There are times when I feel like the gaming industry might be turning a corner, then something mind-boggling happens. Recently Steam removed, then reinstated Hatred, a game about a serial mass murder, from Steam Greenlight. As a result, some people are asking for SJW’s (SJW is a perjorative for socially minded people, an acronym for Social Justice Warrior) as targets for killing, maiming, and butchering in the game.
In the not so distant corners of the Internet exists a group of people who loath anyone willing to push the envelope of representation in video games. These people are typically outspoken about criticism in games some are in fact feminists (the SJW’s in question).
This week when the game Hatred got axed from Steam Greenlight, an outpouring of rage about censorship spilled over onto the Internet (Though, by law, it’s not censorship since it’s a privately held company). Unannounced, Steam reinstated the game into its Steam Greenlight section.
Now that Hatred is back on Greenlight, parts of the community are asking for SJW’s, even some by name – Anita Sarkeesian – to become non-playable characters free to slaughter, maim, and otherwise kill.
This type of behavior is disheartening to see, and leaves a disgusting taste in my mouth. How would you feel after giving your opinion a collective group of people threatened you on a daily basis and now want to kill you in a virtual world too?
One would think if Steam almost didn’t allow this game due to its content, they would monitor the comments. Maybe Brianna Wu – another SJW name requested from the Hatred community – said it best via Twitter.
This raises a few concerns. The inconsistency of the content Steam will allow needs addressed. Do they or don’t they allow games like Hatred, Manhunt, and POSTAL 2 to exist on Steam? If Steam does keep Hatred on Greenlight, are they going to monitor the comments – specifically the ones asking for real people to kill, not to mention children as well. The kind of community surrounding this game worries me. It also solidifies that there are indeed a large number of people who thrive off this type of content and wish it were more extreme.
How do you feel about Hatred, it’s process on Steam, and the community its raised around itself?
