Arcane City Game Studios Targeted By Outrage Mob Due to Subject Matter of Their Visual Novel ‘The Virgin’

Arcane City Game Studios Targeted By Outrage Mob Due to Subject Matter of Their Visual Novel ‘The Virgin’

Independent game development studio Arcane City Game Studios was recently targeted by an outrage mob who sought to deplatform the game studio due to the content of their games and their support of another game studio recently at the center of a separate controversy.

In response to a tweet condemning the controversial Rape Day, a video game developed by indie developer Desk Lamp which allows the player to control “the most dangerous rapist in town” during a zombie outbreak, Arcane Game Studios suggested that those who do not wish to subject themselves to the content and subject matter of Rape Day simply not play the game instead of attempting to get it banned:

How about not playing it? Instead of trying to force your views on other people? — Arcane City Game Studios (@Arcane_City) March 13, 2019

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The studio’s defense of Rape Day caused some Twitter users to attack the studio for their views, with one user, going by the display name Spencer, quickly searching through Arcane City Game Studios’ catalog for information to discredit the studios’ opinion and subsequently taking issue with the studios’ visual novel The Virgin:

I’m sorry. I thought that might be yours as this IS one of yours, from your “romantic” visual novel, something you’re promoting on your TL, and some of the most disgusting crap I’ve ever seen. Why make this when you can create something less offensive and disgusting? pic.twitter.com/s9w5IzGYQ1 – Spencer (@spencerpeegee) March 13, 2019

Arcane City stood staunch in their support of controversial topics, asking if Spencer was a member of the ‘morality police’ due to his outrage over the game even though he only had a surface level understanding of the game’s contents:

Wow, apparently you have no concept of the actual storyline or plot, which reviewers have actually liked for its dark twists..

And why should a game developer have to cater to your views of what is ‘offensive’ and ‘disgusting’? Are you the morality police? — Arcane City Game Studios (@Arcane_City) March 13, 2019

Spencer then pointed to a Let’s Play of The Virgin by YouTuber ZachThEaVeNgEr and informed Arcane City that he had reported the video to YouTube as ‘offensive content’ in an effort to remove the video from the platform:

No. But I do have morals. So I reported it to YouTube, who’ll probably remove it because theyll see it as offensive, and reported your tweets promoting it to Twitter, who could remove them and you too for promoting offensive content. – Spencer (@spencerpeegee) March 13, 2019

Spencer also reported Arcane City to Twitter in an attempt to have them removed the platform due to the ‘way [they] conduct themselves on social media’:

Reported. Carry on like this and the only person you’ll have to blame is you, and the way you conduct yourself in social media. – Spencer (@spencerpeegee) March 13, 2019

Following his personal reporting of Arcane City and The Virgin, Spencer labeled Arcane City as an ‘incel developer’ while drawing attention to the game in an attempt to garner support for his actions:

Currently in dispute with some incel game developer who has called me the “morality police” for objecting to a game where men brutally murder women. Anyone else think I’m wrong for reporting this vile and disgusting content? *Graphic content attached to tweet* https://t.co/GvYQL16jZQ – Spencer (@spencerpeegee) March 13, 2019

The attention drawn by Spencer resulted in a storm of Tweets insulting, complaining about, and attacking Arcane City, with some critics asserting that the game’s content promoted violence, to which Arcane City again stated that the critics did not know the entire plot of the game (and thus lacked context) while at the same time asserting that the notion that a media’s subject matter is not linked to increases in real world emulation of said subject matter:

Helllllll no!! I like macabre and provocative subjects but this is way beyond that. And I’d say dangerous for any impressionable people playing it. Fantasies of grotuitous violence towards women (or anyone) should be discouraged… Surely?! — Lovely Appetite (@LovelyAppetite) March 13, 2019

OK, I’ll play along. Yes, people could “just not play it”. People could divert their energy into less vile, baseless violence and horror. But the problem is, rape is real, and treating it as “just a game” is dangerous. Rape destroys lives. It’s already ruining mine. — Duck got fat (@mima83) March 13, 2019

No, mate. I’m not hysterical nor am I someone who thinks rape culture is something that someone should capitalise on for financial gain. Video games have been linked to many crimes, yours has the ability to encourage that narrative. — Nicola (@Iamcrabstix) March 13, 2019

You don’t even know the plot of it.

Also, there are THOUSANDS of studies that have debunked your bullshit statement about video games and violence.

“Rape Culture” Get on down the road with that Social Justice Warrior buzzword bullshit. — Arcane City Game Studios (@Arcane_City) March 13, 2019

Arcane City is correct, as numerous studies have been conducted which have failed to find a link between subject matter such as violence or rape and an increase in these crimes among consumers. They include a study published in 2018 which found sexualized video game females led to a reduction in hostile sexism and acceptance of rape myths, a study published in 2017 which arrived at the same conclusions regarding sexualized characters, and a recent study published in February 2019 which concluded that violent video games are not associated with violent behavior.

As the back-and-forth between Arcane City, Spencer, and the outrage mob continued, Spencer published a lengthy message to his Twitter (in the form of a screenshot, in order to circumvent Twitter’s character limit), explaining why he believes games such as Rape Day and The Virgin should be banned:

Oh, you’ve unblocked me. And I see you deleted some of your earlier tweets. So much for freedom of expression. Well then, a few things (see attached). pic.twitter.com/NtoWr2Lbz7 – Spencer (@spencerpeegee) March 13, 2019 “You claimed ownership of The Virgin (I have a screenshot of your tweet where you called it “our”) which contains a plot where a character wants to have sex with a female character, but it ends in graphic violence and her brutal murder, while the character is linking this murderous violence to his sexual desire. I objected to this and reported it to YouTube. As I’m entitled to do. I asked followers who felt the same way as I did to do the same. Again, they are free to do so. Or not. The description of it being a “romantic” story is misleading and deliberately so. It’s a depiction of brutal violence. Video game characters aren’t real, but a game where it is fun to brutally murder female characters is, in my opinion, wrong. Game developers are smart and creative people, making this sort of crap is such a waste of their talents. The person who played it online called it “The Most F**kedUp Game I played Yet”. That does not sound like a ringing endorsement. F***** Up is not praise. In fact it seems to suggest it’s wrong. Is the Lifetime Network where made for TV movies go to die? TV networks have their own complaints structure so when viewers don’t like content they can complain. Besides, isn’t Lifetime Network only watched by old grannies? We all have the right to report what we see as inappropriate content. YouTube, Twitter, and all other media platforms welcome reports of content their users find offensive and it is then up to them to decide if it breaches their guidelines and then remove it. Yes, I reported it as I am entitled to do. YouTube will decide if it’s inappropriate. As usual? You’re not encountered me before today so you have no knowledge of me, nor do you follow me. So calling me a typical treasonist Communist is a bit wet.”

Following this message, Spencer switched his Twitter account from public to private.

However, despite the efforts of Spencer and those who agreed with him, Arcane City has reported that the attention brought upon The Virgin due to their outrage has ultimately resulted in an increase in players:

It’s refreshing owning (and watching Otakus & Horror Fans) own so many of these SJW’s who are trying to censor or ban video games/horror/etc. Also, thanks Spencer & Renfamous – people playing our ‘OMG VIOLENCEEEE REE’ stuff has INCREASED since all of your whining and /1 — Arcane City Game Studios (@Arcane_City) March 14, 2019

personal attacks/censorship attempts/Dox Attempts/Threats. We appreciate all of your unwilling support and publicity! 😉 So our friends out there know, our game that started the ‘controversy’ – ‘The Virgin’ is a free short VN. The link: https://t.co/eahitETIJi /2 — Arcane City Game Studios (@Arcane_City) March 14, 2019

What do you make of Arcane City Game Studios’ response to the outrage mob? Do you agree with Spencer? Or do you think he was wrong?

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