France Needs... Hobocamp?
Homeless French advocates... wait... French homeless advocates... no, that's not right either... homeless advocates of France... Damn it.
In France, advocates of the rights of homeless persons are très furieux at a free online game that parodies the less fortunate. Clodogame, a name that sounds like its own punishment but translates to "Trampgame," drops the player into the soleless, duct-taped shoes of a homeless individual whose goal is to become "king of the streets" and eventually move into Versailles.
(Wait, doesn't that sound like a bunch of games, movies, and books? I think Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper explored similar themes... but maybe ol' Sam Longhorn Clemens didn't advocate stealing money from public toilets or limiting one's game-mechanic alcoholism in order to survive...)
Users are invited to progress from being a penniless homeless person in Paris to becoming "king of the streets", the most "talented tramp in Paris" and eventually move in to the Palace of Versailles.Players are invited to "attack other homeless people", become a "peerless pickpocket", steal from sweet machines, public toilets and laundrettes. They need to learn to play an instrument, choose a pet liable to increase their begging skills, and keep control of their alcohol intake.
Naturally, advocates for the homeless are incensed, and as usual in these brouhahas nobody just rushes to see the "opinion or parody" angle. Then again, parodying the homeless isn't a great way to win friends, especially if you want to be friends with Red Cross spokesmec Jean-François Riffaud:
It's a disgrace, it's degrading, it's humiliating to make the homeless the butt of derision. The image portrayed is exactly the one against which we've been trying to fight.
Le sigh. Here we go again, world. Is it worth saying that the Butt of Derision was the focus of the famous lost Harry Potter novel? What about detailing my version of "Trampgame," which focuses on a much more pleasurable kind of tramp? Or that I know the most talented "tramp" in Paris personally, and can promise you he earns $1000 an hour?
...is this thing even on?
Homeless Crime Game Sparks Outrage in France [GamePolitics]
tiny dancer
Posted to Miscellany, Video Games on 1 September 2009
· Comments (3)
Other stuff like this: clodogame, france, hobocamp, homeless
YAY JERRI!
Coach Cherri Wolf: "Next up, Jerri Blank"
Susie: "Give me a V, I, C, T, O, R, Y"
Jerri: "V, I, C, T, O, R, Y"
Susie: "What's it spell?"
Jerri: "Win!!!"
Coach Wolf: "Jerri, uh, what does V-I-C-T-O-R-Y spell?"
Jerri: "Fandango? Hobocamp? Ho-hobocamp."
I'm so sorry i know this has nothing to do with the article but all i could think about was Jerri.
I also very much
I couldn't get that Strangers With Candy scene out of my head while I was reading the article.
I wonder if the creators of the game have made a statement regarding their intentions, whether artistic or purely for entertainment.