Obviously Inappropriate Content tasks you with both surviving and censoring an in-development shoot-‘em-up game.
In fictional Eastern-bloc country Belkasvenia, the government is becoming increasingly strict in regards to what can and can’t be shown within its borders. Government-mandated censorship is a very real issue, as developer Shuaiying ‘Shane’ Hou explained to me at Sweden Games Conference earlier in the year. It is something he has experienced in person and something he felt would make an interesting twist on a more conventional genre in Obviously Inappropriate Content.
The core of Obviously Inappropriate Content is a simple loop of side-on shooter levels — similar to arcade shooters like Metal Slug. However, the standout element of the game comes in the meta to this: you are also tasked with screenshotting bugs and content to be censored, then flagging it for redevelopment. Within the shooter experience, it is as simple as hitting a button when something banned appears on screen — swear words, iconography or certain items. Then you use a simulated desktop experience to flag them all for amendment.
Throughout this, you talk to other members of your team. Your superior is an old friend who puts on a business face for their role; they, as much as the others on your team, know the ridiculousness of the situation yet must continue to censor lest they draw the wrath of the government. While most of the people you interact with are happy to go along with the restrictions laid down on them, your role as an intermediary to the game’s developer becomes increasingly strained as you — by simply doing your job — restrict the creative control they have over the game. In this way, Obviously Inappropriate Content draws lines under, and questions, the roles that we all have in censorship and drawing the line at our political duties as citizens. It’s also a very fun shooter which deliberately plays on the wishy-washy tropes of early arcade games.
Obviously Inappropriate Content is currently early in development for PCs. You can download the event demo of the game through its itch.io page.
