Le controversy over French hobo sim, 'Clodogame'

Having launched a few weeks ago and having amassed over 5,000 users, German-developed Clodogame ("Trampgame", en Anglais) is off to a good start. At least it would be if it weren't inciting outrage among French citizens, who accuse the game of perpetuating a negative public image of the homeless in France, according to a Telegraph report. "The image portrayed is exactly the one against which we've been trying to fight," Red Cross spokesperson Jean-François Riffaud told Le Parisien.

From the little of the game we played (er, could translate with limited French-speaking ability), we weren't exactly outraged. It's a free-to-play, text-based kingpin sim set in Paris where players are encouraged to "attack other homeless people," and engage in a variety of thieving and coercion tactics. That does seem like a fairly negative portrayal, but we've become a bit desensitized to the matter after investing hours into games like Manhunt, Condemned and inFamous, where all the homeless people become murderous criminals and targets for your electrical super powers.

[Via Game Politics]