Since the release of v3.1 of "Blade of Agony" we have received numerous messages, comments and emails. Besides positive messages and words of support, we have also received a lot of opposition and disappointment.
"You have given up", "You have given in to the shitstorm", "You have lost my respect".
After more than 6 years of working on a project of the heart, these words of course hurt and disappoint us very much and after we had answered some of the comments on ModDB and by email, we now feel that an official statement is necessary to gain understanding and shed light on the matter.
The changes and mitigations we have implemented for version 3.1 do not stem from cowardice we have shown towards some users of the Doom community. Blade of Agony is a creative, free and artistic interpretation within the Wolfenstein universe. And as long as we are unpaid developers working on such a project in our spare time, it must be ensured that we realise our vision as we see fit. This is exactly the motto we have been working by for the last 6 years, releasing the last 3 chapters. So why the adjustments to v3.0 now?
As some of you know, the team around "Blade of Agony" consists of a colourful bunch from all over the world, including Israel and Germany. Wolfenstein 3D and swastikas have long been banned and punished in Germany in the field of entertainment. Since 2018, these laws have been toned down, but games of this kind are still under the strictest observation by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (FOftPotC).
Although we as developers strictly condemn any form of discrimination, racial hostility, anti-Semitism and glorification of the Second World War, there were concerns on the part of various German gaming sites and news sources about whether we had not crossed a line with some content (including the depiction of a concentration camp, the explicit mention of affected population groups or the World Exhibition in Paris with historical anti-Semitic content). From that point on, it was clear to us that we would have to reconsider the content in order to weigh up possible personal damage (for example a punishment from the FOftPotC if they deem the game unacceptable) from all the developers of the project concerned.
The Second World War was the most horrific conflict in our history, and we as a development team do not want to ignore, censor or even deny these atrocities. However, we have asked ourselves what position we are in as entertainers. Wolfenstein is and always has been a fictional scenario, so we have no duty to educate the people who play our game. We want to tell an exciting story. So our yardstick in toning down the game was "What content is necessary to achieve that and what content can we do without?"
Blade of Agony has been released in several versions before and as we changed, removed and added content from version 1.0 to 2.0 based on experience gained and advice received, this is an organic process that has now also taken place between 3.0 and 3.1.
While we can understand some of the disappointment, we hope players will understand why some changes had to be made and why we can no longer officially support v3.0, and ask that you do not share public links on our ModDB page. Of course, we have no influence on what happens in the private area.
We hope that you continue to have as much fun with Blade of Agony as we had during its development and we still wish you a good time.
Thank you,
Daniel Gimmer
and the entire Blade of Agony development team
Coming this summer
Saving private ryan "re-re-release"
where the word "nazi" has been changed to "persons with political differences"
and all the guns have been replaced by walkie-talkies
and now for your feature presentation!
the classic re-re-re-release of star wars: the empire strikes back!
in this version the word "wookie" has been changed to "hair challenged animal" and the entire cast has been digitally replaced by ewoks.
sorry.couldn't.resist xD
peace
Tsk tsk, it's sad that the people in the Western world are more worried about their pronouns and political leanings than you know, working together and all that for the Red, White and Blue.
I think replacing the whole cast of the sequel trilogy with Ewoks just being Ewoks might work.
Madness has spread far and wide Jokerrider. how long is there left before it is all consumed?
I'm glad I live in Asia. There's not much racial / political tensions here and we don't use those "-ist" buzzwords casually. We're too busy trying to survive due to the pandemic and we don't have the time for social justice and other invisible boogeymen that the crazies like to invent.
Best way to deal with the crazies is to either ignore them or make sure we boot them off the corporate ladder if they insist on being political / social activists that do not contribute to the company in general.
Oh and there's now a downvote brigade in here like the circlejerks from reddit who disagree with you.
Downvote brigade? Where have you seen that? Oh wait...
MAYBE HERE???
(buried)
Hair challenged would mean they're bald.
And this update didn't remove the term nazi or remove any of their symbols.
No, it just removed references to holocaust victims and casually ignores it, while still having it in. It's what the American left has been doing for some time. It's abhorrent and it's wrong. If this **** hadn't been going on for actual history, maybe people wouldn't be so up in arms, but this is a video game, where people just want to relax, have fun and not have to worry about ******** in the world. Can't have that anymore, since revisionism is here now too. Shill harder.
You're still a moron. The only people denying the holocaust is the far right.
"but this is a video game, where people just want to relax"
Then why do you want actual images from the holocaust in it? That's depressing, not relaxing.
And it isn't ******* revisionism you dense ************.
Beyond that - as I have stated before - we are not here to explain history to people. This is a game that takes place in the Wolfenstein canon.
Just imagine: If we can decide that the Nazis found the Spear of Destiny to revive undead enemies for an army of Zombies, we can also decide that there is no Holocaust at all. Crazy, isn’t it? And people can’t do anything about it because it’s our mod ;)
So, if it is depressing for you, it must be depressing for everyone? I have read all your comments here and i must say, i am amazed by your stupidity.
(buried)
If it isn't depressing for you to look at pictures of real victims and experiments, then you have no soul and/or empathy for others.
You won't be the one to dictate what is depressing or not, mods and games won't be suited especially to your needs. Unless you create something of your own so you can be free and not be dictated by others. Your simplistic conclusions about what i am, show me that you are a moron with the true sense of the word. You are also a fascist, trying to force your own views to others, so **** off. Fascism in all forms can go to hell.
(buried)
Man, thinking I'm fascist just confirms to me you're an even denser ************ than I initially assumed. I'm not a fascist, I oppose fascism in all forms.
Do you not feel any empathy for any of the Nazi's victims?
Your own words are what drive me to this conclusion, the fact you want the mod author to re-add the real pictures from nazi experiments to the mod, tells me you lack empathy.
You don't oppose fascism, you try to enforce your views to others, this is the definition of fascism. You're just plain stupid, you don't even know what fascism is. Get lost douchebag.
The far right? Oh you mean the people that get labeled far right by the far left, since everything that isn't the far left is far right?
Your standards are subjective, not objective. It isn't historic revisionism, but it is still revisionism, as the far left loves to have anything tied to actual history removed from anything and everything. Reply to me on your main account, you smooth brained sasquatch.
(buried)
I think you shouldn't take the folks coming here in droves to scream censorship and giving in to SJWs and etc seriously and some major representation of community. A lot of these folks are only on it to fight for their "side" in a "culture war" and not the reasonable types to consider work's merits outside "it ****** off people I hate".
Personally I am glad you you made changes, I think some of accusations against you were just piling on more complaints and annoyances on top of core legitimate concerns just to make things a bigger bonfire of rage, but ultimately I believe it's really the best to exhibit caution with portrayal of sensitive subjects like the holocaust or really disparaging caricatures of community members and I hope your work tweaking things will satisfy most folks.
Thanks for your feedback! We really appreciate that.
Torm, why do you keep posting on this place? You're just fueling these frustrated guys. They keep ranting about censorship, but i bet they are average right-wing guys that keep voting fascist dorks that would take away their internet connection, send 'em on a labour camp and beat the **** out of their *****!
not everyone playing gran tourismo has a driver license tho, you'd ever think about that? and the even lesser part are actually race drivers in real life...i guess posting here means caring about the communtiy that cares about your work and original idea!? if this was a monetary fueled interest people would call it customer service. Why do i care? Becaus i think this game rocks. Next thing you know is you play a shooter but the gun is made to look like a banana because otherwise its too gore. c'mon this game is meant to be crazy wild. thats what people came for.
Spoken like a true Berkley Hunt
There are some serious upvote piggies for the comments being "positive" discord shills heart rate must be 140 right now while they are drenched in sweat at them being called out over doomworld.
Period and comma where are youuu???
Also : downvoters aren't piggies? LOLOLOLOLOL
So all of this happened because people from ghey dhoomworld got butthurt?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...
What a joke.
(buried)
Why don't you say that to doomworld guys then? Maybe because they would bash you, huh?
Is BOA horribly censorend? And i say Y... No, it isn't.
Imagine accusing a Wolfenstein game of 'historical revisionism' for removing a few photos of irl holocaust victims.
These people realise that Hitler didn't actually die in a mechsuit, right?
i'd say the possibility hitler did die in a mechsuit is a tad bit more realistic than the official version since he was actually allied with japanese and we all know by now who is making those suits...of course they had to wait for a few decades after the war to drop that technology on the market...but they did. you can quote me tho. banzai
He might have.
Sorry, what exactly has been censored?
In hindsight, it really makes me laugh to see the comments and the childish "downvotes" of someone who is only able to say fu** you... in the meanwhile the loathsome but educated SJW are taking command... don't complain about "cancel culture"...
Be ready for ms. president Harris... and for your next feminist chief... you will say "fu** you to her, great hero with a spine?
**** you, jeff
Thank you Dave, you're doing great
You're being facetious right Jeff? I mean, religious cults "educate" their people too, doesn't mean they understand anything about reality. Supporting segregation, categorization and the perpetration of the myth of race doesn't sound "progressive" to me. Alt-right SJWs (they're all the same) are followers, not leaders, which is associated with lower IQ. I'll give you this, at least the left-wing nuts know how to gaslight people and hide their racism better.
As much as I consider SJWs to be no different from a cancer or a virus that eats away at any community and should rightfully be expelled remorselessly the minute they throw up a hissy fit, this degree of vitriol for what is something that really doesn't diminish the mod in any worthwhile way is completely uncalled for. Duke Nukem having strip clubs with sexy babes isn't sexism either, they exist in real life and real people go there to have fun.
Nazis and consentration camps also existed in real life.
Thats a silly point to make. All the content that was cut from this game were things that existed in real life, too. You seem to have accidently made your point for the people you're arguing against. If the strip clubs were removed from Duke for being sexist it would be comparable to what happened with this game, and it's worth stating that if Duke Nukem were released today those strip clubs most likely would be deemed sexist and be removed from the game. As with the case right here it would lead to people complaining and boycotting the game. Censorship to appease the easily offended minority is always a lose/lose scenario (except perhaps in this case, as according to the devs the changes were forced upon them, and the game would have been blocked without them.)
On one hand, censorship is bad for art and allows history to repeat its own worst atrocities. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to get in trouble with the German government over the use of Nazi imagery either.
I understand this was a difficult choice to make.
For my own mod I was told one of my executions crossed the line by a few people, so I made a version with it censored, and a skin pack to uncensor the content for people who want it.
Thats diplomatic. Good one
I guess we all approach these things differently. If I made a mod like this and people complained it was offensive, I would double down. Throw in something to really get em mad./
And honestly, I think you are also a product of the SJW's, "snowflakes" (whatever you want to call it) of today, as I do believe there probably are some things that would be over the top, or at the very least that it wouldnt be impossible to create such a mod (or similar), but the fact that these people throw a "hissy-fit" over the most minute of supposed transgressions have made your standard reaction just be "Oh no you didnt...I'll show you offensive!" (and in 99% of the cases, probably rightly so). Otherwise it would be a tad bit assholeish methinks. Correct me if I am wrong, I do not want to put words into your mouth.
The only problem with this is the fact that it is not a mod exclusive to or majorly just played in Germany, Id say that for most players, whatever german laws exist dont actually apply at all, but other than that, yes, a mostly sound and neutral answer.
I came here to check if some news around this one of a kind game have come around just to see it ended up beeing targeted by lobbyism...well, i recommend everyone who wants to enjoy the real thing without cutoffs, the authentic and original idea of the developers, to just search for 'wolfendoom 3.0' and get it asap. no need to dicuss any further the real thing is out there, lets just get it and play it like its supposed to be. and shame on you shitstorming *ssholes out there that need to always cry about this kind of stuff. youre some weak fux. thanks to the developement team and the one who backed the original file up up the archive. i got it. if they take it down i can deliver it again. just ask me. peace
ps. B.J. Blaskowicz wouldnt like to water down the experience either. Hes 2 tuff for this pussy ****
Drive.google.com
Your welcome
Yes, it IS censored.
6 years of hard work. And in the end people who made you censor your creation won't even care to nominate you for Cacoward. They don't see you as someone who've made a mistake and fixed it later - for them you're just another enemy they crushed and humiliated. These people are straight up evil, they hate freedom of expression and are trying to drag West back into Middle Ages.
I really hope Westerners will rise against these rats one day, otherwise the world is doomed.
well time to find 3.0
Drive.google.com
Your welcome
What was censored? I played a part of the first level a while ago and all the ww2 stuff was still in it.
Luckily I have 3.0 version downloaded, so I can just play that, instead of listening to your petty bullsh*t excuses. And, want it or not, I will share 3.0 with anyone who will ever want it.
To sum things up: I respect you for the work you did creating awesome game, but I disrespect you for making "pathetic little pussy" decisions that you made, and that you probably are
With the risk of sounding like I am part of a group I most certainly am not, I think the description of their descision and excuses (as untruthful and silly that they are) of being "pathetic litte pussy" ones is a bit...eh, but that is just me "attacking" the design and not the actual subject, so to speak, I do agree with you though, though I wont go and hate the creators forever for this probably >_<
As a side-note I dont think v3.1 being censored would have garnered so much hate (as from what Ive read the changes arent really much to speak of, objectively) if it wasnt for the fact that "SJW"'s (or whatever to call them) doing this sort of thing is a real and very common thing and when put together with everything else is yet another creative outlet unfairly edited for all the wrong reasons. At least thats how I think about it, if this type of censorship didnt happen so often, it wouldnt feel like such a threat to freedom. (I realize I just ran into a major tangent here, sorry XD)
I dont "hate the creators forever", its like I said: I respect devs for making a great game and I hope they will make more. But decisions like this one dony really add to my respect for them.
About "pathetic litte pussy"... Look, Im from mid-eastern Europe and here we are not used to sweeten the pill before shoving it up someones guts. I dont care if pathetic litte pussies dont like being called pathetic litte pussies. Its harsh, but its also true, and I stand for it.
As for SJWs, I agree, but I think there is shorter way of saying "f*ck them"