• PolandIsAStateOfMind
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    7 hours ago

    I have pretty ambivalent feelings now, on one side my most hated videogame corpo ever, on the other chuds that openly advertise their game as slavery and exploitation simulator.

    • homicidalrobot@lemm.ee
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      7 hours ago

      It’s insane to me how often I see takes like this, where it’s clear that not only did they not play the game, they didn’t even watch a second of gameplay.

      If the game didn’t HEAVILY penalize you for actually trying to exploit your pals, I’d agree, but mechanically a sweatshop will actually produce nothing at all in a short period of time. Bad working conditions lead to pals stopping work altogether until you let them rest, feed them, etc. to the point it’s obvious their marketing and actual game design aren’t in lockstep. You’re REQUIRED to treat pals well to make substantial progress.

      • UlyssesT [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        3 hours ago

        It’s insane

        “Everyone who criticizes the treats is mentally ill (and mental illness makes their opinions invalid), a bedtime story for treat defenders.”

      • BeamBrain [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        6 hours ago

        If you advertise your game as a slaveowner simulator, people are going to conclude it’s a slaveowner simulator. That’s how marketing works.

        • EmoThugInMyPhase [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          1 hour ago

          Lol this is no different than reading a news headline, getting mad, being corrected, then defending your decision of only reading the headline and not the article

        • homicidalrobot@lemm.ee
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          5 hours ago

          The development team and the marketing team are not the same people. Extremely naïve to come to a complete conclusion with 0 exposure to gameplay. I don’t respect the opinion because it isn’t informed.

          • BeamBrain [he/him]@hexbear.net
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            30 minutes ago

            I don’t respect the opinion because it isn’t informed.

            That’s fine, I don’t respect yours because you’re a tool

          • glingorfel [he/him]@hexbear.net
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            5 hours ago

            why would I play a game that was marketed in a way that makes me not like it at all? I don’t need to be “informed” by being exposed to gameplay. it’s not naive to reject something based on how it was sold to me lmao. it’s not my fault that the marketing people are casting the game in such a bad light

          • Smeagolicious [they/them]@hexbear.net
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            5 hours ago

            I don’t respect you being smuglord

            It’s not an “ill-informed” take you obtuse nerd! A good part of the advertising & marketing of the game, the material that is proliferated and shown to potential buyers, emphasizes casual cruelty and slavery.

            It’s not ill-informed to not want to play because of that! It’s still an option in the game, no? You can work your cute little anime animals to death, you can butcher and eat them. The shock value was capitalized on by scumlord streamers for views much the same way as it was by the marketing - one has to wonder why these systems were included if not explicitly for the shock marketing value.

      • PolandIsAStateOfMind
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        6 hours ago

        Devs themselves advertise their game like that. Reviews are full of chuds too. It’s not even changed after all those months leading me to conclusion it’s intended.

          • PolandIsAStateOfMind
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            4 hours ago

            He also send message to me about good devs and evil marketing. Real g*mer moment. And the second dude is being ever funnier blaming it on… language barrier because it’s 1830 and obviously Japanese devs don’t know English.

              • PolandIsAStateOfMind
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                3 hours ago

                The game had a 6 Million+ USD equivalent budget, they hired marketing. Banning people randomly looks stupid.

                With the context of discussion, it’s clearly just devs good and innocent, marketing bad. As if that main game page on the biggest game store in history wasn’t unchanged for months despite controversies. So the devs either are: a) hostages of their hired marketing people b) completely disinterested how their work is being advertised c) perfectly ok with it

                • UlyssesT [he/him]@hexbear.net
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                  3 hours ago

                  I haven’t even looked much into Palworld, but what I did get from marketing blurbs was “what if Pokemon… but edgy and grimdark?”

                  Those Schrodinger’s Asshole claims that the marketing isn’t the game’s intended way to play seem rather after the fact to me.

                  I heard similar bullshit about the “Postal” series and how a player didn’t have to do any edgelord atrocity enjoying at all if they chose not to.

        • Smeagolicious [they/them]@hexbear.net
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          6 hours ago

          I was interested in the concept at first but it’s the exact shit you mention that killed any enthusiasm I had.

          “It’s not optimal to be cruel” and “you can fight the poachers” c’mon now, they clearly know what they’re implying and to assert otherwise is dishonest.

          Maybe I’m “too sensitive” but them leaning into the vibe of cruelty and exploitation of deliberately cute, innocent sentient beings just made the whole thing feel gross to me. Personally I’d rather it not be an option at all but I’m clearly not the target demo, a not insignificant portion of which is irony poisoned chuds

          • IWantToMakeProgress [any]@hexbear.net
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            5 hours ago

            Check the trailers. I was put off at first but tried it after checking the trailer and read the reviews which most of them state that the exploit/slavery is not the focus. There is free straw-hat-pirates demo btw.

            • Smeagolicious [they/them]@hexbear.net
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              5 hours ago

              I am aware it’s not the focus - I just find it gross that 1) it’s an option in the first place and 2) that it was marketed on this and emphasized by certain streamers and LPers. I don’t have interest in the game, I know what it contains and I don’t want to play it even though slavery “isn’t the focus”. Just very much not my thing

        • homicidalrobot@lemm.ee
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          5 hours ago

          Ah yes, the storefront page. Definitely direct dev communication and not marketing.

    • Acute_Engles [he/him, any]@hexbear.net
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      7 hours ago

      Is it just the advertising that you disagree with? Kinda seems like pokemon is also a slavery and exploitation simulator but all the slaves have happy faces instead of sad ones

      • Amerikan Pharaoh
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        7 hours ago

        Agreed honestly. I just think this is a really fuckin stupid move on TPC’s part because this TOTALLY is going to have a Streisand backlash regardless of the outcome of the suit. Which means we have to hear even more chud bullshit about it.

    • IWantToMakeProgress [any]@hexbear.net
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      6 hours ago

      Slavery playstyle is more of a meme. You’re more pushed into the playstyle of improving the Pals’s condition, upgrade path from better bed, better hotspring, better food, … so they can work and rest better. It’s a sandbox survival game, you can choose how to play it.

      You can improve the pal’s life ingame, but you as the pal in real life is kitty-birthday-sad