"Ultimate Gay Fighter" Mobile Game Wasn't "Meant to be Hateful"

The developer responds to stereotype concerns

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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I'm gay, and although I'm not a stereotype, I have stereotypical traits. Why not laugh at that and enjoy it?

Michael Patrick, the developer behind the upcoming mobile fighting game with what's become a controversial title, Ultimate Gay Fighter, has responded to concerns over what exactly his intentions were in making the game. In an interview is VG247, Patrick said he designed the game to be lighthearted and to diminish stereotypes.

"It's not meant to be hateful," Patrick said. "If you allow yourself to make fun of a stereotype in a way that isn't cruel, I think you diminish the power of that stereotype. I'm gay, and although I'm not a stereotype, I have stereotypical traits. Why not laugh at that and enjoy it?"

More LGBT characters are finding their footing in other media like sitcoms and popular films but have yet to really bridge the gap into what can sometimes be the boys club of gaming. There are a few exceptions however such as the character Bill in The Last of Us.

"My game is a whole new thing. When you have gays in a new kind of media, without any kind of background or precedent, I think people's initial reaction is: who did this? Where is this coming from?" Patrick said. "I think somewhere in that the positive message might have got a little lost."

"[Each character] is a love letter to my gay brothers and sisters," Patrick said.

Ultimate Gay Fighter is set for release later this month for iOS, Android and Windows Phones featuring 12 levels of bashing, leaderboards and a spin of Mortal Combat's famous fatalities redubbed as “gaytalities”

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[Via Gamespot]

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