Culture Steam bans Domina developer from his own game's forum

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Valve Bans Steam Dev From Forums After 'Abusive' Behavior​

This latest episode of nonsense from Dolphin Barn follows anti-mask and anti-trans screeds found in patch notes​

By
Claire Jackson

Yesterday 4:55PM




Screenshot: Dolphin Barn Incorporated / Kotaku

Facing criticism of your own creative work can be challenging. I should know. But when responding to criticism involves, well, punching down on marginalized communities, or going on random, unrelated, political tirades that recklessly bash people trying to stay healthy and safe during on-going pandemic, that’s crossing a line according to Valve. This has been the situation for the developer behind Steam game Domina, Dolphin Barn Incorporated, who has recently gotten into some hot water after Valve responded to the dev’s ‘abusive’ actions and ongoing bad behavior on the platform.

Described by PC Gamer as the “least likable developer on Steam,” Dolphin Barn Incorporated has gotten into repeatedly embarrassing and awful situations surrounding its game Domina, a pixel gladiator sim that was released in 2017. Known for responding to negative feedback with bigoted political views that also appeared in patch notes, Dolphin Barn received a ban on its own game’s Steam community forums. Valve highlighted offending behavior that included “insulting or flaming another user” and an overall “trend with abusive messages sent when banning players from [the game’s] hub.” These decisions come a few years after Valve pivoted to a more hands-off moderation policy on Steam, deciding to only weigh in on content that the company deems “illegal or straight up trolling.”


Kotaku has reached out to Valve for comment on this situation and its moderation policies.
As reported by Eurogamer over the weekend, Dolphin Barn Incorporated took to Twitter to share the news of its ban on Domina’s community forums on Steam, where a warning indicated that this was the ‘second time that one of [its] posts violates [Valve’s] discussion rules and guidelines.’ While the insertion of absurd anti-mask rants about grocery stores, and anti-trans rants into patch notes have earned the developer well-earned criticism, that’s not necessarily what has landed them in trouble with Valve this time. Rather, their hostile and errant behavior on Steam’s community forums in responding to gamers’ criticisms are largely what’s under scrutiny.
Dolphin Barn Incorporated’s Steam account reveals their forum posting history, which includes calling people a “spiteful c-word,” amidst accusations that those who have criticized the DLC are posting “fraudulent reviews.” The developer has taken to banning users on the Steam community forum who’ve raised this issue, and has at numerous points called people “r*tarded,” “betas,” accused people of being “impaired, inferior, and useless” “totally illiterate,” “cowards.” The dev randomly quotes biblical passages, maintains that they’re working “for God,” and has vaguely compared themselves to “Socrates, Jesus of Nazareth” and “Galileo.” He also at one point told someone that “if you want me chew your breakfast and [fuck] your girlfriend for you, too, send me your address.” They also continuously make references to centurions and armies.
Kotaku has reached out to Dolphin Barn Incorporated for comment on this situation.

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As a response to the latest actions Valve has taken against Dolphin Barn, the developer posted an update on Steam with the angsty title “DONE.” Here it repeats the accusations of “dozens of fraudulent reviews” of Domina, speculates about the genitalia of those who issued the ban, and casts doubt about the game receiving future updates on the platform.
 
So is he banned for his political views or banned for being a shitstirrer? Seems like the former based on Kotaku's (obviously biased) interpretation.
The short of it is he implied that only weak men wear face diapers in the patch notes as a silly line he tosses in every update. Weak nerds chimped out hard in response, only proving him right.

As for dlc, it was free to test on the test branch and directly stated that when the beta branch goes live it will be as paid dlc. Weak nerds conveniently glossed over that until it went live as dlc as stated.

Column a, columb b, both columns depending on who you talk to.
 
Ehh you might want to think twice on that one. Steams actions aside, he's a legit sped who has a history of ripping people off and lying about it. For example he ripped a bunch of features out of the base game after release then sold them as dlc, got called out for it in reviews and such and went on a harassment and reporting spree of the people who posted the reviews, then when he got in shit from steam over it, lied and claimed he didn't do what was claimed in the reviews or go mental on people for calling him out for it. Several of these reviews included older review videos proving it

He's also put the game up in price by over $4 recently. Speaking as someone who has played it, you're not missing anything. Its a shitty game as gladiator sims go and way too reliant on badly implemented rng that gets your best gladiators killed very early on by putting you against massively overpowered opponents

Keep in mind this isn't just a steam thing, the dev has a history of getting banned from multiple platforms for acting like a mental case, being overly disruptive and harassing users and playing victim when said platforms have enough of it and ban him. He also has a history of abusing the developer news section of the store page posting all kinds of bizarre irrelevant nonsense, which is a big part of why steam is getting fed up with him now. Prime example:



His response? We're saying the Truth and the liars are not.

He's a walking example of the phrase when everyone else is the problem the problem is you

EDIT: Forgot my favorite one: he compared himself to jesus, socrates and galileo and then accused people of being 'histrionic' when they pointed out how narcissistic that is, after talking word for word like a domestic abuser and telling people if they really supported him they would back his every word and go mass reporting the people who posted 'fake reviews' on his behalf, in a way that absolutely screamed if you love me you'd believe me and do what I say. I would not be the slightest bit surprised to find out he's got a history of domestic abuse

That said, i'm seconding the idea that this guy needs a thread. With his attitude theres going to be a public blowup and a not that unlikely stay at a psych ward or a hospital if he doesn't learn to control himself better

Sure, but if you consider exactly the kinds of people who are pissed off at him, that's a dude I'm perfectly okay with throwing beer money at.
 
Sure, but if you consider exactly the kinds of people who are pissed off at him, that's a dude I'm perfectly okay with throwing beer money at.
As long as he's schizo screaming at them while listening to this:
More power to him. When the crazies and the soys fight, we all win. Are you not entertained? Is that not why you're here?
 
It's his forum. No one has to post there. :smug:

No mention of review bombing, eh, Kotaku?
View attachment 3638644View attachment 3638651


  • Their transphobia
    [*]"...BESTIARIUS also adds a "heal" option -- even if you don't have Medicus, or Medicus Emeritus, or if you're a man who has inverted his penis into a vagina, the BESTIARIUS will automatically train animals after healing, but it won't make you a woman." - March 31, 2022, DOMINA 1.3.22 BETA dev note.
    [*]Their anti-masking views
    [*]"TAKE OFF THE ♥♥♥♥ MASKS - Next time you're at the grocery store, try showing a woman your face. Be confident, unafraid of the LIES -- you might get a girlfriend. Women like confidence. Women don't like dudes who cover their faces in fear. What are you afraid of? Getting laid? Grow up." - March 8, 2022, DOMINA 1.3.18 BETA dev note.
    [*]The opinion that some men are just WEAK and SORRY and utterly PATHETIC because the dev is clearly such an alpha male, and also christianity is your best option.
    [*]"( * some men still wont fight. they're weak. ... if you want to be told how to live your life, read the new testament. the internet will only give you lies.)" - May 6, 2021, DOMINA 1.2.89 BETA dev note.
    [*]Their conspiracy theories
    [*]"no way John McAfee killed himself. highly dubious. highly ♥♥♥♥♥♥' dubious." - June 24, 2021, DOMINA 1.3 BETA / "did john galt kill himself? no, but everybody at the motor company probably wished he would, in the fictional novel "atlas shrugged" by ayn rand." - March 22, 2022, DOMINA 1.3.21 BETA

Aaaaand Jim Sterling did a video on him which explains the review bombing.
Very few of those negative reviews have the "Product Refunded" tag and many of them have over two hours played (the time limit for Steam refunds). Dude is laughing all the way to the bank; he even raised the price from $10 to $20 after the review bombs started:
1661312852570.png

Some more fun stuff from the patch notes:
POSTED Sat, August 6 DONE

Steam publishes dozens of fraudulent reviews of our game and we flag them as such.

Our flags are removed, and despite any evidence, the fraud review stands.

No evidence is ever offered that we've done anything wrong with DLC, but the claims are echoed for eternity on b-level gaming blogs, just to be used as ammunition on Twitter. Circle jerks. Disgusting.

Now we can't even flag the lying reviews as fraudulent because nameless, cowardly steam moderators whom we cannot interact with, have final editorial control!

How can we have a working relationship with a platform that actively wants us OFF the platform?

At this point, it is
doubtful
that DOMINA will receive future updates on Steam.

If that upsets you,
I encourage you to talk to Gabe Newell. His ship is sinking and he dgaf.

Integrity is key.

Centurion: Adapt, Adopt, Improve

@tehbignic

-------------
2022-08-13 Steam Mods banned me from DOMINA forum for a week (ostensibly for strong language, but if you hold a mirror up to the world 80% of them will throw a brick at you)

Exactly zero human beings have the balls to put their name to the ban. Cowards. Clowns.

What a stupid company to work at. It must be so sad collecting so much money from people who actually create something, and then banning their opinions.

I wonder how many stomach ulcers are at Steam/Valve? How much prilosec is prescribed to them?

Zero cocks among them, that's obvious.

What a pity.

http://thebignic.com/centurion-a_man_made_of_one_hundred_men.mp4
POSTED Thu, July 28 DOMINA 1.3.23 BETA
there are four lights

POSTED Sat, June 26, 2021 DOMINA BETA v1.3.2
joke
  • n. Something said or done to evoke laughter or amusement.
  • n. An amusing story with a punch line.
  • n. A one-man dev team making a multiplayer game.

POSTED Thu, May 6, 2021 DOMINA v1.2.89 BETA
(* some men still wont fight. they're weak. there's no accounting for weak men. weak men lack character. strong moral fibre is hard to come by. it's earned through hard work and sacrifice and it cannot be had via onlyfans or pornhub. no, those fuckin' things are demonic posessions waiting to show you a succubus tiddy in the hopes you'll waste a load on her instead of spending that energy studying how to weld or grow a potato or learning a new language or how to program a computer. listen, kids ... get off them porntubes and do something with your life becuase no one is gonna give you a goddamned thing and this whole mess we call civilization is only getting harder. we need solutions and we need smart men who can work hard and implement those solutions. masturbating to egirls isn't gonna solve the energy crisis is it? get to work.

.. or play video games and have a relax and then get to work, fresh, tomorrow. i can't possibly know whats best for you in your individual situation.

really... don't let strangers on the internet tell you how to live your life. if you want to be told how to live your life, read the new testament. the internet will only give you lies.)
Dev also has a gab account (@thebiginc):
1661314147987.png
Source (Archive)
1661314652814.png
Source (Archive)
1661314700274.png
1661314730171.png
The journos would have a heart attack if they saw his Gab account:
1661314974497.png
Source (Archive)
1661314359739.png
1661314326131.png
1661314892390.png
Source (Archive)
There's a lot more and I don't feel like archiving every one of his Gab posts.

He also challenged Notch to a fight:
1661314509428.png
Source (Archive)
 
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As much as I wanted to love it based on how utterly based the developer is, the game is, unfortunately, complete and utter shit. It is one step up from mobile idle clicker games.
God bless cs.rin.ru and God bless Vladomir Putin His humble and obedient servant.
 
Let’s not forget that one of Valve’s writers - Sean Vanaman - is the same guy who DMCA’d PewDiePie for streaming his game because PDP said ‘nigger’ in a completely different game - and then a couple years later suspended a DOTA2 player’s account because the player didn’t listen to what he told him to do in a match. In light of that, I’m not surprised Steam is now bitchier.
 
Let’s not forget that one of Valve’s writers - Sean Vanaman - is the same guy who DMCA’d PewDiePie for streaming his game because PDP said ‘nigger’ in a completely different game - and then a couple years later suspended a DOTA2 player’s account because the player didn’t listen to what he told him to do in a match. In light of that, I’m not surprised Steam is now bitchier.
Firewatch is an even worse game than Domina. Faggots upon faggots upon faggots.
 
He's got that Triple A mindset, the sky is the limit for him.
Yeah, he has the Tripple A mindset, i mean he did remove things from the game to sell it back to people in the DLC.

The short of it is he implied that only weak men wear face diapers in the patch notes as a silly line he tosses in every update. Weak nerds chimped out hard in response, only proving him right.

As for dlc, it was free to test on the test branch and directly stated that when the beta branch goes live it will be as paid dlc. Weak nerds conveniently glossed over that until it went live as dlc as stated.

Column a, columb b, both columns depending on who you talk to.

It was months ago he said the stupid shit in his patch notes, but he was not banned for it. Instead, he broke STEAM TOS after being a big fucking beta bitch on the forum.

Now for the DLC, now he does it by putting it on the BETA branch, but back in the day, he did not.

EDIT: I forgot to get the Refund, going to ask for it now. I don't need the money, i don't care about the money. However, fuck it I want to see if I can get it.
 
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Yeah, he has the Tripple A mindset, i mean he did remove things from the game to sell it back to people in the DLC.



It was months ago he said the stupid shit in his patch notes, but he was not banned for it. Instead, he broke STEAM TOS after being a big fucking beta bitch on the forum.

Now for the DLC, now he does it by putting it on the BETA branch, but back in the day, he did not.

EDIT: I forgot to get the Refund, going to ask for it now. I don't need the money, i don't care about the money. However, fuck it I want to see if I can get it.
what do you mean about DLC? If dev announced it will be payed DLC when it gets out of beta, how is he being dishonest here?
 
what do you mean about DLC? If dev announced it will be payed DLC when it gets out of beta, how is he being dishonest here?
It feels like a money grab when you get into the game.

Shit like inventory, more then 3 classes, and basic features are now DLC. It feels like buying a game and finding out you need to pay $1 for a quick save option. Like sure, I don’t need it but that’s pretty fucking greedy.

I asked for a refund after reading it was like $4 and I paid fucking $20. I wanna support his schizo posting but don’t wanna get fucked over to do it.
 
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