Interview: Entering the depths of Hatred

GameZone: Do you think a game like Hatred actually sets the video game industry back in its fight to be represented fairly and equally in mainstream media? On the other hand, do you think Hatred actually does anything to progress or benefit the gaming industry’s defense that video games aren’t the cause of violence?

Przemysław Szczepaniak [Destructive Creations]: Games will always have to defend themselves from outside attacks, because media and people who don’t play them or don’t know them, will always attack. I think that any game with a killing factor can cause this discussion. Numbers of games are growing every year, so is the gaming industry. Gaming industry is becoming a serious competition for traditional media recently. I’m not afraid about gaming position in entertainment & media – games industry works on its own, and it will for sure. Those who don’t understand games will attack them. But they do that without serious reasons and arguments – for me it’s bit of hypocrisy.

Yes, Hatred is against trends. Hatred shows you the real deal, not a violence hidden behind a sad story or zombie faces. Hatred can help cross the border of showing us less lies or hidden violence, which is cleverly served to us for example by GTA V. In Hatred you are limited to shooting, and before you play you know what to do, you can choose if will ever play it. In GTA V you have a total freedom and you can rape the prostitute and brutally kill her in 1st person perspective. What do you think is worse?

Benefits? Less lies, less justification and more truth. We can create a new niche for adult players, for those who want to have a kind of catharsis and realize that violence is not a simple act as they show it in movies. After playing such a game you can think 10 times before you would decide to act as our antagonist in reality.

In the description of the game, it seems like you guys are more concerned with just creating something that simply goes against trends. Is the idea behind a game like Hatred really that simple? Do you think it would serve the industry — and society better — if this were a type of game that still maybe has this sort of violent gameplay, while simultaneously exploring the causes of such behavior and diving into the psychiatric aspect of this type of situation?

Yes, it is that simple. Because simple is good, simple is the way we like it. We like simple, clear life. We don’t like to hide anything, we don’t lie – this is how the idea of Hatred came out of Jarek Zielinski (our CEO) mind.

I even like the idea of such games. My friend, who is very intelligent and calm person is fascinated with criminals, psychopaths. She reads a lot of books and watches many movies about them. She loves to immerse into their stories. After that she is coming back to reality with more knowledge, but without any violent behaviors. I think that it could work, it would make new type of gaming – a shocking thrillers, horrors that helps you understand how the mind of such person works. It could learn us a lot and help realize if we are still normal, balanced persons.

In the original press release, you say that Hatred does “something different, something that could give the player a pure gaming pleasure,” but there’s plenty of games that do exactly just that with interesting story and without as much violence. So what exactly does Hatred offer to the overall gaming landscape that hasn’t already been done before, or what does it do better than those games?

It’s is simple. The way we show the gameplay (and practically lack of story ) is that we don’t justify the violence like many other developers do. I think this is the main reasons why Hatred became so loud. Other violent games want to tell you why it happened through a story and justify murdering others. I mean justify the violence – it almost sound as a lie. In Hatred it is simple and plain, because I think that such a psychopath won’t need a trigger in a form of a computer game. His sick mind will create a projection just like in any other psychic disorder. He will just go out and will start shooting, using axe, car or any other thing that comes to his hand. We have seen many example of such behaviors in the past and now, and none as far as I’m concerned was caused by games.

How has the reaction and feedback been since you first released the initial Hatred trailer?

We get a mixed feedback with higher positive reactions. Many people are excited, happy, and want to see how the game works out – we also have very strong group of fans and supporters. There are also haters and people who criticize us for being violent freaks who cannot code and create something interesting. I think it’s normal when you write something that makes practically whole world talking about you 😉

Is there anything you’d like to say to those who have maybe had a negative reaction to the game or simply write it off because of the premise?

Whatever I will say, it won’t probably change their mind and words of criticism. We can only encourage everyone to observe the game creation process and maybe even try it when it comes out. Those who attack us will probably realize that it is only a very honest game that can help unload aggression gained in the real life.

When can we expect more details about the game?

Depends what details. The final release, the requirements or maybe more gameplay features? What we can say for now is that we are working hard to polish the mechanics and some extra features so you can all “… watch the world burn” 😉 Very soon, probably next month we will provide you something extra too – a new teaser video with some unseen game features .

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Looking forward to hearing more about the game.

Thank you too! Was a pleasure of course If you want to know more about the game release – observe our site and Facebook fanpage!

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Hatred is currently on Steam Greenlight, and has already garnered more than 27,000 upvotes.

Hatred is one of the most controversial games we've seen in the past few months. In it, you fill the boots of a nameless psychopath on a massive killing spree, brutally murdering innocent civilians, cops, and anyone else who crosses your path. Because of the over-the-top violence, intense gore, and brutal premise, Hatred has been received with mixed reaction. Even I initially wrote it off as an offensive premise diguised as "fun." What kind of developer would actually create a game like this? Enter Destructive Creations, who I actually had a chance to talk to in hopes of understanding the reasoning behind a game like Hatred.

GameZone: Thanks for taking the time to answer a few of our questions. When we first watched the Hatred reveal trailer, it was met with mixed response. Just a quick setup, could you remind our readers what Hatred is all about?

Przemysław Szczepaniak [Destructive Creations]: Thank you too – we are happy to show up at GameZone! As for the responses – yes, we had a lot of them, it even outgrew our expectations! Mixed? Well, you know, we don’t make a sweet looking candy popping, politically correct game. This game will have its niche and fans.

In short. The game is about an angry guy, who is pissed off with the world and all he wants to do is to die spectacularly and take as many people as possible to the grave with him. That’s all if we speak about  the story.

The game itself is an isometric shooter, filled with loads of guns, ways to eliminate opponents, cold blooded voiceovers and a lot destruction! It’s not only a generic genocide. With the time passing you will see that game requires some tactics and thinking, because if you meet the police or stronger forces, you will realize that it’s not only a killing spree.

GZ: In the trailer, the main protagonist (or antagonist depending on how you approach the story) says his name is “unimportant.” Does that character have an actual name?

No, he doesn’t have a name or sad life story. And we would like to keep it that way.

What about the character’s backstory? Does the game give any sort of backstory as to what caused him to become so bitter towards the world?

As above – no  This is why we get so many questions. We do not want to justify his actions just like other developers do when the create other  violent games. We do not justify the violence, we show it as it is, and it is cruel as the one in the real world.

Are you concerned with the type of reaction a game like Hatred might have — not necessarily within the gaming community — but the media outside of traditional gaming?

There has always been a debate about how games are violent, how games destroy minds of  kids, how they will affect young and older people to be more aggressive, less caring, less intelligent, etc. The truth is that we are more concerned about TV media, which creates a sweet pulp and make people thinking like amoebas. We are concerned that traditional media are forgetting that games in commercial form exist in this world only for around 30 years – even shorter than TV and radio, and in last years, games are becoming as dominant entertainment factor as TV. Traditional media attack games, because they don’t really understand them, they forget how many violent movies, stupid TV shows they feature every day. We are not concerned about their reaction, we are more concerned about TV viewers who are mostly not aware of what is really going on.

Do you believe that violent video games lead to increased aggression among teenagers, or possibly serve as inspiration for mass murder sprees?

I could ask the same question to media representatives – do they believe that featuring violent movies on weekends in early time of the day can lead to aggression? Are they aware that even PEGI 18 will not stop a teenager to watch porn channels or violent movies? This is the question of not what is allowed and served, but about control.

My answer is that we as people are aggressive by nature, some are more, some are less. It’s not the game that gives us the violence genes and reasons to turn against other human being. We have been violent for thousands of years, we have always been looking for ways to eliminate each other by means of war, religion, and politics.

Games? They are very young medium. Violent game will not affect a healthy mind, which can distinguish reality from virtual worlds. Violent games may shock some more fragile people, but only shock, not make them take gun of the closet and walk out to kill. Those people can choose not to play it and that’s all.

Those who act aggressively are a small part of the society. They have always been there, and they always will be – games will not make it stronger or weaker. It all depends on how we are raised and how our psyche can process the information. A hard day in an office can make you violent and run over civilians with your car. And it’s not caused by the game, but by brutal reality we live in. An entertaining shooter game can even help you unload your aggression in virtual world, without hurting anyone.

As a game developer and a creator, do you feel any responsibility in releasing a game like this and the impact that it might have on society?

We are preparing a product, just like any other developer. It’s a shooter game with more “in your face attitude”. We do not justify the violence, like many AAA games do. We are giving out a game that says: “I’m a shooting game that takes no prisoners, and you will like it or not”. We cannot feel responsible for wrong interpretation of our game. We also cannot be responsible for violent actions that would happen after its release. The product is not encouraging anyone to kill everyone – if that would happen then probably hundreds of games before ours would cause massive genocide. The society will choose to play it or not – simple as that. We are not breaking any laws, we just tell you that the game will be some kind of catharsis, and playing it will tell you how long you can last in the virtual mass destruction.

Regardless of studies or personal beliefs, a lot of traditional media outlets — Fox News comes to mind first — tend to blame video games for school shootings and other acts of violence. Are you concerned that Hatred could become the new scapegoat for mass violence?

No, we don’t, and we will defend our point of view. As I wrote above there are more serious reasons that make people violent and willing to kill. I’m sure that games aren’t the cause. If there even would be such a case (I’m not aware or heard of those yet), then we cannot say by one case that all video gaming industry is bad and should be terminated. From our point of view the frustration, stress, wrong relationships, rejection, being molested, religion, politics caused a lot of dramatic situations and deaths (even at schools) – and there are a lot of evidences for that. So from this point we cannot be compared to those factors. Games cannot be accused also for weak minded psychopaths who cannot distinguish reality from game world.