InterMusketeer
Member
This is my first thread on GAF, so if I made any mistakes, please let me know!
On august 18th a new Hunie Direct about indie puzzle/porn game HuniePop 2 was published on the game's official YouTube channel.
These videos function very much like other, better-known Directs, where new announcements and information is given about the game. It was announced HuniePop 2 will be a direct sequel to the first HuniePop, and some characters and art were showcased as well. It was also announced that the game would release next year, in 2019.
However, the most interesting announcement was for a new character: Polly Bendleson.
The video ends with the reveal that "Also, she has a dick!"
This information led to quite a bit of backlash, as the developer details in this blog post:
So why the backlash? Well, obviously there's a group of people who just don't want a transgender character in their porn game, period. The first game was very much aimed at straight men, though there was an option to play as a female character. However, another group was mostly concerned with whether they'd be able to finish the game without having to romance Polly. In the first game, secret characters would become available after the entire cast was "seduced." The developer made a Strawpoll to gauge interest in an option to complete the game without having to romance Polly:
To address the response to Polly, the developer decided to (somewhat) backtrack on her being trans:
In a Tweet, HuniePot said the following about Polly's gender:
So what do you think? Is this another case of censorship? Do you like the way HuniePot decided to change Polly or not?
I really enjoyed the first HuniePop (strange as that may sound) but I'm really not interested in a transgender, crossdressing, trap or futa character whatsoever. As such, Polly isn't really for me, and I would have been disappointed if that content (IE the sex scenes) couldn't be skipped. That's just not the type of content I'm interested in. However, the ability to just change her genitals doesn't quite sit right with me either. To me, Polly will always be transgender, as that was the intent of the developer (though he does seem somewhat confused about the subject). This change also means that any reference to her being transgender has to be removed, and so her having a penis will end up being nothing more than fetish bait, which is disappointing. It also clashes with the decision to have a sort of canon HuniePop lore that was announced in this very Direct. On the other hand, players will have the option to play the game as they choose, and no-one will be forced to sit through scenes they're not comfortable with. I'd say it's a decent compromise.
On august 18th a new Hunie Direct about indie puzzle/porn game HuniePop 2 was published on the game's official YouTube channel.
These videos function very much like other, better-known Directs, where new announcements and information is given about the game. It was announced HuniePop 2 will be a direct sequel to the first HuniePop, and some characters and art were showcased as well. It was also announced that the game would release next year, in 2019.
However, the most interesting announcement was for a new character: Polly Bendleson.
The video ends with the reveal that "Also, she has a dick!"
This information led to quite a bit of backlash, as the developer details in this blog post:
This blog post was later edited to remove any reference to Polly being trans due to criticism of its use in this context. There's some tweets criticizing the terminology somewhere on the internet, but I don't know how Twitter works, and I'm not about to find out. Also, I'm not sure what the issue was.The video states that Polly “has a dick”, meaning she's trans. This ended up causing a very split reaction that I, honest to god, did not expect. This is a character we’ve been asked for hundreds of times. I was very much under the impression that “girl with dick” (whatever you want to call it) was a pretty universal interest/preference/fetish among Anime/Hentai/Visual Novel fans.
So why the backlash? Well, obviously there's a group of people who just don't want a transgender character in their porn game, period. The first game was very much aimed at straight men, though there was an option to play as a female character. However, another group was mostly concerned with whether they'd be able to finish the game without having to romance Polly. In the first game, secret characters would become available after the entire cast was "seduced." The developer made a Strawpoll to gauge interest in an option to complete the game without having to romance Polly:
The response seems to be split more or less right down the middle. For every person that’s into her, there’s a person that isn’t. I even put up a straw poll to which 43% of the respondents (at the time of this writing) indicated that they would appreciate some way to skip Polly entirely (but still be able to fully complete the game).
To address the response to Polly, the developer decided to (somewhat) backtrack on her being trans:
Being that our only job is to make a fun game that everyone can enjoy, I’ve decided to put the power in the hands of each player to choose the experience that best suits them. In the same way you can choose your own gender, you’ll be able to choose Polly’s genitalia. I’m not sure exactly how it’ll play out yet, but at some point before or during your first meeting with Polly, you’ll be asked to specify your preference and the game will take it from there. That’s it!
In a Tweet, HuniePot said the following about Polly's gender:
In the game, we wont use any terminology. Not trans, not trap, not futa. It'll be completely ambiguous. Polly will either have a dick or she wont.
So what do you think? Is this another case of censorship? Do you like the way HuniePot decided to change Polly or not?
I really enjoyed the first HuniePop (strange as that may sound) but I'm really not interested in a transgender, crossdressing, trap or futa character whatsoever. As such, Polly isn't really for me, and I would have been disappointed if that content (IE the sex scenes) couldn't be skipped. That's just not the type of content I'm interested in. However, the ability to just change her genitals doesn't quite sit right with me either. To me, Polly will always be transgender, as that was the intent of the developer (though he does seem somewhat confused about the subject). This change also means that any reference to her being transgender has to be removed, and so her having a penis will end up being nothing more than fetish bait, which is disappointing. It also clashes with the decision to have a sort of canon HuniePop lore that was announced in this very Direct. On the other hand, players will have the option to play the game as they choose, and no-one will be forced to sit through scenes they're not comfortable with. I'd say it's a decent compromise.