Nobody asked for it, but here’s a summary of what has happened in the second half of July. Spoiler alert: it hasn’t been as spectacular as the beginning of the month. Maybe the world is on vacation, but evil never sleeps.
LISA and the (Necessary) Console Censorship
LISA: the painful is an indie RPG that draws inspiration from titles like Earthbound or Undertale, but with a clear orientation towards more mature audiences. Its dark black humor blends with a heartbreaking, sad, and painful story, as the name suggests. However, bringing such a daring game to home consoles, especially in a controlled and suffocating environment, requires passing through the relevant filters.
While the console version has already undergone some minor changes that reduce the harshness of certain moments in the story, the Playstation version adds even more modifications. For example, cigarettes will be referred to as “candy cigarettes”, and they will change how they refer to the drug “Joy,” avoiding any references to the ingestion of narcotic substances. Additionally, alcohol has been replaced with soda. It’s a “4kids” version that complies with the filters to bring this uncomfortable game to home platforms.
Applauding Sony and the Laws of Karma.
The critiques haven’t been long in coming, treating these modifications as censorship and pointing out the barriers which, although always present, are now becoming more protective and contradictory, as we witnessed with the new release of Baldur’s Gate. Regardless of ideology, these critiques have brought the censorship debate to the forefront, and if you applaud the censorship of something that doesn’t interest you or simply cheer for its removal, sooner or later, something you appreciate in a video game will also be affected.
I understand developers wanting to broaden their reach, and the changes not erasing the provocative essence of the title or irreversibly altering the experience… but it’s not my preference; I prefer the original experience without cosmetic alterations that diminish its narrative potential.
We’ll always have the original Steam version… at least until regulatory changes or decisions from the studio holding the rights decide to alter the content with a mandatory patch. You can check more about this news in the Noisy Pixel article or Niche Gamer entry.
Artist Arrested in China for Creating NSFW Content
Huang, better known as Shirakami_san on Twitter, could face three to ten years in prison for the offense of “creating and distributing adult material on foreign websites”. In this case, we’re talking about NSFW 3D animations of the video game Genshin Impact.
With over 550,000 followers, it’s known that the artist was earning over $3,400 per month. Creating pornographic material is prohibited in China, and this becomes even more serious when creators financially benefit from such activity.
Let’s Examine the Laws in China:
The digital outlet SportsKeeda quotes Section 9 of Chapter VI of China’s criminal law:
“Whoever, for the purpose of profit, produces, duplicates, publishes, sells or disseminates p*rnographic materials shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance and shall also be fined.”
“If the circumstances are serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years and shall also be fined; if the circumstances are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined or be sentenced to confiscation of property.”
Therefore, we find ourselves in a scenario of extremely serious circumstances, potentially resulting in a fine, potential equipment confiscation, and up to 10 years of imprisonment for the artist. From here, I want to send my strength and sincerely hope that their situation improves as much as possible.
The negative view that the Chinese government holds towards pornography and eroticism is deeply rooted in the values it promotes, even going so far as to label them as “corruptors of morality and generators of idleness and degeneracy.” It is not surprising that their legislative approach is exceptionally stringent.
While we might perceive this action against an artist as excessive, the truth is that, influenced by predominant religious values or not, there is a marked tendency to suppress and criminalize fictional elements. This results in their being equated at the same level as actions involving real individuals. This dynamic reinforces censorship and undermines freedoms, but it’s a lengthy debate that we will have more opportunities to delve into in the future.
Tanya and the Disfiguration of Femininity in Western Games
It has been widely discussed on social media during the second half of July: as more details about Mortal Kombat 1 are revealed, the gradual unveiling of its character roster has given us a glimpse of some familiar faces, albeit transformed, of the female characters in the series.
Tanya’s appearance departs from what was once considered one of the most beautiful and alluring fighters in the franchise, morphing into an androgynous and ambiguous blend that aims to emulate a “real woman.”
Despite the generated reaction, those familiar with the trajectory of the company NetherRealm Studios haven’t been surprised by this artistic decision regarding the character. The company has explicitly expressed its policy of desexualizing female characters for a few years now.
A pattern that is consistently repeated in recent Western games.
This attitude is not new and represents an epidemic of anti-femininity that takes refuge in feminist and politically correct values. According to these values, the sexualized representation of women reinforces the supposed patriarchy, personified in the traditional capitalist heterosexual man, who maintains his position of power and satisfies his needs by objectifying women. Lobbies attempt to reverse the situation by eliminating attractiveness, but only in female characters.
By forcing this unappealing image and pushing for its acceptance under the premise of emotional manipulation (if you don’t like it, then you don’t want women to be considered as serious and equal characters to men), they are eroding one of the qualities that empowers women the most: their beauty. This beauty, in turn, is the potential appeal to attract more followers and offer the target audience what they are willing to pay for.
Some voices opposing this trend directly point to feminist groups and the ESG as the drivers behind these artistic decisions, using video games as a platform to convey “the message” they believe the public should internalize. As a result, this desexualization of female characters translates to smoothing out their curves, covering their skin, masculinizing their facial features, and making them appear older (in their late 30s or 40s). In other words, this results in shallow and uninteresting characters, lacking any kind of appeal.
Blue Protocol will make its way to Amazon Games with a content revision.
Yes, once again we’re talking about censorship. For the Western localization of the game, and to comply with regulations and standards set by Amazon Gaming (as well as nearly all platforms catering to a wide audience), the ‘Jiggle Physics’ option has been removed. Additionally, the ‘Type S’ body has been eliminated, and the amount of exposed skin in many of the outfits worn by the main characters has been reduced.
According to a report by Niche Gamer, which includes an excerpt from the recent interview with Mike Zadorojny (Franchise Lead) on Blue Protocol DataBase, these decisions aim to tailor the game to a Western teenage audience. Therefore, it’s necessary to tone down certain elements and remove what is deemed unnecessary for the gameplay and could potentially stir controversy.
As seen earlier in the case of LISA, Blue Protocol must go through the necessary filters to publish its content and avoid tedious controversies and lengthy revisions.
Zadorojny makes it clear: Japan has different values and has always normalized certain attitudes and elements that tend to discomfort (or even scandalize) the majority of Westerners with their Western perspectives. Self-censoring their content becomes an almost obligatory task to reach a wider audience. After all, the best way to avoid cultural differences is either not to publish at all or simply comply with regulations without taking too much risk.
For those who weren’t aware, Blue Protocol is an MMORPG released by Bandai Namco and developed on Unreal Engine 4. It has garnered significant anticipation due to its anime-style aesthetics and integrated fanservice elements within the game. Its global beta release is expected in the latter half of 2023.
Flash News: Next month is approaching fast.
New Season of Castlevania on Netflix
I remember the joy I felt upon learning that Netflix had adapted the Castlevania (Akumajou Dracula) saga for television. The animation was excellent, befitting of the studio behind it, but a series of changes and decisions that distorted the essence of the characters and the setting, along with the failure to make the most of one of the best soundtracks in video game history, ended up disappointing the most devoted fans of the saga, myself included.
This time around, the announcement of the new season (which, after focusing on the events of the third installment of the saga, would follow the historical timeline up to “Rondo of Blood”), has not been without controversy due to the revealed decisions, such as the race swapping of Anette, Richter Belmont’s girlfriend, who has gone from being a Victorian lady to an Afro-descendant swordswoman. And it’s not that I have anything against a character with those characteristics: the design is quite cool. But it destroys the lore and the storyline established by the original history.
To add more fuel to the fire, Steve Stark, background designer of the production, has responded to these criticisms with a “complain about something important,” while also boasting about the fans’ complaints. You can delve deeper into this version in the Niche Gamer article, or read the Bounding into Comics entry about these unfortunate statements.
Tencent Acquires Visual Arts
Recently, Takahiro Baba, president of Visual Arts, has revealed that the company behind visual novels like Clannad or Kanon has become a subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings. This development has raised suspicions among internet users, who are wary of the new owner of the intellectual property of these stories and its potential obligation to act in accordance with regulations and rules not only from the Asian country but also from the global sphere it has access to.
This decision has been based on the fact that Baba plans to step down from his position to pursue his path as a consultant. With no clear successor to whom he can delegate his 100% stake in the company, he had concerns about the future of his works and his extensive 33-year legacy, having embarked on this journey in 1991. Genki Tenkumo (also known as Tohya Okano), producer, writer, and director of the company, will assume its presidency. If you want to delve deeper into the topic, feel free to check out the article on Niche Gamer.
Snow Break, Another Case of Subtle Self-Censorship
Snow Break is an action RPG for mobile devices developed by Seasun Games, and it has captured the attention of over 2 million pre-registered users. Its frenetic action against dozens of enemies, including titanic giants, competes with the beauty and appeal generated by its protagonists.
Because of this, some users have not overlooked the visual downgrade that a patch distributed one week after the game’s release has brought. Of course, the ability to see the characters’ underwear adds nothing to the storyline, but it might reward a player who notices its absence once the studio corrects it due to its audacity. There isn’t much to deduce from this occurrence other than acknowledging it, as there hasn’t been an official communication on the matter. It appears to be an internal decision implemented quietly.
Muse Dash Continues to Release Content
This time, it’s about 8 new songs created by fans, as reported by Niche Gamer. In this case, the tracks were unveiled during the “Cosmic Radio Perolist” event, which also allowed players to unlock an exclusive illustration. This event aims to bring songs submitted by budding artists interested in the franchise.
Muse Dash continues to hold a special place on my shelf, remaining a title that never runs dry of providing content to its players, even after more than four years since its launch. Oh, and yes, it’s loaded with tons of fanservice.
Leave a Reply