The Consequences of Bullying Are Inspiring Silent Enemy

Thank the Baby Jesus for guys like this!

I'm gay, I've been bullied, and I've been broken up by all kinds of stories of people killing themselves because of bullying. It's godawful, must change, and anyone defending it is a piece of shit, but I don't know if things like these help that much.

Like @joshwent said, if the crows are just two-dimensional bad guys with no character whatsoever, there's nothing interesting here. Making a game that explores the psychology of bullying is interesting, but it doesn't excuse the game if it's boring, and it doesn't actually provide any insight or answers by just saying "hey, bullies are real assholes, right guys?"

Particularly as someone who is gay, people who tend to pick on people like me the most were the people with the psychological issues, with the latent self-loathing and jealousy of gays being out while they were not. That's just one particular case, but there are other cases like that that are far more interesting than just telling a sob story.

Edit: I also find it an interesting juxtaposition for Patrick to be super intrigued by a game like this fresh off of his trip to an EVE Online fanfest, a game that is basically a bullying simulator.

Get a life, WOWnerd

Discussing bullying on the internet is always annoying because tryhards always come in and try to prove how edgy they are, as if a lack of empathy and understanding makes them the coolest fuckers in the room.

Funny thing about fighting back, when you're one person dealing with a swarm of people significantly bigger and stronger than you, fighting back somehow becomes very, very bad advice.

Also, some anecdotal advice, attempting to use a solid metal object like, say, a padlock, to even the odds is likely to cause more problems than it solves.

Everything you seem to post is either hating on Patrick or the content of the site in general. You don't like the site? Go to a different goddamn site! Fuck off with this constant asshole attitude. Bullying is a big deal because kids are KILLING THEMSELVES as a result. Or they end up with depression and other mental illnesses. Judging by this sentence:

Guess what, everyone was bullied growing up, back in the day it is what made people stronger.

you were a bully growing up and now you're getting defensive. Bullies are destructive assholes who prey on anyone they deem physically or emotionally weaker than themselves and their way of life should no longer be tolerated in 2013. They're a huge problem in school. Hell, we just had 2 kids commit suicide my area because they were picked on incessantly. If you're not willing to admit it's a problem (and instead you INSIST IT'S A GOOD THING.) then I suggest you step aside and let people have a real conversation about it without screaming "BOO FUCKING HOO." You may enjoy the status quo but most don't. Especially those kids who dread going to school every day.

For the sake of those who are interested in this game and want to play it some day, I hope the gameplay is not hindered by all of these emotion-storms.

As for me, I don't really care for it.

This reminds me of every third music video of a new band. Black and white, signs with some message and b-roll from a tour. I swear everyone has made this kind of video. Pull on my strings harder with a violin in the background!

On the topic of bullying, i hope you guys had parents like my mom that told me to fight back.

There are other minorities you know.

Well, it's the sort of thing minority built it's reputation on... why not?

It's the Greenlight issue spreading. People seem to get so upset that someone could possibly want to make an emotionally evoking game on a sensitive subject. Whether it's more personal to them and they're lashing out, they don't see games as more than shootin' dudes, or whatever the case may be, it's pretty obnoxious.

Another point. When someone is bullied, parents assume the school has to deal with it, which is an easy side to argue for. And when they do try to solve the problem, they do so by punishing the bully. That has solved 1 of 2 very important issues, number 1 being the bully has learned a lesson out of the whole ordeal. But what about the bullied? The only thing theyve learned is that someone else can solve the problem for them. Dont you think someone should try and teach them how to manage the problem themselves, at least overtime? What happens when it keeps happening, just punish the bully everytime? It just isnt going to solve anything.

As for people who have taken their life due to bullying, its just so tragically unnecessary for that to have happened. Its a prime example of letting a solvable problem get out of hand, and its fucking terrible. We really live in a fucked up society if no one could have helped them; there are usually HUGE warning signs when it comes to a suicidal person. Im sick of people getting chewed out in this fucked up world

I get that this is a serious issue, and I certainly hope the dev can convey their thoughts in a powerful and substantive way, but the whole black-and-white, arty-angles, can-only-be-described-with-excessive-hyphen-usage concept for this trailer is only going to inspire preemptive barriers of cynicism from the audience I think they're trying to target.

Especially with a game about bullying, being clear and concise in your marketing and reserving messaging for the work itself seems like the way to go.

Boo fucking hoo. Are you kidding me with this drivel? "Oh please stop all this talk about bullying people being bad, because my experiences and anecdotes of bullying are great examples of personality-building and anyone having other opinions about such things is a big stupid doo-doo brain".

You know why bullying is such a big deal now? Because some people are still thinking bullying isn't a big deal, not just for the victims (that can become not just bullies themselves but potential serial killers in extreme cases) but for curbing down on the negative behavior of the bullies themselves.

World, keep scrutinizing on bullying or we are all going down the crapper.

@joshwent: No they are monsters and fucking cowards .... fuck bullies!!!!! They deserve no defense.

And here I was thinking it became such a big deal when kids started killing themselves. But you're right, it's much more entertaining if you ignore all the dead kids and focus on the living ones, and then call them all pansies. Less depressing too. Unless you're saying school is a "Survival of the Fittest" situation and some kids have to kill themselves to make room for the stronger, less socially attached ones. But at that point, why not just make everyone happy, herd the students into an island arena and reenact Battle Royale (for the youngsters in the crowd: that's like Hunger Games, only old and Japanese... you pansies).

I feel both ends of this problem (the bullys and the bullied) gestates at home. Im sick of people vilifying bullies when its most likely a coping mechanism for some pre-existing issue (not always, though). As for the bullied, parents need to stop codling their goddamn kids and teach them how to take care of THEMSELVES. Theres really no excuse for either party to do what they do (take shit or give it).

What I'm trying to say is punishing the bullies and pampering the bullied will only go so far. For example, germany after ww1... Need i say more? Pull the weeds from the root god damnit!!!!

People that are bullies need to grow up.

Yeah But I don't even know what the Onion is so it sounds like a Media Molecule punk cover band.

Actually, globally speaking whites are the minority.

Anyway it is nice to see people take advantage of what video games can do instead of jacking off into Four Loko cans like most of your rollercoaster action blitzkriegs these days. But yeah this will probably be really rough around the edges like Papo & Yo

Emotionally shitty

I hope videogames can get back to trying for art and criticism instead of advocacy and cheerleading. This is like a Dave Hickey nightmare come true.

The fact that people are afraid to talk about being bullied is exactly what the fucking problem is. To say that "everyone was bullied" and that they should "man up" is a slap in the face for people who have genuinely suffered psychologically from bullying.

For a company called Minority I expected less white people.

Minority media? Finally, a game studio with a significant percentage of African Americans.

Bullying is such a big deal now because people are realizing that it leads to depression, violent behavior and suicide. Maybe read up on it.

Minority Media makes them sound like a fake developer from The Onion.

I have no interest one way or the other in what they're doing, but that's just an ill-considered name.

It'll be interesting to see if this game can be as emotionally powerful as Papo & Yo was when the story/inspiration doesn't belong to just one person on staff. I'm guessing that this is their Ouya-exclusive game.

Looks like we have a new way to spell pretentious.

Lets hope it plays better than papa and boring as fuck.

@freedomtown: While I think this video and possibly many of the people who claim that bullying has affected them significantly can be a bit ridiculous, being bullied affects different people in vastly different ways. While you may have been bullied or teased like most are at some point in life, it appears you've dealt with it well, other people not so much, some are thrown into a fit of depression until they've had enough and kill themselves, others maybe end up spending the remainder of their lives avoiding others and being an introvert as they fear any human interaction.

But to say it isn't a problem is absolutely the most ignorant and moronic thing a person could say. It's disappointing seeing such childish replies from so many people on GB.

Yikes, guys. Stuff like this is supposed to encourage intelligent discussion, not shouting 'get over it' louder than the next guy. While I couldn't relate to Papo y Yo on n emotional level, I could at least understand how someone else could. If this isn't your shit, fine. No one is going to make you play it.

Then I saw more crimes than I could count in middle school and high school that didn't result in an arrest. What is bullying then?

I don't think that's bullying, that's a crime.

Wow, what a badass. You're pretty much Rambo, dude.

This just reminds me I really liked Bully and they should make a new one of those.

I think it's ironic that people are actively bullying the developers in the video by saying bullying isn't a big deal.

I myself don't know about all the facebook bullying and stuff like that, but if a dude gets jumped and is getting stomped by 4 people I don't know how people can say that isn't a big deal.

I was hoping this was a announcement for Bully 2!

Yawn

lol

Yea this isn't for me.

This could be really interesting, but it depends on the set-up. Are the "crows" still characters with emotions too, or just pestering bad guys? And if it's the latter, could the game offer up any real analysis or solutions.

Exploring these concepts via games is fascinating, but it may too easily become a black and white thing instead of reflecting real-world situations. A big part of the whole problem is remembering that bullies are people too...

Interesting idea for a game.

I'm guessing another interesting concept that will be executed poorly.

This seems a bit too touchy-feely drum circle nonsense to me.

And yes i love emotional games and movies/shows. I was also bullied in school, so yeah....this looks like well, a hippy therapist trying to force you to cry about something you're already dealt with.

Fuck this.

The speed of videos on giantbomb is donw the shitter lately, writing from Europe. Takes 2 minutes to load 15 seconds of video.

Not feeling the trailer at all. But I'm definitely looking forward to their next game.

You are really funny.

This sort of feeling only contributes to the problem.

What is your point? I have a feeling, but i'll give you the benefit of the doubt.