monkeydelarge: I don't know exactly why Thomas Was Alone was rejected but I'm sure GOG had a good reason. I'm sure they didn't just reject the game simply because the content is disgusting for some sensitive people... And if they did reject Thomas Was Alone because of it's content, GOG had no good reason to do so. And rejecting a game is a hostile action(an antagonistic action). My answer to your 2nd question is, no. Because Hatred is not out of line with site standards and the content of Hatred is not toxic. It's just disgusting for some people. When it comes to the technical side of games, there are standards but not when it comes to content. There are no standards when it comes to art... Nobody has the right to say, good art must be like this or that and art that is different from this or that is bad art(or toxic art). Of course, GOG like most stores in the world has the freedom to do whatever they want to do but that doesn't mean every action they take is a moral action or an action that is good for business.
I just thought it peculiar that you felt a need to even to bring innocence and guilt into this context. So some devs and GOG enter a negotiation and they don't reach an agreement. Now you label GOG's action "hostile" yet also the devs are "guilty" (of something) cos GOG refused them. But then there's this "good reason" thing, determined by you, which might or might not shuffle these labels around at your convenience. Not sure how that makes sense but nevermind.
Spreading Hatred? Explain to me how a game like Hatred spreads hatred? Does is secretly hypnotize people into being Nazis?
charmer: Let's see: the game is called Hatred, it's protagonist is full of (self-inflicted) hatred and the whole point of the game is to vent out that hatred into the (game) world in possibly the most extreme way possible. For that to happen, you need to be intrigued enough to assume the role of that guy in the game. But still nothing happens until you decide to point a gun and shoot. From what we can gather so far, the game won't let you do anything else than to translate the hatred into violent action. The hatred is the message of the game and the framing that extreme violence is an expected response to it is implied by the gameplay. I wonder what the game might be aiming to spread... Wait, was that a trick question? I feel like captain Obvious now.
Moving on. If era of national socialism in Germany taught us anything, there is a monster in most people and you don't need subliminal messages or hypnosis to bring it out. Ever heard of Stanford prison experiment? It was kind of a game too. We affect our environment and our environment affects us. Most influences are hard to track though because of the effect of time and/or the subtlety of side effect, results, or outcomes. Some people are more susceptible to manipulation and addiction and more and more people have no one to talk to about anything, let alone serious issues like this one.
I was in your camp once. I've stepped out not to join "the other side" but to look at things from a different angle - the angle at which my inner self was not fundamentally invested.
HTH
I think it's at least good that you recognize your weaknesses. I'm just a bit terrified that you know that a game could push you to kill.
