When Ubisoft unveiled the gameplay of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, it was expected that Whaling will be a part of this games as Pirates made whaling a part of their life in 16th century. The animal-rights group PETA was quick to condemn Ubisoft, saying its inclusion glorifies hurting and killing animals.
Polygon spoke to Matt Bruce of PETA's International Grassroots Campaigns to clarify the animal-rights group's stance. "There are so many creative minds at Ubisoft that are involved with the Assassin's Creed series that we find it really disappointing that they feel the need to glorify whaling," Bruce said. "PETA encourages video game companies to create games that celebrate animals, not games that promote hurting and killing them."
PETA's objection on AC4 deals with the real world suffering. According to PETA, Ubisoft is the organization that supports whaling which is now prohibited in much of the world as a barbaric practice. Its presence in the game, PETA says, trivializes what whales endure.
"JOE SHMOE WHO PLAYS THIS GAME IN HIS MOTHER'S BASEMENT IN THE SAFETY AND COMFORT OF HIS HOME WILL FEEL A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT BY KILLING THIS WHALE."
"This would be a different story if the game portrayed the cruelty and horror experienced when a whale is literally fleeing for her life and then shot with a harpoon — or even several harpoons — and forced to struggle for hours or be hacked apart while still alive aboard a ship," he said.
However, Whaling was a common prectice of the time period when the game takes place. Ubisoft said that a historical plot doesn't change the organization's underlying objection, Bruce said, comparing it to human slavery.
"If there was a game that took place in pre-Civil War America where your character had to enslave people, people would definitely have a problem with that because they would feel like it was glorifying the enslavement of people," he said.
"History is our playground in Assassin's Creed," Chin said. "Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is a work of fiction that depicts the real events during the golden era of pirates. We do not condone illegal whaling, just as we don't condone a pirate lifestyle of poor hygiene, plundering, hijacking ships and over-the-legal-limit drunken debauchery."
PETA's recommendation is for Ubisoft to simply remove whaling from the game, a decision it claims wouldn't harm the experience.
"It doesn't take anything away from having [whaling] not be a part of the game, but they insisted on putting it in," Peta said. "Unfortunately, it's glorifying something that's still happening today and is as cruel and bloody as it was 300 years ago."
Source: Internet
