Red Limb Studio's upcoming puzzle game Suicide Vegetables has made the decision to change its name to Kamikaze Veggies -- all because of the increasingly overzealous YouTube algorithm.
We all know that YouTube has more than its fair share of problems. The company has been criticized for its lack of communication with creators, and this lack of communication remained a problem even after the Adpocalypse.
Another big bugbear with YouTube is its algorithm -- say the wrong thing or feature the wrong video clip and your video can face all sorts of troubles. The algorithm has affected the gaming world, too; Vile Monarch and Devolver Digital's management game Weedcraft Inc. suffered demonetization on its videos due to the illegal nature of cannabis in the United States. Now, a game developer is taking proactive steps to prevent similar issues.
Why Suicide Vegetables Changed Its Name to Kamikaze Veggies
Red Limb Studio has made the decision to change the name of its upcoming puzzle game Suicide Vegetables to Kamikaze Veggies because of the YouTube algorithm -- or more specifically, the algorithm taking issue with the word "suicide."
According to Red Limb Studio, it attempted to hand out demos of its game to YouTube influencers for marketing purposes. Surprisingly, some creators refused to play it; one creator noted past issues with the game Suicide Guy:
“Those videos [featuring Suicide Guy] were demonetized - even though it was a humorous video game," read a message reportedly sent to Red Limb Studio from a YouTuber. "A few of us even tried removing the game name and title from our videos, but YouTube still recognized the game as Suicide Guy and demonetized the videos. YouTube even checks the transcript of the spoken words in the video and will flag a video based on what I say."
As a result of this correspondence, Red Limb Studio made the decision to change the game's name.
"The YouTube policy is becoming more and more rigorous, and creators must pay attention to newer rules and an ever-longer list of censored words," read a statement from the developers. "In the case of Red Limb Studio, the appearance of the word 'suicide' in the list had a domino effect that forced a rename of the game."
So what's this game about, anyway? As with Suicide Guy, it does indeed feature suicide as a theme in a humorous context. Red communist vegetables aim to take over the world and you're part of the resistance -- should things get dicey, you'll have to resort to blowing yourself up into vegetable mash. You'll be able to take on the baddies in either single-player or local co-op.
Kakamize Veggies does look like a fair amount of fun and you won't have to wait too long to play it -- it's expected to arrive before the end of the year. You can stay apprised of its development by adding Kamikaze Veggies to your wishlist on Steam.
What do you think of Suicide Vegetables changing its name to Kamikaze Veggies? Do you feel that the YouTube algorithm lacks nuance? Let us know in the comments below!
