Unexpected reaction: “Red Cross” demands to remove its symbolism from the game Prison Architect

See the Red Cross symbol? And he is there

Developers of any software sometimes encounter unexpected obstacles when they launch their product on the market. Moreover, obstacles and problems can be unpredictable. For example, Marc Morris and Chris Daley, creators of the Prison Architect game, knew that the game would be contradictory and could cause criticism of certain organizations or individuals. But no one could have imagined that the emblem in the form of a red cross five pixels wide would become a problem.

This emblem is applied in the game on the first-aid kits and back bags of medical workers. It is worth reading again - the width of the crosses is only five pixels. And these five pixels caused a conflict with the Red Cross. A few days before Catholic Christmas, developers received an email from representatives of the British Red Cross.


“The reason that I am writing to you was the desire to draw your attention to the fact that in your game Prison Architect 'an emblem in the shape of a red cross was put on the machines,” the report said. It also claimed that the use of this emblem is prohibited by the Geneva Convention. This is a direct violation of the 1957 Geneva Convention act.
')
Both developers, as it turned out, for many years violated the law, unaware of it. "We even thought that someone was trying to cheat us, and this situation could not be real." But as it turned out, it is more than real.

The reason for the situation that has arisen is that the symbols of the “Red Cross” are absorbed by most people literally with their mother's milk. In the minds of many people, the red cross is a universal symbol for first aid packages and everything related to medicine, including even drugs in video games. “I’m sure that the first-aid kits from Doom, released 20 years ago, have a red cross,” says Deley.

The representatives of the Red Cross are far from always responding to the release of the next game, where the symbols of this organization are applied on first-aid equipment for the characters. However, this symbolism is not public domain. The rights to it belong to the International Committee of the Red Cross . The Committee is a humanitarian organization operating around the world, based on the principle of neutrality and impartiality. It provides protection and assistance to victims of armed conflicts and internal unrest, and is an integral part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

As for the Geneva Convention, the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Wartime, also known as the Fourth Geneva Convention, is meant here. It was adopted on August 12, 1949; entered into force on October 21, 1950. Like the previous Geneva Conventions, it operates under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross. For an ordinary person, it is associated with the obligations of countries that have signed the final document (196 countries) to treat prisoners humanely, not to violate human rights, etc.

But there is one more point. Namely - the recognition of the emblem in the form of a red cross as an international symbol of protection during armed conflicts. This symbol should protect those who need help, protect neutral organizations and save the lives of ordinary people. To use the symbol of the "Red Cross" for any other purpose besides those mentioned is a violation of international law. In 2008, a clear violation was recorded, when in Colombia a number of individuals covered themselves with the symbols of the organization, using these symbols to their advantage .

But one thing is deliberate misrepresentation, and quite another is five-pixel red crosses on miniature avtomobilchiki from the world of the game Prison Architect. Nevertheless, the author of the message, sent by the developer, states the following: “The emblem of the red cross and similar symbols are not symbols that are used by doctors or representatives of the healthcare sector. Moreover, this symbol cannot be used in commercial products, including advertising campaigns or other products. ”

Nevertheless, for the time being, the symbol in the form of a red cross was used by everyone who felt like it. Proof of? Yes, it is necessary to enter the phrase “health pack” in Google search for images, and we get dozens of results in the issue. These are, for example, screenshots from games Doom, Halo and others, where the symbol is used, as if nothing had happened, and no one sends a message to the developers with a warning about the inadmissibility of this. Moreover, the red cross is often found in comics, book illustrations, and films.


In many games, a red cross was used to denote first-aid kits. Now it is either modified (make, for example, green), or removed altogether

The developers of the game, which was discussed above, were surprised that their product has become a stumbling block. After all, there are a large number of other games where a red cross is used without any problems, just the emblem that cannot be used. But someone saw a five-pixel cross on the hood of the car in the game and decided to restore order. “The red crosses in Prison Architect are small five-pixel characters,” says Deley. “One of the crosses is put on the hood of the truck, the other on the first-aid kit. They are tiny. I think this is ridiculous. We do not place huge red crosses in the military zone. This is a pixelated symbol that is not easy to see. ”

However, the developers of this game were not the first to attract the attention of the Red Cross. In 2006, David Pratt from the Canadian division of this organization sent a letter to a law firm that represented the interests of several game developers. In the letter, Pratt demanded to prohibit the use of Red Cross symbols in games. According to him, representatives of the organization can not play every game released to check the presence or absence of such games in the red crosses. Another problem is that the symbol itself has long become familiar and is considered public domain by many people, although this is not the case.

According to representatives of the "Red Cross", they decided to draw attention to the problem in order to prevent harm to someone because of the emblem incorrectly placed in the game.



The problem of developers may be somewhat deeper than a violation of the Geneva Convention. The fact is that the United Kingdom in 1957 added several provisions of the convention to its legislation. As a result, the creators of the Prison Architect game may turn out to violate the laws of their own country. In general, they need to solve the problem as quickly as possible so that the flywheel of the executive authority does not start. Actually, the problem has already been solved - there are no red crosses in the game. Instead, they turned green. Everything, now there is no problem and the Red Cross has no formal reasons to complain.

Developers, in general, do not agree with the letter they received. And the fact that the very symbol of the red cross can not be used in their own interests, they completely disagree. Most of all, both developers are frustrated by the fact that taxpayers have to pay for the fact that representatives of the "Red Cross" are constantly looking for their own symbolism in many denominations. In some games, developers even had to roll out their updates after the Red Cross appeal, modifying the shape, material and color of the cross.

“Many people donate money, believing that their money goes to the treatment of other people. But it turns out that a significant part of the proceeds are left to lawyers who make up letters demanding that the red cross be removed from the game. Morris wonders what happened. At the same time, he tries to figure out how much money the Red Cross spends every year if it considers cases like this in court. According to Morris, most US taxpayers are confident that their donations go to good money, not to legal proceedings.

If a sufficiently large number of users find out how things really are, then, most likely, the number of donations will be significantly reduced. “Why do we even have this symbol?”, Says Morris. He says that the game was decided to be made for a wide target audience, and the red cross is an international symbol, it is recognized in almost every country in the world, in the most remote regions. He is also surprised that this incident is given such importance (the speech, first of all, about the company itself - the defendant). “How can the use of the red cross to highlight the packages with medical assistance in the game cause at least minimal, momentary harm to the Red Cross?” Red Cross "did not answer.



The most interesting thing is that Morris constantly donated money to the “Red Cross”, believing that they really go towards good goals. And now it all turned out. "I do not want to say that I will stop working or donate money," says one of the authors of the project. Daley argues that the problem is to stop its steadfast attention to the developers of other games, for which what was said may be relevant. Now, after the crosses in Prison Architect have turned green, the situation has calmed down a bit.

In general, developers are not too worried about the whole situation. True, they say that she left an unpleasant aftertaste - because no one was going to break the laws, especially since the crosses were vanishingly small, you can see the Red Cross emblem there only if you really want to. But once the problem arose, it had to be resolved, and it’s good that everything went without lawsuits, as often happens in such cases.