In our coverage of adult homebrew titles several months ago, we lamented the lack of projects that target or make an effort to include gay and lesbian gamers. Though there are a few releases that don't necessarily limit the player's gender or sexual orientation, they don't ever imply anything outside of a heterosexual hook-up. We've kept a close watch on the niche scene since, hoping to one day catch a hint of same-sex experimentation on the DS.Instead, we've come across what we believe to be the first Nintendo DS game to openly embrace bigotry. Huntercool's RanAway 1.0 immediately states its agenda with its intro message: "Avoid the gay people! Hit stylus to continue ..." It's a simple avoidance game, no doubt one whose mechanics you're already familiar with through dozens of equally flat Flash diversions, so RanAway doesn't delay too long before yelling out, "Ready, Steady, Go!!!!" and dropping you into its first level.
RanAway is an obviously amateur release, punctuated by its FirstDS.nds filename, implying that the game is Huntercool's first programming effort with the Nintendo DS. The bare background, simple graphics, and MS-Paint-drawn "GO!" button are far from the high production values we've been treated to by the homebrew scene's more talented developers.
Here is the "protagonist," a jaundiced, wavy-mouthed boy trapped in a teal box. His genitals, to which we've applied a mosaic filter for the benefit of our younger readers, are exposed for reasons unexplained. A school of blocks swims around the screen, typifying the legions of square-shaped gay men that roam the streets. All of them, assumedly, are mesmerized by his five-pixel-long organ, unable to resist its draw.To advance, you must avoid the predatory boxes and keep your heterosexuality intact. Mere contact with the enemy, even for just a second, could suddenly condemn you to a life of effeminacy and corrupted morality. If you can outlast the timer, the game congratulates your agility: "You safely avoided the gay mob. Good job." Failing the task, however, brings up an image of two male characters from popular anime/manga Naruto, kissing, embarrassment on their faces. The bottom screen reads, "You got hit by a gay person. Game Over."
RanAway represents the opinions of only its programmer and not by any means the entire homebrew development community; we very much doubt that themes celebrating intolerance will become the norm with homemade games. For all we know, Huntercool could be an 11-year-old boy who meant no harm with his immature view of same-sex relationships. Still, we hate to see any sort of prejudice go unnoticed, so we couldn't just ignore the shoddy game. Type in some stuff in our comment box and let us know what you think.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
8-16-2007 @ 3:00PM
whymog said...
I'm glad you chose to write about homophobia in games. Many gaming communities are rife with hate speech - although that's not to say the majority of gamers believe in it - but it seems that, for some reason, the gaming environment breeds ignorance in some unfortunate people.
It's clear that a game like RanAway isn't going to be a hit by any stretch of the imagination, but all the same it's important to address these topics when they come up in gaming. It's something very few websites are doing, and I'm glad to see DS Fanboy is willing to approach such a controversial topic.
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 3:01PM
Cory Anotado said...
This game is disgusting, is what it is. What is so scary about gay people that makes people hate them so much? If someone can make their case for why they hate gay people in a reasonable, objective argument, then more power to them. But, as someone who's bi (and male, which leads to equally as much revile), this sickens me that someone hates gay people with such vigor.
And even if he's 12, it's a slippery slope.
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 3:18PM
onepointfivevolt said...
I think if I were gay, I'd just find this hilarious. As it stands, I do, anyway. Come on, how can you not find a game that congratulates you for AVOIDING THE GAY MOB hilarious? IT IS. Really, is sexuality still taken so seriously that we can't laugh at this?
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 3:25PM
Ellianth said...
I agree with onepointfivevolt. And for the record I'm a boy who only likes boys :D. I was laughed a couple times while I read the article, but that probably had more to do with Eric's writing than anything else.
Everyone should come over to my house with their DSs and we can all play multiplayer: Avoid the homophobe's shitty game. It came out a couple minutes after the game mentioned in the article came out. It also has great reviews.
P.S. I don't think I could resist that 5px penis either. I had to stop myself from giving the screen a stroke like 3 times, while looking at the photo.
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 3:26PM
Ellianth said...
Should have scrolled up and re-read all of what i wrote. lol. I laughed a couple times*
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 3:37PM
troy said...
I think its annoying that anyone would even WANT to make a game like that, but the really disturbing part is how they shamelessly dropped the game into the community as though there was nothing weird or shitty about having a game like that. I saw a quick review of this game on ds-scene.net, and it just said it was a basic avoidance game. it failed to mention that the whole premise is based on thinking gay people are 'enemies,' and that touching them is 'losing.' I mean, I have a good sense of humor but would a game about 'avoid black people' or 'avoid AIDS patients' be funny? No. I did some fundraising for a college that in the 80s and before had a quote=unquote Native American for a sports mascot, and they changed it. their team name was like some tribe name. And old alumni would argue and be mad that they changed the name. Why couldn't they see it was inappropriate? Would the 'Fighting Jews' be a name that that guy would think was acceptable? Who knows. thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 4:20PM
k said...
So ah, what's this hapless hetero character doing with his pants down, surrounded by such a large concentration of TEH GEY, anyway?
Reminds me of a certain Florida Republican I recently read about.
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 4:41PM
n00b said...
"And with a man you shall not lie with as a man lies with a woman; it is an abomination."
Leviticus 18:22
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 4:42PM
Barb Dybwad said...
Huntercool... *so* a closet queer, clearly.
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 4:58PM
Jackson said...
n00b...
Leviticus says a lot of dumb shit. It says you can't eat shellfish, wear mixed fibers (I'll bet you're wearing a cotton/polyester blend right now!), touch the skin of a pig (ever played football?), and should stone your neighbor if she gets a divorce.
Grow up a little. Homophobia (and other types of prejudice involving race, ethnicity, gender, and the like) has no place in society, whether it be in games or anywhere else.
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 5:10PM
amiga_tone said...
n00b if you have to quote a 2000 year old script then it's time you stopped living in the past and caught up with the rest of the world.
It's the 21st Century you n00b!
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 5:17PM
hvnlysoldr said...
Leviticus is old Testament so the script would be over 2400 years old.
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 5:28PM
n00b said...
"Because of this [idolatry], God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error."
Romans 1:26-27
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 5:29PM
James said...
Just so you know, "sexual preference" is no longer an acceptable term. It implies a choice, and being gay is not a choice. The correct phrase is "sexual orientation."
Thanks.
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 5:44PM
Leonidas said...
Being gay is a choice, just like eye color and height.
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 6:41PM
Jared said...
And then the all mighty, magical Spaghetti Monster said onto thee. "Spread not the marinara sauce of your loins into manicotti shells of sin, but allways between the folds of lasagna I have prepared to receive it. For the manicotti is meant to be stuffed with ricotta, not the sauce."
~Ragu Backlabel
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 7:01PM
Middlemoor said...
I work in a bar and I have to avoid gay people all the time. One regular actually molested me. Hey, if it offends you don't play it! I know I'm not gonna play it.
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 7:17PM
Jackson Pritt said...
This seems more tongue-in-cheek stupid than offensive or homophobic, particularly because of the use of the Naruto screenshot and how awful it seems.
This strikes me as something that would have come from Something Awful or 4chan, not from any hardcore homophobic source.
Reply
8-16-2007 @ 8:17PM
Covarr said...
Games shouldn't focus on orientation at all. Including a gay couple or a straight couple is one thing, but I'm sick of the idea that the focal point needs to be orientation.
The movie Miss Congeniality 2 included a gay character, but the fact that he was gay wasn't the point of the story at all. I liked this, as it meant that orientation was a SINGLE ASPECT of the whole story. Brokeback Mountain, on the other hand, was crap, because it was specifically about orientation.
I feel that the same holds true for games; a game that includes either a gay couple or a straight couple can still be good, but as soon as a character's orientation becomes the focal point of the story the game becomes difficult to enjoy.
Reply
8-17-2007 @ 12:48AM
Shogan said...
I'm gay, and this game just seems like harmless parody rather than some kind of hate.
Reply