Billy Suicide Provokes Anger

Andy Chalk

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Nov 12, 2002
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Billy Suicide Provokes Anger


A new online game called Billy Suicide has critics riled up, with one suicide prevention group noting that killing yourself "should always be taken seriously."

In the game, players guide the eponymous Billy through his daily routine, moving between various activities while trying to keep his mental state in balance. Billy must earn money, entertain himself with television or music, satisfy various "urges" for things like coffee and booze, and participate in numerous other mundane tasks, each of which impacts his unusually mercurial mood. Let Billy slide too far into either depression or anxiety, and he'll pull a revolver from the folds of his disheveled housecoat and blow his brains out.

Unsurprisingly, the game has attracted criticism from groups like the Samaritans [http://www.samaritans.org/], a U.K.- based support group for people considering suicide. "Suicide is not a light-hearted subject and it should always be taken seriously," a representative of the group told the Telegraph. "Certain types of suicide portrayal can act as a catalyst to influence the behavior of people who are already vulnerable, particularly young people, and result in an overall increase in suicide and/ or an increase in uses of particular methods."

Paul Kelly of PAPYRUS [http://www.papyrus-uk.org/] (Prevention of Young Suicide) concurred. "This game is completely irresponsible and the people who made the game should realize the damage that it can incur in the terms of somebody taking their own life," he said. "We would urge them to think twice about what they are doing because we have seen clear cases where vulnerable young people can be influenced by online content. I would guess the people who put this game online don't realize the possible consequences of their actions - it's extremely concerning."

But is it all that concerning, or is it just another stupid Flash game? If Billy Suicide has any impact whatsoever on an individual's decision to take his own life, then I'm thinking there was a lot more wrong with that individual than just Billy Suicide. On the other hand, maybe I'm an insensitive bastard. Decide for yourself (and try to keep Billy from eating his gun) here [http://billysuicide.com/BillySuicide-Arcade-BillySuicide.htm].


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Mr.Bubbles43

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Jul 23, 2008
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Oh look that guy in this flash game on the internet killed himself. That must mean it is okay so I should do it too.

If someone is that close to killing themselves anyway, a flash game isn't going to really matter.
 

Sombra Negra

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Nov 4, 2008
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It's the Torture Game all over again. I don't get why the media doesn't just lets stuff like this coast into the darkness of mediocrity, rather than publicising it like fuck by doing stuff like this.
 

Anton P. Nym

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Sombra Negra said:
It's the Torture Game all over again. I don't get why the media doesn't just lets stuff like this coast into the darkness of mediocrity, rather than publicising it like fuck by doing stuff like this.
It's for he same reason we get "troll-slaying" here. It's much easier and more fun to bugle about righteous indignation and celebrate one's superiority over the inferior [fill in the blank] than it is to actually deal with the situation effectively and remain quiet.

-- Steve
 

Galaxialconda

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Oct 19, 2008
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Despite the fact the media is going over the top (as always) the concept is just disgusting, why the hell would you play this. Why would you want to get someone to kill themselves? It's horible.
 

rossatdi

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Aug 27, 2008
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Malygris said:
...with one suicide prevention group noting that killing yourself "should always be taken seriously."
Did anyone else find that line unintentionally hilarious?

It kind of implies that if you are going to top yourself you can't have fun doing it, rather than the subject of suicide always being taken seriously.

Well, made me laugh, now its time to jump off a skyscraper with a bunch of clowns.

 

NeedAUserName

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rossatdi said:
Malygris said:
...with one suicide prevention group noting that killing yourself "should always be taken seriously."
Did anyone else find that line unintentionally hilarious?

It kind of implies that if you are going to top yourself you can't have fun doing it, rather than the subject of suicide always being taken seriously.

Well, made me laugh, now its time to jump off a skyscraper with a bunch of clowns.

Love bunny suicides, but admittedly, what did the developers think was going to happen?
 

KarmicToast

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Nov 11, 2008
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Galaxialconda said:
Despite the fact the media is going over the top (as always) the concept is just disgusting, why the hell would you play this. Why would you want to get someone to kill themselves? It's horible.
Actually the premise is to get yourself to NOT kill yourself. Humorously different from the flash games Adult Swim had out ages ago where you are actually trying to kill yourself. There is even a sequel. People, shut up, let people play and make what they want. Anyway, this game sucks, so maybe if the media wasn't hyping it up then kids wouldn't play it. If I hadn't read this article than I would have never even heard of it let alone played it.
 

Rooster Cogburn

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May 24, 2008
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This strikes me as ignorant on the part of PAPYRUS and Samaritan. Having spent time with a suicidal individual, the notion that something like "Billy Suicide" would influence their chance of survival is not only laughable but insulting to me.
 

reaper_2k9

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Oct 22, 2008
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Isnt there a game on adult swims website kill your self in 5 minutes or somehtinglike that, i havent heard anyone complaing about that.
 

gains

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Jan 8, 2008
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Huh. I thought the goal of the game is to keep Billy in balance. What's the pay off for doing that? If it's meaningful then maybe we can see the suicide as the bad thing to do. Like running into a Koopa instead of hopping on his shell.
 

Amnestic

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Aug 22, 2008
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Paul Kelly said:
"We would urge them to think twice about what they are doing because we have seen clear cases where vulnerable young people can be influenced by online content. I would guess the people who put this game online don't realize the possible consequences of their actions - it's extremely concerning."
Source? He doesn't define what sort of online content he's talking about, whether it's specifically games or messages of people talking about suicide or whatever. Makes me think he's bullshitting, frankly.
 

James Raynor

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Sep 3, 2008
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Khell_Sennet said:
[img_inline caption="" align='right' src='http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r251/ThrustHarbinger/1219273719720.jpg']
Here's some food for thought...
Should suicidal people be "saved"?

I'm serious. If someone is convinced that their life is in the dumps, and decides to end it, who are you to say they have to continue living? Some peoples' lot in life really is the shits, and it is an injustice to force them to continue on through years of pain and suffering, be it emotional or physical.

Part of the freedom to make our own choices in life is the freedom to end our life. If you can't have that freedom, all the others become meaningless.

I'm not saying every suicidal person should die, but I'm also not convinced some shouldn't. In the end, it's not my place to judge, nor is it yours. A dated taboo from a religion based on lies and bullshit has the world convinced suicide is a sin, but in truth, the churches are no more sure what comes after life than any of us are.

So if this game actually convinces someone to eat a bullet, and there's no evidence to suggest it can, you first have to convince me that suicide is a bad thing, before you can convince me that the game itself is harmful.
Very true Khell.
 

Playbahnosh

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Dec 12, 2007
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I went off on a whim, and typed "suicide.com" into the browser. Guess what, there IS a site there, and it's pretty weird...

Seriously, if a flash game or a silly page is all it takes to make you kill yourself, well, be my guest. Chances are, the world doesn't need your depressed, looser, miserable ass anyway, you might as well go off yourself. Take a bunch of pills, wash it down with battery acid, put your neck in the noose, bite the gun-barrel, stab yourself in the guts and jump off the bridge into the shark-infested waterfall with the jagged rocks on the bottom. It's THAT simple.

Bah, I never understood why people are so shocked by this subject. People die every day, what difference does it make if they wanted to or not? Once they are on the other side, the point is moot anyway. What's done is done. If someone got bored of this life, or simply "can't take it anymore", well, let them go. The torture is if some mercy-guerrilla flowerchild denies them their right to choose, and talks them into living a life they don't want to...

Maybe I'm a heartless bastard, but if someone is really decided to commit suicide, they will do it, or at least try, no matter what you do. The rest of them are attention-wh*res anyway, and they don't wanna die, just like to be in the spotlight or they're emotionally immature beyond comprehension, IMHO.
 

Aardvark Soup

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Jul 22, 2008
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You know, if the media would have just ignored this this would just have been another Flash game a few people played and furthermore nobody cares about. So basically they're achieving exactly the opposite of what they want.

Now let's hope they don't start picking on Karoshi, a game where your only goal is to commit suicide (by jumping into giant spikes or shooting a bullet at something that makes it bounce back towards you).