Violence in video games is not a new topic, but late this past October, the release of a trailer for a game still under development caused a real ruckus in the media and among gamers. The game in question is called Hatred, the brainchild of Destructive Creations, a Polish development company. Let me remind you that it is not even a demo of the game that people are upset about. It's just the trailer. And it is brutal and horrifying.
Hatred is essentially a mass murder simulator in the style of the GTA series, Hitman, Sleeping Dogs and other similar games. You are put in the shoes of a seriously disturbed sociopath. The trailer starts off with a dodgy looking and obviously deranged character (of course he wears black, has long hair that covers his face and listens to metal) giving a rather angsty monologue:
My name is not important. What is important is what I’m going to do. I just f***ing hate this world. And the human worms feasting on its carcass. My whole life is just cold, bitter hatred. And I always wanted to die violently. This is the time of vengeance and no life is worth saving. And I will put in the grave as many as I can. It’s time for me to kill. And it’s time for me to die. My genocide crusade begins here.
After which, in true mass murder simulator style, he goes on a genocidal rampage. Just a warning, the following trailer is truly disturbing and may be NSFW.
On their website, the developers provide a weak explanation for why they're creating a game based on senseless violence.
These days, when a lot of games are heading to be polite, colorful, politically correct and trying to be some kind of higher art, rather than just an entertainment – we wanted to create something against trends. Something different, something that could give the player a pure, gaming pleasure.
The thing is, "pure, gaming pleasure" does not have to involve NPCs begging for their lives. Take a look at Tetris. It wasn't always colorful, and you never had to kill anyone in it. If a game were created for the "pure gaming pleasure" involved in kidnapping and sexually abusing children, would that also be okay?
Many people have made a direct comparison of the content in Hatred to the content in the GTA series. Youtuber George Greek says that the problem with Hatred is a problem of intent.
I'm not bothered by it because it's shocking. I'm bothered by it because of the intent of the game, at least at first with this trailer. GTA is a parody of violence and crime stories. Manhunt had a message to it. Postal was just silly stupid fun...You're welcome to support it for the sake of the freedom they're supposed to have, but the game feels like a "u mad bro" personified. If I had to support a highly debated game, I'd rather it have an actual message to it
The freedom he refers to is that of the freedom of expression, which is the counter argument used by those who support the game's completion. The general attitude of the development team toward all the criticism is ultimately, "Haters gonna hate."
Below is a fan-made remake of the Hatred trailer using GTA V.
Even in the colorful style of GTA, the whole concept just doesn't sit right. The only difference besides being in color is that in this video, the usually catchy and upbeat music of GTA has been switched out for the metal soundtrack from Hatred . Sure everything feels creepier when eclipsed in darkness, but the senselessness of the violent acts remains the same. The argument that the optional violence in GTA (and other games) is in any way different from that which Hatred blatantly promotes just doesn't hold. Kudos to Youtuber Vicarious Pixel for actually making a point with the above remake.
The Destructive Creations team is right. There is no art in Hatred because art would have meaning, whether it is positive or negative. Those who might relate to Mr. My Name Is Not Important are likely very troubled individuals, and while Destructive Creations maintains that this game is not to be taken seriously and is just pure game play entertainment, there is the question of whether inventors, policy makers, artists and yes, game developers have to have social responsibility.
Will I play this game if it is released? Yes, I will. Because I enjoy playing games the way I enjoy reading novels and watch films. I don't know if I will like it or if I would recommend it, not with the little I can glean from the trailer. But I can tell you one thing - a game that lacks any sort of goal and/or meaningful story is, well, like films and novels without meaning: they get boring really quickly.