Over the past decade, video games have become a powerful and popular medium. As the art continues to grow, ambitious creators are attempting to tackle personal as well as social issues. In the eyes of many, video games are a worthy form with which to explore important human quandaries.
The problem is that, for iPhone and iOS users, the one pair of eyes that's the most powerful doesn't see video games that way at all.
Apple has rejected yet another title, removing Littleloud's "Sweatshop HD" from its App Store, despite the fact that it was previously approved and has been available since November 2012.
According to an article in Pocket Gamer, Apple was "uncomfortable selling a game based around the theme of running a sweatshop," and ended up removing the app due to its violation of its submission guidelines.
Hoping to draw attention to the way first-world designer products are manufactured, "Sweatshop HD" tasked players with creating an assembly line, and allowed users to keep costs down by skirting ethics and mistreating its employees.
"Apple specifically cited references in the game to clothing factory managers 'blocking fire escapes,' 'increasing work hours for labour,' and issues around the child labour as reasons why the game was unsuitable for sale," said Littleloud head Simon Parkin to Pocket Gamer.
"Littleloud amended the app to clarify that Sweatshop is a work of fiction and was created with the fact-checking input of charity Labor Behind the Label, and to emphasise that the game doesn't force players to play the game in one way or another," he added. "Rather, Sweatshop is a sympathetic examination of the pressures that all participants in the sweatshop system endure."
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Apple has rejected a game with lofty ambitions. Earlier this year, the company refused to approve "Endgame: Syria," which was intended to inform players of the various ways the civil war in Syria could end. Before that, a satirical title about border crossing named "Smuggle Truck" was banned.
What guideline do these games violate, exactly? Unfortunately, delving into the company's text doesn't make the situation any better.
"We view apps different than books or songs, which we do not curate," the guidelines read (via VentureBeat). "If you want to criticize a religion, write a book. If you want to describe sex, write a book or a song, or create a medical app. It can get complicated, but we have decided to not allow certain kinds of content in the App Store."
Essentially, Apple is saying that video games are not a capable enough medium for social or political commentary. While it's true that few titles have handled these kinds of issues very well in the past, it's rather short-sighted to simply relegate the form to a future of arcade shooters and endless runners simply because Apple says so.
Even if Apple's policy was considered understandable, its application has been shaky at best. Why can the National Rifle Association release a gun-based shooting game in the wake of Sandy Hook, despite public uproar, but other developers can't touch other subjects?
For many indie developers, iOS has proven to be one of the best places to develop and bring their visions to life. Looking forward though, Apple's insistence on censoring content places a significant constraint on both creators and the growth of the medium.
Movies were once derided as inferior to plays, but thankfully Apple wasn't around then to exile them from a promising future simply because they're sold in the App Store. Perhaps it's time to start claiming Apple's actions are more harmful than beneficial or, more drastically, start looking in other directions for exposure.
Cupertino might be squeamish about the fact that "Sweatshop" could cause more people to wonder where their iPhone is made, but that doesn't mean games should have to settle for a less than promising fate.
