Steam, the nation’s leading Internet based digital game distributor, hit raw nerves on Tuesday, with the release of a digital video game titled “Kill the Fagg*t” on its Greenlight platform. The objective of the game was touted as murdering as many “gay fag homos” and “transgender freaks” as possible while avoiding doing the same to “innocent straights.”
While the homophobic game was eventually pulled by the company off its Greenlight platform later in the day, it was not soon enough to keep the horror of its contents from going viral, triggering an FBI investigation into the intent of its designer.
Before the game was removed from the website, commenters were calling for more aggressive censorship to monitor community uploads. Greenlight charges a fee of $100 to users to upload a game in an effort to keep spam at a minimum.
Steam has 125 million active users and is purportedly responsible for 75% of all digitally downloaded game sales giving enormous legitimacy to the launch. Even though the game is no longer available for play on-line, its originator Skaldic Games, headquartered in Redondo Beach, California, is unrepentant about its release.
“The reason behind this particular game is because of how tired I am of people being overly sensitive and how easily offended people are by every little thing, especially with LGBT issues,” said creator Randall Herman, who is alleged to be a “failed Christian shoe promoter.”
“I didn’t make this game to attack LGBT people personally, and no I don’t hate gays and think they should be treated farily (sic). But I made this game just to piss off those people that are way too overly sensitive, which includes straight people. These people that think if you are even remotely homophobic, you are ‘hateful’ and a ‘bigot,’ and do everything they can to destroy you in every vicious way possible,” Herman said.
“So I decided to go down a path that most developers are afraid to go down: to piss these people off by making the most overly offensive game possible to these idiots to prove a point…
“Lots of people are sending very vicious and disgusting emails as well, and it just proves that my mission was accomplished in pissing off these people, and how many of these sick people in the gaming world there are that would wish all kinds of physical harm on me…. Keep sending all the threats and hate mail though, its (sic) a fun read, and proves you have no time on your hands.
“Send me all the hate mail you want, but stop sending out vicious hate mail to our actors and licensed bands. They have nothing to do this this mini-game, and are not featured in it. That just proves my point that the majority of the LGBT community are truly the hateful ones, sending threats and horrible messages to everyone they think is involved with this project.
“As for an apology. Ain’t gonna happen. To everyone that got overly offended. Good, thats (sic) what we were going for. Just wait for our next game we are working on. Its gonna be way more offensive than this one.”
Steam uses its Steam Greenlight site to permit developers an uncensored forum that allows users to vote on games to approve them for the platform without any vetting. Greenlight’s terms of service ban any “threats of violence or harassment, even as a joke,” and “inappropriate or offensive content.”
The game’s descriptive hype read: “Hate gays? Want to unleash your frustration with the ‘LGBT’ community? Well now is your chance. Murder gays and transgenders, while avoiding killing straight people. Get as many points before time runs out!”
Among the games more offensive elements: killing a transgender gets the player more points than killing a gay or lesbian. As targets are hit, the voiceover reports: “AIDS carrier killed” and “Fag down.”
Video game critic Jim Sterling reporting on the game said, “It’s pretty disgusting.
“That is currently on Steam’s Greenlight page, awaiting your votes, and demonstrating once again that perhaps having absolutely zero vetting process on Steam isn’t the best idea.”
Keith Fay, a member of Cruachan, an Irish folk metal band whose voiceovers were heard on the game, has denounced the project on Facebook, and asked to be disassociated from it.
“It’s just been brought to my attention that a game featuring my voice as well as my girlfriend Rachel Lally (also music by Cruachan) is involved in sending messages of hate towards the LGBT community,” Fay wrote. “The company is called Skaldic Games and they have released a game called ‘Kill the Fagg*t.’ A disgusting game where you get points for killing gay people and penalized for killing straight people. We did not know anything about this when we agreed to appear. A statement was released by the games company that tried to explain their intention. The statement was juvenile and bizarre, basically saying if you are offended by the game, you are an idiot. Well I am offended, and I am not an idiot. We cannot condone this game and hereby disassociate ourselves with it and Skaldic games. We are all for free speech etc. but not when it’s spreading hatred towards a demographic.”
