Acclaimed LGBTQ+ developer Robert Yang releases explicit game about an angler catching hogs, critiquing modern dating and overfishing

Well-known LGBTQ+ developer Robert Young has released another explicit game, this time a commentary on catching dates.

Rainbows Are Carnivores is a gay fishing game and “romantic aquaculture game” in which a hunky fisherman catches naked men in the sea. Or as Ian put it in game companion blogis a game about “using a fishing rod to catch quality pigs.” By the way, “hog” in fishing slang means big fish.

Ian has released many controversial games, but perhaps best known for the Tea Room: A commentary on 60s sodomy laws and video game censorship in which men stand at urinals with guns for penises while avoiding undercover cops.

Instead, “Rainbows Are Carnivores” features full frontal male nudity. This free web game on itch.ioas “fisherman dad” sorts through his catch until he finds the perfect partner – although it's not quite what you might expect.

In addition to being a commentary on modern dating, the game is a homoerotic play on male stereotypes as well as a critique of overfishing. As Ian says: “There have never been fewer fish in the sea (until now).”

The game is also inspired by the French film Stranger by the Lake (2013), which “artfully combines sex and violence,” Yang explained. Here, Yang portrays overfishing as a distinct type of violence.

“Perhaps it’s a commentary on dating and romance in the age of apps,” Yang said. “If we are the many fish in the sea, then we are also using technology to overfish ourselves—industrializing romance the same way we industrialized fishing, with diminishing returns. Dating pools surrounded by dating apps are like artificially fertile lakes where most relationships die at the end of the season like farmed trout.”

If you've ever tried dating apps, you'll probably like this opinion.

Earlier this year, Ian announced his upcoming sports RPG Tryhard. The game takes place in New Zealand. Players will control an underdog rugby club, combining management simulator elements and turn-based gameplay. There will probably be some sex, too, thanks to Young's work, although Tryhard looks decidedly tamer than his previous work.