Apple forced pixel nudity removal from Papers Please

Indie hit Papers Please is now available on iPad, but creator Lucas Pope has revealed that Apple forced him to remove the game’s nudity.

The original version saw players, who assume the role of a immigration officer in a totalitarian state, occasionally forcing visitors to endure a body scan, revealing their naked body.

The things to note here are A) By design the graphics in Papers Please are pixel based and rudimentary; B) The forced nudity is a narrative tool to emphasize the invasive nature of the game’s fictional state.

Regardless, Apple – which is happy to allow apps from actual porn stars onto its store, remember – rejected the build as it was but has since greenlit the now available version with nudity removed.

The iPad version has no full nudity option for the search scanner photos. Apple rejected that build for containing ‘pornographic content’,” Pope said. I confirmed with the reviewer that it would likely pass without the nudity. Removed it, resubmitted, and it was accepted today.”

Pope to his credit also downplayed the impact of the changes, while avoiding any bickering regarding Apple’s confusion regarding the difference between nudity and pornography.

The original game has a no-nudity option so it’s not a considerable clash,” he added. Losing nudity isn’t too severe imo. The game has other content I expected to cause trouble that didn’t, so there’s some relief.”

The iPad version has no full nudity option for the search scanner photos. Apple rejected that build for containing "pornographic content."

— Lucas Pope (@dukope) December 11, 2014

@coupler I confirmed with the reviewer that it would likely pass without the nudity. Removed it, resubmitted, and it was accepted today.

— Lucas Pope (@dukope) December 11, 2014

@monotothewan @coupler The original game has a no-nudity option so it's not a considerable clash.

— Lucas Pope (@dukope) December 11, 2014

@timeyles Losing nudity isn't too severe imo. The game has other content I expected to cause trouble that didn't, so there's some relief.

— Lucas Pope (@dukope) December 11, 2014