Monday 23 February, 2009

I played SCMRPG for the last time today. I couldn't get past this "hell" level that I had gotten to, and I'm pretty sure its because I didn't level up my combat level enough while I was in the school. I don't understand how this hell level contributes to the gravity of the situation, as it seems to me to be a light-hearted mockery. I know they said that killing everyone in the school would be like Doom, so I get the Doom connection, but...this just seems like a lack of seriousness in portraying this event.

Maybe the hell level had some value that I haven't found because I couldn't get anywhere in it. If that is the case, then the fact that the developer made the hell level so difficult is questionable. From reading some of the other entries that classmates have made, it doesn't sound like I was the only one who experienced some difficulty in this area. I'm assuming this is because we all did not feel comfortable spending time in the school maxing out our characters. The fact that this it is necessary not to kill some of the students in the school but to run around and kill as many students as possible so that your character will be strong enough for later portions of the game is questionable, ethically. If the developer is not trying to promote violence, then I don't think it is permissable to make wanton violence and slaughter intrinsic to progression in the game, especially considering the real-life basis of this game. I'm not sure if this game was meant in the beneficial manner the developer claims it to be, and it is just poorly executed, or if it is meant to garner attention for the developer; either way, I find this game to be ethically bereft, and an almost complete waste of time.

"The fact that this it is necessary not to kill some of the students in the school but to run around and kill as many students as possible so that your character will be strong enough for later portions of the game is questionable, ethically"

Or, that's part of the statement as well. The shooters end up in hell, but it's in YOUR hands (the player) to decide how evil they actually were (how many students did they kill?) and thus how successful they can be there.