Super Columbine Massacre RPG

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Hmm, not sure if anyone noticed this, but lots of people are pissed off over it, so it might make good conversation:
http://www.columbinegame.com/

Basically, it's a game where you take control of Eric Harris, go to Columbine, and kill people - going through the same basic stuff that happened with flashbacks.

The two opposing points of view on this one are obvious:
1) It's a game that challenges you to think and offers strong social commentary on the event. ( http://www.watercoolergames.org/archives/000551.shtml )
2) It's sick, disgusting, insensitive, is going to inspire violence, etc. ( http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/publications/lbbcolumns/2006/0518.asp )

Thoughts?

 

Hmmh, the idea reminds me of JFK Reloaded, where you take the place of Oswald and try to re-enact the shooting as accurately as possible.
IMO most of it comes down to what the author thinks about it himself. Should he think it's meant to show what happened or give his viewpoints to audience, it could be said informative. Then again, should he decide it's purely meant to slaughter people and nothing else, it won't be any different form ordinary FPS.
I, myself, find the shooting itself disturbing, but this is "just" a game based on it.
Then again, many people will view it in a completely different light.

 

Well, here's what the creator says he was aiming for: http://www.columbinegame.com/statement.htm

So basically; it's not meant to be a slaughterfest, but a comment on society.

 

Its no different than Halo, or Desert Storm games.

 

I disagree, it's different, and it's sick. I previously thought it was a simple "it's just a game" thing, but after reading what the maker wrote about "Admiring" them I realized this bastard simply made the game to 'get' people to admire them too. He should be harrased by people for creating such a thing, he's an Eric Harris without the 'guts' (thankfully).

 

The Author seems to be giving people a deep look into something that most really don't want to see. It is yet another person trying to explain the horrors of that day, but this time from the perspective of the killers themselves.

As for the critics, It is unfortunate that the first critic sited is L. Brent Bozell. Bozell was sued by the WWE for interfering with their business, slander and allegations that the PTC is, in fact, somehow fraudulent. I don't remember the details, as this was in the late 1990's when I saw that...

 

There are a lot of games that glorify Vietnam, like it was some sort of glorious war, and forget about the 'immoral side'. I don't see anyone condemn 'Men of Valor' because at the end of the day you can ignore the one sided message of the game and simply enjoy the action.

 

I think comparing Columbine to Vietnam is quite a stretch. In Vietnam the immoral soldiers (for lack of a better term) were the exception not the rule. In Columbine the two people involved were both mass murderers. The entire concept of this game is disgusting to me.

 

A game is a game. If you find Columbine Massacre disgusting, then you would probably find the GTA series (or pretty much anything Rockstar Games creates) disgusting.

 

While I have never played GTA I think you may be correct. The only thing that may make them enjoyable to me is that they are fictional whereas Columbine is not. However, I will probably never find out as those type of games don't interest me very much.

 

@ Cuch

I'm sure you'll feel the same way when "Super IRA Omagh Bomb Massacre RPG" comes out. After all, a game is a game, right?

 

What Cuch is trying to point out, I think, it's that most people tend to not see some things in a certain game while condemning (is that a word?) the same thing in another that is somehow related to their personal life.
Besides, killing in Counter Strike, Quake, UT, whatever, is waaay different from killing in real life. People do not realise this (and yeah it pisses me off!). Me, I wouldn't care if anyone makes a videogame where you'd kill all my family or something like that. I'd find it boring, at most.
In the end, if you're really worried about it, ask for a warning message before you download or install the videogame. That's all.

 

I wouldn't like the idea of such a game, but then again, I like to play Gangsters 2, so I would be a hypocrite if I claimed one was 'immoral' and not the other.

I am sure a lot of Vietnamese people would hate the very concept of 'Men of Valor', especially as people are still suffering to this very day.

 

It's not waaaaay different, killing in real life and killing in a game are both forms of interactive violence (as opposed to passive violence, like watching TV).

@Cúchulainn
The difference between GTA, desert storm, and this game, is that with GTA, the victims are nothing more that vertices, sprites, and textures.
With the Columbine game, these people actually existed, each of them actually lived and had their brains blown out.

 

You all forget that the same twisted person who MADE this game STATED HIMSELF he admires them, if you read the 3rd link Ain posted you would have seen this:

"The warped individual who created this game is most proud of himself. He told the News that he attended a different Colorado high school at the time, and he wanted to make something "profoundly unique and confrontational," which he has certainly achieved. He also professes some admiration for the murderers. They were "at times, very thoughtful, sensitive, and intelligent young men." It was "empowering to see two oppressed, marginalized kids rise up." He then says this could be oversimplified, since he claims he made the game to spur "inquiry and civil discourse."

 

Great idea. It's right in line with the new Holocaust game. Whoever kills the most Jews wins! (Russians and Poles count half.)

 

The difference is that Columbine names individuals and the others don't, however I stand by my view that they are still very similar. If there was a 'Super IRA Omagh Bomb Massacre' I don't think half of the people that have posted here would make such a big deal.

I have no interest in playing Columbine, but I don't think it will inspire violence. Games do not turn Mother Theresa into Adolf Hitler.

 

It's freeware... made with RPG maker if I'm not mistaken. Frankly I don't see it as an issue. Sure, it's in bad taste but nobody is forcing anybody to download this game.

Also it's not fair to compare the GTA series with these games. In GTA the player was punished for going on mass killing sprees as method of discouragement. Heck, GTA teaches people a rather valuable lesson: you kill someone, the police will hunt you down, if you resist you will be shot.

This game is not being forced into anyone's life, the maker is just doing this for some type of 'shock' value and ignoring it is the best thing anyone can do.

 

Alrighty, time to wade in.

I love the concept of this game. Taking a serious issue and making a work of art about it (and yes, I consider games to be art (well, some games - others not so much. This one is.)) is a good thing - a powerful thing. My interpretation of the game is as a statement about bullying and the suckiness of America/the world, which is what it portrays the motivations of Harris and Klebold as being ('Hey, it's pointless and these people suck - let's kill them' basically). The author managed to make this statement in a way that made everyone stand up and take notice - that is the way it needs to be done.

The game is challenging mentally and emotionally - this is an excellent step for gaming and IMO, we need more of it.

(I would also like to point out that the guy in the second link takes those quotes totally out of context - I've read the interview he ripped those from, and the maker of the game isn't saying that the killings were a good thing - he just claims to understand the motives of the killers and has some sympathy for them. Is that so wrong?)

(I think this might be that interview: http://blogs.rockymountainnews.com/denver/freePlay/2006/05/qa_creator_of_super_columbine.html )

Just wondering - has anyone played the game?

 

Yes it is wrong Aik, if you feel sympathy for murderers no matter what their intentions were then you make it seem 'somewhat right' which is non-sense. I knew how it was to be bullied (to point of life threatening) for 6 years straight, it never even crossed my mind to do such a thing. Sure. I lost my temper several times, but I always knew that if I went on to violence I'd go down to their level. Not to mention it's plain f'ing obvious that murder is WRONG.

I do not think this game will cause other people to become more violent or what-not, I don't think that of any game (with perhaps some exceptions). However, this "guy" created this game for two simple reasons:

Admiration of murderers.
Publicity and 'fame'.

He might be saying he simply has "sympathy" for them but that's pure BS to avoid getting himself into trouble/disliked even more.