Me and a large studio are considering making a game that heavily references the show ‘Breaking Bad’ - in this game, you and about 3 other players would run a station where you use different machines in a tycoon style placement system to ‘cook’ something.
We obviously know that drugs are not allowed, but we are wondering if theres a limitation on cooking harmless objects that someone whos actually aware would tell that its referenced to drug production, like using various machines to ‘cook’ Bloxy Cola for example.
We are perfectly fine with making changes to the product, but we were wondering how far we can go to reference the show itself and what they produce.
I believe even if you replaced it with something harmless, if you still treat it as if its illegal then its still TOS. Such as replacing meth with Bloxy Cola, but Bloxy Cola is illegal and has a similar reputation to meth or illegal drugs, would probably be risky.
I don’t know the exact rule but that’s what I’ve heard before. You would need to make sure the product you cook isn’t considered illegal or treated like a drug in the game.
Divorce the idea of cooking Bloxy Cola as far away from any references to drug production as possible and that should be enough for you to get by. Moderation is highly context-based so you ideally want to remove any context that may link back to drugs. Using machines to produce harmless substances like Bloxy Cola are alright. If there’s anything else you’re doing with the produced Bloxy Cola though (e.g. transportation of the material) you’ll also have to take that into account while designing your experience for appropriateness.
If the blue rock candy is not considered illegal, and doesn’t have any drug like effects then you might be ok, also the process of creation should be similar to candy and not drugs.