Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1252https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4247As I suspected, the game will not allow me to advance unless I kill everyone. That to me is insane and incredibly disrespectful to an event that happened not that long ago. This game is as inappropriate as they come; its truly awful. It sets the bar for others to come out with Holocaust concentration camp simulations or 1700’s slave capture and sale for profit "games." How morose can one get and what incentives did the creator of this game have? I hope that the families of the people that lost their lives at Columbine that horrible day never have to know that this game exists and that it is taken off the internet some day soon because it is truly foul. I see absolutely no practical purpose for it existence. If one wants to know about what happened at Columbine, google it. (This entry has been edited3 times. It was last edited on Mon, 17 May 2010 10:51:01.)Mon, 17 May 2010 10:49:05 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4247&iddiary=7918https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4243So after I finally made it past the hall monitors and as I know come to find out cameras, I got the cafeteria. There are also cameras in the cafeteria as well as janitors who have to be avoided as well or else you will be busted. This aspect of the game was pretty annoying since it required quite a bit of repetition. After constantly being busted and even setting off the fire alarm, I finally figured out the right method to plant the two propane bombs in the cafeteria. I cant believe the music that plays in the background of this game. I also still cannot believe the narratives. The game suggests on multiple occasions from the very beginning that these guys were heavily influenced by each other, media such as video games movies and music, and that they were bullied pretty consistently their whole lives. This is not justification for blowing up the school and killing countless innocents. After planting the bombs, the character goes back out to the parking lot to gather weapons and ammunition to begin the shooting. The objective is to go into the school to begin the massacre. The combat menu is practically a deterrent to killing anyone so I tried to not kill anyone at first. Obviously, a game as crude as this one will not allow you to advance unless you kill. I am getting a headache from reading the obscure texts so I have to stop playing this game. In all honesty, it is my opinion that games like this should not exist. I cannot identify one clear utility or identifiable use in this massacre simulation. It merely makes a mockery of a travesty that affected the lives of countless families for the rest of their lives. I find this “game” disturbing, nauseating and repulsive.Mon, 17 May 2010 10:39:17 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4243&iddiary=7916https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4243So the intricacies as far as background story is concerned in this game go far beyond what I had expected. At first, the idea that I could simulate the Columbine killings was insane, but as it turns out one reenacts the shooting right down to specific conversations prior to the killings. I thought Grand Theft Auto San Andreas was bad? Early on in the game I spoke to Dylan about preliminaries of the shooting and the actual plan itself and was thoroughly disgusted at the in depth detail the game provides. What is the point of this game? Also, how in the world do I get thru the hall way without getting busted by the monitors every single time. This game is seeming pretty weak right now; a waste of 27 MB and a shame that an individual spent the time, energy and resources to construct such an offensive game. When I can figure out how to get thru the hall way I will post my next entry. This game seems like a terrible look into the heads of serial killers.Mon, 17 May 2010 00:08:07 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4243&iddiary=7905https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4217So last time I left off wondering about the moral choices one is given while playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Though once you start the missions, you are typically obliged to hurt/kill “enemies,” one’s own personal style of game play seems to be of some indication of their maturity level. I reflected on how as a teenager playing GTA, I used to show no remorse, almost more so when I was not on a mission. I was having some sort of fun driving crazily through the streets running people over and making things explode; am I strange for this? In retrospect, I don’t think so. The reason I don’t think this is strange is because my thought process at the time was not necessarily morbid as far as intent was concerned. My real concern as a young adult nowadays is more geared towards those teens playing a game such as this who look at the game and its functions differently. It is possible that others may see the killing of innocents, police, and other bystanders as a more realistic aspect of not only the game, but of life. We have to be careful of games being perceived this way because as we have seen with some youths, video game violence can act as a catalyst for real life violence. Thinking further into it, it seems like just yesterday I was practicign the Stone Cold Stunner on my younger cousins. Granted this is a wrestling example, it is still applicable. The danger here is that, even though we were just playing around, someone could have gotten seriously hurt. Taking this example and learning from it, is it that unimaginable to think that a young teen might misappropriate the purpose of guns/violence in their perception as it relates to society? So with this said, I believe games like GTA: San Andreas can actually be a very dangerous one if put in the wrong hands. Perhaps the most dangerous piece of the gameplay in my opinion is the gang mentality upon which the game is founded. Does this promote such activity? (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:51:12.)Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:50:54 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4217&iddiary=7873https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4216Continuing on with my experiences and reflections playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, I was able to come across a couple of positive aspects of the game (or at least they served as a more benevolent change of pace in game play overall.) One is that you may engage in exercising at the gym, something that could be of positive reinforcement in one way or another. This does, however, increase CJ’s ability to fight and punch more powerfully, lending itself back to violence. Additionally, one may also bike and swim and shop for clothes. These types of extracurriculars present in the game are to me, a perfectly viable option to exercise if one wishes to avoid inadvertent running over and killing people in the street, or to prevent senseless shooting in public places when bored. I think this is important because when a young teen is given a firearm (in the game) and ammo, typically their first inclination is to start shooting and killing others. When given a car, they might be inclined to run over everyone in sight (or in my case find it difficult to avoid running innocent bystanders over.) However, I think that the ability to bike, swim, run and exercise are all important aspects of the game in that they offer the player a choice – choices that could be maneuvered in a way to promote morality. For instance, swimming or running or biking to a destination although not as fun, would be an alternative means of getting there and it is much more unlikely that you will kill anyone while engaging in any of the three (you could still drown while swimming though!) Another observation I had while playing a mission to take over some gang territory on the other side of town was that one is given the opportunity to surrender to police when in close proximity to them. This means that the police will typically refrain from shooting you at point blank range if you remain motionless when they are in pursuit of you. I think this also offers a choice to the game player insofar as you are committing a crime thus engaging the police to come after you, however you are in no way obligated to further that crime by shooting down police officers – although you can. With that said, I found myself opting out of killing the officers once they had me cornered mid-mission, and I instead let myself get “busted.” This is interesting because this game is seemingly so morally and ethically open-ended. You may find yourself in a mission and presented with the opportunity to keep killing and try to get away, or go down without a fight and get released from jail a few hours later minus money and weapons. Why then, did I and many other people I played this game with in the past opt to shoot it out with the police? The game wasn’t actually making us do it. I wouldn’t even say the game was encouraging it. The game simply facilitated a hypothetical environment in which I had a choice, it just so happened that my choice (especially when I played this game as a seventeen year old) was almost consistently in favor of more violence and an “evade the law” mentality. I wonder why this is a seemingly common inclination among so many youths?Sun, 18 Apr 2010 17:14:37 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4216&iddiary=7848https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4216Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Well needless to say, playing this game really brings me back. Even back when I used to play it a lot about five years ago, I could never wrap my head around how a game as suggestive, violent, with such brutal undertones such as this one could be released. Don’t get me wrong I loved playing it, but it was always sort of a guilty pleasure since some of the themes of the game are truly ridiculous and even semi-absurd. One thing that always surprises me about this game is the totally laissez faire approach in both the dialogue and the game play with regards to gang mentality, territory and the pursuit of $$$ at literally any cost. Perhaps herein lies the bulk of the allure surrounding this game, as one may cruise the streets of San Andreas listening to rap music then get a bite to eat, or go to a rival gang’s territory and do some drive by shootings. This is truly insane, almost laughable, that L2 and R2 actually serve as the drive by shooting buttons. Anyways, refreshing myself on how to play this game I realized that the game player cannot really have ethics or morality insofar as to follow the missions as prescribed almost always entails shooting and killing others, running innocent bystanders over with cars, or blowing things up. As a result of these activities my character is compensated with money and respect. In retrospect, back when I used to play this game in high school I was purely taking it for face value. I never really gave much thought to the artificial reality of senseless killing and brutality that is pretty much endless in this game. Is this good or is this bad? One could argue that the ability to simulate you are driving around causing havoc killing people without looking back could maybe vent stresses or other potentially violent behaviors. However, at the same time one could argue that such simulation might purely exacerbate those behaviors and potentially distort one’s sense of what is right or wrong, ethical or unethical. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Sun, 18 Apr 2010 15:26:54.)Sun, 18 Apr 2010 15:26:35 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4216&iddiary=7847