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Graphic and intense violence is something we simply expect from games, but themes related to sexuality and adults are still largely taboo – including, as a publisher, Devolver Digital, Drugs. Even if the game in question is a relatively serious type of tycoon, look at the current (and legal!) Trade of selling cannabis.
Devolver is no stranger to the controversy; he has published and contributed to the development of dozens of games and many of them have presented the type of graphic violence that distinguishes those who still see it as a corrupt and fundamentally degraded medium. And to be fair, people like Hotline Miami will not change their minds.
But for the company's first IP initial order, she had the idea of putting together a popular "tycoon" game, but focusing on the emerging and popular marijuana growing sector.
Obviously, this is somewhat controversial, but the plant is legal in many states and countries and is in the process of being in many others. This is neither the time nor the place for a comprehensive evaluation of the planning system and the war on drugs, but suffice it to say that it is a complex and interesting commercial ecosystem that is about to to be widely accepted. That makes him a little nervous, but also fresh and relevant – perfect, Devolver thought, to create a game. So they did Weedcraft, Inc.
Unfortunately, the co-founder of the company, Mike Wilson, told me the other day that he had underestimated how much the gambling industry was square.
"It's definitely the toughest game I've had to market and that's saying something," Wilson told me. "It was a fucking nightmare. The fact that we are still so scared of a topic like grass instead of murder simulators that you can sell anytime, anywhere is shocking. "
The console game stores were reluctant even to wear it, and warned Devolver that it would never appear, which would be a death sentence for the discoverability of the game. They could not get their ads approved on Facebook or Instagram, and the person who sent them had even seen his account suspended. And this week again, the videos of the banners at the test of the game on YouTube have been demonetized.
Steam, which is largely independent of the content, and GOG, a famous showcase without DRM, are the only ones not to pay money.
Why? This is not a game of smoking blunts or cutting bags with oregano for sale to college kids.
Well, it's a little pro-legalization.
"It's not a pro-legalization game. It's a tycoon game. You do not use drugs in the game! Wilson said. "You can play as a perfectly legal and scrupulous businessman. We did all this research with clinics, geneticists, lawyers, we were worried about cultural sensitivity to the issue, especially as more and more blacks are imprisoned. We wanted it to be representative of all the social issues involved. It's like playing a game on alcohol in the prohibition era – like, what interesting industry to study, right? "
It's not just the companies involved – Microsoft, Sony, YouTube, etc. – apply invisible rules. The rules are there. When I contacted YouTube for comments, they gave me the list of guidelines for "advertiser-friendly content." And it is clear that there is an example relating to drugs: "Video content that promotes or presents the sale, use, or misuse of illegal drugs, controlled drugs or substances, or other dangerous products. not suitable for advertising. "
It's just a bit odd for me to still have that pure and retrograde approach to this stuff. Think about the amount of vile garbage on YouTube and how the most popular games in the world glorify guns and death. But a legal recreational drug is legal in many places and generally well thought out, not to mention a massive and growing business – it's beyond all that it is.
I understand that YouTube does not want people to participate in bong compensation competitions, and console manufacturers want to look like families, so as not to lose this market of teens and young people in between. But we can surely be adults about it.
The game matures to become an interactive storytelling medium encompassing serious problems, but the sector retains its discretion on topics related to adults. And that feeds the puritanical objections of misguided commentators, who fear to romance an alien in Mass Effect or the ridiculous "Hot Coffee" in GTA, but do not recognize the sophisticated narration of Return of the Obra Dinn, nor subversive comment. from Papers, Please, or the impressive Replenishment period of an Assassin's Creed.
Drugs are a complex and controversial subject. I understand that some people want to remain indifferent. But when this position of non-intervention does not apply to graphic violence, sexism and other painful areas, it turns out to be prudish and hypocritical.
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