Monday 22 February, 2010

Today is my second game-log, and to be honest, now more than ever, I believe that this game should have never been created. I think this game is very unethical because it does not respect the students who lost their lives on that tragic day, and that tragedy is represented like a “funny” RPG. I know that we have the freedom of speech, but in this case, we should have made an exception. This game crosses a boundary that no game should ever cross. It took a tragic event and made it into a game.

Now let me ask you this: What would happen if I created a game based on 9/11? In this game you are a terrorist and your main goal is to kill as many people as you can. Now suppose that your dad was one of the victims of 9/11. So, what would you think if I created a RPG based on it? I am sure you would be outraged, and you have all the reason to be. This is why I strongly believe that no one should ever create a game based on true events, especially tragic ones such as the Massacre at the Columbine School.

Moreover, because this game is represented as RPG and “funny”, players do not really pay attention to what is going on. The only thing that they want to do is blow the cafeteria out and kill as many students as they can. In other words, instead of being sorry for the victims, players look forward to killing all of the students and this attitude makes me feel sick. This attitude is very common on the net by people who say that “the enemies” (students) were too easy to kill and that was not challenging for the players.

At this point some of you would think: Ok Giuseppe, you said that games should not be based on true events. What about games based on history? I would not have anything against those games because history its part of our culture and we learn from our mistakes. I think Columbine Massacre RPG is too premature. Many people are still suffering and this is why this game raised controversy when it came out. Maybe, in the future, this game could be accepted, or even considered a piece of art by society, but not now. At least not for me.

In conclusion, I believe in freedom of speech but there should be a limit on what video-games people can create when it comes to real facts. We are dealing with real people and a real event, so for God’s sake, we should respect their memory.

"I know that we have the freedom of speech, but in this case, we should have made an exception." - So at what point do you draw the line. Is it 5 years? 10 years? Should it be different for movies and books than games? Why the difference?