Sunday 16 August, 2009

The third session:

I played this game several times completing the whole thing over and over (up to the hell scene in which I can never get past...I read that after that scene is a memorial for the students at Columbine though I am not sure how to make it to that point)

This game was unnecessarily repetitive and became boring. But what never seemed to bore me was paying close attention to the text. I only knew the story of Columbine for the bare minimum that 2 boys shot up a school. That is it. After researching so that I could understand the game I realized alot more went on then just that.

People wanted to easily point the blame on the media: the PC game Doom, Marilyn Manson, the movies Matrix and Natural Born Killers, etc.

But the police, school administration and the boys parents should have done something to stop this. They had signs...obvious signs that these boys were serious trouble. I do not blame them but they should have been more responsible.

This game was not meant to ridicule or slander but to easily comprehend this tradgedy. I wonder why we played Eric through the massacre? Maybe because it does seem that Dylan was the leader of this event. Without the support from each other would they have had the capacity to do this on their own?

There's no option to save someone once you battle with them...Only 4 people were allowed to leave..Brooks in the parking lot, a girl in the gym, a boy getting beat up in the bathroom and a boy in the library. I think this shows that the boys could have compassion though obviously lacking much of it. They could have been saved themselves I'm sure.

The pictures of their dead bodies will forever be imprinted into my mind. They are seen as murderers and we forget to remind ourselves that they are sons and that they felt victimized. I can not help but feel truly sorry for them and their families.

The message and the emotional reaction from the player is the poitn of this game. We are not meant to pick on the crappy graphics or the ease of the game. None of that mattered. The flashbacks and the text mattered.

People found this game offensive. My first impression before playing was how could I play this knowning that this game was made to spike controversy and in no way adds value to anything. Little did I know the true ethics would come from the battle within myself.
Who's right?
Who's wrong?
Who's good?
Who's bad?
Who did wrong...everyone?
Can I prevent something like this?

The victims: everyone
To blame: everyone

"I wonder why we played Eric through the massacre?"

That's an excellent question!

Well, because would the game have differed in the eyes of Dylan? Was there any thought put into maybe being able to choose your character?

As far as I know, the designer didn't consider that, though it would make for an interesting experience, especially if the game's design incorporates the latest research into who the kids where and how they related to each other.