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Just looking at the game, here's a line from there website: "In NEXUS you will find a science fiction game setting that values wealth, influence, fame and power above all things. A society were no life matters. Its inhabitants look to you, the lanista, to bring them fantastic spectacles of brutality to satisfy their deep seeded blood-lust."

And from one of the developers:

 thecountrygoblin wrote:
The humor is very “Robocop-ish” where there is an overarching dark social commentary being played out and then accented with some not so subtle graphic depictions and ideas. Nexus is not for mainstream consumption, but the people who like it will be the ones that “get it” and can identify where we’re coming from.

Yeah... that makes me hesistate. It's that same kind of attitude that gets the cringiest parts of the community. If it's done well, then yeah, you can get good social commentary. But 99% of the stuff that tries is just bad. Kind of like when Mindworm Games had their profanity-laden initial posts to be "edgy."

Context is a wonderful thing. Out of context this can be read as a very insensitive, inappropriate thing. So change the words and voila, it’s not a grossly offensive thing.

Maybe this didn’t set out to offend but jeez, have *some* social awareness if you’re about to market a product. If this is entirely innocent then this visceral reaction will hopefully prompt a change of wording and all is well. If not, feth this game and this promotion.

Fenriswulf wrote:Awesome, you know people who've had this done to them. Congrats. Never occurred to you that the way to stop this going ahead is to stop treating all of this as a big joke, and instead get on their side and say "Nope, this kind of behaviour stops here. This is unacceptable". That's what gets things to change, not demanding that people who are mistreated instead be able to "take a joke". It's part of being an adult. Realising that some behaviour is unacceptable, and needs to end, not treating it as mere frippery.

But we've gotta have a larf now though, don't we? I mean you've gotta be able to have a larf...

Yes, we do have to have a laugh. When people take these things far too seriously that's when things get violent, people get killed and both sides hate each other even more.

JohnnyHell wrote:Maybe, just maybe, some ‘jokes’ aren’t appropriate or funny? Instead of playing Outrage Police and telling everyone to “calm down dear” how about appreciating another POV than your own? Anyway, congrats on trying to make this thread all about you - successful diversion is successful.

Hey, everyone! According to Johnny, this thread isn't actually dicussing whether a product is appropriate or not! Actually, because I aired my opinion, this thread is all about Mrhappyface!

 Desubot wrote:
Yeah honestly blm doesn't get a free pass.

It sure seems like they do according to some posters here.

Judging by the outrage caused by a bottle opener committing the heretical act of making a reference to the slogan of said organization and not treating it as a sacrosanct text that must be approached with reverance.

 infinite_array wrote:
Just looking at the game, here's a line from there website: "In NEXUS you will find a science fiction game setting that values wealth, influence, fame and power above all things. A society were no life matters. Its inhabitants look to you, the lanista, to bring them fantastic spectacles of brutality to satisfy their deep seeded blood-lust."

And from one of the developers:

 thecountrygoblin wrote:
The humor is very “Robocop-ish” where there is an overarching dark social commentary being played out and then accented with some not so subtle graphic depictions and ideas. Nexus is not for mainstream consumption, but the people who like it will be the ones that “get it” and can identify where we’re coming from.

Yeah... that makes me hesistate. It's that same kind of attitude that gets the cringiest parts of the community. If it's done well, then yeah, you can get good social commentary. But 99% of the stuff that tries is just bad. Kind of like when Mindworm Games had their profanity-laden initial posts to be "edgy."

The thing that people don't seem to get is that satire only really works when it punches up. If you're aiming for easy targets, you're not satirizing anything, you're just piling on. Robocop got this, but the creators of this game don't seem to be as clued in.

The Holocaust doesn't get a free pass.
Make A Wish Foundation doesn't get a free pass.
9/11 doesn't get a free pass.

So no your whole slogan alone doesn't get a pass. Get over it.

 mrhappyface wrote:
So well done on making that argument, too bad I didn't make a point that that arguments fits with. I didn't say I didn't know anything about the situation, I said I had no opinion on it

No, you actually said:

 mrhappyface wrote:
I never really had an opinion of the BLM, Antifa, Alt-right movements (I don't know enough about the situation to suss out who is lying, who is telling the truth and who is mearly misinformed)

You don't have an opinion because you don't know who is telling the truth. That is a pretty strong "I dunno" stance if I ever saw one. And lazy as feth too.

Something akin to: "Oh, those guys over there? Yeah, I heard some bad stuff about them, but it is a complicated world so who knows what to make of the situation. Feth 'em all."

 Fenriswulf wrote:
The thing that people don't seem to get is that satire only really works when it punches up. If you're aiming for easy targets, you're not satirizing anything, you're just piling on. Robocop got this, but the creators of this game don't seem to be as clued in.

How is this punching in any direction though?

As far as I can see, it's a reference to a phrase. Apparently doing so without the proper reverence of "the three words" is metaphorically punching the organisation.
What is that if not "giving it a free pass" in the sense of the BLM movement apparently being too serious a business to make a joking reference to?

 mrhappyface wrote:

Yes, we do have to have a laugh. When people take these things far too seriously that's when things get violent, people get killed and both sides hate each other even more.

"Please stop hitting/killing me!"
"I can't! You see if I stop doing that, we'll obviously become entrenched in more violence, due to the fact that I can't stop myself wanting to have a laugh at beating you down, while you oppose me doing so! It's a no-win situation, you scum!"

SlayerFan123 wrote:
The Holocaust doesn't get a free pass.
Make A Wish Foundation doesn't get a free pass.
9/11 doesn't get a free pass.

So no your whole slogan alone doesn't get a pass. Get over it.

When jokes move from the realm of humour to being an active disguise for bigotry, and actively hurt those who you're having a laugh at, maybe it's time to get some new jokes? Get over it.

 mrhappyface wrote:

 Fenriswulf wrote:

 Formosa wrote:
You strike me as someone who gets personally offended about a lot of stuff, even little things.

What, like I did when I had the crap kicked out of me at school for being of different ethnicity on a regular basis, in addition to being verbally attacked and mocked, even by teachers, who did nothing when either myself or my parents complained about it. Yeah, funny that.

"It's just a joke" is one of bigotry's biggest covers. Don't try to make this into a whole "oooh, triggered!" thing.

I do like to make these things into a whole "triggered" thing because I know people who've gone through exactly what you've gone through but they can tell the difference between someone actually being racist and someone making a joke.

i
I faced racism on a daily basis living in Hong Kong, and yep I can tell the difference between a parody that is harmless and real racism, some people cant though its true.

 Zywus wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
Yeah honestly blm doesn't get a free pass.

It sure seems like they do according to some posters here.

Judging by the outrage caused by a bottle opener committing the heretical act of making a reference to the slogan of said organization and not treating it as a sacrosanct text that must be approached with reverance.

Not referencing a slogan, misappropriating it for publicity in a manner that has already been contentiously done in the past. The "All Lives Matter" and "Blue Lives Matter" counter-protest movements twisted the Black Lives Matter name and slogan to suit their needs, and arguably muddying the public's understanding of the BLM movement in the first place. For a game company to take that political hot potato and slap it on a bottle opener for publicity is dumb. It is just dumb. It trivializes the movement as nothing more than throw away pop culture noise.

Can't we all just get along?

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

 Zywus wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
Yeah honestly blm doesn't get a free pass.

It sure seems like they do according to some posters here.

Judging by the outrage caused by a bottle opener committing the heretical act of making a reference to the slogan of said organization and not treating it as a sacrosanct text that must be approached with reverance.

Not referencing a slogan, misappropriating it for publicity in a manner that has already been contentiously done in the past. The "All Lives Matter" and "Blue Lives Matter" counter-protest movements twisted the Black Lives Matter name and slogan to suit their needs, and arguably muddying the public's understanding of the BLM movement in the first place. For a game company to take that political hot potato and slap it on a bottle opener for publicity is dumb. It is just dumb. It trivializes the movement as nothing more than throw away pop culture noise.

So this particular movement is off-bounds for being trivialized. Ok, got it.

 Fenriswulf wrote:

 mrhappyface wrote:

Yes, we do have to have a laugh. When people take these things far too seriously that's when things get violent, people get killed and both sides hate each other even more.

"Please stop hitting/killing me!"
"I can't! You see if I stop doing that, we'll obviously become entrenched in more violence, due to the fact that I can't stop myself wanting to have a laugh at beating you down, while you oppose me doing so! It's a no-win situation, you scum!"

Are you comparing someone laughing at a parody of the BLM movement to a racist beating someone to death?

 Sqorgar wrote:
Can't we all just get along?

Ironically the whole point of BLM in the first place. It would be great if we could all get along, but black people keep getting killed by law enforcement... and apparently we need to joke about that and “get over it”, according to MrFarageFace.

 Sqorgar wrote:
Can't we all just get along?

Get out of here with your love! This is an internet discussion!

 Zywus wrote:

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

 Zywus wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
Yeah honestly blm doesn't get a free pass.

It sure seems like they do according to some posters here.

Judging by the outrage caused by a bottle opener committing the heretical act of making a reference to the slogan of said organization and not treating it as a sacrosanct text that must be approached with reverance.

Not referencing a slogan, misappropriating it for publicity in a manner that has already been contentiously done in the past. The "All Lives Matter" and "Blue Lives Matter" counter-protest movements twisted the Black Lives Matter name and slogan to suit their needs, and arguably muddying the public's understanding of the BLM movement in the first place. For a game company to take that political hot potato and slap it on a bottle opener for publicity is dumb. It is just dumb. It trivializes the movement as nothing more than throw away pop culture noise.

So this particular movement is off-bounds for being trivialized. Ok, got it.

Abso-fething-lutely. Do not trivialise this. It is important.

 Zywus wrote:

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

 Zywus wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
Yeah honestly blm doesn't get a free pass.

It sure seems like they do according to some posters here.

Judging by the outrage caused by a bottle opener committing the heretical act of making a reference to the slogan of said organization and not treating it as a sacrosanct text that must be approached with reverance.

Not referencing a slogan, misappropriating it for publicity in a manner that has already been contentiously done in the past. The "All Lives Matter" and "Blue Lives Matter" counter-protest movements twisted the Black Lives Matter name and slogan to suit their needs, and arguably muddying the public's understanding of the BLM movement in the first place. For a game company to take that political hot potato and slap it on a bottle opener for publicity is dumb. It is just dumb. It trivializes the movement as nothing more than throw away pop culture noise.

So this particular movement is off-bounds for being trivialized. Ok, got it.

Trivialized? Yes, I think any movement where people are concerned about their safety shouldn't be trivialized.

Did you mean satirized? As stated before, satire is fine, if the satire is done well. The bottle opener is not strong satire, or satire at all IMO.

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

 Zywus wrote:

 Desubot wrote:
Yeah honestly blm doesn't get a free pass.

It sure seems like they do according to some posters here.

Judging by the outrage caused by a bottle opener committing the heretical act of making a reference to the slogan of said organization and not treating it as a sacrosanct text that must be approached with reverance.

Not referencing a slogan, misappropriating it for publicity in a manner that has already been contentiously done in the past. The "All Lives Matter" and "Blue Lives Matter" counter-protest movements twisted the Black Lives Matter name and slogan to suit their needs, and arguably muddying the public's understanding of the BLM movement in the first place. For a game company to take that political hot potato and slap it on a bottle opener for publicity is dumb. It is just dumb. It trivializes the movement as nothing more than throw away pop culture noise.

Indeed they are playing with fire. and gasoline. it will be fun watching them juggle or catch on fire.

or they go full ham on it and make police brutality the game, bringing awareness through a game that is fully satire.

 Fenriswulf wrote:

 mrhappyface wrote:

Yes, we do have to have a laugh. When people take these things far too seriously that's when things get violent, people get killed and both sides hate each other even more.

"Please stop hitting/killing me!"
"I can't! You see if I stop doing that, we'll obviously become entrenched in more violence, due to the fact that I can't stop myself wanting to have a laugh at beating you down, while you oppose me doing so! It's a no-win situation, you scum!"

SlayerFan123 wrote:
The Holocaust doesn't get a free pass.
Make A Wish Foundation doesn't get a free pass.
9/11 doesn't get a free pass.

So no your whole slogan alone doesn't get a pass. Get over it.

When jokes move from the realm of humour to being an active disguise for bigotry, and actively hurt those who you're having a laugh at, maybe it's time to get some new jokes? Get over it.

IOW: I don't have a darker sense of humor, but because of that nobody should.

 Formosa wrote:

i
I faced racism on a daily basis living in Hong Kong, and yep I can tell the difference between a parody that is harmless and real racism, some people cant though its true.

Damn, well I wish I had you with me when I was hospitalised from an attack at school so you could tell me that when the people who did it said "we were just kidding around" they actually meant it, and that it wasn't actual bigotry or racism at all.

Funny how when people who have gone through this now say that this is a line you don't get to cross any more and push back, it suddenly becomes "oh you're just not able to discern what is real racism and what's a joke, lighten up!". Nope, not going to accept that any more.

 mrhappyface wrote:

Why are you so dense! He never said that the attacks against you were a joke! He said that you should be able to tell the difference between a real attack, like the one against you, and a joke, like this bottle opener.

You don't get it, do you? Having the hell kicked out of me and then having it covered up as just being a joke is the whole deal. That's what allows this kind of thing to keep happening. That you create an environment where people who are asking not to be beaten up or killed are told "hey, get over it", and if they react badly to a 'joke' which dehumanises them, which allows this environment to thrive and continue, then they're obviously people who can't take a joke and just want to ruin other people's fun. And there seems to be no other way to protest against these things, because any which way people do protest gets hit with "well why don't you raise awareness in a way which doesn't confront us about such matters".

How about deciding that some things in life shouldn't be trivialized, and that some things aren't great for a larf, especially when they have real human consequences to them. There is no virtue to be found in minimising this kind of thing. It improves literally nothing, and is mostly just a shield to cover up externalised bigotry.

 JohnnyHell wrote:

 Sqorgar wrote:
Can't we all just get along?

Ironically the whole point of BLM in the first place. It would be great if we could all get along, but black people keep getting killed by law enforcement... and apparently we need to joke about that and “get over it”, according to MrFarageFace.

I need to get my eyes tested, see I thought I saw a parody of a slogan on the front page of this thread but it was actually a picture of a Police officer killing a black person. I'm so sorry, I'll get down to Specsavers as soon as possible.

(Also, you're probably not gonna like this, but I have him as an avatar because I think his face looks funny. I know: how dare I laugh at something that has a connection to a political movement!)

 mrhappyface wrote:

 Sqorgar wrote:
Can't we all just get along?

Get out of here with your love! This is an internet discussion!

Actually, I was being facetious, but I guess nobody here is familiar with Rodney King and the early 90s race riots in LA.

 Fenriswulf wrote:

 Formosa wrote:

i
I faced racism on a daily basis living in Hong Kong, and yep I can tell the difference between a parody that is harmless and real racism, some people cant though its true.

Damn, well I wish I had you with me when I was hospitalised from an attack at school so you could tell me that when the people who did it said "we were just kidding around" they actually meant it, and that it wasn't actual bigotry or racism at all.

Funny how when people who have gone through this now say that this is a line you don't get to cross any more and push back, it suddenly becomes "oh you're just not able to discern what is real racism and what's a joke, lighten up!". Nope, not going to accept that any more.

Why are you so dense! He never said that the attacks against you were a joke! He said that you should be able to tell the difference between a real attack, like the one against you, and a joke, like this bottle opener.

Ok, I get it.

BLM is serious business and must always be treated with the utmost respect.

Check with your local humor-gatekeeper if your references to them is strong enough satire (Spoiler: it won't be) before you publish anything.

OK I think you guys have fully covered the topic of whether/how the slogan is (in)appropriate. If you would like to carry on discussing BLM or other political topics, please take it to the Off Topic sub forum. Thanks!

I plan to throw away the bottle opener as it’s crass and I don’t need it. My Homer Simpson bottle opener is the bee’s knees.

The bag looks pretty sweet, though. I hadn’t heard much about the game, but I’ll give the book a look.

Welp going by the 4 lines on their page. it appears to be an arena combat game in line with smash tv. or running man maybe? definitely in the humor direction with this line
"Ripe with violence and inappropriate humor, it's like a game made by children for adults!"

Bottle opener will probably just sit in a drawer as my roommates and I have several. Its gonna be the reserve-reserve opener. Bag I could certainly use.

Interesting. I might jump back into DCM to check this out. I'm always leery of things that brag about being in poor taste, but I'll admit that the bottle opener made my laugh out loud. (It's the difference between satire and farce for me)

I won't exactly be looking into this on my work computer though...