Hatred (video game)

Hatred

Developer(s) Destructive Creations
Engine Unreal Engine 4
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release date(s) June 1, 2015
Genre(s) Shooter
Mode(s) Single-player

Hatred is an upcoming shooter video game developed by Destructive Creations and scheduled for release on June 1st, 2015 on Microsoft Windows. The player-character is a mass-killing sociopath who hates humanity and begins a "genocide crusade"[1] to kill innocent civilians and police officers. The developer described Hatred as a reaction to video game aesthetic trends such as political correctness, politeness, vivid color, and games as art. Its October 2014 announcement trailer was characterized as "controversial" by multiple video game bloggers.[2][3] The game was shortly removed by the Valve service Steam Greenlight due to its violent content but was later brought back with a personal apology from Gabe Newell.[4] It was then successfully greenlit on December 29, 2014.

Gameplay

In Hatred, a shooter video game presented in isometric perspective,[1] the player-character is a mass-killing villain (Clint Woods) who hates humanity and begins a "genocide crusade"[1] to kill innocent civilians and police officers.[5] He can use these individuals as human shields.[1]

Development

My name is not important. What is important is what I'm going to do ... I just fuckin' 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.

“
”
Hatred announcement trailer, October 2014[1]

Hatred is the first game by Destructive Creations, a video game developer based in Gliwice, Poland. Most of their staff formerly worked at another Polish developer, The Farm 51.[5]

Destructive Creations announced Hatred on October 16, 2014,[5] with a trailer that multiple video game journalists described as "controversial".[2][3] The developer described Hatred as a reaction to a trend of political correctness in video games, and sought to make a game that eschewed politeness, colorfulness, and games as art.[1] In this way, they also sought to make a game that recalled the industry's history as "a rebellious medium" and surface-level entertainment with no insertion of "any fake philosophy".[6] While the trailer was intended to be provocative, Destructive Creations CEO Jarosław Zieliński did not anticipate the magnitude of the reaction and supportive fan mail. He added that he did not think the trailer crossed a moral boundary, and that those who disagreed could choose to not play it.[2] In an interview with Vice‍‍ '​‍s Motherboard, Zieliński noted that the dark ambient music within the game as well as the character design were intentionally made to be devoid of joy, stating that "I don’t want to justify anything. I want the player to ask: why."[7] The game uses the Unreal Engine 4 game engine and Nvidia PhysX physics. The Unreal logo was removed from the trailer at the request of Unreal developer Epic Games.[2]

Hatred is scheduled for release in Q2 2015 on Microsoft Windows.[8] They chose the single platform due to the team's small size, and hope to distribute the game through Steam and GOG.com if allowed.[3] On December 15, 2014, Hatred briefly appeared on Steam Greenlight, but was promptly removed, with a Steam representative stating that the company "would not publish Hatred."[9] On December 16, the game was returned to the service,[10] and an apology to the development team was sent by Gabe Newell.[4] Following this, it became the most voted game on the service[11] and was approved successfully on December 29.[12] In January 2015, Hatred was given an "Adults Only" (AO) rating by the ESRB, which would effectively prevent any mainstream distribution of the game at retail or on video game consoles. It is the third video game, behind Thrill Kill and Manhunt 2, that received an AO rating for extreme violence rather than sexual content.[13][14] One of its developers disputed the rating, stating that they were "not quite convinced" about the rating due to its association with sexually explicit games, adding that "it's still some kind of achievement to have the second game in history getting AO rating for violence and harsh language only. Even if this violence isn't really that bad and this harsh language isn't overused."[15][16][17]

The second trailer was released on January 29, 2015 along with pre-order details. It showed new weapons such as a flamethrower and new execution animations.[18]

Developers claim that shortly after the release, developer tools for Hatred will be made available.[19]

Reception

Announcement trailer

Several video game press outlets responded to the game's announcement trailer, particularly in condemnation of its "portrayal of wanton violence".[20] Polygon‍‍ '​‍s Colin Campbell wrote that they responded to the press release "with genuine revulsion".[1] They described the trailer as "grisly",[5] "extremely violent, and very tacky".[1] PC Magazine‍‍ '​‍s David Murphy wrote to "get ready for the backlash about the ultra-violent shooter ... if this game is ever released".[3] He compared the game to Manhunt, Postal, and Mortal Kombat—other video games once considered controversial for their amount of violence—and felt that Hatred "will generate just as much controversy".[3] The trailer attracted defense of the game's right to freedom of expression, but Polygon reported that no outlet requested censorship of the game.[6]

Although some noted that the player had just as much capacity to kill innocents in game series such as Grand Theft Auto or Fallout, Paul Tassi of Forbes noted that those games penalized such actions in ways Hatred did not, as violence was "literally ... the entire content of the game".[21] Mike Splechta of GameZone questioned the game's timing and how it could become the "next scapegoat" in a climate that already held video games responsible for school shootings and other violence.[8] Polygon‍‍ '​‍s Ben Kuchera wrote that the trailer was a "rhetorical failure" in that it attempted to shock viewers, but ultimately reflected juvenile attention-seeking reminiscent of the Slipknot-style, 1990s "shock culture" aesthetic.[22] In response, Destructive Creations' CEO felt that the trailer's "so called 'shock tactic' [did] its job very well", and added that the industry reaction to the trailer reflected the political correctness—"the way we are told and taught to think"—against which the game rebelled.[6] When questioned about an affiliation between the company and the Polish anti-Islamic organization Polska Liga Obrony based on a public Facebook Like, Destructive Creations responded that they did not support the organization,[20] were against "totalitarian ideologies", and appreciated the publicity despite its malevolence.[23]

The second trailer, titled Devastation, received similar criticism, with Polygon calling it "just as vicious and cynical as the first trailer."[24]

Forbes, The Guardian, and Rock, Paper, Shotgun have described Hatred as a "mass murder simulator".[21][25][26]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Campbell, Colin (October 16, 2014). "The worst trailer of the year revels in slaughtering innocents". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Matulef, Jeffrey (October 16, 2014). "Civilian massacring game Hatred courts controversy, gets it". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Murphy, David (October 16, 2014). "Trailer for Disturbing Mass Murder Game, Hatred, Stirs Controversy". PC Magazine. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Crossley, Rob. "Gabe Newell Steps in to Reinstate Controversial Shooter on Steam". GameSpot.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 McWhertor, Michael (October 16, 2014). "Epic Games distances itself from ultraviolent mass-murder game Hatred". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Campbell, Colin (October 17, 2014). "The man who made that Hatred trailer says the game is all about honesty". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  7. ↑ USMANI, BASIM. "Meet the Creator of the Year's Most Hated Video Game". Motherboard. Vice Media. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Splechta, Mike (October 16, 2014). "Hatred puts you in the shoes of a mass murderer". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  9. ↑ Valve pulls Hatred from Greenlight, calling it unpublishable. Gamasutra.
  10. ↑ Hillier, Brenda (2014-12-17). "Hatred mysteriously returns to Steam Greenlight". VG247. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
  11. ↑ Orland, Kyle. "Controversial shooter Hatred reinstated on Steam Greenlight". Ars Technica.
  12. ↑ "'Hatred' gets approved on Steam Greenlight". GamePolitics.com. December 30, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  13. ↑ "EA kills 'Thrill Kill' game before release". ZDNet. 15 October 1998. Archived from the original on 16 November 2006. Retrieved 18 December 2006.
  14. ↑ "The Manhunt Saga: ESRB assigns AO rating". Ars Technica. Condé Nast Publications. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  15. ↑ "Hatred given Adults Only rating in US and Canada". Polygon. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  16. ↑ "Why the Adults Only rating may be pointless and harmful to games as an art form". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  17. ↑ "A history of (muted) violence". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  18. ↑ "Hatred Opens Pre-Orders, Gets New Trailer". HardcoreGamer. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  19. ↑ Witczak, Mateusz (2015). "Hatred". CD-Action (in Polish) (Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Bauer). April 04/2015 (241): pp. 30–31. ISSN 1426-2916.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Hall, Charlie (October 20, 2014). "CEO behind Hatred responds to accusations of neo-Nazi, anti-Islamic affiliation". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Tassi, Paul (November 16, 2014). "The Video Game Morality Questions Raised By Mass Murder Simulator, 'Hatred'". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 1, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  22. ↑ Kuchera, Ben (October 17, 2014). "Shock culture is dead, making the Hatred trailer powerless and nearly comical". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  23. ↑ Hall, Charlie (October 21, 2014). "Team behind Hatred lashes out in blog post, thanks press for attention". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  24. ↑ Campbell, Colin. "New Hatred trailer is just as vile as the last one". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  25. ↑ Stuart, Keith (December 16, 2014). "Hatred shooter removed from Steam gaming site". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 25, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  26. ↑ Walker, John (December 16, 2014). "Valve "Would Not Publish" Hatred, Deletes From Greenlight". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.

External links