HoboHunt Game App Lets Players Kill Homeless People

Android users have a controversial new game at their fingertips. HoboHunt awards players for hunting down poor people and virtually killing them.

Players first snap a photo of a homeless person, which is then uploaded to their phone, and they then choose from an arsenal of weapons to shoot the image. Apple has rejected the game app on three separate occasions, HoboHunt said in a press release, but insists that there is some merit to the activity.

It also donates some proceeds to helping people living on the streets.

"Oh, did we mention charity yet? Yeah, we have a conscience," the website states. "A portion of HoboHunt profits is going to help the homeless. Because we love Hobos."

However, the site does not specify how much money it will donate, or which cause it will support.

The creators proudly warn the game is "not for the delicate or faint-hearted! Users must steel their nerves to hunt real hobos, strangers in the mall, or friends, teachers, and parents, as sweet crosshairs and an arsenal of weapons, sound effects, and images bring the hunt to life."

Joel Usher, the game's creator, said he was inspired by a friend who, as he drove, would snap pictures of homeless people, send them out to friends and pretend to hunt them.

Usher told Vice.com that he thinks people will "be initially uncomfortable taking pictures of real hobos," and that most users will just use it to "take pictures of their friends."

To get involved in the fight against homelessness, without playing the controversial game, visit Coalition for the Homeless .

Comments

[Nneka Ugochukwu]

11:52 AM on 03/09/2012

I have an idea for a game HoboHuntGameDevs Hunt. We snap a picture of a HoboHunt dev and shoot them with REAL weapons.

[Lorraine Nadeau]

09:58 PM on 03/01/2012

this is amazingly impossibly ridiculous, and very tasteless,,,,,,,,pure garbage!!!! I cannot believe this is allowed to happen.........WOW........let's have a game where we shoot the game developers!!! Love each other people!!!!! Compassion and get out there and help these folks don't hunt them.......unbelievable.

[MorningStar73]

01:54 AM on 02/26/2012

This game and those who made it/use it are reprehensible; and a measly 5% donation to charity won't change that! Even if they pledged to give 100% of their profits to charity, it would be unacceptable.

Did you know that 23% of the homeless in the U.S. are military veterans? Do they deserve to be "hunted" after serving our country? Did you know that the number of homeless families with children is on the rise? Are you going to "hunt" the homeless children too?

If I had a friend who was taking photos of homeless people and pretending to hunt them, I wouldn't have been "inspired" to come up with a money-making game, I would have been "inspired" to kick that "friend" out of my car and tell them that they aren't the type of person who I'd want as a friend!

[Peonsafari]

03:58 AM on 06/22/2012

Did you know that 23% of the homeless in the U.S. are military veterans? Do they deserve to be "hunted" after serving our country?

Yes. Hunt the baby killers. The homeless are parasitic and must be eliminated.

[landsperger]

01:07 PM on 02/25/2012

Not only should this "game" be banned, the designers should become the targets. When did we as a society get so callous and hard? To call the hunting of humans in any form a" game" is criminal. In this economy most of us are one paycheck away from being homeless. I doubt any person you ever meet woke up one day and said" today I think I want to be homeless". This is just too disgusting for words.

[Caroline Mannheimer]

09:44 AM on 02/25/2012

I'm sorry but Hobohunt's measly 5% donation to charity hardly makes up for the social and emotional damage of this hideous "game". And no, I am not a bleeding-heart liberal however I do work as an actor for a non-profit trying to raise awareness of the homeless situation- and trust me, many of us are just a paycheck away ourselves. As, hopefully, so might the designers of Hobohunt should NO ONE sign up for their stupid "game". And kudos to Apple.

[HoboHunt]

05:12 PM on 02/24/2012

Hello Huffington Post and Readers.

Thanks for the article! As you can note on our Facebook page, we have pledged 5% of our profits to charity. We have yet to identify the specific beneficiaries, but our plan is to donate to a new organization every month.

If you have a certain organization you feel merits one of the monthly donations, please tell us on www.facebook.com/hobohunt and we will add it to the list.

Thanks!

HoboHunt