Oh, wait - he actually wants the title retracted and to cease all development entirely. The use of the ”O-word is very similar to the N-word”, he claims. Lo may refer it to the Human Rights Commission.
He’d seek action against the studio on the grounds of ‘racial vilification’. Whore of the Orient is set in 1936 Shanghai, the ”most corrupt and decadent city” in the world at the time.
”It’s the use of the word ‘Orient’, more even than the word ‘whore’, that is the issue,” said Deputy Mayor Jieh-Yung Lo.
”The O-word is very similar to the N-word for African-American communities. It’s a 19th century racial-colonial conception and it’s especially painful for older people in the communities. That was a very bad time in China, and people don’t want or need to have that dragged up.” L.A. Noire writer and director Brendan McNamara signed with KMM in 2011.
$200,000 was paid to KMM for Whore of the Orient’s development by Screen New South Wales, which has angered Jieh-Yung Lo - who says he’s a gamer.
”Australian institutions should be encouraged to fund projects and initiatives that cultivate mutual understanding and prosperity in the Australia-China relationship,” he said. ”We need to build greater trust and cultural understanding rather than promote division and negativity.”
Warner Bros. was said to be taking on the publishing role for Whore of the Orient but pulled out, and as of January this year the project was still looking for a new partner. Recently some leaked alpha footage of the game hit the net, but otherwise the game’s development has been kept very quiet.
’‘The best outcome,’’ added Lo, ”would be a change of title”. New York banned the use of ‘oriental’ in official documentation back in 2009, he noted. The City of Monash is located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
