If you obtained a threath (about your game/you), what would you do as dev?

Hey there! Let's say your game once done became very popular and was purchased/viewed 1 milion times or so; and then, you get death threathts as a game developer, what would you do besided contacting authority/police; is there anything else you would think of/what would you think of it? I say this because I received a death threath just for playing a game (imagine...that sad; wanting to kill someone over a video game; ok we played a competitive game and he was losing and saying I am cheap in my tactics..so he must kill me (really; some people like to insult others/get triggered in the heat of the moment and then say : ''I'll kill you with my hands if I see you here'')), what is sarcastic/a joke/not serious...and what is (a real threat)? but people today are triggered with not much and can sometimes say stuff (that they would never say in real person) - but online/via anonymity of online 'behind keyboard/screen'; they would never do it -really 'mean it'..but...some Might be Crazy enough to Really mean it...in your country what are the laws/what would you do...in USA you can have guns (in my country you can'T...you need special permit from police director to carry a concealed firearm weapon, only if you show him that you truly feel life in danger from the threat; then you are issued the permit because they can'T protect you 100%/police is not there 'every second everywhere' (unless you have a bodyguard 24/7 at your door step..and even there. it may not protect you, we saw in the news people that perished and Still there was a bodyguard around..made almost no difference). Even some were like 'travel hitmen' that would go a quick trip to another country..do the deed...and escape back to their country...incognito. That freaks me out, someone crazy enough to Travel to the place of where the person exists...and then does it..and then 'flys away' 'back home'...as if nothing happened..

You make the best game...and then you get really disgruntled users who want to kill you because of a bug or some other problem with your game or -you, they don't like you/don't like your style/what you say etc....I read that you just do not 'engage' in them...and ignore them; and report them to the authorities of your country...but, is that all?...if your game sells 1 milion time, and supposedly the number of threats received by the general devs is 0.001% (so that 99,99% of people will never utter threaths online..there is still roughly a 0.001% that will; as such, if your game sells immensly (like 1 million copies) that means 1000 death threats (0.001% out of 1 million), these will come from anywhere in the world (and possibly, even your own country), if only takes 1 Real threat out of these 1000 to be really serious/taken seriously as the person may ACtually/Really Act on it....now if they live half-way across the world it'S impossible unless they come to you/hunt you/and they have to know your name/adress etc...but in today's world...game devs 'plaster' their identity online..which is scary...like any devs 'gets known/know everything about them/whole bio/0 privacy/confidenciality...' so not much hidden anymore about them. You can 'search up' someone and could almost know 'where you live' in 3 seconds...you're 'uncovered/naked'

Especially if you are solo dev that lives alone and will not be a 'Company'...but work 'sole proprietorship' (use your name rather than a company name, your name is known/plastered everywhere online), guns are not the answer, but sometimes they are...(plus a kevlarvest) if they have a weapon, and you don't, you have problem; do you go 'in hiding'..like certain developers had to do...after 'Gamer Gate' an event where women developers were sent death threats over their games/being misandrist and them mysoginist/transphobic, some popular dev women went in hiding/left their apartment after contacting the authorities about them; they took them seriously because there were 1000s of people sending them...that is an aspect of game developing that I neer thought we'd reached today..but gamers have become radicalized and internet too; so you can spout a threat and nothing happens; but some people are crazy enough to really mean it...when we are just talking about video games. There are just too many crazies out there. (And someone might be offended by anything you do or say or just for the fact 'of exisiting' as dev...they don't want you existing..hence the threat). I read that what you can do is 'call the cops on someone to make a visit to them' who makes a threat online...but is this possible if they live in another country...what would you do if someone threathened you/your life, for XYZ reason once you become more popular dev (and what are the options in your country)? Sorry for this heavy subject for we have to face it talk it it's important..there is little talk of it as wouldbe one day devs (and this applies to not just devs Anyone, dev/gamer or not). The answer: ''just phone 911, solved'' is repeated but what else...if anything else.

Just a 2 cents. Thank you anyone for valuable input.

 

If we take everything seriously, what is said or written on the internet, most of us would be already gray haired.
Most of such cases are just people shouting loud. Of which many of are teens.

However, you can provide prove to relevant authorities, if you can locate IP.
But to be hones, I really would ignore most of such comments. There are always haters. You just learn to ignore them, or shut them out, i.e. ban / mute. Don't get into discussion with such. Trolls love drag others in.

Seriously, you probably have better chance to get struct by a car on the street, than your hateful fan

There are more serious things in your life to be concerned about. Earn to feed / support and pay bills and enjoy

Just keep public information away from. I.e. address, or where you are atm (i.e. holidays), or indication where you may live exactly. That is general rule you should follow.

 

It happened to Jeff Vogel from Spiderweb Software:
http://jeff-vogel.blogspot.com/2016/04/how-i-deal-with-harassment-abuse-and.html

He has a good GDC talk too, but I can't remember if he addresses the "death threat" in that or not.

 

Ignore it.
But if it was from a pissed off psychotic world leader, like Kim Jong Un (RIP), I would probably be worried.

 

Notch had at least couple os such.
Here is one, from 2012.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidt...-threats-over-minecraft-free-server-shutdown/

 

Welcome to the 21st century. You don't even have to go to the trouble of making a game, just go and say the wrong thing on twitter.

There's not much to discuss here, in my opinion. The reason why people do these things is because they don't have to actually leave their house to cause you trouble, and they rely on you believing they can just come out of nowhere and do whatever they want. The internet these days operates on a heady mix of validation and fear along with a sense of omnipotence.

So just unplug from the internet, learn how to throw a punch that can cause damage, and get on with your life.

 

I mostly agree with @Billy4184.. except keep the benefits of the internet itself and just discard the nonsense by unplugging from social networks and focusing on your game dev.. which you'll then also have much more time for. Every line you write on a social network could have been a line of code, or placing another object in your world, or a prefab with a bit more polish etc.

Barring that - if someone's being a hater/troll/ignorant just ignore them, eventually they'll push the wrong person''s button and end up a victim themselves - and then you'll have nothing to worry about ..it's true. You don't have to do anything unless you're in imminent danger - and it's unlikely that law enforcement can do much either except make someone angrier unless you are.

Being harassed? Create a new email account and give it to the people you do still want to hear from. Get a new phone number if you have to and do the same thing. You're not obligated to be available. It's your life.. live it how you want (within reason).

If someone's really got it in for you, they probably won't be making threats anyway unless they've got the IQ of a goldfish. And if they do make threats online they're most likely on a list somewhere and living in the matrix

Lastly.. don't look for trouble - everyone''s got a reason for their opinions and if you want yours to be tolerated you also need to tolerate those of others even if it really upsets you or pisses you off. If trouble comes to you, handle it if you can, and knowing you're in the right will give you more strength to defend yourself. Anyway, you've probably got more of a chance to have a random bad experience than a crazed hater off the internet.

 

Not unplug completely .. I mean, I'm here

The way I look at it, an unhealthy relationship with the internet starts when you feel obligated to defend your identity there. If you can't walk away from an annoying or negative interaction and feel like you're still yourself and your day is still 99% great, you're in trouble.

And yeah, if someone really wants to do something and they are a) lucid b) willing to use any means and c) don't care about consequences, there's not much to do about it. Like you say, these kinds of people aren't the same as those who make idle threats. They would have found trouble with other people or the law long before they decided they didn't like your game.

 

Contact police. If someone was making a joke, let them feel the LAW. That's assuming LAW works in your country.

Otherwise, if the threat does not look geniuine (like a kid throwing a tantrum), probably not much sense in doing anything much, although contacting their parents, spouse, family or employer with screenshot or recording of your conversation is a good option. It is also a good option to look into removing their access from your game or getting them banned from the store you're selling on.

If you're taking this seriously, reinforce your house, install home security, contact police, and if you can afford, hire a bodyguard (if it is really serious).

That's pretty much it.

 

Death threats are one thing, its serious and you need to report such behaviour to the police. But what's really scary is these recent trends with people calling in swat on other people, more so in countries like the USA were the police are scared and have a shoot first ask questions later attitude.

Swatting should be equal to attempted murder by the law. Or murder if the police kills the person.

 

Dude, this reminds me alot of what the Flappy Bird dev, had to go through years ago.

 

"I have your threat logged. Show up and I will inform the local law enforcement to drop by and pick up your corpse."

 

off topic. Contact lawyer/local law enforcement, what ever... not a bunch of game developers.