Bignic

Last updated
Bignic
Born
Nicholas Gorissen
Occupation(s)Game developer, musician
Notable work
  • Zombies
  • Corporate Lifestyle Simulator
  • Domina
Style Big beat, house, pop [1]
Website www.thebignic.com

Nicholas Gorissen, [2] [3] also known as Bignic, is an indie game developer and independent musician. [1] His video games are released under his company Dolphin Barn Incorporated, based in Quebec, Canada, where he was the only employee as of 2017. [4]

Contents

He once joked in 2010 that he chose Bicnic ("Big Nick") as his alias because he was "6'4 and 400lbs". [1]

Games

Zombies for Windows and iOS was released in 2012. [2] [5] The game was renamed to "Corporate Lifestyle Simulator" in 2014 and re-released with additional content. [6] [7]

In 2017, Gorissen released Domina , a gladiator management game. Rock Paper Shotgun praised the game for its soundtrack. [8]

Controversies

In 2014, the owners of his game Zombies were promised Steam copies if the re-release of the game under the name Corporate Lifestyle Simulator got approved by Steam Greenlight. However, game stores did not reveal personal information about buyers and thus Gorissen refused to give Steam keys to users who asked for them. Gorissen later reversed his position and apologized publicly. [9]

In March 2022, the patch notes of a Domina update contained a message recommending people not to wear face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. This caused a backlash from the community and the game was review bombed on Steam, making its recent reviews rating drop to "overwhelmingly negative". [10] [11] This was following earlier patch notes containing messages against Internet pornography, [11] and followed by transphobic statements. Gorissen reported several of the reviews, which he labelled as "fraudulent" and an "orchestrated campaign of lies", but Steam moderators chose not to remove them. Gorissen consequently announced in August 2022 that Domina was unlikely to receive future updates on the platform. [12]

In August 2022, Gorissen tweeted an image of Adolf Hitler, in response to a Jewish user on Twitter, which he labelled "Adolph Shecklegruber". [13] In response to offense taken by Jewish users on Twitter, Gorissen then wrote a profane anti-Semitic statement concerning the Jewish rite of circumcision. [14]

In September 2022, a new Domina update contained transphobic comments and personal transphobic insults about Keffals, a Twitch streamer. [15] [16] Steam delisted Domina citing "insults targeting another person", "various rule violations" and announced "ending [their] business relationship with 'Dolphin Barn Incorporated' and removing all associated products from sale." [16] [17]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Discover Artists Submitting to 10th IMAS: Bignic". Independent Music Awards (Interview). 2010.
  2. 1 2 Papadopoulos, John (4 December 2012). "Indie title 'Zombies' looks interesting; created by a single person". DSOGaming.
  3. ↑ Gorissen, Nicholas (February 2016). "Resume" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2016 – via thebignic.com.
  4. ↑ Williams, Travis (2017-07-10). "Indie Interview - bignic Talks Domina And More". TechRaptor. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  5. ↑ B, Adam (11 January 2013). "Zombies. – Review". GamingLives.
  6. ↑ Smith, Adam (25 May 2014). "Office Offal: Corporate Lifestyle Simulator". Rock, Paper, Shotgun .
  7. ↑ Cope, Mark (29 April 2014). "Corporate Lifestyle Simulator - As We Play". Expansive DLC.
  8. ↑ Crowley, Nate (2021-04-29). "Have You Played… Domina?". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  9. ↑ Orselli, Brandon (24 February 2014). "Zombies Dev Promises Steam Keys After Greenlight, Doesn't Trust Steam, Later Refuses to Give Them". Niche Gamer.
  10. ↑ Zwiezen, Zack (2022-03-13). "Steam Game Dev's Patch Notes Include Anti-Mask Rant, Users Immediately Revolt". Kotaku. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  11. 1 2 Litchfield, Ted (2022-03-12). "Indie gladiator game faces Steam review backlash over anti-mask patch notes". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  12. ↑ Allen, Joseph (August 8, 2022). "Domina Dev Says No More Steam Updates As Meltdown Continues". TechRaptor. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Nicholas John Leonhard Gorissen on Twitter: "I wonder why the authori…". archive.ph. 2022-08-22. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  14. ↑ "Nicholas John Leonhard Gorissen on Twitter: "Did your moil tell you t…". archive.ph. 2022-08-22. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
  15. ↑ Partis, Danielle (2 Sep 2022). "Domina removed from Steam after studio's anti-trans post". Games Industry.biz. Retrieved 2 Sep 2022.
  16. 1 2 Kennedy, Victoria (2 Sep 2022). "Domina delisted by Steam after developer's transphobic rant". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2 Sep 2022.
  17. ↑ Brown, Andy (2 Sep 2022). "'Domina' removed from Steam after developer's transphobic rant". NME. Retrieved 2 Sep 2022.
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