‘Gotham Knights’ Dev Who Called For Ban Of ‘Six Days In Fallujah’ Over Fears Of Anti-Iraqi Violence Declares Deaths Of OceanGate Submarine Passengers “Are A Cause For Celebration”
Spencer Baculi
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In the latest example of the Western video game industry being rife with self-aggrandizing hypocrisy, despite having previously cited a fear of mob violence as a reason to completely ban the historical FPS Six Days In Fallujah, Gotham Knights lead game designer Osama Dorias has declared that the recent OceanGate submarine accident is “a cause for celebration” because its victims were billionaires.
The titular team discovers the body of Bruce Wayne (Michael Antonakos) in Gotham Knights (2022), Warner Bros. Montreal
Founded in 2009 by wealthy diving enthusiast Stockton Rush and exploration entrepreneur Guillermo Söhnlein, OceanGate Inc. is a private tourism company which offers customers the opportunity to ride in one of their three submersible vehicles and take in a variety of underwater sights.
In 2021, the company announced that they would begin undertaking private expeditions to view the sunken wreck of the famous Titanic ocean liner – all for the low, low price of $250,000 per person.
Harley Quinn (Kari Wahlgren) is ready to play in Gotham Knights (2022), Warner Bros. Montreal
Unfortunately, one such recent expedition eventually ended in tragedy.
On June 18th, a crew of five people including Rush, RMS. Titanic Inc. director of underwater research Paul-Henri, British businessman Hamish Harding, British-Pakistani businessman Shazada Dawood, and Dawood’s 19-year old son, Suleman – the last of whom had expressed hesitance towards going on the trip but agreed to do so as a Father’s Day gift – were killed instantly when the company’s ‘Titan’ vessel imploded due to what is currently being speculated to be a number of engineering failures.
Alfred (Gildart Jackson) says goodbye to Bruce Wayne (Michael Antonakos) in Gotham Knights (2022), Warner Bros. Montreal
While the public at large was entranced with the story from beginning to end and some even attempted to alleviate the tension by making gallows humor, some on social media took to outright celebrating the tragedy due to the economic status of the victims.
“People asking ‘why do people hate billionaires’ a lot during the submersible discussion and here’s the core of it for me,” explained Twitter user @mxdshipwreck of the mentality behind this phenomena. “Every day the mega-rich could vastly reduce or even end mass suffering on a global scale with little cost to themselves. Every day they choose not to.”
Archive Link @mxdshipwreck via twitter
This logistically-unsound take would then catch the attention of Dorias, who on June 22nd – the day the Titan’s wreckage was discovered and its passengers were confirmed deceased – retweeted the post and added, “Billionaires are cancer.”
“Their existence is an act of extreme violence,” he declared. “Their deaths are a cause for celebration.”
Osama Dorias via Twitter (Account locked prior to proper archive)
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Following his call for celebration, Dorias was immediately inundated with a wave of backlash as more well-adjusted individuals responded to his callous disregard for human life with condemnation, all of which culminated in him taking a personal break from Twitter.
“I’m sorry folks, I’m not in a good place right now and not myself,” wrote Dorias as he locked his account. “Going offline for a bit.”
Osama Dorias via Twitter (Account locked prior to proper archive)
As noted above, Dorias’ celebration of the OceanGate Inc. accident stands in stark contrast to his previous public pearl clutching over Six Days in Fallujah.
In March 2021, Dorias used a fear of the very mob violence he recently endorsed as a reason to completely ban the game from sale.
A U.S. Marine prepares for battle in Six Days in Fallujah Official Trailer (2021), Victura
“Please take the time to sign this petition to stop the making a game that intends to normalize and trivialize the murder of my fellow Iraqis,” wrote Dorias, sharing a link to a Change.Org petition which directly called on the U.S. government to ban the game. ”
“Please RT and spread the word any way that you can,” he added. “Don’t let these monsters get away with this.”
Archive Link Source: Osama Dorias Twitter
Notably, these cries were ultimately ignored, and Six Days Fallujah entered Early Access on June 22nd, 2023.
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