"UK Games Expo throws GM out for "rape game" FRPG" Topic

The unanswered question being twofold – how did he think this was a good idea, and how did he get it onto the program list?

link

Just the sort of press the hobby needs, not only are we nerds, but perverts as well.

Absolute idiot.

… how did he get it onto the program list?

because:

UK Games Expo said the content was not set out in the game description and was unacceptable even for one with an 18 rating.

I'm glad he was ejected and then banned from future events.

Jim

I agree with kicking him out and banning him from future shows. I agree with an apology to the players involved who were surprised by this degenerate's actions. However, this line caught my attention:

"It added the player who raised the issue had received an "unreserved" apology "for the distress caused", and the other players were being contacted to offer "any assistance they might need".

Is this where our society is now? We have to offer assistance for an imaginary experience?

Was the 'rape' actually roleplayed? Was it just 'background' for the characters? Some major difference between the two.

It sounds like the GM had the player's characters kidnapped and raped. Not a suitable scenario for a public event, I should think.

The GM may "enjoy the shock factor", but he's still an idiot.

Its precautionary Dn, and it shows the organisers want to be on the front foot and demonstrate that this one idiot GM is not representative of the show, or the hobby. So necessary, no. Good PR, yes.

How did that GM think that that was a good subject, especially for a convention game?

I am at the show as a volunteer and had not realised it has made the national news. Not really the message we want for a family friendly show with over 22k visitors.

While not involved with the incident all the GMs are volunteer and offer a small paragraph to say what the game is about.

We have a wide diversity of people here and you will get an odd Muppet a pity he did not realize how sensitive this topic is and not touch it with random members of the public.

RPGs cover a broad gambit of issues and some such as devil worship and occult practice is on the edge of acceptable. I guess context needs to be understood and I will try and find out more on what the GM was trying to achieve. He is not necessarily Bad but needs a bit of guidance on how to go about things in a more sensitive manner.

I have friends turning up soon with young kids and I hope they have not been put off by the news…

How did that GM think that that was a good subject, especially for a convention game?

The same way that someone was getting all excited about the Auschwitz Camp Game he could finally develop and run now he had purchased a large aerial print of the camp.

This was at a past Salute. His club mates were indicating that this was very unlikely to be next year's participation game, no matter how good the rule mechanics.

"Was the 'rape' actually roleplayed? Was it just 'background' for the characters? Some major difference between the two."

Different? Yes, but only in the detail. Neither could ever be considered appropriate at a public event. Even with a group of close friends, such content would be highly questionable. But at a public event, this is just crass and offensive.

Its a very public and family friendly show – my friends use it to help get their young children into gaming – last year they were playing on the junior RPG tables.

If you know your gaming group and their tolerances, boundaries and willingness to play then thats one thing. For a group of complete strangers, this is totally innapropriate.

As a show organizer and owner, I'd bounce this guy from the show so fast his head would spin.

Good on the organizers!

Any person expressing fantasies along these lines bears watching. Does he have pets? How does he treat small animals (it starts with insects and escalates to small mammals, then people)? How does he interact with other people, particularly women? What is his social group?
This individual should be watched for signs of abusive behavior. If necessary, action must be taken before any type of abusive behavior escalates.

@Walking Sailor: On the other hand, he could just be a clueless twit with extremely poor social skills. I'm not defending his actions or his choices; I'm just saying that he may be nothing more than an ordinary fool. Hobbies which require significant focus and imagination can attract people with a low understanding of what is socially acceptable behavior, or which topics are appropriate for general discussion. (Big Bang Theory's Sheldon, Raj and Howard may be fictional, but they're based on all too common personality types in the realm of geeks.) Plus, some people are just jerks. Essentially harmless, but still jerks. Lord knows we've had more than our fair share of all these types here on TMP!

His only real defense is that what he chose to depict isn't much different from what Hollywood treats as common film tropes— the brutalizations of characters to motivate the hero to action, or even motivate the victim into becoming the hero. It's poor and excessive plotting, and yes, offensive. But it happens all the time. Good grief, Game of Thrones was chock full of it, and probably inspired this guy's scenario. (Which, by the way, is why I stopped reading the books and never watched the show.)

But it's right that this person was booted and banned. And he should be made to offer a sincere apology to all involved, and to the organizers.

I do not know the whole story, but I am guessing it would have been ok, if the RPG characters were kidnapped and killed?

"Ok, so all of your characters have been kidnapped and killed. That was a quick game, thanks for playing."

In a public setting, you run the risk of having players that have been or know someone that has been raped. You probably won't have many players that have actually been killed and still want to play.

Different? Yes, but only in the detail. Neither could ever be considered appropriate at a public event.

It's considered appropriate in novels, films, and other media. Nicole Kidman in Dogville, for instance.

So, are RPGs a form of media, or just 'games'?

Totally inappropriate.

Games at shows should be showcasing the best of whatever game.

Maybe it might be appropriate between good friends, but not to strangers and the public at large.

In this case it was unacceptable.

I can understand a GM would want to dennounce rape trying to empathise with the victims of rape. Specially if the gamers are all male.
But this is something you warn in advance and never do it by surprise as seems to be the case. If any of the players had been a rape victim (and probably she will never tell you as being a victim carries a lot of shame) it can cause a lot of distress to the person. The GM showed to be highly insensitive.

"It's considered appropriate in novels, films, and other media. Nicole Kidman in Dogville, for instance."

Appropiate?, really?.

So, as it appears in movies, like birth of a nation or 15 years a slave, would you see appropiate to run a game were the players are suddenly kidnapped and enslaved to work in mines in Martin Luther school?.

I have a lot of problems watching films with school bullying being myself a victim, so I appreciate to know in advance if that's the subject of a film and I'll avoid it. If a guy runs a game where suddenly we are in a position like that just to "shock us" I might possibly shock him with a fist to his mouth. Well, probably not, but I'll not be happy at all.

Apparently he had based plot on some shocking horror movie where a group of young teenagers are kidnapped and abused. Sold to abusers? The players were put into that shocking position.

The UK Games Expo is family friendly and the RPG sessions held in open rooms with multiple games happening side by side.

The chap did not apparently show much remorse or understanding. Our hobby does not need this publicity.

On a positive note I heard back from my friend and her boys loved the show and even painted some minis this is someone totally new to the hobby and I hope maybe they will explore further and become the gamers of the future…

BTW we had 25k unique visitors and total foot fall of 40k, just to give you idea of size of show…

I think Uncle Goblin has hit on the issue here. Yes, the concept is questionable as game content, but the real problem is that he didn't make anyone aware that his game was going to include sexual violence, and didn't alert the organizers of the possibility. It's one thing to tune into a TV show or watch a film for which you already know the level and type of content it may have (movie ratings, previews, trailers, TV show trailers, and even just identity of network convey all of this before hand). It's another to join a fantasy game, thinking you're getting The Lord of the Rings and then suddenly finding out you're in the middle of a bondage S&M flick. No wonder people were appalled. If he had let the organizers know his game contained adult scenes of sexual violence, they could have restricted the game to adults, and warned participants, or suggested something milder.
(Which makes me think he fits in the "jerk" category, and knew his content would be rejected, so he kept it under wraps until he could spring it on people. The jerk.)

He should have stuck to Kingdom Death

Parzival hit the nail in the head

Great. This is almost a self-writing Jack Chick tract.