RapeLay - Japanese "rape simulator" game

[The 1 2 P]

Does it have a 2 Player mode so one player can be the one getting raped?

Thats not the kind of co-op I would prefer. But I guess some people like being the bitch.

[Aussie2B]

Nah, Japan's statistics for rape are way out there; high enough that they've organized women-only cars on many subway lines in various cities.

Rape and subway gropings are two very, very different things.

The last thing this topic needs is to turn into another "Japan is so bizarre" or "Japan is so messed up" topic. We shouldn't vilify an entire nation and people over an obscure, creepy PC game. People are acting as if Rapelay is getting the same sales and recognition in Japan as Final Fantasy.

[Buyatari]

People are horrified by this, but barely blink an eye at the hundreds of games where you gibb humans into gooey little bits.

I know the argument goes that rape is "psychologically fucked up" etc. etc. and that getting off it on is, well wrong, but I always thought killing people was worse. One life and all that shit.

Before anyone thinks I'm supporting this, I'm not. Not in the slightest. It's retarded. While funny that some idiot spent his time making it, it really doesn't need to exist. Nonetheless, there's a shitload of games that have lots of illegal behavior going on, a lot of which is worse than rape. FYI, I qualify "murder" as worse than rape. Even if you don't, it's definitely up there. So why flip a shit about this game? It's not realistic in the slightest, and it's just way too ridiculous to be taken seriously.

I think everyone has thought about commiting a violent acts at some time or another and many may even think about killing someone who has harmed them in the past even if it is just to think about it. Then we have war and captial punishment where killing is "supposed to be" the right thing to do. So killing isn't always so bad to some people and it is something many have even considered if only briefly. In general we have just grown a think skin when it comes to murder.

Rape well rape is always wrong.

[TonyTheTiger]

Yeah... people just don't actually get charged very often, I believe.

It's one of the least reported crimes, if not the #1 least reported crime.

Yeah, it's tough... that stuff on the one hand, but freedom of speech on the other... and I absolutely believe in freedom of speech. Nobody's being directly harmed by the existence of the game... it's like the US with things like neo-nazi music and stuff, it's not illegal until they actually start doing physical violence or things like that. Many other nations limit words a lot more than we do, though, so this isn't an absolute... but I do think America does it right.

The freedom of speech thing only comes into play when you start talking about banning stuff. In this case, most of us here and in the media are just saying it's in poor taste. Amazon is choosing of its own volition not to allow it on their site much like I'm sure many of us wouldn't want Neo Nazis in our homes. You can be pro First Amendment and still call garbage what it is. I've been doing that with Manhunt since it first came out. We aren't wiping our asses with the Constitution just because we don't give a free pass to everything under the sun.

The First Amendment would come into play if we started arguing that this should be banned because it's an implicit rallying cry for violence against women and that kind of speech isn't protected. But I highly doubt that argument would hold water. There are a lot of "rape play" porn films where rape is used as a springboard but the girl eventually submits either because she finds it exciting or because she just accepts being powerless in the situation. And those are live action yet don't qualify. As tasteless as RapeLay might be, it's still just a cartoon.

Male power fantasies are not alien to entertainment, even innocent entertainment. It's particularly not alien to video games, a medium mostly targeted at young males. A wholly innocent game like Ar Tonelico has constant sleazy undertones. And this is a game I like. But I'd be lying through my teeth if I didn't say I'm sometimes embarrassed to play it just because the dialogue is so full of innuendo. RapeLay is sort of the same deal except, unlike Ar Tonelico, it sheds all pretense and just says what it means to say.

And this isn't just games involving sex, either. Any game where you play as a muscular one man army is appealing to the little Rambo in all of us. And I don't think that's a bad thing. Wish fulfillment is relatively normal in entertainment and should continue to be. We wouldn't have Superman if a couple of kids from the 30s didn't think, "Man, wouldn't it be cool to be super strong?" Games like RapeLay and Manhunt just take it "a little too far." It's just like the racist joke. Racist jokes can be incredibly funny. Until someone goes "a little too far." But the location of the line varies from person to person. I don't think there's any "evil" to playing RapeLay. I don't think people who do are bad people or prone to deviant sexual behavior. It's just that, for me, it crosses that line where it stops being entertaining...for me...maybe not for somebody else.

[Buyatari]

Not like we haven't seen it before.

What about Custer's Revenge is that one OK ?

[TonyTheTiger]

Not particularly.

But, again, it's tasteless but simultaneously a stupid cartoon. And I use that word loosely as those things on screen barely look human at all. It's not particularly harmful but it doesn't have to be in order to qualify as garbage.

[ThoughtBomb]

It's true that this isn't news. Rape simulators and various types of games/anime are not new. I've seen a few in my day and though I haven't played/seen this one I'd bet it's not the worst of the bunch, either. I think this can be summed up, though, by taking a look at A Clockwork Orange.

In the novel, the main character rapes a couple of ten year olds. In the movie adaptation, however, it's changed to consensual sex with older teens. This, I think, defines the difference. With a book, simple prose, it's just words. It's far less jarring because it really is "just a story." But when adapted to film, now you're dealing with something far more vivid and even in a movie as fucked up as A Clockwork Orange, not many people would be comfortable depicting a child rape scene. Especially since these girls would be played by actresses who are actually real people. I'm all for creative freedom but creative freedom comes paired with creative responsibility. And filming the scene as it was written would have been creatively irresponsible.

I'm convinced the only reason games/hentai like this can 'get away with it' is because it is "just a cartoon." It might be in bad taste but it has the same kind of defenses that the Clockwork novel would use.

I'll be perfectly honest. I think Manhunt pushes into creative irresponsibility, too. But, again, it's "just a cartoon...sort of." I guarantee that if CGI were capable of mimicking reality flawlessly then a game like Manhunt wouldn't be able find a market. Who'd want to play it if it were that real, right? I think the same thing goes for these rape simulators or hentai where the oldest female involved is a whopping 12 years old. If it got "too real" it ends up crossing that line into "what the fuck this is sick" to even the most dedicated supporters.

I'm sort of talking out of both ends of my mouth here. But what I'm trying to get at is that at some point an offensive concept is less offensive to the masses because of the limitations of the medium itself. When moved into a different medium, or when the limitations of a medium are removed from the equation, then all of a sudden something relatively innocent turns into something incredibly disturbing.

...Not you too Tony, not you too.

[TonyTheTiger]

What do you mean?

[The 1 2 P]

It looks like ebay has finally started to ban this game...two years after allowing it to sell regularly in the adult section. Better late than never I suppose.

[ThoughtBomb]

What do you mean?

I was just goofin on your avatar. The thought of Tony the Tiger making social commentary about a hentai rape game makes me laugh. Yea, I'm a little nutty. 'It's RRRape!'

[Kroogah]

'It's RRRape!'

This thread just got 120% more awesome.

[Compute]

I'll throw in my hat on this one..

What makes rape different from killing somebody? Let's remove this whole "good" and "evil" because those terms are bulllshit. They merely exist to give us REASON to kill, maim, rape, whatever. It's ok to kill this guy because he is "bad."

No matter how "bad" RapeLay may be (I didn't play it because I personally find it to be disgusting), how long until all of our favorite games are labelled as "bad" and banned?

Why is this being banned anyway? What evils will not banning it allow? Will this game create MORE rapists in the same way that _insert shooting game here_ creates more murders, or Punchout! creates more boxers, Madden inspires more children to become pro football players, etc etc?

How many people have fantasized about becoming a bagger at a grocery store because they played a lot of Tetris or Klax growing up? I, for one, never followed through on my fantasy to pilot a spaceship shooting asteroids for no apparent reason in the middle of space.

[TonyTheTiger]

I was just goofin on your avatar. The thought of Tony the Tiger making social commentary about a hentai rape game makes me laugh. Yea, I'm a little nutty. 'It's RRRape!'

Yeah, I suppose when I get all "seriousness" about stuff the smiling cartoon tiger is just incongruent.

This thread just got 120% more awesome.

I'll throw in my hat on this one..

What makes rape different from killing somebody? Let's remove this whole "good" and "evil" because those terms are bulllshit. They merely exist to give us REASON to kill, maim, rape, whatever. It's ok to kill this guy because he is "bad."

I don't think it's fair to compare rape vs. killing. A better comparison would be either sex vs. killing or rape vs. murder. Rape vs. killing is comparing a specific sex crime with a general principle of taking a life when not all killing is murder or even criminal behavior.

RapeLay vs. Manhunt is probably the best comparison. Although Manhunt appears to be much more "real" and "gritty" whereas RapeLay looks a lot more cartoony.

No matter how "bad" RapeLay may be (I didn't play it because I personally find it to be disgusting), how long until all of our favorite games are labelled as "bad" and banned?

Why is this being banned anyway? What evils will not banning it allow? Will this game create MORE rapists in the same way that _insert shooting game here_ creates more murders, or Punchout! creates more boxers, Madden inspires more children to become pro football players, etc etc?

There actually is no real banning going on. A few retail outlets have decided not to sell the product but usually "banning" is reserved to the government stepping in. Child pornography is banned, for example. I don't like people smoking in my car but smoking isn't "banned."

Even if this game were banned, however, I don't think the slippery slope is going to happen. This is a very specific situation.

How many people have fantasized about becoming a bagger at a grocery store because they played a lot of Tetris or Klax growing up? I, for one, never followed through on my fantasy to pilot a spaceship shooting asteroids for no apparent reason in the middle of space.

You didn't follow through? I'm currently looking to advance my education in asteroid shooting theory.

[Ed Oscuro]

Rape and subway gropings are two very, very different things.

The last thing this topic needs is to turn into another "Japan is so bizarre" or "Japan is so messed up" topic. We shouldn't vilify an entire nation and people over an obscure, creepy PC game. People are acting as if Rapelay is getting the same sales and recognition in Japan as Final Fantasy.

If only Japan's rape reporting rates were in line with other nations. It's likely been underreported for years. If a person is raped, it seems nobody gives a fuck.

Don't just take it from me. Gender equality still has a way to go in Japan, but it does seem the situation is improving. Believe whatever suits your sense of justice, I guess.

On the other hand, there was a paper correlating a surge in porno availability with a decrease in rape, here.

[TonyTheTiger]

I don't know shit about sociology but perhaps the apparent abundance of hentai where rape is either "no big deal" or actually preferable is just a reflection of a general Japanese stigma that rape itself is...I won't say not important...but perhaps not incredibly serious.

Of course we also know that rape games/hentai are not mainstream in the least. So I dunno.

[Aussie2B]

If only Japan's rape reporting rates were in line with other nations. It's likely been underreported for years. If a person is raped, it seems nobody gives a fuck.

Don't just take it from me. Gender equality still has a way to go in Japan, but it does seem the situation is improving. Believe whatever suits your sense of justice, I guess.

On the other hand, there was a paper correlating a surge in porno availability with a decrease in rape, here.

Gender equality has a long way to go in America as well, so what's your point? There's a huge percentage of unreported rape in America too. No matter where you go in the world there's a lot of stigma about rape, and women often feel too ashamed of themselves to tell anybody about what happened. There was a story on my local news just a little while ago about a woman that got beaten and raped on the subway platform here in NYC, despite that she ran up the steps and was screaming at the MTA attendant in the booth to help. The guy just stared at her and did nothing. Well, he pressed a button that summons the police, but everything was long over by the time they came. That's their policy for what to do if something illegal is happening in the station - just stay in the booth. I think it's pretty messed up. The point is, there's really messed up stuff that happens everywhere.

I didn't say one thing or the other about statistics. Just that there's this attitude that people have about Japan that is either "lol Japan" or "wow, Japan is so fucked up". The topic you linked to exemplifies that. I don't care about defending Japan, but people shouldn't encourage ignorance. The reality is that the Japanese are just as boring and ordinary as anybody else.

[Berserker]

If only Japan's rape reporting rates were in line with other nations. It's likely been underreported for years. If a person is raped, it seems nobody gives a fuck.

Don't just take it from me. Gender equality still has a way to go in Japan, but it does seem the situation is improving. Believe whatever suits your sense of justice, I guess.

On the other hand, there was a paper correlating a surge in porno availability with a decrease in rape, here.

:golfclap:

Good post, sir.

[Ed Oscuro]

I know. Who gives a shit about something relevant, like statistics, when you can be patronizing and accuse the other guy of being ethnocentric at once? What a coup!

Here's a random quote from one of the articles that I may or may not have thought was germane to the discussion (I say that because apparently it's not having the desired impact):

Japan's top government spokesman in 2003 was quoted as telling reporters in an off-the-record briefing that some women were asking to be raped by dressing provocatively -- a remark that outraged many but failed to dent his political clout.

Indeed, the US has its problems - but if, say, Ari Fleischer or Scott McClellan had said such a thing, the door would've hit their ass before they knew they'd turned away from the podium.

I didn't say one thing or the other about statistics. Just that there's this attitude that people have about Japan that is either "lol Japan" or "wow, Japan is so fucked up".

On a lighter note, lol @ Japan.

rather NSFW (description: loli girl painted on back of passenger van w/bits covered by license plate...hope this isn't too overboard; hey, at least I edited out the img tags! -Ed)

Thank god for number plates, eh?

[hbkprm]

don't ban the shit

[Aussie2B]

I know. Who gives a shit about something relevant, like statistics, when you can be patronizing and accuse the other guy of being ethnocentric at once? What a coup!

Dude, no need to act like I insulted your mother. I was talking about the general attitude that this topic was degrading into, not anything specifically about you. Let's try to keep the discussion intelligent and respectable, rather than having a bunch of people going "Japan is like this" and "Japan is like that" when they really don't know squat about the country and culture. And having the ability to look up a few articles on Google doesn't make any of us experts. I don't like it when foreigners (to me) make sweeping comments about America, so if we ever want the rest of the world to not see us as slack-jawed hillbillies, we can at least follow the golden rule and not cast generalizations on them.

[Gameguy]

This game looks bad now, but there probably will be even worse games in the future.

RapeLay 2: Bestiality Edition
"Cruise the neighbourhood looking for attractive pets and wildlife that suit your interest, lure them into your home and have your way with them all in detailed 3D. Or take a trip to local farms, zoos, aquariums...."

Heck, something like that could be advertised as educational as lots of information could be given about the different types of animals.

[Ed Oscuro]

Let's try to keep the discussion intelligent and respectable, rather than having a bunch of people going "Japan is like this" and "Japan is like that" when they really don't know squat about the country and culture.

So it's just a coincidence that your complaint about people going "lol, Japan" crops up when I make a well-supported (if academic) point? And I need to be told to keep the discussion intelligent, which isn't insulting in the least?

[Sonicwolf]

The internet it a tangled web of memes and jokes that are more well believed than the actual facts are.

[squirrelnut]

I downloaded it and it wont run on my pc

[TonyTheTiger]

There's a joke or crude comment in there somewhere but I can't think of one right now.