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Joy Division's 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' Inspires Video Game

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http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/joy-divisions-love-will-tear-us-apart-inspires-video-game-20130603

Because nothing takes the sting out of romantic turbulence like playing a video game about romantic turbulence, a European developer has created a new game inspired by Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart."

Mighty Box Games' Will Love Tear Us Apart? is a "browser-game about relationships on the brink of breaking up," the developers said, according to Consequence of Sound. "What guides this game is an ambition to frustrate, upset and sting the player into remembering the dark days preceding the death of a relationship."

500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Joy Division's "Closer"

A trailer for the game opens with a black-and-white image of a beating heart, shooting to questions asking "Will love snare you?/ Heal you?/ Or tear you apart?," at which point a string (heartstrings perhaps?) snaps dramatically. The rest of the trailer is a dizzying spiral of human figures embracing, arguing and separating over the course of a relationship.

The developers said that the aim of the game is to "reflect on the darker side of love: miscommunication, emotional impasse and the sadness of separation. Solace may be found in the brief moment of lightness that comes over us when we come to terms with the reality of an irreconcilable relationship," sort of like a rearview mirror, except in this case relationships may appear closer than they actually are. The game is available now.

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😕 LWTUA is a good song, but I don't understand this idolatry regarding JD, Ian, it's artwork, and LWTUA.

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And I thought those Disney/Unknown Pleasures T-shirts were the wankiest JD related thing Id ever see...

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leather-girl wrote: 😕 LWTUA is a good song, but I don't understand this idolatry regarding JD, Ian, it's artwork, and LWTUA.

I can't comprehend your stupidity and ignorance. How can you possibly respect NO without looking up to JD. I pity you.

(Edit: That probably sounded a bit harsh, but I'm on 2 hours sleep and didn't have lunch so forgive me.)

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Sage_ wrote:

leather-girl wrote: 😕 LWTUA is a good song, but I don't understand this idolatry regarding JD, Ian, it's artwork, and LWTUA.

I can't comprehend your stupidity and ignorance. How can you possibly respect NO without looking up to JD. I pity you.

(Edit: That probably sounded a bit harsh, but I'm on 2 hours sleep and didn't have lunch so forgive me.)

Oh well, if you're a bit tired and hungry I guess that excuses needlessly offensive posts then. Does that mean we have to wait until you've had a sleep and some food for you to be a bit more civil? Like a child?

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I respect JD, but I don't understand the need for all the stupid merchandise, or why hipsters idolise them. It's true that I like the music of NO better, but the hyping of JD by the NME reading hipsters and the merchandising turns me off. I always wonder who buys the JD related/themed merchandise, from t-shirts, to items with UP's designs on it, to the extremely expensive bootlegs/fakes on eBay. Is it the hardcore fans, or the hipsters? Or a bit of both? Regardless of who buys them, it cheapens the legacy and makes JD look overrated.

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leather-girl wrote: I respect JD, but I don't understand the need for all the stupid merchandise, or why hipsters idolise them. It's true that I like the music of NO better, but the hyping of JD by the NME reading hipsters and the merchandising turns me off. I always wonder who buys the JD related/themed merchandise, from t-shirts, to items with UP's designs on it, to the extremely expensive bootlegs/fakes on eBay. Is it the hardcore fans, or the hipsters? Or a bit of both? Regardless of who buys them, it cheapens the legacy and makes JD look overrated.

I totally agree with you, leather-girl ----

I love Joy Division, was way too into them in the 1980s, trekked to NYC to get bootlegs, own a ton of books about them, had posters on my walls, etc, but the idolatry of Ian Curtis always bothers me.

It is one reason I felt so awkward at the recent New Order shows when they would play Atmosphere or LWTUA as an encore and show photos of Curtis in the background, just felt ridiculous. I will wear a shirt with 'joy division' printed on it, or the lp art, but not one with Curtis' dour face across it.

Idolatry is silly. 'Fans' that buy those images promoting the whole "Ian Curtis Was So Depressed Wasn't He" crap are more into aggrieved hipster fashion than understanding the music and art of the band.

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tarbox23 wrote:

leather-girl wrote: I respect JD, but I don't understand the need for all the stupid merchandise, or why hipsters idolise them. It's true that I like the music of NO better, but the hyping of JD by the NME reading hipsters and the merchandising turns me off. I always wonder who buys the JD related/themed merchandise, from t-shirts, to items with UP's designs on it, to the extremely expensive bootlegs/fakes on eBay. Is it the hardcore fans, or the hipsters? Or a bit of both? Regardless of who buys them, it cheapens the legacy and makes JD look overrated.

I totally agree with you, leather-girl ----

I love Joy Division, was way too into them in the 1980s, trekked to NYC to get bootlegs, own a ton of books about them, had posters on my walls, etc, but the idolatry of Ian Curtis always bothers me.

It is one reason I felt so awkward at the recent New Order shows when they would play Atmosphere or LWTUA as an encore and show photos of Curtis in the background, just felt ridiculous. I will wear a shirt with 'joy division' printed on it, or the lp art, but not one with Curtis' dour face across it.

Idolatry is silly. 'Fans' that buy those images promoting the whole "Ian Curtis Was So Depressed Wasn't He" crap are more into aggrieved hipster fashion than understanding the music and art of the band.

It is definitely ridiculous the idolatry. But with the band putting his face on the big screen, not really a problem with that, they knew him so I think they have more of a right to do that than all these hipsters/hardcore fans who I think are all as bad as each other. So I'm not bothered by New Order doing that. I also have a joy division t-shirt but I refuse to buy the Unknown Pleasures t-shirts, they annoy me and I see them all the time. They remind me of "fans" of joy division who just like to deride anything New Order have done because they are "happy pop shit" and they see Movement as their best album, when it really isn't. They also give Ian Curtis undue credit, I mean if you had never heard of Joy Division/New Order and talked to some of these people, you'd think it was Ian Curtis' solo band, these people think he wrote all the music - when he only wrote lyrics. Bernard, Steve and Peter have never got the credit they deserve when it comes to Joy Division imo.

Rant over, sorry about that.

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leather-girl wrote: 😕 LWTUA is a good song, but I don't understand this idolatry regarding JD, Ian, it's artwork, and LWTUA.

I agree. This is a bloody stupid idea.

P.S. I think your flat could do with a spruce up from the local gardener; it's looking excessively fragrant.

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UpDownTurnAround wrote:

leather-girl wrote: 😕 LWTUA is a good song, but I don't understand this idolatry regarding JD, Ian, it's artwork, and LWTUA.

I agree. This is a bloody stupid idea.

P.S. I think your flat could do with a spruce up from the local gardener; it's looking excessively fragrant.

LMAO! It's just a flowery profile pic.

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