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Feb 23rd, 2012 at 12:19:39 - Super Columbine Massacre RPG (PC) |
Well, the laptop that I was playing on wasn't available to me today, so my saved game wasn't accessible. I spent the halfhour rematching cutscenes and reading the dialogue up until I planted the bombs. It seems like the game really does have a focus on violent media, and implying that it had a large role in the shooting. I've read through some other game logs, just to see what I missed. Apparently, I would've continued killing (if I had to) and then commit suicide once I get to the library. Gotta be honest, I'm not to bummed that I couldn't experience that. This game is just terrible. It seems to make light of an extremely serious situation and seems almost sympathetic of the shooters at times. I still can't determine if it's purpose is to entertain, or inform. The name leads me to believe that this is supposed to be entertaining, and based on the website where it states that he can no longer host the file due to its massive popularity, I'll assume many found this entertaining. That kind of disturbs me. I mean, playing Call of Duty, I'm killing people who are trying to kill me first, and these people aren't based on real events/people. I'm not trying to relive some psycho's murderous spree of innocent, unarmed people who suffered these terrible events, just so I can be entertained. One might compare that statement to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (MW2) terrorist mission, which I did play. But that mission was FICTIONAL while the Columbine events were not. In call of duty, you're working towards a greater good, something that would benefit everyone around you were those events reality. Super Columbine Massacre RPG works towards no greater good and only Serves to reenact the suffering of others for your cheap entertainment. This makes all the difference in whether or not these game should be played.
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Feb 22nd, 2012 at 22:11:38 - Super Columbine Massacre RPG (PC) |
I start the game, and spend 10 minutes trying to figure out whatever I'm supposed to be doing in this cafeteria! Eventually it hits me: I don't have the bombs. Feeling pretty dumb I go to grab the bombs, but go to the door of the car rather than the trunk. I get a message from Vodka saying something like "Don't pussy out!". I find this interesting because it shows that possibly Vodka likes to assert peer pressure over Reb (I think that's how this garbled text spells the character's name). So I plant the bombs (which I am forced to, no option out), and grab the weapons. I head to the cliff and read dialogue about how the characters hate everything and everyone, as per usual, then I arm myself. My god. I really don't know too much of the Columbine shootings except for the fact that there was a bad shooting. Did they really have all of this? It's stunning that these high school kids could acquire such weaponry. So the bombs don't go off, and I head into the building, encountering one kid who I let go because I apparently like him now. This is an interesting moment of mercy that I wouldn't expect given all the horrible things these kids say about people in general. I walk into the school, and decide that I will not attack anyone. Simple right? Unfortunately, I bump into a girl, and battle ensues. I spend 5 turns simply defending, hoping for some option to pop up, but it doesn't. Then I accidentally hit automatic play, and watch my character blast down "Goody Goody Girl". I was surprised at how this actually made me feel. I felt instant guilt for the death of this computer character. I level up, and make a right turn down a hallway. I am brought to a cutscene of Bill Clinton giving a speech regarding the shooting. This is where my 30 minutes end, so I head to the parking lot at save.
After my encounter with "Goody Goody Girl", I know that this game shouldn't be played. While it may mean to inform someone about the events, or just mean to serve as entertainment based on the events, some girl DID die in real life, and is being referred to as "Goody Goody Girl", and anyone can reenact her death for their pleasure. Kinda messed up. I know, the developer doesn't have a specific girl in mind for this "Goody Goody Girl" (at least to my knowledge), but the killing of her, or anyone else in that school, should not be used as entertainment by any means.
I'm guessing I'll be doing more in-game killing tomorrow for my last play through.
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Feb 21st, 2012 at 22:05:58 - Super Columbine Massacre RPG (PC) |
I download the game, install it (take a good 5 minutes trying to find it in my files), and fire it up. I encounter the title screen, which features a black and white security camera shot of the Columbine shooters. With a name like "Super Columbine Massacre RPG", I kind of know that this game's about to get real on me. I start a new game and immediately start exploring the room I'm set in, clicking Spacebar everywhere. First I come across Doom, a brief dialogue box which ends with something around the lines of "let the desensitization begin!". Immediately I get an inkling of what this game's purpose might be. After further exploration, I begin to see a trend of portraying media in a highly negative light. It feels as if the developer is indirectly pointing blame towards the media that the characters have been exposed to. From a quick jab at Doom by referencing real life bombs to a shotgun in Doom, to having the characters put on a "KWFTW" (I believe that's the spelling) song, and forcing the player to read the violent lyrics within the song. Including these within this game seems to imply that they might have had a role in the events that are about to unfold. In the basement, I encounter a flashback to the characters blowing up what appears to be a dumpster in an alley. This goes to show that there is a background/personal history of violent behavior that could have pointed towards the events (not that I'm saying they were necessarily predictable by any means). Then I leave a final recording to the world, and say some pretty ridiculous stuff. "No one could have ever seen it coming", "Don't arrest my friends and family, they had no fucking clue", well, maybe they should've had a clue. Given at the beginning of the game you are told that the main character is denied entry into the Marines due to a prescription of antidepressants, you know that this kid isn't just erratically deciding mass homicide, he has psychological issues, and it is known. I finish packing the gear, and head to the school. After several trips into the hallway and getting caught, I realize that what I believed were water fountains actually were security cameras I have to walk under. Good thing to note. I made it into the cafeteria once, where I hit the fire alarm once to see what happens, and ended up failing the mission. Guess I can't be a hero and evacuate the school. This is where my 30 minutes end. All and all, I haven't been exposed to the meat of the game yet, but I can tell I'm in for a ride here. With the not-so-subtle knocks at media and the disturbing nonchalance in which these kids are speaking of mass murder, likening their horrors to Special Forces vets, it really seems like things are about to get crazy in my next play session.
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Jan 26th, 2012 at 12:43:22 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (XBX) |
I had to squeeze in my final 30 minute play session before class, and I was planning on exploring the story a bit, but I got...sidetracked. I thought to myself "what would this game be like if I didn't do any crime?". So I decided to ride my bike around town (no legal means of getting a car at the moment), behaving pleasantly, just waiting to see if crime finds me. Of course it did. It's Grand Theft Auto. True to my good samaritan game-play style, I saw one of San Andreas' finest police officers under fire by some seemingly harmless young lady. I decided immediately I must assist the cop, as he is taking heavy fire. So I walk up behind the attacker, and punch her right in the back of the head. Instantly, the woman stops shooting the cop, the cop stops shooting the woman, I get a wanted star, and both are attacking me. REALLY? Of course, now my survival instinct kicks in, and I'm hulking out on everyone who thinks they're hard enough to take me out. Yet again, the never failing black-hole of crime has sucked me in, 3 for 3. In retrospect, how the game perceived my actions could be considered Kantian. If the game views the player punching a woman WRONG, then it is ALWAYS WRONG. She was wrong to be shooting the cop, but that doesn't make it right to punch her. It's interesting to make these comparisons in-game. Now, I wouldn't necessarily say the game follows a Kantian code of conduct, but it certainly does exhibit a few good instances of it. My overall experience with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas showed me that the game is just designed to challenge every ethical and moral code you have in real life, and force you to break those codes. Nothing I did was ever enough to avoid the killings or stealing, though these are things I (like most) are against in real life. Now, I wouldn't say the game is altering my moral perspective of the world by any means. But it is interesting to observe how radically different a video game can change your behavior within the game world.
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MaxONeill has been with GameLog for 12 years, 9 months, and 29 days |
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