One of the most recognized metal bands in Ireland has distanced itself from an overly homophobic game titled “Kill the Faggot” that hit news headlines earlier this month for being pulled from the popular gaming site Steam within a few hours of its release because of its offensive content. Keith Fay, front man of Cruachan, clarified to the media neither he nor his band mates knew when Skaldic Games approached them less than a year ago, to use their music in a game titled “The Shelter: A Survival Story”, that one of its mini-games would attack members of the LGBT community.

“Kill the Faggot” was uploaded on Steam on May 4, before being removed from the website almost immediately. The URL for the game now redirects to an error message. The project was created and released by California-based Christian shoe promoter and video game developer Randall Herman, who uploaded the game through Steam’s Greenlight initiative that allows small-time developers to submit their creations for greater exposure. Skaldic Games picked up the first-person-shooting game, popularly known as KTF, after Steam pulled it following complaints from users regarding the offensive nature of its content. Repackaged as a mini-game inside The Shelter, KTF rewards players with points for shooting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people while jokes about prison rape, AIDS and gender-related surgeries are heard in the background. Needless to explain, players lose points for shooting heterosexual individuals in the game, which is now available for play on Skaldic’s own website.

Fay and his partner Rachel Lally had earlier done voiceovers for The Shelter. While neither their voiceover nor Cruachan’s music was eventually used for the KTF, Fay and Lally insisted at a press meet that they are in complete support of the LGBT community.

“It's just been brought to my attention that ... The Shelter is involved in sending messages of hate towards the LGBT community,” Fay wrote in a statement on Cruachan's Facebook page. “We have informed the company that they no longer have the rights to use our voice recordings, likeness or any Cruachan music. We are all for free speech, etc., but not when it's spreading hatred towards a demographic.”

Fay later asked his fans to boycott Skaldic Games, after receiving hundreds of messages from fans, who expressed their concern that the band’s members had been linked with the controversial game.

“[The game] is just so vile, I can't put it into words,” said a disgusted Fay. “My younger brother, who is also my best friend, is gay… My girlfriend Rachel has been campaigning for a Yes vote in the [Irish] same-sex marriage referendum.”

As critics continue to bash KTF, gaming communities are now debating the need for a more stringent body that oversees the games that are being uploaded for sale or play on sites like Steam. Before Herman’s work was pulled from Steam, angry gamers commented against KTF and sought for more vigorous measures that would not only monitor content that is being uploaded but also define more specifically exactly what constitutes hate speech.

Skaldic contends its critics’ claims by saying the game is not meant to be taken seriously. When approached by the media, Herman explained how the game was removed from Steam within two hours of its release and went on to call the global gaming community overly sensitive.

“As for an apology — ain't gonna happen,” Skladic Games wrote in a statement.  “To everyone that got overly offended. Good, that's what we were going for,” adding that the next game would be “even more offensive.”

Apart from charging $100 as fee for users in an attempt to keep spam submissions off the platform, Greenlight also mentions in its terms of service that it will ban any threat of harassment or violence, even as a joke and offensive or inappropriate content.

According to the First Amendment, people have a right to free speech despite their listeners disagreeing with them. Offensive and hateful speech is considered a crime only when it is deemed likely to cause the listener to react violently, elaborates the American Bar Association.

Photo Credits: YouTube