Hello, everyone,
It has been a difficult time for many of us in the NSFW developer community over the last week or so, and while we have thankfully not been too badly affected by the recent censorship, we would just like to take time to address it for those not aware.
Yesterday, without warning, the games platform https://t.co/dEsBE7Mlfb delisted all of the NSFW titles listed there, under pressure from their payment providers, while they take time to individually ‘audit’ every title to ensure that no content that the payment provider did not agree with was present on the platform.
Titles have already been removed, particularly those that are of a more controversial nature, as those were what the interest groups that alerted these payment processors had in mind, but this is not the first time this has happened, and it likely won’t be the last. Payment processors, as of this moment, have uncontested control over what can and cannot be hosted or sold, even if it violates no laws, or the set rules of the platform itself.
Now, we are not without our own apprehensions about certain content. We all have lines that we draw one way or another, but as developers we are sympathetic to the plight of our fellow creatives that are working within the rules that they were given, and then suddenly, without warning, have now lost their ability to pay their bills due to the ire of those they did not seek to offend or even engage with. At the end of the day, we are creating art, and our tastes in art should not hinder its creation or its sharing with those interested.
This particular problem is nothing new, and something that all of the NSFW sphere, and I would argue a good deal of smaller developers of even SFW titles, are all too familiar with. There is a prevalent perception among certain high power institutions, or perhaps in a section of society as a whole, who do not believe in the artistic merit of art that they are not familiar with, or do not personally wish to consume; games being one of the most common.
“You cannot show that in a game” is a sentiment that we have all heard many times throughout our lives, as though other mediums do not readily engage in content that not only meets, but exceeds, the content a game is wishing to portray. There is a perception that games are toys rather than art, which has lingered even as the reputation and prestige of games has amassed across the years.
I am able right now to walk into any book store in my country and purchase any number of risque or downright erotic texts, and the most I’ll get is a strange look from a knowing cashier, or more likely a completely innocent smile as they know not what they’re selling. Similarly, there is no shortage of nudity or sexuality on display in film or television, much of which is as graphic or extreme as any adult content could dream of.
It is easy, and popular, to simply handwave the content that we create as being the poison of choice for the socially maladjusted, or the sexually perverse, but to reduce the amount of man-hours, passion, and creativity on display in the adult creator community to strictly base titillation is an insult to some of the most talented people I have ever known.
We are not a studio of ‘porn writers’, ‘porn animators’, and ‘porn voice actors’, we are simply writers, animators, and voice actors who work on all sorts of content. We are not lurking in the shadows looking to corrupt or entice. We are professionals working in an industry that caters entirely to adults who are providing content produced the same way any piece of SFW content is produced. There is nothing shameful, scummy, or perverse about creating a piece of art that provokes a strong feeling in your audience, and we reject anyone’s attempts to project that onto us, or our peers.
@larianstudios Patch is great and all. But the new controller inventory multi select method seems very clunky and unintuitive. The way you had it before had no problems, no weird button combinations, and no submenus. Please revert this change back to the patch 3 system of holding RT.
@philvischer@iamkeithandrew@Josh87380905@TruettGlen@JoelWBerry After all I've been through in my childhood, I gave up "Christianity" but it's good to know that there are still some thoughtful and considerate humans out there. Thanks Phil, for making one of the few good things from my childhood.
I guess I'm just screaming into the void here. Nobody can change these facts except those corporations themselves, or those who govern them. And they won't, because it's not in their nature, and those who govern them are in their pockets.
So I will wait for it to die by itself.
I don't like being scared for developers who are getting payed dimes to the dollar and working unthinkable hours, on a product that gets ruined by a corporate decision to try and see exactly how much sawdust they can put in a Rice Crispy before people won't eat it anymore.
Hey @tobyfox, I did another playthrough of deltarune recently and I noticed something strange.
What's up with this black pixel in the same position in both King and Queen's boss arena?
@_CSenpai_ "A rushed game is forever bad, a delayed game is eventually good."
Personally I'd be happy to sit another year in splat2 meta, if it means that splat3 launches good, and when it's had enough time in the oven.
IMPORTANT
booktwt right now the US government is trying to pass the EARN IT act. a bill which will remove encryption and essentially ban all NSFW content on the internet, including LGBT content and content featuring BIPOC
this includes art, fanfics, books and of course sex work
@gamejolt@itchio@Steam And just one more note, I DO actually like game jolt, I like the UI, and I appreciate the services they provide, and would be happy to create a new account, a fresh start. If they reconsider this horrible misplay they've done here. But that 4 year old account is forever gone.
@gamejolt@itchio@Steam Well, it's done. On a positive note, game jolt support were very helpful and prompt about my request to delete the account. I still think there should be a button for it in the settings though.