The Stanley Parable Maker Promises to Change "Racist" Image

[MCerberus]

Right, so got my games mixed up. IGNORE ME

So what, people were made uncomfortable by an image that was supposed to make them feel uncomfortable? Mission... accomplished?

 

[fat american]

Who is honestly offended by this picture? And explain to me why?

Given that you're from Canada you might be unfamiliar with the actions of racists in the US.

When it says that he could spend his life "helping" it show him giving a kid a Cigarette. Yea, giving kids cigarettes in 3rd world counties is "helping" improve their lives. That kind of "help" sounds a bit like Margaret Sanger.

The second option is a non sequitur, and is unrelated to the first since the first dealt with the 3rd world and the second deals with people within 30 miles of him. It's also far too close to what the KKK has actually done, and are still [http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/23/14646977-louisiana-woman-set-on-fire-kkk-smeared-on-her-car-police-say] doing.

It is little more than a tasteless, racist, joke. I can see how someone who thinks cigarettes are good, and has little to no knowledge of racism in america, but you have to live a fairly insular life not to see how this is offensive.

Whoosh! Right over your head. Yes, cigarettes are bad. That's the point of the picture. "You can either help *gives kid cancer stick* or set them on fire" It comes from the 50's when cigarettes weren't considered the devil, and racism was rampant. The picture is making fun of the whole idea and era. You should probably watch the video so that the image is in context. Honestly, I'll reserve judgement until I see the edited version. Who knows, it might be funnier.

 

[maninahat]

Since we're changing the game based on complaints from the community, can I get in on this?

Can we make Stanley black? I mean, all the other characters in the game, including both Narrators, are white. This offends me.

How do you know the narrators are white? They are transient, invisible Gods!

My response to this issue...I'm less interested in the things that caused the offense and far more interested in how willing the creator was to listen and compromise. Much like when a muslim Call of Duty fan asked to have some religious text assets removed from a toilet in one of the multiplayer maps, the devs happily obliged and removed the offending article without a fuss. The fuss comes from people who are annoyed by someone having the audacity to be offended, to request that a thing be changed, and then that request being patiently treated as a legitimate issue.

To the creator this isn't a big deal, but they recognized that it is to the people complaining. That's the real problem here; too many people feel that if something doesn't offend their own sensibilities, it shouldn't offend anyone else's either. Never mind that it isn't your place to decide who gets offended by what, or that your apathy doesn't actually factor when someone else has complained.

 

[Bostur]

So, let me get this straight...

Mr. Wreden created a game that had an image somebody was particularly upset with. They then decided to contact him and let him know of their issue, and Mr. Wreden, not wanting to upset anybody in the extreme, decided to change it. After all, he's the creator of the work! Therefore, it's his right to change something if he also feels it's an issue, and he doesn't just live in an elitist bubble that's somehow above criticism! The image can easily be replaced with one that has no racial connotations, which would probably be better in the long run anyway as the image of the downtrodden black male being overpowered by the well dressed white male is still heavily burdened by racist symbolism. One day, it won't be, but that day is not today.

But no, let's close our eyes and ears, pretend the problem doesn't exist, hold on to the laughable notion that art is objectively above this kind of serious criticism and scream 'POLITIKAL CORRECTNESS' if anyone says otherwise! YAY!

FUCK!

There's this thing called satire, see. It's often used to comment on a broad social issue. It commonly does this with parody. Now, there was an era called the 50's. It existed between 1950 and 1959. This was a time of civil unrest in the United States of America. This was also a time of great cultural painting, wherein certain supposed and desired norms of certain wealthy groups were relayed en mass via the booming medias of television and propaganda. Thus, the white American dream with a white picket fence and two to three white children was born. Oh yes, this was an age of greatness for the white men. Indeed, being white and American was just the best damn thing around. Sadly, those unlucky enough not to be white or born in the land of freedom, were plum up poop creek. But never fear! The brave American men and women prayed for them and did their darndest to seem as if they cared.

But that was then and this is now! Right? Not so much. See, that mass popularization of moral and often religious values continued to this very day! Instead of posters and humorous radio adverts reminding us how great white people are, we have ghetto slums and the racial branding of crime! Ho ho.

Now, stay with me here. This is tricky. What if - what if someone was to comment on the broad racial classing that bloomed in the 50's and continues to this day, by demonstrating how absurd it is, using, get this, a parody of one of those very adverts! I know what you're thinking, it's shockingly brilliant. But let me finish. See, what this might do, is make us think about racism in our own lives and how our behaviors and pop culture will seem to those of the future in some forty years time. It's almost as if by parodying this example of the white washed American dream, the artist hoped to make us all a little more aware of a social media that only grows in reach and influence, while also giving you a little chuckle at how absurd it all is.

But fuck all that! Let's all pretend we care about racism and get angry in a forum! Thinking about things is too hard. Social media? Ingrained racism? Commentary on the very nature of society and classism? Why bother with all that when we can point at something, yell "racist!" and pretend we are in any way contributing to the betterment of society. We need to get back to "helping" the "Muslims" by burning down their homes. 9/11. Terrorism. WMD. Al-Qaeda. Oh shit, I just spelled out the joke, didn't. Well shit!

They even put a black child in the poster to make it more obvious. How blatant does one have to be before people get it? Should they have just written satire on a black frying pan and hit us over the head with it? That'd probably be too subtle. Christ!

No, lets not mention it or think about it. Then maybe it will go away.

 

[Fangface74]

It makes people feel uncomfortable?.....it shows a child being set ablaze, why wouldn't it? But nothing should be changed, uncomfortable is fine, entitled isn't.

 

[ChristopherT]

Some people don't find certain things funny. Some jokes are not for everyone. Some people did not find this particular joke funny, they calmly contacted the creator, talked it out, and the creator has decided to change the joke. And now the idea behind the joke is up for discussion, people are talking about it. Until this news story, I have not heard anything about this joke, and now, discussion is happening about it, it is out there, it is open. Serious question time, where any of you talking about the joke before? Because some of your claims are that because the joke exists it encourages talk about how awful certain people's treatment was before, and certain people's treatment now is, but were you talking about it at all before this "travesty"? If you were, good for you, if not, think for a moment.

Some people don't find certain things funny. That's okay. There's a song I enjoy, about having sex with a dead body, I find it funny, I'm sure many others do not. -shrug-

~She's a month dead, and she's starting to smell, if loving a corpse is a sin, I'll see you in hell~

 

[freaper]

I'm sure the actual starving third-world children appreciate the dedication to political correctness.

"Gather 'round, children! We might not have anything else to eat this evening, safe some import rice and one banana, but know that someone out there held the banner of political correctness high for another day."

OT: The joke will either be scrapped, or the kid will be turned white.

Spoiler: Because white people can't get offended that way.

 

[sageoftruth]

And ironically, by pushing for this less-offensive change, I think those two have just provided ample ammunition for anyone to use the next time anyone else pushes for something less offensive.

Who are these people? Fess up you two. You're really spies, secretly working for the "White Man's Burden" coalition aren't you?

 

[Erttheking]

Pathetic, ever time you let a hysterical "-ismer" censor and repress you, you move one step closer to mob rule. Changing anything based on one ridiculous complaint is wrong. "Problematic" is the most sinister word in English right now. The aggressive left wing are coming for yourfreedom of expression.

You did catch the bit in the article where it was HIS choice to change the material right?

 

[Lightknight]

I'm going to say this again, in case it was missed in my previous post.

The right side is intended to be the evil/chaotic option for Stanley. Would being racist not fall along those lines of being chaotic evil? I mean, maybe if that was the "good" side, then ok. But is the topic of racism itself not allowed to be breached in gaming? *coughInfinitecough*

 

[seditary]

If it offends you that a game is no longer making some people uncomfortable because of a race-related throw-away gag, that really says something more about you than the state of gaming, doesn't it.

All it says to me is that just like sex, race/racism will become something that can never be brought up, discussed, explored or depicted in gaming because its offensive.

Because the medium's detractors were right all along. Its just for children. Even if you're an adult.

 

[yundex]

And I was going to get this before I started the new batman game. Thanks for reporting this.

 

[Nexxis]

It's nice to see a developer attempt to understand why something was offensive to someone rather than stick their fingers in their ears and claim that it's not offensive because they don't find it offensive. The world could benefit from this understanding attitude.

 

[Schadrach]

Been following the developer's twitter, and there's an interesting little factoid I find greatly amusing.

Apparently, the change has nothing to do with race. Instead, he's changing the second panel so that instead of the child being on fire, he is about to be set on fire.

https://twitter.com/HelloCakebread/statuses/393425836830773248

I don't think that is what anyone expected regarding the change.

 

[thewatergamer]

Uhhh what part of "a joke" do people no longer understand?
People will look at anything these days and find it offensive to some group...

I guess I can respect a change and its not my call, his game he can do whatever the f he wants with it, that said I think that people take a lot of things WAY to seriously these days...

 

[thewatergamer]

Been following the developer's twitter, and there's an interesting little factoid I find greatly amusing.

Apparently, the change has nothing to do with race. Instead, he's changing the second panel so that instead of the child being on fire, he is about to be set on fire.

https://twitter.com/HelloCakebread/statuses/393425836830773248

I don't think that is what anyone expected regarding the change.

Ahhh XD talk about a funny turn of events thanks for bringing this up

 

[lockist]

Person A makes a story which includes a joke person B finds offensive. Person B contacts person A and explains why, person A finds that he can alter the content without changing the message. Person A and B are both happy. How can anyone possibly be pissed at this?

 

[yundex]

You know what the beauty of PC gaming is? That censorship can be reversed in a heart beat.

Being German, I've had to deal with censored games my entire childhood. Back in those days, I applied something called "blood patch" to every second PC game I bought. Usually a small file that modifies or replaces the bit of game code that's responsible for the disturbing lack of blood and gore.

So yeah, when they do censor that scene, we can count the hours until somebody releases a patch that restores it to all its former glory.

Well afaik, you can just not update the game. And I just saw on steam that you apparently only need to replace one file already if the change happens. Seems like a waste of time or trying to get attention.

 

[Arakasi]

You know what the beauty of PC gaming is? That censorship can be reversed in a heart beat.

Being German, I've had to deal with censored games my entire childhood. Back in those days, I applied something called "blood patch" to every second PC game I bought. Usually a small file that modifies or replaces the bit of game code that's responsible for the disturbing lack of blood and gore.

So yeah, when they do censor that scene, we can count the hours until somebody releases a patch that restores it to all its former glory.

Well afaik, you can just not update the game.

No, I checked you can not just not update it. Unless you want to leave Steam offline every time you play it. The only option in Steam is 'Do not automatically update games. It'll still update when you run it.

 

[yundex]

You know what the beauty of PC gaming is? That censorship can be reversed in a heart beat.

Being German, I've had to deal with censored games my entire childhood. Back in those days, I applied something called "blood patch" to every second PC game I bought. Usually a small file that modifies or replaces the bit of game code that's responsible for the disturbing lack of blood and gore.

So yeah, when they do censor that scene, we can count the hours until somebody releases a patch that restores it to all its former glory.

Well afaik, you can just not update the game.

No, I checked you can not just not update it. Unless you want to leave Steam offline every time you play it. The only option in Steam is 'Do not automatically update games. It'll still update when you run it.

Really? I never knew they still did that. I always get rid of steam for my single player games because of something similar many years ago.