Cast 🌙✨ · @Castoreh
5th Aug 2020 from TwitLonger
My Experience with Reflect Studios.
I have debated how I want to do this for a long time. I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to do this in video format, since I have recorded proof of EVERYTHING, but after considering, this is the most comfortable method for me.
This is a long one, but I ask that you read through it. Or, near the end of the post, watch the video that is linked. This thread is mostly all context for what you will see in that video. -*The video was recorded by a viewer that night. I did not put it together. So some parts are a bit irrelevant.*-
This is about the petty harassment I have experienced at the hands of a game studio Reflect Studios back in May of this year, or rather about the man behind it, Adam.
~~~
This studio has created a couple very successful games, such as Rides with Strangers and even more notably, Welcome to the Game, and its sequel, Welcome to the Game 2. (*I will be referring to these are WTTG from here on). It is with WTTG2 my experience occurred.
I have a long history with these games, but for the sake of brevity I will keep it short and paint a general picture for you. I first streamed WTTG2 at its launch in early 2018. Unlike pretty much all my previous streams, I for once did very well and was top of the directory for a while. I really enjoyed the game and the difficulty (it is a very hard game, with roughly ~1% of players actually beating it, according to steams achievements.) Anyways, I have streamed the game for roughly ~120 hours over the past years, and they have consistently been record setting for me since I am one of the few that was dedicated to the challenge of it. Generally speaking, streaming the game has done a lot for me and was always very special to me.
That is, until I had an encounter with the developer of the game, Adam. Earlier this year, Adam tweeted that he was updating WTTG2 with a patch that allowed him to tweak with an individuals game, and that he was going to "mess with" some streamers for entertainment. Innocent enough, I thought. Even sounds kinda fun! Prior to this, I had *almost* no communication with Adam. Loosely exchanged DM's with him once or twice regarding one of his upcoming games (which he tweeted, saying people can DM him questions about it), and once to thank him for making good games. That was it.
This is where the experience begins. I decided I wanted to stream the game again. I streamed it very rarely, with the last time being about 6 months ago at the time. As I was playing that night, all was good. I was enjoying the game, and my viewership was much higher than normal, at about ~70 people. Little did I know, Adam was one of those people, lurking in the chat.
The last bit of context you should know to understand the story is what WTTG2 is. To keep it very brief, it is a horror game about your character who is browsing the deep web in order to save a girls life. Along the way, you are hunted by a Hitman, a knife-wielding Serial Killer, two masked cultists, the SWAT team, and a lunatic that turns live women into dolls, known as 'The Dollmaker'. One small mistake in the game, and you can be killed, and you have to reset the game. All of these enemies behave differently, and some only activate at certain points in the game, so you have to prepare ahead of time to be safe once they come along. Lastly, some of the websites on this games dark web are very, very disturbing. This is relevant, you'll see why. OK! NOW ON WITH IT.
Adam updated the game with the ability to do many things. Spawn enemies, give the player extra in-game currency, open up troll web-browsers, etc. He could make the game easier, harder, or whatever he wanted. Your fate was in his hands. Intimidating as it sounded, I was a fairly experienced player at this point, so I was up for the game being a bit different than usual. It all sounded like lighthearted fun. But I was wrong.
During the stream, I was on one website that showed animals that were gored, sliced open, disemboweled, maggot infested, etc. The audio for the website was super disgusting sounding two, especially paired with the disturbing imagery. I made a comment along the lines of, "where the hell did Adam even get these images/sounds anyways?". Then, someone responded with "Adam is a weird guy". I then went on a bit of a monologue saying that ***despite really loving his games, I can't get a good read on how he is as a person***. (I am a very blunt person, usually. I am not afraid to share my thoughts, even if they are something I probably shouldn't say out loud). I continued about how I couldn't get a read on him, and I said that sometimes he comes across as a bit of an asshole. NOW, on the surface that may seem rude, but understand. I have followed his twitter for years, I have seen him openly insult fans of his games, and on stream as well. He has a very rude demeanor. **I followed this statement by saying** "Though, I do not know how he actually is personally, despite coming across that way. So I don't know. All my exchanges with him have been really good."
Just do me a favor, and look at the way I delivered that. My intention was not to frame him in a bad way.
Following this, I got in-game enemies prematurely triggered on me. Both the hitman, who is arguable the most deadly, dangerous enemy in the game, and the Dollmaker, who actually never spawns UNLESS you go to his website, which I never did. I took this as -Oh, this is karma. This is funny, I sorta talked crap now I will pay for it...- I even say "damn, I deserve this." Frustrating as it is to die and start over, I play along with it. So yeah, he spawns the enemies. I die. I start over.
But the thing is, it doesn't stop. Ever.
https://imgur.com/gallery/ZVxCZ7X
He posts that in my chat, and the instant spawns of both of the most deadly enemies, when they *never* naturally do that, continues. Let it be known, the game is near impossible with these conditions, even for me.
But, I played along with the joke. As you watch the video, you'll notice my patience begins to wear down. Viewers are losing interest because I can't actually progress. It continues longer. My stream, at this point, is being ruined completely. I try "going offline" on my Steam account, it didn't work. Didn't stop. I tried switching to a different Steam account, no good. Still hit with the killers instantly.
Then finally at about 6 minutes into the video, and about TWO HOURS into it happening nonstop and failing to avoid it, I talk. I say "I don't wanna be a bad sport and ruin the joke, but the joke is getting old." I just wanted to play the game. People were starting to leave. Chat was getting bored. Then I made a joke. Everyone was clearly not enjoying what was happening, so I jokingly said "this is why you pirate games". and I laughed as I said it. Clear as day, I didn't mean it.
He finally, after nearly doing this for 3 hours, speaks up.
https://imgur.com/gallery/l9uz3ya
Wow. Good one. Yeah, the joke went on for too long in my taste. But, hey, good one I guess. When I read this, I laugh it off. Chat laughs too. .... But then he keeps going.
https://imgur.com/gallery/8Bg82W7
Woah, hold on. He's actually angry, isn't he? I realized quickly what was happening.
"You have been farming my game for viewers."
This is the first thing that really, really threw me off. Is Twitch, or rather livestreaming/content creation in general "farming games for viewers?" This came across as super meanspirited, and I really wonder if he considers everyone that plays his game like this.
Next up, threats. He tries to threaten me while I'm LIVE, on STREAM, in front of 60 people. He threatens to leak my private Twitter DM's with him.
https://imgur.com/gallery/k38uDMm
So, what do I do in response? I immediately go to Twitter and leak EACH and EVERY DM I have ever had with him. Only to prove that, first off, there's literally NOTHING to threaten me with, and that he is just intentionally trying to make me look bad in front of my audience. And then after that, he says I "promoted piracy" of his games. Yikes. I still thought somehow it was an elaborate joke. It wasn't.
Then after, he banned me from his discord (which I never spoke in) and blocked me on Twitter.
Here is the full video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo0wocTIzdM
~~~
TL;DR - He ruined my stream, *manually harassed me for 3 long hours*, and then tried (and failed) to threaten/embarrass me live. Everyone in my chat saw it all, 99% thought what he did was petty and outrageous. Experience is in video above.
~~~
Now yes, I wanted to share my experience, it's true. But that being said, I wasn't sure if I ever was actually going to, outside of sharing the story on my stream here and there. BUT, two new things have happened since that makes me want to post this.
First, I spoke to a former colleague of his. He has asked not to be named, nor can I share his exact experiences, but let me tell you. I am NOT the only one that has had terrible experiences with Adam. In fact, what has happened to this person in particular is far, FAR worse. If this person ever comes forward, you'll definitely hear of it.
Second, and more importantly than even that, He intends to create his own platform.
https://imgur.com/a/c9q8tHw
One where he has control of his own releases, as well (or so it seems) he intends to publish OTHER indie horror games. Not sure if this is just a site, or a client in itself. This is a very big deal for a few reasons. To start, he should NEVER have individual access to someone's game. I can tell you first hand, you don't want him to take his pettyness out on you. I also fear the damage he could do could be far worse than what I experienced. Really, the sky is the limit as far as potential for misuse goes. And then with the client, the game developers are also bad. If his former colleagues account means anything to you, he definitely doesn't sound like someone that indie devs should be working with. I will just have to leave it at that for now.
Now we come to today. He released his new game, 'Scrutinized'. I was waiting his next game for literal years. But, despite my belief that it might actually be a high quality game, I will not be buying it. I personally don't want to support him or the type of person he is. I ask that you at least consider your choice in this as well, now knowing my experience.
Thanks for reading.