Just a few weeks after that Hook Up: The Game Released on Android, developer Sophie Artemigi was surprised to see the visual novel flagged for inappropriate sexual content.
According to the game’s own description, you play as Alex, “a sex-positive twenty-something” who matches up with her old high school bully on a dating app, so naturally sexual themes are part of the package. But inappropriate? That was unexpected.
Google Play warns developers that content that is “sexually satisfying” isn’t allowed on the platform, but it can be difficult to know exactly how that’s enforced. Take 7 sexy sins, For example, a game where the player removes armor from anime demon girls just to “take some pictures… for personal use”. It has an age rating of 12+ and has been downloaded more than 10,000 times without being removed from the platform.
In contrast, Hook Up: The Game is a narrative game about dating, relationships and dealing with past trauma.
Artemigi appealed the decision to find out what exactly crossed the line in this case.
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In response, she was told that Google “does not allow apps that contain or promote sexual content or profanity” or “appear to promote any sexual act in exchange for compensation.”
“For example,” the reply continued, “currently your app screenshots contain an image that depicts sexually suggestive poses and sexual nudity.”
The following image has been included as evidence, with red rectangles drawn over the offending content.
You’ll notice that the character’s breasts have been highlighted, but so has her belly button, which is just totally bizarre. Accordingly, Artemigi sent back an email with her counter-arguments.
First, Connect had nothing to do with sexual acts being performed “for payment,” she explained. Shown in an email my boxArtemigi asked why Google mistakes provocatively dressed women for sex workers?
As for the image itself, Artemigi argued that it should reflect the kind of images you might find on a dating app, which typically doesn’t allow for overly revealing images. It’s worth noting that Alex isn’t nude in this screenshot, but even if she were, she’s on the Play Store own policy states that nudity “may be permitted if the primary purpose is educational, documentary, scientific or artistic in nature and is not gratuitous”.
Artemigi pointed out that the illustration was a direct reference to the statue of Napoleon’s sister and Imperial Princess Pauline Boneparte, which you can see for yourself in Rome’s Galleria Borghese. It is also pictured at the top of this article.
“This pose was specifically based on classical statues because there’s a hint that Alex felt her bully was this Greek god,” Artemigi said. “It’s supposed to be about objectifying yourself and finding beauty within yourself.”
But hey, sex is complicated and maybe so are belly buttons.
After Artemigi received another brief reply stating that the screenshot shows a “sexually nude and satisfying pose of a woman portrayed in a non-artistic manner,” Artemigi requested that the issue be escalated to someone higher up in the policy team , hoping to speak to someone who might appreciate the nuance of the situation.
The last reply from their official Google contact pointed this out again Connect violated the platform’s guidelines, but this time ended with the following sentence:
“As for your concern about escalation, I am the highest form of escalation. Next to me is God. Do you want to see God?”
whoops
“It was almost nice though,” Artemigi said, “because it kind of confirmed the mood I’d been given. I felt very dismissed, talked down. At least they were honest in that one email, I’ll give you that.”
When asked for comment, Google said my box
Hook Up: The Game is still available in the Play Store, although apparently it still goes against company policy, meaning Artemigi hasn’t been able to release updates like she normally would.
It’s unclear if this also impacted the game’s standing on the platform, but it’s worth noting that despite hundreds of downloads and almost 40 reviews, the search “Hook Up: The Game‘ on the Play Store is not showing the game in my search results. How ever.
In fact, the only way I could find it was via search, using the developer’s full name.
There were no such problems over on iOSalthough various screenshots are used to market the game for that platform.
Some might argue that it would be easier to just remove the screenshot altogether and see if Google is happy enough with that, but for Artemigi, this whole saga has raised some interesting questions about what kind of content gaming platforms consider acceptable.
“It’s a very queer, sex-positive game,” Artemigi said. “Sex is talked about in passing. You’re not sexing anyone, but it’s about sexual issues. But it has a rating of 16, which is very reasonable for that. The idea that you can play GTA San Andreasthat has prostitutes and sex workers but god forbid you showing a belly button in a game about a woman who enjoys sex and wants to be comfortable with her sexuality is really frustrating.
Not to mention the work that goes into creating the game, only to end up exchanging emails with a support team who, at best, seem completely uninterested in walking them through a stressful process.
Along with a small team of other developers, Artemigi worked on this project for well over a year before finally releasing it in June.
“Connect was done as part of my masters at the National Film & Television School,” said Artemigi, “which goes by the unfortunate acronym NFTS.”
After graduating from university, she spent months making sure the game was playable on different phones, testing games, and preparing for release day.
“But during that time I was on chemotherapy and in isolation for five months. A few weeks earlier, I also had surgery to remove two of my internal organs. It wasn’t full production time, I worked whenever I could.”
Arthemigi has a very rare autoimmune condition called Evans Syndrome, which means her immune system attacks her own red blood cells and platelets. As a result, she is often hospitalized, as was the case earlier this year.
“I managed to complete my entire education, get a master’s degree, and release a game without missing a single year,” Artemigi said. “It’s very livable, but it’s not easy. It’s definitely a handicap. It definitely influences my daily life and how I make decisions.”
Despite her frustration, Artemigi is still thinking about the next game she wants to make as well. This project will also challenge platform politics, she thinks, but this time it focuses on violence, not sex.
“It’s ridiculous that you see a whole page when you look at the business policy for violence,” Artemigi said, “while for sex it’s more of a line saying don’t be pornographic, and we won’t.” reveal what pornographic means. I’ll still get in trouble with them, but sex in particular is something I’ll be very careful about.”
Chris is a reporter at people make games.