Architecture

Hatred: The Most Despicable Game of All Time?

Recommended Posts

I can't watch the video at work.  Why don't I just read these YouTube comments for it instead...?

The game might as well be made by youtube commenters:

 

Hatred is an isometric shooter with disturbing atmosphere of mass killing, where player takes the role of a cold blood antagonist, who is full of hatred for humanity. It's a horror, but here YOU are the villain. Wander the outskirts of New York State, seek for victims on seven free-roam levels. Fight against law enforcement and take a journey into the antagonist's hateful mind. Gather equipment of the dead ‘human shields’ to spread Armageddon upon society. Destroy everything on your way of hunt and fight back when it's disturbed...

...just don't try this at home and don't take it too seriously, it's just a game. :)

The question you may ask is: why do they do this? These days, when a lot of games are heading to be polite, colorful, opinionated in a way that is different from me 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. Herecomes our game, which takes no prisoners and makes no excuses. We say ‘yes, it is a game about killing people’ and the only reason of the antagonist doing that sick stuff is his deep-rooted hatred. Player has to ask himself what can push any human being to mass-murder. We provoke this question using new Unreal Engine 4, pushing its physics (or rather PhysX) systems to the limits and trying to make the visuals as good as possible. It's not a simple task, because of the game's non-linear structure and a lot of characters on the screen. But here at Destructive Creations, we are an experienced team and we know how to handle the challenge!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Damn, that last paragraph reads like a grammatically challenged Andrew Ryan.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Saw this at work and had to close the video halfway through... Just tremendously unsettling.

 

Pure gaming pleasure? I don't know about the creators, or indeed other people, but I don't really find any pleasure in calmly executing screaming and pleading bystanders, especially when the presentation is so apparently po-faced. At least Postal was trying to be funny.

Besides, doesn't their goal of wanting to go against the trend of games becoming more art-like conflict with their statement that the player will have to ponder why someone would perform these kind of acts?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My hope for this is that its a huge bait and switch and the main character gets arrested in the first mission, and the rest of the game is a court procedural.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Custer's Revenge is still worse IMO. If they want to make pure gaming pleasure make a game with no plot, no characters just gameplay.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This sounds like the worst thing (can't bring myself to watch the trailer) but, other than the context of a world where mass shootings are now a bimonthly event, what makes this different from Postal? I know the Postal sequels are all wacky, but from what I've seen of the first game, it took itself relatively seriously.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Did postal have elements of social commentary? It doesn't excuse it but it's certainly better than a game completely focused on taking vague revenge on the world.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Weirdly enough, a Postal dev is active in the YouTube comments, commenting on how seriously this game seems to take itself (and not being particularly approving of it). I never played any of the Postals, so I don't know how serious or not any of them were.

Otherwise, game just looks gross. And for all their ranting about artsy-fartsy games, I'd say a game that is strictly about nothing other than mindless, hate fueled killing is actually pretty far over on the "definitely art" side when you consider how many games are really about the same thing, they just try to put a thin veneer of paint over it to mask that. So, congrats anti-art guys, you made art!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Not to demean real issues, but this phenomenon always feels like crying reverse racism and other forms of privileged persecution to me. As soon as there is even the slightest hint that the status quo of video games being about unrepentant mayhem and violence is being challenged, it's time to double down on The Way Things Have Always Been on account of these encroaching trends and insist that this medium is for gore, which is fun, which is gore, which is fun ...

 

P.S. Is "opinionated in a way that is different from me" world-filtered here?

 

P.P.S. Yes. So, it should be noted for anyone who missed it, that, in their explanation, the developers had the gaucheness to invoke P.C.-ness.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

This is one of those cases where in my heart I'm utterly repulsed, but in my brain I just don't really care about its existence. Whateverrrrrrr.

 

Queue everyone hating me for not feeling as strongly. ):

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Bjorn: Yeah haha this reminded me a lot about a comment chris made about the MoMA and how you would definitely expect it to have an exhibit that is just a dude's head exploding forever. This game reminds me of punk philosophy "pure aesthetic" stuff that is obsessed with isolating form and stripping out preconceptions.

If only they actually did that instead of making another fucking shooter.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

P.S. Is "opinionated in a way that is different from me" world-filtered here?

 

This place has the best filters.

 

This is one of those cases where in my heart I'm utterly repulsed, but in my brain I just don't really care about its existence. Whateverrrrrrr.

 

Queue everyone hating me for not feeling as strongly. ):

 

Meh. I think it's gross, but I'm also mostly whatever about it.  It's basically any modern open world game if you strip out the story and missions.  Unless one of its levels just ends up being straight up racist, misogynistic, or something, I don't particularly care about it. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Unless one of its levels just ends up being straight up racist, misogynistic, or something, I don't particularly care about it. 

Yeah I suppose that would push me over the edge, too. Which is sort of... I guess not great, because, as mentioned in this thread, in the world of today where we have mass shootings on a seemingly regular basis, why is it only bigotry in this game that would push me into full on hating it.

 

I wonder if I just talked myself into full on hating it.

 

I don't think I did but maybe I did.

 

EDIT: ahaha tegan jesus

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was repulsed by GTA V's blatant sociopathy as well.

 

While I understand Mr. Navarro's point, I think it's worth noting that most games don't have you murdering innocent people for fun. Yes, Mordor is excessively violent, but all of the orcs are trying to lop my head off as well.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

"I always wanted to die violently"
"It's time for me to kill... and it's time for me to die"

 

That suggests to me that the goal of the game should be to run out of health bar as soon as possible, and game over. Getting as far as the second level should be seen as a failure.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think it's worth noting that most games don't have you murdering innocent people for fun.

But that IS his point! In other games it's not just about "fun", there's an actual reason for killing people. In this game, the reason for killing people is to kill people and nothing more. That's what he's saying.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now