The world would be richer for its absence.
Here's hoping their numbers continue to decline.
Not because it offends or repulses me in any way, but because it's a company run by egotistical jerks and the game itself has ruined more lives than anyone dares to count.
The gameplay has also always been pedantic to mediocre at best, and nothing in that game isn't a retread of something else that was done better but got less recognition elsewhere. If you talk to 'the community' however, you'd think it was the best thing to happen to gaming since Mario Bros.
So while the game itself is a fine braindead action RPG particle EXTRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAVAGANZA! The sins of its developers and the vitriolic zealotry leveled against you by the 'community' if you don't dedicate your every waking moment to mastering the game at every level, or dare challenge the efficacy of our lord and savior Activision Blizzard, make me inclined not to miss it at all. The world would be richer for its absence.
Here's hoping their numbers continue to decline.
What exactly does "should not exist" mean?
If it means "there should be litigation preventing the game from being released," then I say no, because I support the right to free expression and the laws of most developed nations agree.
It it means "the developers are contemptible for making it and people who like it are contemptible for supporting it," then well, that's one's opinion, a highly judgmental opinion some would say, but a person is free to have it. Only games like Super Columbine Massacre RPG or Rapeplay provoke this sort of reaction in me. My immediate reaction to Hatred fell into this category, but after release and reading reviews, that game is just a poorly told joke and I'm completely indifferent to it.
If it means "gaming as whole--or the world in general--would be a better place without it," then, yes, there are some games that I would say "should not exist," but I won't name them for fear of starting flame wars.
If it means "there should be litigation preventing the game from being released," then I say no, because I support the right to free expression and the laws of most developed nations agree.
It it means "the developers are contemptible for making it and people who like it are contemptible for supporting it," then well, that's one's opinion, a highly judgmental opinion some would say, but a person is free to have it. Only games like Super Columbine Massacre RPG or Rapeplay provoke this sort of reaction in me. My immediate reaction to Hatred fell into this category, but after release and reading reviews, that game is just a poorly told joke and I'm completely indifferent to it.
If it means "gaming as whole--or the world in general--would be a better place without it," then, yes, there are some games that I would say "should not exist," but I won't name them for fear of starting flame wars.
Ho ho ho ho ho I beg to differ my good man. The absolute mountain of salt that followed this sentence put lie to it.Proto Taco said:
OT: CAN it happen? Obviously it can. I've never been of the mind that X or Y shouldn't exist because I disapprove of them, but then I've never been of the mind that my tastes should set the standard for what exists. I'll certainly criticize things I dislike, but I won't demand their removal from existence.
If someone wants to make a game and someone else wants to buy it then congrats it just met all the qualifications needed to warrant existence.
Now that is not to say that there are not game that I don't find appealing and would not play. It definitely doesn't mean that there isn't a game that is counter to my moral sensibilities. The world is large enough to make avoiding games I do not want to play easy enough.
Now that is not to say that there are not game that I don't find appealing and would not play. It definitely doesn't mean that there isn't a game that is counter to my moral sensibilities. The world is large enough to make avoiding games I do not want to play easy enough.
Asserting something is a creatively bankrupt pop-culture vampire destroying the lives of millions, is not the same as being offended or repulsed by it. Not everything on the internet is opinion, and it is not your place to assign feelings to others.BloatedGuppy said:
You don't have to believe me, that's simply how it is.
Wasn't it the pop-culture vampires who were working alongside the Rand Corporation to eliminate the meal of dinner? I can't recall offhand.Proto Taco said:
Whatever the case, clearly you are not offended by this game, despite very evidently meeting the dictionary definition of the term. I apologize for accidentally misrepresenting your feelings on the subject.
There are hundreds of games that probably shouldn't exist, but do, ranging from rape games, sadism games, to propaganda games. I would not say they shouldn't exist though. They will be condemned through history because of what they were, like the Night of Broken Glass in Germany, or Stalin's Ukraine famine.
I'm sure there are games that I don't want to exist. Fuck free speech. This is just about what I personally want and don't want. And if I don't like something enough, then I am going to root for it's non-existence.
That being said I am a supporter of free speech and feel that in the U.S. the concept is being executed well enough.
I am not the government and my mind is my own. I am allowed to want and not want things irregardless of the law or the constitution. Or rather, trying to stop me (and others) from wanting things is a much more heinous act of oppression than stifling free speech.
That being said I am a supporter of free speech and feel that in the U.S. the concept is being executed well enough.
I am not the government and my mind is my own. I am allowed to want and not want things irregardless of the law or the constitution. Or rather, trying to stop me (and others) from wanting things is a much more heinous act of oppression than stifling free speech.
A very emphatic Yes!
Oh, I don't mean stuff like Hatred (which is really not that offensive to begin with. I've done much more horrible things in games than Hatred ever manages. Hell, there are far worse scenes in GTA V than Hatred can manage) or even stuff that can be genuinely offensive (like RapeLay. Title says it all). You can create any game, as depraved, sick or other such relative terms as you like, and I would't care. They are pixels, it's not real, and just because a subject is unpleasant, doesn't mean it mustn't be approached.
What I'm thinking of are asset flip games. "Devs" have started buying unity asset packs and selling them as games basically unmodified. There are at least 3 "games" on steam that I know of that all use the exact, same, unmodified asset pack (unitZ). They are literally just re-selling the asset pack.
It was bad enough when "devs" stitched up a bunch of free assets together with no cohesion and dumped it on steam. Simply selling the asset pack raw and unmodified (hell, one even takes the screenshots from unity store and used them as steam screenshots. Fucker couldn't even be bothered to take his own damn screenshots) is just next-level shameless.
THOSE games should not exist.
Oh, I don't mean stuff like Hatred (which is really not that offensive to begin with. I've done much more horrible things in games than Hatred ever manages. Hell, there are far worse scenes in GTA V than Hatred can manage) or even stuff that can be genuinely offensive (like RapeLay. Title says it all). You can create any game, as depraved, sick or other such relative terms as you like, and I would't care. They are pixels, it's not real, and just because a subject is unpleasant, doesn't mean it mustn't be approached.
What I'm thinking of are asset flip games. "Devs" have started buying unity asset packs and selling them as games basically unmodified. There are at least 3 "games" on steam that I know of that all use the exact, same, unmodified asset pack (unitZ). They are literally just re-selling the asset pack.
It was bad enough when "devs" stitched up a bunch of free assets together with no cohesion and dumped it on steam. Simply selling the asset pack raw and unmodified (hell, one even takes the screenshots from unity store and used them as steam screenshots. Fucker couldn't even be bothered to take his own damn screenshots) is just next-level shameless.
THOSE games should not exist.