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SUPERHOT VR update removes "self harm" - "Considering sensitive time we’re living in, we can do better than that. You deserve better."
- Thread starter ShadowLag
- Start date
LegendOfKage
Member
We at [brand] would like to point out all the most hateful responses that disagree with our decision, and associate those people directly with everyone who disagrees with us. We would also like to use those people as an excuse to silence and insult everyone else who disagrees with us, sanctimoniously and patronizingly suggesting that they "do better."
How about instead something like: "The recent increase in suicides has caused us to reflect on our work, and the feelings that might be brought up when asking the player to kill themselves in a virtual world. We don't want people playing our game to have to be traumatically reminded of losing a friend or loved one, so we're removing a brief section of gameplay. To help make up for that fact, we'll be adding a new level to the game free of charge.
We're not saying saying that we're doing the "right" thing by removing the content, and that we'd be "wrong" if we left it in. For anyone who disagrees with our decision, we realize where you're coming from. This is a very subjective matter. We respect and understand those who don't agree with the choice that we've made, and we hope others will extend that same understanding to us in return. At the end of the day, we just don't want to be selling a product that isn't what we want it to be."
Would that in any way be worse PR? Because instead all I ever seem to see is "if you disagree don't buy the game" and "it's not okay!" and "do better!" and I feel like I'm taking crazy pills with how obvious it seems to be to avoid stepping in this mess and insulting your customers.
How about instead something like: "The recent increase in suicides has caused us to reflect on our work, and the feelings that might be brought up when asking the player to kill themselves in a virtual world. We don't want people playing our game to have to be traumatically reminded of losing a friend or loved one, so we're removing a brief section of gameplay. To help make up for that fact, we'll be adding a new level to the game free of charge.
We're not saying saying that we're doing the "right" thing by removing the content, and that we'd be "wrong" if we left it in. For anyone who disagrees with our decision, we realize where you're coming from. This is a very subjective matter. We respect and understand those who don't agree with the choice that we've made, and we hope others will extend that same understanding to us in return. At the end of the day, we just don't want to be selling a product that isn't what we want it to be."
Would that in any way be worse PR? Because instead all I ever seem to see is "if you disagree don't buy the game" and "it's not okay!" and "do better!" and I feel like I'm taking crazy pills with how obvious it seems to be to avoid stepping in this mess and insulting your customers.
MiguelItUp
Member
People that are that easily offended probably shouldn't be playing anything rated higher than E. It's sad to see developers change their art just to appease SOME radical voices.
The sad part in that thread is that some people were clearly not happy about it. But rather than being cordial about it, they went off then deep end. So then you had OTHER radicals coming out of the woodwork spewing their own nonsense that didn't even matter. It never should've gotten that bad.
I really wish radicals of all forms would just stay out of the things I love.
The sad part in that thread is that some people were clearly not happy about it. But rather than being cordial about it, they went off then deep end. So then you had OTHER radicals coming out of the woodwork spewing their own nonsense that didn't even matter. It never should've gotten that bad.
I really wish radicals of all forms would just stay out of the things I love.
CitizenZ
Banned
I am always confused by artist who throughout history defied laws and would always stand for freedom of expression no matter what and in some cases, ending their lives. Today, they still all cry more than ever, but NOW they walk step in line with their masters who tell them what to do.
Fbh
Member
A bit disappointed that Steam removed the reviews.
They aren't off topic reviews. The devs are literally removing content from the game, the CEO himself is saying they are basically removing the story. It's not off topic
I'd guess it has to do with users being able to choose to not update and not loose the content.
Though it's still not quite the same as I think if you uninstall it you can't download an earlier version.
In the future, IMO anyone who bought the game and wants to re-download the OG version is 100% justified to just pirate it.
Yep.
I enjoyed superhot but I don't see myself buying another game from these guys unless it's on a very steep sale (or free on the epic store or something like that).
Who knows, maybe tomorrow the CEO will wake up with a troubled conscience about selling a game involving shooting people so now they'll remove all that you and throw plastic balls at flying squares!.
They aren't off topic reviews. The devs are literally removing content from the game, the CEO himself is saying they are basically removing the story. It's not off topic
I'd guess it has to do with users being able to choose to not update and not loose the content.
Though it's still not quite the same as I think if you uninstall it you can't download an earlier version.
In the future, IMO anyone who bought the game and wants to re-download the OG version is 100% justified to just pirate it.
Yep.
I enjoyed superhot but I don't see myself buying another game from these guys unless it's on a very steep sale (or free on the epic store or something like that).
Who knows, maybe tomorrow the CEO will wake up with a troubled conscience about selling a game involving shooting people so now they'll remove all that you and throw plastic balls at flying squares!.
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PleaseDontBanMe
Banned
Going to pirate it on my quest to preserve the art
ThatOneGrunt
Member
Superhot is easily one of my top 5 favorite VR games. Regardless of this decision, I'll happily buy games from this developer all day long. What a dumb thing for everyone to get worked up over. The gameplay, which, surprise, happens to be the best part of the experience, is still there untarnished.
Optimus Lime
(L3) + (R3) | Spartan rage activated
The comments by the developer are, in keeping with the way that so many people involved in the production of video games seem to at the moment, megalomaniacal, self-aggrandizing, halfwitted nonsense.
Who the fuck do these people think they are? Do they really think they are that important to the world? They seem to genuinely believe they are the architects of a new reality, and in their hands - and theirs alone - they wield dominion over life and death, and the choices they make when developing their toys hold sway over the hearts, the minds, and the very LIVES of their audience. The levels of delusional arrogance are just off the charts. They LITERALLY believe that they are murdering innocent people if they don't 'do better'. It's fucking insane. Maybe it's a generational thing, where legions of mentally feeble losers have been conditioned to believe that they are in a starring role in their own private movie, and with great power comes great responsibility.
The reality is that if some idiot plays Superhot VR, shoots themselves in the head, and then goes 'Hmm, that felt good. I like that idea.' and then shoots themselves for realsies - they were brainfucked in the first place. I thought we all worked out during the satanic panic, during Doom, and during Columbine, that that if your loser kids do something stupid, you might want to stop looking at the media they consume and start looking at their parents, their schools, and their peer group, who are likely as fucked up as they are.
Nah. I'm probably wrong, and the Superhot guy just wields world-spanning powers that I can't comprehend with my peasant brain.
Who the fuck do these people think they are? Do they really think they are that important to the world? They seem to genuinely believe they are the architects of a new reality, and in their hands - and theirs alone - they wield dominion over life and death, and the choices they make when developing their toys hold sway over the hearts, the minds, and the very LIVES of their audience. The levels of delusional arrogance are just off the charts. They LITERALLY believe that they are murdering innocent people if they don't 'do better'. It's fucking insane. Maybe it's a generational thing, where legions of mentally feeble losers have been conditioned to believe that they are in a starring role in their own private movie, and with great power comes great responsibility.
The reality is that if some idiot plays Superhot VR, shoots themselves in the head, and then goes 'Hmm, that felt good. I like that idea.' and then shoots themselves for realsies - they were brainfucked in the first place. I thought we all worked out during the satanic panic, during Doom, and during Columbine, that that if your loser kids do something stupid, you might want to stop looking at the media they consume and start looking at their parents, their schools, and their peer group, who are likely as fucked up as they are.
Nah. I'm probably wrong, and the Superhot guy just wields world-spanning powers that I can't comprehend with my peasant brain.
you should rename yourself ThatOneCunt.
TheInfamousKira
Reseterror Resettler
The irony is lost on us sheeple. It's so 4th wall breaking and meta. They removed those scenes from the game because they're holding the gun to their OWN head and pulling the trigger on their success. THEY'RE PROVING THEIR COMMITMENT.
GOAT OF ALL TIME RIP IN PEACE SWEET HONEYDEW PROFITS
GOAT OF ALL TIME RIP IN PEACE SWEET HONEYDEW PROFITS
Holy hell take some deep breaths. It’s a commercial product, not just art, that doesn’t exist in a vacuum, but in a world and society where people hopefully feel a responsibility to not harm those that are vulnerable.
There are a million tragedies in the world — This is not one of them.
Shmunter
Member
Denied
Fare thee well
Neophyte
You guys ever hear of the mouse utopia experiments? You ever feel like we are living in the beginning of a human equivalent of those? Especially the one where the mice get everything they need except it's just crowded af and they all start to go looney tunes on each other?
I think it's happening man
I think it's happening man
McCheese
Member
You guys ever hear of the mouse utopia experiments? You ever feel like we are living in the beginning of a human equivalent of those? Especially the one where the mice get everything they need except it's just crowded af and they all start to go looney tunes on each other?
I think it's happening man
Haha, maybe we're living in universe 25 in some alien race's experiment.
This event is so fascinating, it's the only time i can think of that a developer has taken something out of a game for what appears to be no good reason, across the board people seem to agree that they should not have cut content, and that the previous setting to toggle the content on/off was enough. But the developer has really doubled-down saying they are not going to cave in, and are committed to still updating all versions of the game to remove this content.
At this point I guess the spoilers no longer even apply, but the ending of the game was you realising you were trapped in a simulation and to "win" you had to kill yourself to escape, plus they removed a leap of faith moment too where you fell to your death (surprise surprise, the game is pretty much a rip on The Matrix). So we're not just talking GTA removing some songs from the soundtrack, but full on erasing the games original identity and what little story it had.
But the reason I'm following it closely is, what the fuck are the implications? so far they've been able to get all the negative reviews on Steam flagged as "off topic" so they don't count towards the score (which nose dived before they removed the reviews) and no talk of refunds, folks are literally just being left with less of a game they purchased 5 years ago. Steam doesn't have a mechanism to download older versions of a game, and on most platforms it's very hard if not impossible to "never update" something.
Imagine a scenario where some developer drama queen gets angry and updates a game to remove everything but a single "fuck you" level, what I'm learning from this is that as a consumer there is probably nothing you can actually do about it if you buy digtal, and none of the digital storefronts have pre-empted or planned for how to deal with such a scenario either.
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GnomeChimpsky
Member
I mean, if you treat games as a series of gameplay segments stacked on eachother I guess it's fine, but this is cutting out a central part of the story. What was wrong with just having the toggle?
Twinguistics
Member
Finally, another sensible normal person in this thread.
I don't think the developers are gonna care that twelve nutters don't buy their games anymore.
Twinguistics
Member
What an awful post. Why should he call himself that because he isn't bothered that a scene is removed from a game?
I'm know I'm assuming a lot from just that one post but, wow, you sound like an arsehole.
He thinks this is a dumb thing to get worked up over (I disagree), I think he's a cunt.
You're not really assuming a lot, just that I'm an asshole. Which isn't an unreasonable thing to assume. And by your reply, I'm assuming you're lame.
Dr. Claus
Vincit qui se vincit
Ah yes, how dare people be offended that a core part of the game's story telling is altered and irreparably damages the overall product. I question if you have ever actually played the damned thing and aren't sitting on your high horse out of habit.
Take your fake sanctimonious shit elsewhere, mate.
Twinguistics
Member
Sanctimonious because I called a guy out for calling someone a cunt for barely any reason?
I'm not your mate.
And a massive lol at your argument about the overall product being damaged. Get over it. It's Superhot not a flipping masterpiece of storytelling.
Javthusiast
Banned
Skyfox
Member
I bought the game day one and stopped playing at the suicide prompt. I didn't even know they added a toggle.
I never complained about this but the truth is Ill be playing the game again now.
Same with the Wolfenstein game that said you had to select a member of your own team to be executed to proceed. I left the game for an hour to see if it had another option then removed it from my collection (physical copy).
I've no interest in censorship. If a game is not for me I won't play it. If it is to my tastes I will.
I never complained about this but the truth is Ill be playing the game again now.
Same with the Wolfenstein game that said you had to select a member of your own team to be executed to proceed. I left the game for an hour to see if it had another option then removed it from my collection (physical copy).
I've no interest in censorship. If a game is not for me I won't play it. If it is to my tastes I will.
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Alexios
Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Looks like Steam has pruned the negative reviews from affecting the rating but, even though I'm not one to change my rating of the game based on this, surely it's fair game as this isn't a company stance on a different issue or a different game of theirs causing the review bomb in this case.
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MrHydra933BR
Member
I think they did that just to appear again in social media.
It's all in the wrist
Member
Self harm bad, but regular old harm still good.
TRIGGER WARNING: We dodged a bullet on that one. END TRIGGER WARNING.
TRIGGER WARNING: We dodged a bullet on that one. END TRIGGER WARNING.
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Omega Supreme Holopsicon
Member
One of the biggest religions in the world is basically God limiting his powers and provoking the authorities to kill him, essentially committing suicide by another's hand.
You think if there's a shoot out and I jump in the middle that is not suicide by others hands?
Humans sure love death, they apply it to countless innocent animals, innocent children, and innocent men. United they try and kill those they dislike, like a mob they gather to hang or toss of rooftops or burn those of opposing belief, of opposing sexual orientation, of opposing views.
