Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1307https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4441Thirds Log:So I finished playing Super Columbine Massacre RPG and I have to say that I found this game so distasteful and disturbing. To make a game about two boys having such hatred about their fellow human beings and slaughtering them for no reason and having to play as the murderers is something I never would have thought to experience. To be fair to the creators, I see where they were going with this. They wanted to as accurately portray the events in real life via the game as possible. However you can make everything truly accurate, such as the conversations Eric and Dylan have once inside the school. And I do believe that this pushes stereotypes. As I mentioned in my first log, student sprites have names such as Preppy Girl, Jock Type, Church Girl/Church Boy, etc and are dressed in accordance to how their stereotype is viewed. This game makes a bold statement about stereotyping. Especially in the end when everyone was giving theories as to why the boys committed the acts they did. The stereotyping is such a bad way of trying to get an answer to something and in the end it makes things worse and people turn a blind eye to the truth. I don't know what came over me first, shock or horror while playing this game but my emotions warred with me constantly while playing the game. I hated the fact that I had to go around shooting at innocent people simply because two boys had such intense hatred for the life around them. I understand why the creators wanted people to see this and to play as Eric and Dylan, but it still didn't make me feel any better about the situation. The only thing that helped was that the graphics were so bad that the violence/blood/gore was kept to a minimum. Still, it was disturbing having to play through this game. To see the joy that would come to Eric and Dylan as they killed a fellow classmate was sickening and I honestly wanted nothing more than to walk away from the game and not look back. Overall, this is nothing something I would ever want to play again. Once is enough and I would be happy if I never had to play this game again. This is a bad game. Not just for the subject matter, but how poorly designed it is, the text was terrible to read on my computer which greatly slowed things down for me and I honestly hurt my eyes trying to read everything on screen, the stereotyping was WAY over they top and it was just a terrible game. The only thing that honestly seemed well done about this game was the 8-bit music in the game but that does not remotely make up for how bad and how horrifyingly disturbing this game is.Wed, 27 Oct 2010 00:19:57 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4441&iddiary=8309https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4441So this was my second time playing the game and I continued where I left off. So I headed down the hall and into what must have been the lighting room for the play because the boys take a stroll down memory lane and this time it takes about Frankenstein's play. I've come to notice that every book/movie/play reference they seem to make is always about cursing humanity, making man pay for his sin's by destroying man, it was all very unnerving to have to all just come one after another. Dylan at one point even refers to himself and Eric as monsters created by some demented doctor and that was why they could do this, go out and kill people. It really rubbed me the wrong way and I honestly just want to get through this game. After running through the gym killing people multiple times and Eric having a flashback about being bullied, you kept wondering why do they keep showing all this backstory? These boys are just going around and killing people for fun! I mean, they even make snide remarks after they have killed people and laugh at their deaths! If they so much enjoying killing, why the need to have backstory and try to humanize them? It almost seems like all the backstory is being placed in there as an attempt to justify Eric and Dylan's actions, which should never been condoned. I mean, you even have Dylan talk to his friend Tim and when Tim asks what him and Eric are doing, Dylan just causally responds "Oh, killing everyone." What the hell? Its not like you are talking about the weather! This is a human slaughter and he acts like its a simple question you would answer everyday! That line alone made me so horrified I had to step back for a minute before I could continue playing the game. The next part, the part with the Church Girl, I have heard this story so many times, from the history you learned from Columbine, from when I was in religion school when I was younger, I have heard this multiple times. Yet, having to play through the act, having to confront the girl. Church Girl: Oh God, Help me! Dylan: Do you believe in God? Church Girl: Yes...no...I don't...know. Dylan: Why? Church Girl: It's...It's what my family believes. Dylan: Pathetic And then you proceed to kill her. This was bone chilling to me and I can tell you I wanted nothing more than to just finish the game at that point. I couldn't take having to go around and kill more people after that. I moved about and got a little more back story about Eric and his ex-girlfriend Brenda Parker and how Eric says her never calling him back started it all, almost like he was trying to blame his actions on her. So I got to the back of the library and the police show up and I was given the option to continue killing people or to end Eric and Dylan's lives. I picked the latter because I couldn't go around shooting people anymore. So the boys end their lives and a montage of the school shooting occurs. This is immediately followed by a montage that was twice as long for each of the boys. This confused me but I choose not to dwell on it. After that, you end up in what can be presumed to be hell. I didn't really know what to do so I wandered around fighting demons until I got the shotgun and called it quits from there. I just couldn't play anymore. I guess I can say one thing that does help while playing this game, is the fact that the graphics are so degraded, the violence level is toned down a lot. Now don't misunderstand me, I am not fond of this game at all and I hate the very notion of having to play it. But it was, at least in my opinion, a little helpful that the graphics weren't pushed to be very real, otherwise, I might not have been able to even look at this game. Another thing that was starting to bother me was the fact that they were making horrible, horrible stereotypes about people. Eric and Dylan liked to play video games and listen to metal. Because of that, it was auto-assumed that because they played violent video games and listen to metal music that they were killers. Granted, yes, what they did was awful, but the video games and music do not have everything to do with it. The little tid-bits of backstory that you get show that these boys have dealt with some serious abuse and bullying and that was what ultimately drove them to doing what they did. Not just the types of music they listened to or games they played. After the shooting, anyone that played video games or liked metal music was questioned and had this sense of judgement placed on them. Like, would they do something similar? Its a terrible feeling honestly and I for one, a person who plays video games and loves all sorts of music, would hate to be judged simply by my tastes in entertainment choices. (This entry has been edited2 times. It was last edited on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 22:20:16.)Tue, 26 Oct 2010 22:13:06 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4441&iddiary=8296https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4441I feel like I put off playing this game for so long because of so many things, the subject matter it focused on, the idea of having to play as two killers who killed innocent people...many reasons. But I obviously had to start otherwise I wouldnt be getting a grade. I have to say this is nothing like any other game I have played before. It is such a bad game, and not just because the subject matter, but the poor quality of the graphics, the text was terrible to read on the computer I'm using and it was just overall such a poor game. I never thought in my wildest dreams I would have to play a game about the Columbine Massacre. And yet here I am playing this. I have to say that I was disturbed and I had a feeling that playing this game was wrong, like I shouldn't be playing this. It felt disrespectful almost to be playing this game when so many innocent people died. I mean, you have conversations bewteen Eric and Dylan and those are just jaw dropping. Granted some of it is made up and made to tell a story such as the lines: Eric: "hahaha, make more gun laws, probably...blame out parents...blame Mark and Robyn. who fucking cares, right? They all deserve to die for all the shit they put us through." Dylan: "Today will be difficult but not impossible, necessary, nerveracking and fun. What is life without a little death?" I swear my eyes probably bugged out of my head at that point. Not even 5 minutes into the game and already such hatred and animosity. It got worse as they filmed a final video explain it all and Eric saying "War is war. And this is war." and they continue on to say nothing could have prevented it. I was blown away at the amount of hatred these two had. Getting the bombs into the cafeteria was an interesting experience. It took multiple tries to get through the hallway and remember the cycle of the hall monitors and janitors but I finally managed to get it. Again, Eric and Dylan just spout so many hate filled things, even though these words are fiction, it just was a miserable feeling playing this game. Even more so after you get out to the park and the boys discuss how they want to destroy everyone and why they hate everyone. Once the bombs don't go off and the lunch bell rings they begin the massacre. It even starts when you can bump into one of Eric and Dylan's friends and they share a few words. Boy: "Hey Eric. Hey Dylan." Eric: "Brooks, I like you now, Get out of here. Go home." This baffled me. They wanted to kill everyone yet they were saving people? It was so strange. It was hard to gauge whether they were friends with this person or not. Regardless you continue and move through the parking lot and you can attack people there. Literally bringing up a combat sequence, it almost reminded me of the random enemy encounter in Final Fantasy VII. And you go about in a combat mood killing people; Preppy Girl, Janitor, Jock Type, etc. And after you kill someone it says "Another Victory for the Trench Coat Mafia." Victory? How the hell is this a victory? They are killing innocent people! And it continues on like that for every single battle. I managed to get to the cafeteria and the back story Dylan gives about sitting alone. As I sat and read through this scene, it almost made me feel like the game was trying to give a reason to way this should be justified, if it even could. My stomach was twisting in knots and I honestly just didn't know what to say. I only played a little more, up until the boys enter the restroom and save the one boy from the jocks beating him up. This again seemed odd. Even the boy the jocks were picking on didn't talk to Eric and Dylan, so why let him go? Honestly after that I had to stop playing. I couldn't play any more. I need to take a step back from this. This game is just so callous in how it portrays this terrible event and I honestly felt dirty for playing it, if that makes any sense. It simply felt wrong to play this game.Mon, 25 Oct 2010 22:42:46 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4441&iddiary=8270https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4341So this review is of my initial reaction to Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas. Just a quick thing, I am a well rounded gamer, I love Valve games with all my heart and I have logged so many hours on TeamFortress2 and Left4Dead I can't even count and I am just an avid gamer in general. So I played San Andreas for about 45 minutes and I cannot tell you how bored I was with this game. This game, in the 45 minutes that I played it, it offers nothing to the female demographic whatsoever! It was rude, offensive, racially insensitive and every few words was a swear word. It was extremely distasteful in my opinion. I only played through the opening and one or two of the missions. First off, the game doesn't even offer you an option to pick a character or a gender, which is common in most games I suppose. However, you play as a character in a very unsavory neighborhood and literally the first 5 minutes of the game is you riding a bicycle while trying to get away from another gang that is doing a drive by shooting and trying to shoot you. What the hell? This game gave you little back story to none and already you have to make a run for it? So my character ends up back in his neighborhood and he meets up with a friend and they go to a pizza place to rob it. Furthermore, the next day you end up going around a neighborhood and spray paint over a rival gangs territory mark. In addition to that you happen upon two of said rival gang members and you spray them in the face with the spray paint until they collapse and you run away as a cop chases you! Alright, seriously, this game has no intelligent story line thus far and its basically play out a gang banger fantasy. There is no thoughtful dialogue, all that had been up to this point was nothing but slang and every action you did either involved doing something criminal or something completely stupid. All you do is ride around in a car or ride a bike and do completely asinine things. Games do have a lesson to teach and what does this teach you?? How to be A Gang Banger 101? In the entire time I played, not one female character even shows up! So yes, I am certainly not looking forward to having to play this game two more times...Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:39:37 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4341&iddiary=8123https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4341I played San Andreas for a third and final time and I wanted to see how the game is able to speak to a specific demographic and how the game really offers nothing to the female audience. As I mentioned before in my first log, this game offers absolutely nothing to the female demographic. Within the first 45 minutes of the game, not a single female character can be seen (unless you count the NPC’s walking the street and those are few and far between) and there is literally nothing to hook the female audience into playing this game. To be fair, I love war games, I love games when you can go around shooting your opponent and teaming up and having fun and I thoroughly enjoy first person shooters. I tried giving this game that same chance and I seriously couldn’t find anything fun about this game. It was just a boring game to me. There was nothing in the opening of the game that would pull a female toward this game. Other FPS’s at least have some sort of allure or pull even though it might be centered around a male character it still has a pull and this game has none. It only speaks to the male demographic. Because this game speaks to the male demographic, obviously it will have more male oriented things. The idea of playing as gangster CJ, that draws men into the target audience. The opening story of playing as a gang member fighting against a rival gang is not something strong enough to hook a female. The story is uninteresting and far too centered around appealing to the male players. Now, to be fair, games like TeamFortress2 , which is solely based and killing your opponents, has no story, no female characters, but at least if a female wants to play the game, they can relate to one of the nine different classes of characters and the allure of playing with/against your friends is fun. In GTA: San Andreas, there is really nothing about CJ that a female playing the game can relate to. Which is something the is a general thing. If a game character cannot relate to the audience, then the story will be boring and uninteresting which is what I feel is my case. Running around playing as a gangster that has had a fellow gang member murdered and having to go after and kill rival gang members is not run. Attacking a police officer is totally NOT okay in my book, even if it is in a game. I come from a family of police officers and even virtual violence against the police force isn’t cool. Maybe it is because I have higher standards when it comes to games and playing them. Maybe its because I was taught strong morals and ethical codes while growing up. I don’t know. But San Andreas offered nothing in the way of pulling in a female demographic and to a degree, that’s okay. Not every single game on the market will have a pull for the females out there. TeamFortress2 for example has no female characters, but its just a fun game that can be played with friends which is why it is so popular among female gamers. So I ranted in my first post about how bad this game is. It’s not a terrible game, there are in fact worse games out there. I think it was my initial distaste with the game that fed through the first log and I simply got over it and started analyzing the game more.Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:39:09 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4341&iddiary=8122https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4341So for the second time of playing San Andreas, I decided to basically play the same first 45 minutes of the game and view how it portrays the gang violence between the two rival gangs. So you start out as CJ, a black male in about his 20’s. As you begin to move around, then you begin to notice how poor looking the neighborhood is. Graffiti on the walls of homes, broken down houses, etc. So you move CJ and make him get on a bicycle as you ride to head to his home. There he is attacked by a friend who thinks he is someone else. The scene uses some very strong language, as do the rest of the scenes following. So you take CJ and his friends to a cemetery and there they are attacked by a rival gang that is shooting at them. You hop on your bikes and make a mad dash threw the city to avoid them. Soon after, you and Ryder go to a pizza place and attempt to rob it but are chased away. Following that the next morning, you go into your rival gang’s territory and start spraying over their tags with your own, even running into two gang members and a police officer, both cases in which you sprayed the gang members and the cop and it drops them. Running around for a few more minutes and getting a few more tags was when I ended the game play. Now, I am not from a poorer neighborhood so I don’t know if I can be the best judge of how things are, but you can tell that from looking around, just the overall feel of the game screams poorer conditions thus it can lead to gang violence, which to some extent is true. The game shows that these areas are populated by what can appear (making the assumption) lower income black families and generally, in poorer areas, crime is higher and gangs seem to thrive more. This much of the game is correct. Yet the game itself is still inaccurate. The game itself just seems to glorify gang violence and it makes it seem as if it is fun to go after other gang members. In the scene with the drive by, no one in the game was hurt, however in real life, someone would/could have been hit with one of those bullets and might possibly have been killed. Especially as you raced through the city to get away from the other gang and bullets were still flying. You could hear a few screams from people on the street but no one was killed. How wrong that is? It makes light of such a serious situation. Including the scene in which you spray the spray paint in your rivals and the police officers face, effectively dropping them and what can be assumed either dead or severely poisoned. Another part of the whole gang thing is not only innocent bystanders are getting hurt, but the other gang members and the police that are sworn to protect take a hit. This game makes light of the issue that human life is not sacred and that it is okay to run around with a gun shooting someone. Nothing about this game teaches a good value but it can place the idea of glorified gang violence is okay. By this game’s standards, it’s okay to kill a police officer, it’s okay to rob stores, it’s okay to fire wildly at another gang member, thus killing them, when in reality, all of these things are wrong and are looked down upon in this society. So for the second time playing this game, I was not amused nor did I enjoy playing it. Maybe my sense of human life and morals are too strong, but I just found this game distasteful to a very strong level.Tue, 21 Sep 2010 23:37:25 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4341&iddiary=8112