Jaws of Hell News

[p][/p][p]A special thanks to Clark Andrews for the years of love, laughter, good music, bad music and great art thanks to you! Every kindness I should have learned from our time together I now reflect on. You were a genuineness rarely seen on earth. I wish I had known how deep your pain was.[/p][p][/p][p]A special thanks also to my wife who has continued to support me through everything. You are the kindness, joy and glue that keeps our family together, you have taught me to be more than a brute and to be open about my struggles. [/p][p][/p][p]I will continue to grow... As a developer, artist, musician and as a person. Thank you all![/p][p][/p][p]If you are a part of the Kickstarter I will probably push the game a little and get it into your hands and let you guys tell me what to fix or what you want added![/p]

[p]*I majored in Philosophy[/p][h3]Monetary Capitalism as an Oxymoron[/h3][p]Thesis: Monetary capitalism—the modern system where money begets more money, often without labor or innovation—is an oxymoron because it contradicts the philosophical and ethical foundations upon which capitalism was originally conceived. It transforms capitalism from a meritocratic system into an aristocracy of inherited capital, precisely the kind of social structure early capitalist thinkers like John Locke and Adam Smith sought to challenge or reform.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]I. Locke’s Theory of Labor and Property[/h3][p]John Locke argued that:[/p][p]“Every man has a property in his own person… The labor of his body and the work of his hands are properly his.”[/p]

• [p]Locke's justification for private property was labor—one earned property by mixing their labor with nature.[/p]
• [p]Locke also warned against the accumulation of property beyond one's use, unless it could be fairly traded or used without spoiling.[/p]

[p]But modern monetary capitalism allows for:[/p]

• [p]The accumulation of wealth without labor, via interest, rent-seeking, and inheritance.[/p]
• [p]The consolidation of power through capital gains, rather than productive work.[/p]

[p]If a person is born with wealth and uses it to gain more wealth without contributing labor or innovation, they have not earned that wealth through Locke’s ethical lens. Instead, they've inherited privilege—ironically reinforcing the same aristocratic system Locke was writing against.[/p][p]Thus, inherited capital is antithetical to Locke’s ideal of earned property through labor.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]II. Adam Smith and the “Invisible Hand”[/h3][p]Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations introduced the idea of the "invisible hand"—that individuals pursuing their own interests in a free market would unintentionally contribute to the common good.[/p][p]However:[/p]

• [p]Smith was deeply concerned with monopoly power, rent-seeking, and collusion.[/p]
• [p]He warned of merchants and bankers who would consolidate wealth and act against the public interest.[/p]

[p]In modern monetary capitalism:[/p]

• [p]The "invisible hand" is often not guiding free exchange but preserving oligarchic control.[/p]
• [p]Financial instruments, lobbying, and regulatory capture distort markets and protect the wealthy.[/p]
• [p]Money becomes a self-perpetuating power, not a reward for value creation.[/p]

[p]So when money itself becomes the guiding “hand,” it becomes God-like—a self-justifying force that replaces morality, democracy, and even market competition with obedience to capital.[/p][p]The “invisible hand” becomes not a neutral force of balance, but a mechanism for maintaining inequality and unaccountable power.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]III. The Oxymoron of Monetary Capitalism[/h3]

• [p]If capitalism is supposed to be about competition, innovation, and merit,[/p]
• [p]But monetary capitalism rewards inheritance, speculation, and power,[/p]
• [p]Then monetary capitalism is capitalism only in name, but not in principle.[/p]

[p]It is, essentially:[/p]

• [p]A return to feudal privilege, where access to land, resources, and opportunity are tied to birth, not effort.[/p]
• [p]A plutocracy, not a meritocracy.[/p]

[p]Thus, monetary capitalism is an oxymoron: it relies on the accumulation of unearned power, while claiming legitimacy from a system that was supposed to be about earned worth.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]IV. Modern Implications[/h3]

• [p]Widening wealth gaps are not bugs in the system—they are features of a model where capital creates capital.[/p]
• [p]Wages stagnate while asset prices soar—those with money win, those without stay behind, regardless of effort.[/p]
• [p]The consolidation of media, housing, healthcare, and labor markets reveals that money doesn't chase value—it creates the rules.[/p]

[p]When money writes the rules, freedom becomes a brand, not a condition.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]Conclusion[/h3][p]Locke’s labor theory of value and Smith’s invisible hand would be hopeful ideas for a freer, more just society. But when money becomes self-replicating and immune to labor-based constraints, capitalism becomes its opposite: an inherited aristocracy of capital.[/p][p]True capitalism is about earned reward. Monetary capitalism is about unearned control.
And so, monetary capitalism is not just an oxymoron—it is a betrayal.[/p][p][/p][h2]Why This Story Matters [/h2][p]When I began writing Jaws of Hell in 2018 and finished its core narrative by 2020, I was watching the world tilt further into a system I couldn’t ignore... One where wealth was no longer earned, but inherited, defended, and worshipped like a god. A world where corporations weren’t just businesses, but empires. Where a handful of people could own not just land, but law. That world isn't fiction anymore, it’s reality.[/p][p]In Jaws of Hell and its sequel The Hive Pandemic, I explore a future where the line between government and corporation has disappeared. Where the ultra-rich own cities, dictate survival, and privatize power on a planetary scale. These aren’t just dystopian backdrops but they're warnings.[/p][p]The series is built on a core truth: monetary capitalism is an oxymoron.
The idea that capitalism is a merit-based system falls apart when wealth is inherited, hoarded, and multiplied by mechanisms the average person never touches. If a person’s worth is tied to money, but money itself is passed down like royalty, then we are not living in a meritocracy—we’re living in a high-tech feudal system.[/p][p]That contradiction is what Jaws of Hell confronts head-on. You play as Clark Andrews, a man broken by disaster and abandonment, entering a world shaped not by gods or nature, but by consolidated wealth and corporate ideology disguised as progress. He’s not a hero. He’s not a chosen one. He’s just one person trying to survive a world that no longer belongs to people like him.[/p][p][/p][p]I created “X-Corp” back in 2020—well before a real-world “X Corp” took its place in the headlines. I’ve left that timestamp on Steam and in the credits not just as a marker of originality, but to remind everyone: this story was already coming true. The real world just caught up to the fiction.[/p][hr][/hr][p]This isn’t just a game series. It’s a reflection of our future if we keep confusing capital with virtue, and wealth with worth.[/p][p]Jaws of Hell is the beginning of that story.
The Hive Pandemic is what happens when we let that story win.[/p]

[p]I am a lifetime musician.[/p][p]By The Devil's Own Hands... The last song that Clark and I wrote. I can't sing but I can scream at you.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]I am the front man on the lion. This was Kings of Metropolis at WorkPlay in Birmingham.[/p][p][/p][p]Our highschool band[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[p]Country internet failed but I uploaded a Demo walkthrough. Leave questions here, or here.[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p]I am actively working on making the game better, like adding a settings menu. Let me know what you want to see in the game or any suggestions. The speed is needed for some of the later levels that are large and vertical. The cutscenes are supposed to be music video siren songs from the Hive Mind. [/p]

[p]A Note About the Art and Voices in Jaws of Hell and The Hive Pandemic[/p][p]As the solo developer behind Jaws of Hell and The Hive Pandemic, I want to be fully transparent about how these worlds were made.[/p][p]These projects blend the talents of many—real artists, AI tools, and a whole lot of long nights at the keyboard and piano. I’m a musician by trade, and some of the music and voiceovers you’ll hear in these games are my own. Others were created with the help of AI tools that allowed me to extend my vision further than my own hands could reach—tools that helped narrate, sing, and visualize cutscenes when I was working alone.[/p][p]I also had the incredible privilege of working with amazing artists and studios who contributed to the look and feel of these games. Tragically, one of our lead artists and my close friend passed away during development. Their work lives on in these games. After their passing, I leaned on AI and my own skills in Blender to keep going. I can hold my own—my Blender work is comparable to some indie games like Schedule 1—but I believed the game would be better with a tapestry of styles from multiple creators and studios.[/p][p]There’s been a lot of debate about AI and art, and I understand the fear and frustration. But what concerns me most isn’t the tools—it’s the system behind it all.[/p][p]The real problem isn’t artists or AI. It’s the way the industry is structured. Major studios and corporations pay their CEOs hundreds of times more than the people actually creating the work. We leave democracy at the door of every workplace, trading it for top-down, dictatorial structures. Artists and developers deserve better.[/p][p]I believe in a different future for games—a future with open pay structures, shared decision-making, and real safety for those doing the work. A workplace where collaboration isn’t just a buzzword, but the foundation. That’s what I’m building at Starving Lama Games.[/p][p]So yes, this game was made with help from AI. Yes, I paid artists through open markets. And yes, I believe both can exist together if we fix the system they’re trapped in.[/p][p]Thanks for being a part of this journey. And if you’re reading this and you’re struggling—whether with creativity, purpose, or just getting through the day—please know you are not alone.[/p][p]We’re building something better. One story at a time.[/p][p]– William
Starving Lama Games[/p]