Why would anyone produce a game like this? Here's the game: http://www.columbinegame.com/ And here's the reaction. Video game reopens Columbine wounds Parents of victims are horrified; creator says it's for 'real dialogue' By Kevin Vaughan And Brian D. Crecente, Rocky Mountain News May 16, 2006 An Internet-based computer game that puts players in the army boots and black trench coats of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold as they kill Columbine High School classmates is attracting attention and sparking controversy. Called Super Columbine Massacre RPG, the game mixes cartoonish scenes with photographs of Harris and Klebold, pictures taken from newspapers and television stations and excerpts from their writings. The game's creator, who refused to identify himself to the Rocky Mountain News, did agree to an online interview. He said he wanted to create something profoundly unique and confrontational that would "promote a real dialogue on the subject of school shootings." Several Columbine families, after being told about the game, had plenty to say. "It's wrong," said Joe Kechter, whose son, Matt, was murdered in the Columbine library. "We live in a culture of death," said Brian Rohrbough, whose son, Dan, was gunned down on a sidewalk outside the school, "so it doesn't surprise me that this stuff has become so commonplace. It disgusts me. You trivialize the actions of two murderers and the lives of the innocent." And Judy Brown, who has been immersed in the Columbine controversy along with her husband, Randy, called it a "sad and sick thing to make a video game out of a tragedy where 13 innocent people were murdered." Harris and Klebold killed a dozen students and a teacher and wounded more than 20 others on April 20, 1999, in the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. The game's creator said in an e-mail that he wanted to show that "behind all the pixels is the fact that people really died, including two angry boys who were, at times, very thoughtful, sensitive and intelligent young men." Super Columbine Massacre RPG was posted on a Web site on last year's sixth anniversary of the rampage, but it wasn't until recently that the game was rediscovered by a number of popular gaming news sites. The game makes use of Jefferson County Sheriff's Office investigative material, including images of Klebold and Harris after their suicide. The tiny characters look like something from an old Nintendo game. The game also uses real photos taken from inside and around the school as a backdrop for some scenes, including images from the cafeteria and the bloody pictures of Harris and Klebold dead on the floor of the school library. None of the photos features victims of the attack. Some of the photographs included in the game were taken from the Rocky Mountain News and were used without the paper's permission. John Temple, the paper's editor, president and publisher, said the News is taking steps to prevent their unauthorized use. Read the rest here.
thats stupid. it's mindboggling why anyone would want to make it or even play it! some people are weird as hell!
People are fu#king sick. Didnt someone make a JFK shooting game recently too? The developers of these games should be in prison for the love of all that is holy......
Well, if he was trying to generate dialogue, he succeeded. It is a little more macabre than Counterstrike or something because of the source material, but it doesn't seem illegitimate to me. In poor taste, perhaps, and a copyright infringement apparently, but not that big of a deal otherwise.
Great. Glorify the actions of these whacko's. Mr. Meowgi, your posts never cease to irk me. I think its best if I just don't read your responses anymore.
It's just really, really bad. There's no respect for a tragic loss of lives, but I see where you're going with this. Truly D & D material, MEOWGI. No offense taken, just that I wouldn't want to "reopen wounds". I see your point, though... FREEDOM of EXPRESSION, right?
The rest of the article contains more explanation and it turns out one of the victims, Richard Castaldo played the game as well. Here's the Q&A the creator had with the newspaper and a Q&A the victim had with Kotaku.com, a video game news site.
My point is we witness thousands of acts of violence on television, movies, video games etc. To say it doesn't influence us is stupid. We just don't want to face up to it because it it entertains us, makes us money etc. and that's what is truly important in our society. Why the sudden outrage about this? It's all the same to me. I still personally take part in all of this violent entertainment, I am still American, but I will at least admit to what is going on.
I wouldn't play it. What is "JFK Reloaded?" I have a good idea of what it is already if I am thinking right.
I totally agree with this. I really don't see that much of a problem with this. It could easily just be made in a way to tell the story as the creator sees it, and I don't have a problem with that, just like I don't have a problem with people writing crappy books and articles about the tragedy. Other than the copyrighted material, he's free to make and distribute this game as he sees fit, just like a lot of people are free to b**** and moan about it if they so choose. I guarantee you there are games out there with a far worse premise than this one. There is a lot of bad homebrew propaganda crap out there. Just a primitive search and I found this: http://www.channelcincinnati.com/family/4720628/detail.html CINCINNATI -- Teens play video games in homes throughout the Tri-state, but one game is different. The player in Ethnic Cleansing isn't killing just anyone -- he's killing all non-whites. The game is produced by a white supremacist group called National Alliance. "The whole intent of making this video game was to make a racially provocative video game and if it does help promote the separation of the races, then it's been positive and that's what we want," said Shawn Walker, chairman of National Alliance. Walker said the game doesn't give the player the choice of whom to kill, but it does provide a choice of killers. "We do give you the option of being a Ku Klux Klan member or a skinhead or something like that. That's more of a reality today. There are people who enjoy that sort of thing -- a shoot 'em up video, just like all the other shoot 'em up videos," Walker said. A Tri-state teen who played the game noticed that every time a black man was shot, he made a strange sound. "(Like) a monkey screaming. I guess it's their attempt at a racist joke," the teen said. Ethnic Cleansing isn't the only hate game available. There are new games, such as Shoot The Blacks and Border Patrol. The mission of Border Patrol is to shoot Mexicans before they cross the border into America. "These are very hardcore things we are talking about," said Mark Pitcavage, of the Anti-Defamation League. Pitcavage is the chief investigator of hate groups for the Anti-Defamation League. He has also spent time investigating hate groups for the justice department. "You can get information on the National Alliance ... what it is, what they believe, how to get more information, what their Web site is. So, it's a propaganda vehicle; at the same time it's a game," Pitcavage said. But does the message get through? The U.S. Army uses a video game as a gateway into their recruiting Web site. It has been reported that up to 30 percent of the 30,000 people who play the game daily go on to read more about joining. Pitcavage added that the Tri-state is fertile ground for hate groups. "Kentucky is home to one of the larges and most active Klan groups in America. Ohio is home to the up and coming Klan group, The Mystic Knights of the Ku Klux Klan," he said. "They are always searching for ways to recruit people and try to influence people and try to get their message across." Hate groups are now using simpler technology that almost anyone can design to push their games, Jones reported. The problem is that the older games required the user download the game to the computer's hard drive. Newer games like Kaboom, where a player acts as a suicide bomber and tries to blow up as many Jews as possible, aren't on the hard drive at all. "It appears on a Web site and it runs and once you finish playing it, it goes away until the next time you visit that Web site," Pitcavage said. "This is a form of p*rnography," said Dr. Stuart Bassman, a psychologist. "This is a form of abuse. A form of violation of decency, of respect, of honor." Bassman, a Cincinnati psychologist, said parents need to be on the lookout for racist games. There is also software available that can block some of the Web sites. Bassman said the software is a must because the damage the games cause could last a lifetime. "They are dehumanizing these people. They are making them into images that can be manipulated, abused, exploited and killed. And the net effect to a child can be quite devastating," Bassman said.
man, i couldn't agree more. having said that, if i lost someone at columbine, i would be deeply offended that someone came up with a game for it. you're right...our society is trapped in death. it glorifies it. we say, "it's just video games/movies/etc." but it definitely has influence.
Because most shoot em up games are based on hypothetical situations, not real life events. This one is based on something that really happened. Real people were killed. Real parents lost their real children. The guy has a perfect right to put the game out, but that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.
Reading his interview reminds me of a recent NPR story about a game made about the conflict in the Sudan, in which you pick from a couple of characters in a refugee camp and your mission is to stay alive for 7 days, collecting food, getting shelter, water, and avoiding the paramilitary. I think the Columbine game is part of the same movement -- a game in name only, and really more of a public dialog in an interactive medium. The guy sounds sincere in why he's chosen to do this. As a sociological phenomenon, I think this is something we'll be seeing more and more of.
