Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, iPhone, iPod touch
More App Store controversy from Pocket God
Last week the Baby Shaker app received a lot of negative attention and was subsequently pulled from the App Store. Deservedly so; that game was tasteless.
This week, Elaine Howard of the International Pacific Women's Information Network called Bolt's popular Pocket God an "...arrogant slap in the face to our people," referring to Pacific Islanders. If you're unfamiliar, the object of Pocket God (it's really more of a toy than a game) is to torment and kill island-bound characters in a variety of ways. I've always thought of the characters as pre-historic "cave men," not belonging to any specific culture. However, if I were of Pacific Island descent and saw someone playing this game on the subway, it'd bother me.
iPhone Saviour quotes Bolt representatives as saying "The fictional characters in Pocket God do not directly or indirectly represent any human nationality, race or cultural people ... Bolt Creative does not intend and has never intended to offend or marginalize any nationality, race or culture in any of its video games, including Pocket God." I believe that the game was in fact created without malicious intent.
Perhaps a solution would be to use culturally neutral characters like astronauts or LOLcats (see above)? For more on Apple's questionable approval process (not to mention the tastes of some customers), check out this horrifying list of The Ultimate Tasteless iPhone Apps.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
daggerjones said 1:56PM on 4-30-2009
It would bother you? Really? How do you feel when you see people playing golf? I mean, you have balls, right?
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Michael Rose said 4:02PM on 4-30-2009
Now that you put it that way, OW.
Louis said 12:42PM on 4-30-2009
People need to really calm down.
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Xerloq said 1:22PM on 4-30-2009
Amen. Ditto. I approve.
mex said 4:30PM on 4-30-2009
you are right man!
L&P
Pegsinho said 8:41AM on 5-01-2009
One of the sad things about society today is that people will complain about anything! I was reading an article the other day about the top 10 controvertial tv ads in the UK based on the number of complaints received.
People who have the time to actually complain about stuff like this need to be taken out of the gene pool in my opinion, or at least given a life...
ack154 said 12:45PM on 4-30-2009
If you use lolcats you'll have PETA on your ass.
I think you just have to use gray blobs that do not really have any actual resemblance to humans at all. That way no one (on this planet) has any right to get offended.
BTW.. I forgot to include that this is absolutely ridiculous.
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itmtracy86 said 2:21PM on 4-30-2009
No, not grey blobs, cause then if aliens show up, and they are grey blobs, we will just have to change it again.
We should all just stare at white walls. oh wait, no, that's racist. maybe just clear walls.
Stephen Lang said 3:20PM on 4-30-2009
WHAT!?!?!?
Not Cool!
Ralph said 3:55PM on 4-30-2009
+10 for spelling "ridiculous" correctly.
pheh said 12:47PM on 4-30-2009
"However, if I were of Pacific Island descent and saw someone playing this game on the subway, it'd bother me."
Try as I might, I can't seem to read the sarcasm in or around that sentence. Controversy? The only controversy here is who in their right mind gave the IPWIN a pulpit or for that matter, who gave you one?
On second thought. As a middle aged white guy I am outraged by such travesties The Sims. It is a slap in the face to my kind that someone could board me up into a 2x2 walled cell with no bathroom, food, or windows. Won't someone please think of the white guys?
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ack154 said 12:49PM on 4-30-2009
"Won't someone please think of the white guys?"
Whoa, whoa, whoa... let's not bring race into this. Especially if anything is just for white males. That would just be... well, the world would explode! Let's just put it that way.
Todd Sieling said 3:43PM on 4-30-2009
Yeah, but the object of the Sims isn't to torment and kill your characters, which can be created in various ethnicities. I can understand some people being upset by the game, but don't think there's any intent to insult behind Bolt's game. I don't think the game should be pulled, but I think Bolt would do well to try and address the concerns of culture or race-specific characters.
That said, there aren't many comments here that do more than throw slurs at the complaint. Expressing stark disinterest in others' sensibilities, even if you don't agree, doesn't really move anything forward and puts you in a bad spot when it's your turn to be offended.
Josh said 7:37AM on 5-01-2009
Todd...
The trick is... I, like some of the commenters here, was born with a sense of humor... so this wouldn't offend me one bit if it were fat white guys...
There is no such thing as a right to never be offended. In fact, such a right would trample on everyone else's right to free expression. Legally, there is no right to not be offended - hence the KKK and Black Panther's continued existence. The sad fact is, there doesn't have to be. For the most part, businesses will roll over for these whiny "groups" at the drop of a hat, further empowering them to continue to respect nobody's rights but their own.
AnalogKid said 2:29PM on 4-30-2009
"However, if I were of Pacific Island descent and saw someone playing this game on the subway, it'd bother me."
This is what's wrong with your world. People don't offend people, people choose to be offended by things. It's a personal decision and their issue to deal with themselves.
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Matt said 3:05PM on 4-30-2009
If I were of Pacific Island descent and saw someone playing this game on the subway, I'd think about all of the real suffering in this world, such as ethnic cleansing, victims of violent crime, the mentally ill, drug addicts, the sick and dying, victims of DIRECT discrimination!
If I were of an easily-offended group of people, I would move to a place, or try to create a place where there was no freedom of self expression, including making video games that could be construed as racist or playing such games on a subway! And I definitely would continue to view all people based on their gender, sexual preferences, skin color, religion, nationality... otherwise, how else could we determine the offenses? or crimes!
So much for "content of their character"
samu said 1:02PM on 4-30-2009
"The fictional characters in Pocket God do not directly or indirectly represent any human nationality, race or cultural people ..."
The moai undermines that claim a little...
Still, I'm particularly fond of the ants...
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rTwelve said 1:07PM on 4-30-2009
Astronauts, by their own name, cannot be neutral, due to the existence of the terms cosmonaut (Russian) and taikonaut (Chinese).
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James Donevan said 1:07PM on 4-30-2009
Elaine Howard of the International Pacific Women's Information Network knows a good bandwagon to jump aboard when she sees it.
I'm sure you were trying for sarcasm or irony Dave (with your 'if I were of Pacific Island descent and saw someone playing this game on the subway, it'd bother me.') but it missed the mark.
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THJ said 12:57PM on 5-01-2009
They do have an awesome acronym though: IPWIN