Culture AIDS Simulator kicked off Steam as Valve grapples with “trolling” definition

Yesterday, we noted that Valve's new "almost-anything-goes" policy for games on the Steam Store still includes a bit of subjective wiggle room in its ban on "outright trolling." Since then, a few things have happened that provide some hints as to what Valve might mean by that nebulous term.

First, in a statement to GamesBeat, Valve spokesperson Doug Lombardi clarified that a game like School Shooter—which was removed from Steam last week after generating days of outraged mainstream headlines—would still be disallowed under the new policy.

"We rejected Active Shooter because it was a troll, designed to do nothing but generate outrage and cause conflict through its existence," Lombardi told the site. "In addition, the developer had been involved in numerous misrepresentations, copyright violations, and customer abuses. There are no second chances for Active Shooter, or its developers. And to be explicit, while the developer behind it was also a troll, we’d reject Active Shooter if it had been submitted by any other developer."

That's a surprisingly strong and clear statement on Active Shooter's lack of value, especially considering the game's listing was removed from the store before its planned June 6 release. The game's developer, who goes by the handle ACID, tried to defend the game as more than mere sensationalistic trolling in a May 24 Steam store posting, where he said he was considering removing the playable "shooter" role before release.

"This game does not promote any sort of violence, especially any sort of a mass shooting," he wrote. "As I said in the description of the game: Active Shooter is essentially a dynamic SWAT simulator in which dynamic roles are offered to players. As I mentioned on Steam discussion forums, there are games like Hatred, Postal, Carmageddon and etc., which are even worst [sic] compared to Active Shooter and literally focuses on mass shootings/killings of people."

A trolly BunchOD00dz
Overnight, a number of sudden removals from the Steam Store also gave some more hints at how Valve's new policy on "troll developers" might play out. As captured by SteamTracker, games like AIDS Simulator, Suicide Simulator, ISIS Simulator, Asset Flip Simulator, Blackscreen Simulator, and Triggering Simulator from developer BunchOD00dz are now banned from the store.

Those titles alone go a long way to suggesting the "outright troll" badge is well earned, in this case. That's despite the fact that the developer uses some mealy-mouthed "disclaimers" on Steam Store pages to try to deny outright "endorsement" of the games' subject matter.

But it's not necessarily the controversial subjects alone that drew Valve's action here. AIDS Simulator (which was prominently condemned in a popular Jim Sterling video just yesterday) boldly listed "features" like "asset flip" and "zero effort cash grab" in its extremely trolly Steam Store description. A Steam Store update for Asset Flip Simulator outright declared the game was "from the esteemed asset flippers and shovelware pumpers that brought you gems such as ISIS & Suicide Simulator." You get the idea.

In cases like these, the decision to remove a developer for "outright trolling" on the Store seems relatively clear. But how and where Valve will draw that line going forward is still an open question, with little in the way of clear guidelines set out for developers to follow. Valve has yet to respond to a comment request from Ars Technica on this issue, but we'll be sure to update you if and when they do.

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018...m-as-valve-grapples-with-trolling-definition/

AIDS Simulator description (because news websites don't think its worth including da picture for actual context):

 

[SiccDicc]

"We rejected Active Shooter because it was a troll, designed to do nothing but generate outrage and cause conflict through its existence," Lombardi told the site.

That's what a lot of "works of art" do, though. People learned outrage generates publicity and that's what matters in the art scene.

Curious how they're gonna operate when it's something that agrees politically with them.

 

[Maggots on a Train]

Now I want SIM AIDS City, where you manage a city whose population catches AIDS modeled after real infection rates. Spend $5 million distributing condoms, new infection rates fall 1%. Burn down a nightclub with the doors chained, new infection rates fall 50% in one year.

 

[Reynard]

I mean, if they don’t want to host things made with the sole purpose of being edgy and nothing else, I see no problem with this. Wasn’t that was Newgrounds was and is for?

 

[Ruin]

Isn't Dark Souls AIDS simulator because you get it and then die?

 

[The Lawgiver]

Guess it's time to ban portal for trolling the player with the false reward of cake, because the real reward was incineration.
We can't tolerate bait of that magnitude in the current year of modern day gaming! How are we supposed to let video games as art ascend to proper high art status if the very platform enforcing the anti-trolling rules has been actively trolling us for years with the bait that is half life 2 episode 3? This is unacceptable behavior valve, I thought you were ABOVE succumbing to those dang dirty trolls' standards!

 

[BrunoMattei]

Is this an Infectonator spinoff?

 

[Blagher]

What has me amused is that in the original announcement, valve said an actual human approves each and every game release like that's a positive. All it means is that valve hires pretty incompetent people to approve games

 

[Alec Benson Leary]

That's what a lot of "works of art" do, though. People learned outrage generates publicity and that's what matters in the art scene.

Curious how they're gonna operate when it's something that agrees politically with them.

Being edgy for edge's sake is fucking stupid, but you're right that a lot of good art is supposed to provoke people.

 

[metroid_fetish]

Does it include virgin rape?

Might be pulled due to inaccuracy.

 

[CWCissey]

They finally got around to removing Revolution 60 for being incomplete?

 

[CharlesBarkley]

They finally got around to removing Revolution 60 for being incomplete?

Honestly, Steam only needs one AIDS simulator.

 

[Slap47]

Can we bait sjws into going after Postal 2? That might help rally more people into being anti-censorship.

 

[c-no]

The best part with AIDS simulator is self awareness in its description. Shame outlets don't make note of that.

Can we bait sjws into going after Postal 2? That might help rally more people into being anti-censorship.

Just say the game has Milo Yiannopolous, homophobia, islamophobia, police brutality, and violence to women and minorities. The ones that know jackshit about Postal 2 won't know any better.

 

[Slap47]

The best part with AIDS simulator is self awareness in its description. Shame outlets don't make note of that.

Seems like they're testing the waters.

Freedom starts with the smallest things. Kinda why the US had a huge supreme court ruling over "Fuck".

 

[Hux]

Honestly, Steam only needs one AIDS simulator.

And it's called Dota 2

 

[AnOminous]

Now I want SIM AIDS City, where you manage a city whose population catches AIDS modeled after real infection rates. Spend $5 million distributing condoms, new infection rates fall 1%. Burn down a nightclub with the doors chained, new infection rates fall 50% in one year.

I'd rather have an Ebola Simulator where you spread ebola and in return, a kawaii Ebola-chan takes off an item of clothing for each achievement. Think of it as an edgy Huniepop.

 

[Ruin]

I'd rather have an Ebola Simulator where you spread ebola and in return, a kawaii Ebola-chan takes off an item of clothing for each achievement. Think of it as an edgy Huniepop.

You son of a bitch.

 

[usernames can change now!]

I trust Valve's discretion simply by virtue of Valve being too lazy and risk-averse to remove anything that would be really controversial. Maybe that's but I can't see Valve removing actual games. Asset flips are not actual games, let's not be silly. I believe Valve would probably still allow Hatred for example, because even though it's literally Shadow the Edgehog: Top Down; it's a functional game that real effort was put into.

 

[Piss Clam]

All I want are some A class filters. Put whatever you want on the store, but at least let me filter it.

It's like there is one developer @ valve and he's smoking a J rather than working.