Controversy and the Future of Video Games

massahwahl

massahwahl

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I was reading a list tonight of the worst video games of all time and came across a game entitled 'Super Columbine Masacre RPG' (www.columbinegame.com) which obviously started some pretty intense controversy and asked some very stark questions about where the line between what is acceptable and unacceptable in the video game entertainment world. This should be a thread to share your opinions and thoughts on the subject and whether or not you feel something like this is art or atrocity. When has the line been crossed?

Also, did the press coverage for this game add to the fire or help extinguish it?
 
whenever someone asks me a question like this, i simply remind them of the first amendment and what it represents. what may offend or disgust one person might do the exact opposite for someone else... the beauty is that both are given the freedom to decide for themselves. whenever censorship starts taking place in forms of entertainment, or anything else for that matter, it is the views of one group of people,no matter how small or large, being forced upon another. if someone wants to make a video game about selling crack and worshipping the devil they should have a right to. and the people that dislike it should have a right to express that dislike... my 2 cents
 
Issues like this are interesting to me since everyone has an array of opinions and different reasons. So I invite more opinions on the subject.
 
I stand by the old adage, Too much of anything is a bad thing.. Sure freedom of speech is great, but I don't think many of the American who stand behind it so vehemently, actually use it in the right way. Who am I to say how one person can use their rights? Might be a response to me, but I see that as "Who are you to tell me what I can do, I'm American, I can do whatever the F*** I want!" The constitution is behind me, blah, blah, blah. Instead of recreating a veritable massacre in video game form, to rile up the public, which is what I really think they were aiming for, They should aim to protect the document they swear by. Our current government is ripping it to shreds, through the patriot act, military commissions act, and others. I still don't understand why we, a supposedly proud, and just nation haven't stood up to the group of peoples who so actively show themselves to be against what the majority of American are for.

I always harp on the government though, back on subject. I always make a habit of stepping into another's shoes to try to view the situation through their eyes. Theses guys, if they are guilty of nothing more than what some would see as "bad taste" obviously didn't do this. They made a controversial game played through the eyes (I think) of a two psychopathic teenagers, that committed cold blooded murder, against their peers, against peoples children. It's been a decade, sure, but to those affected, and those sympathetic, it could've happened yesterday. Just my views.
 
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hermeslyre said:
I stand by the old adage, Too much of anything is a bad thing.. Sure freedom of speech is great, but I don't think many of the American who stand behind it so vehemently, actually use it in the right way. Who am I to say how one person can use their rights? Might be a response to me, but I see that as "Who are you to tell me what I can do, I'm American, I can do whatever the F*** I want!" The constitution is behind me, blah, blah, blah. Instead of recreating a veritable massacre in video game form, to rile up the public, which is what I really think they were aiming for, They should aim to protect the document they swear by. Our current government is ripping it to shreds, through the patriot act, military commissions act, and others. I still don't understand why we, a supposedly proud, and just nation haven't stood up to the group of peoples who so actively show themselves to be against what the majority of American are for.

I always harp on the government though, back on subject. I always make a habit of stepping into another's shoes to try to view the situation through their eyes. Theses guys, if they are guilty of nothing more than what some would see as "bad taste" obviously didn't do this. They made a controversial game played through the eyes (I think) of a two psychopathic teenagers, that committed cold blooded murder, against their peers, against peoples children. It's been a decade, sure, but to those affected, and those sympathetic, it could've happened yesterday. Just my views.
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Well said. The game is definitely in bad taste, and not at all an art form. IMO, the game has crossed the line - if a line exists. :)
 
who gets to decide what is tasteful and what isn't? i don't understand why some people feel a need to banish anything they do not consider appropriate. why can't people would simply see the game/movie/whatever it may be, say to themselves "hey this isn't for me but luckily i don't have to take part in it" and move on? i just have a major problem with one person thinking they have a right to tell me what i can and cannot take part in (so long as i am not harming anyone physically)
 
My opinion on that game is that it was created by a teenager trying to get attention. And with that, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Unfortunately that's easier said then done, especially for the victims.

But this game also brings up the issue of bullying in schools. I believe before any action is taken against games like this, we should look to correct the bullying issues in school. But again, unfortunately, bullying is a part of school life and will probably never end.

I think these kinds of games are always going to be there. As much as anyone tries to get them shut down or take legal action, others will just eventually pop up. Each person will just have to deal with it in their own way.
 
DirtyD86 said:
who gets to decide what is tasteful and what isn't? i don't understand why some people feel a need to banish anything they do not consider appropriate. why can't people would simply see the game/movie/whatever it may be, say to themselves "hey this isn't for me but luckily i don't have to take part in it" and move on? i just have a major problem with one person thinking they have a right to tell me what i can and cannot take part in (so long as i am not harming anyone physically)
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Did anyone say the game should be banished? If someone did, I disagree. Taste is a matter of opinion. No one - with exception to the lawmakers -"decides" what is good or bad taste. Really, I don't think anything lawful should be censored - no matter how bad I think the material is.
 
I just don't see it like that. The idea of an open world, where people can fully respect other peoples opinions, A world where views and ideas are shared unbiased and received unbiasedly is neither possible, or realistic, at least in my opinion. When I say realistic I mean that that everybody in this world is different, Some are truthfully only interested in sharing, in learning, and in enjoying. But the majority of people in this world are more close-minded. They would put forth their opinions and views and expect them to be appreciated, or they would purposefully create something or think something wrong.

Wrong as in unmoral, unhelpful, or otherwise hurtful. I can't help but see this "project" as nothing but hurtful. The creators were looking for a reaction (once again, IMO). And with such a simple thing too, it's confusing. I truly wish people would all be understanding, accepting, not evil. But even all around me, I see different everyday, I see stuck-up people who care only about themselves. And I don't see this ever changing.

But yes, not banished. To refuse something, and to actively seek to destroy something are different things. Whether i like it or not, America must continue to uphold the rights we've become so accustomed to. If not we'll just dissolve into another battlefield. With americans killing even more americans, stead of the "terrorists" overseas.

Oh yeah, sorry for getting off topic, I do that alot.
 
From what I read the game was removed as an entry into some sort of amateur video game festival (sort of like a sundance thing) although I dont recall the name of it and apparently it was the first ever. Again, I dont condemn nor condone this. In college I took an art history class where we did a lot of look into whats called 'art aesthetics' which in very simple terms is like asking the question 'what is art and who defines it?' One of the projects we did was debate about whether or not pornography was art or filth. When I saw this articel about the game I immediatly thought about those debates and all the varying opinions that people had on the issue.

Do I think making a game about the Columbine shootings right? Not neccesarily. Do I think the creator has a right to make and advertise it? Absolutely. As one person mentioned above the constitution protects all people and their ideas not just the ones it thinks wont offend anyone. Morallity and culture are very dangerous grounds to tread on it seems especially these days but it is an important and integral part of our world today like it was when the constitution was drafted.

I hope that someone from outside the American perspective offers their opinion because I think it is more difficult a subject when most of us Americans remember very vividly when this event happened.
 
I believe that with the issues of freedom of speech and others that there is still a limit to those freedoms. If we had unlimited religious freedoms in this country, then people could sacrifice other people and animals and such. Is that allowed? No, as well it shouldn't be. I think that a very good way to hone in on a limit is the phrase "My freedom of speech ends where another person's begins." A lot of families lived through a lot of pain during those days, and making a game about it trivializes that pain while making them live through all that again. While I do think that protecting the Bill of Rights and Constitution is important (and getting rid of the Patriot Act among others...), there are stills line of ethical and moral decency that are not to be crossed.
 
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