Hey gang,
I'm in the process of a new YOIS column and this time around am taking a
look at early controversial games: Titles that, for one reason or another,
got a large group of people or a particular special-interests group pissed
off. Here's a quick list off the top of my head (I haven't gone through my
archives yet), but I wanted to get some of your favorites as well. Don't
worry, you'll get credit for your contribs. I'd define early as pre-1984,
so nothing like "Postal", and I do computers only, so no "Custer's Revenge"
for the 2600.
Here's my list so far:
"Softporn" by On-Line Systems
The first computer adventure to generate hate-mail due to its (rather bland)
all-text depictions of sex. A lot of religious types bombarded Ken Williams
for this one. On-Line / Sierra was pretty wild, back in the day -- lots of
hot tub parties at Ken's, the most famous of which involved a photoshoot
that splashed naked Roberta Williams on the cover of this very game.
"The Bilestoad" (I forget the company)
Criticized for its violence, some magazines even banned it from reviews.
Gameplay consists of two opponents hacking each others' limbs off with axes.
Quite realistic graphics for its time, especially for the Apple II. (This
was 10 years before Mortal Kombat and Time Killers.)
"Firebug" by Muse
The game's tagline in ads ("Make an ash of yourself!") made some people
upset, because "ash" sounds like "ass", and saying words that sound like
"ass" is apparently as bad as saying "ass" itself. Ass, ass, ass, ass, ass.
"Lucifer's Realm" by Med Systems
You start out in a hospital bed, but soon die and go to hell, where you
interact with the likes of Stalin and Hitler. Many sources credit it as the
first game to be banned in the U.S., though I've never been able to
positively confirm this. One of the late Jyym Pearson's close friends
assures me that Jymm himself was delighted upon hearing the news.
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