Kim Jong-un Video Game Bravely Moves Forward in Face of Free Publicity
The developer of Glorious Leader!, a retro video game starring North Korean despot Kim Jong-un as a heavily armed, unicorn-riding superhero, is stoically moving forward with his game in spite of the explosion of unpaid publicity it's gained from the Sony Pictures hack.
Although Sony's Seth Rogen/James Franco flick The Interview has absorbed the brunt of the free media attention generated by hackers who apparently want the film scuttled (no one wanted to see it before Sony and major theater chains said they couldn't, but now it couldn't be hotter), Glorious Leader! was hit with some of the collateral impact.
And now, with the eyes of a world that had never heard of his game upon him, developer Jeff Miller of Moneyhorse Games has announced he'll bravely finish Glorious Leader!, even though he hasn't been threatened by hackers or the North Korean government, and even though the residual Interview buzz means someone might actually buy it.
He's even adding a level a game set on the Sony backlot, though that only risks generating additional attention and funding for the game.
"We want the game to be a topical as possible," Miller told the AP, adding that he isn't afraid of backlash from the DPRK because the game makes Kim Jong-un "look totally awesome."
At great personal risk to himself, he's also put Glorious Leader! on Kickstarter, aiming to raise $55,000.
Never back down, America. Never surrender in the face of sudden good fortune.