DogLife Controversy Sparked by CandyWriter

CandyWriter, the developer behind the life sim BitLife, has found itself in some very unfortunate circumstances. The developer has been the subject of pretty constant backlash over the last week as users highlight a ton of problems with their newest game, DogLife. At this point, the game’s main subreddit is in flames, and users are understandably upset.

And it’s not just the usual bugs you find from any new game launch. Those are there, but the real problem is much worse. The offending content is widespread across the app, and has been well-documented by users. This new DogLife controversy has really shown a very negative light on the company, and users are calling for change.

Instances of offending content include multiple references to genitalia, as well as violent and graphic content referencing sexual violence. A lot of the examples shared highlight that the randomization engine for generating random prompts relies way too heavily on sexual content. Screenshots have been shared with multiple references to mutilation, incest and other disturbing content. References to fetishes have also been spotted by some users. We actually can’t even share the screenshots for fear of getting blacklisted by our advertisers. You’ll just have to trust us that there are literally dozens of examples of this nonsense in the game.

And it’s not just that the content is described in such lurid detail, but that it’s so constant. It also seems as though the developers tried to make a deliberate attempt to downplay the shock. We get it, this is a joke game, but there are still lines of decency you don’t need to cross.  And then there’s the simple point that calling something a joke doesn’t instantly make it less egregious.

The only public response so far has been for the developer to ban users and delete comments, mostly from users critical of the new game and its obscene content.

And given that the new game is all about dogs and cats, it’s a very unbelievable thing to get so wrong. One would think that the game would get the attention it deserves to avoid this problem.

And to make matters worse, the game was previously rated 12+ on Google Play, suggesting it’s safe for some children. The sheer amount of explicit content seen in screenshots very quickly disproves that. BitLife is rated 17+ and has nowhere near as many sexual themes throughout its various prompts. The developer recently changed the rating to match that of BitLife. Although it seems the Apple app store still has not updated its rating.

A request for comment from the developer has gone unanswered at the time of writing.

Source: https://www.iskmogul.com/doglife-controversy-sparked-by-candywriter/