Inside the Sick Mind of a School Shooter Mod

[JordanMillward_1]

I've not read through all the posts, but I pretty much 100% agree with the Destructoid article about this mod, so I'll just leave the link to it here:

http://tinyurl.com/4p72obb

Basically, if other mediums can cover this sort of event, so can video games, otherwise we might as well go home and admit that video games shouldn't be treated in the same way as other forms of media or art.

Saying "that isn't suitable for a game" means that video games are just toys after all, not an entirely new form of interactive medium, and should be treated with kids gloves in that they never try to push the envelope or do anything daring.

I hope the Extra Credits guys will do an episode about this at some point, it'd be interesting to hear their views on it.

 

[M Silverthorn]

The thing that bothers me the most is that this screwhead sounds literate, educated and capable of defending his opinions. With such talents, he could have directed his energies at anything - absolutely fucking ANYTHING.

...and he creates a game that glorifies the slaughter of innocent men, women and children. Not because he's out to make a statement, or to try and force the hand of a government to ban these kinds of games. No, because the earlier versions of this kind of game weren't "fun".

This is the most...deplorable creation I've ever seen in a very, very long time. My faith in the general community of game designers and what's left of our collective imagination has fallen today. Aren't we capable of something FAR greater than this? Is this the best that we can do?

Come ON.

 

[Sleepingzombie]

I understand the feeling I have seen here but I do not totally share them.

1. Killing NPCs "for fun" are what I reckon everybody have done.
Its like when you are just messing with the game and doing things you are not allowed to do in real life, like running over pedestrians in GTA.

Also I do hope the "brainless fun" part is supposed to spread the message than the other games that forced the message "down your throat".

I think these kinds of "bad games" have a very good side-effect: they encourage debate. In a indirect way this is a prvocative peice of art, hopefully intended to make you think about how many innocent NPCs you really kill in a day.

Lastly the guy or girl seems very sharp and also very cynical.

 

[Triggerhappy938]

I am sensing more than a little editorial bias in the opening bit of this piece.

 

[Fuhjem]

I can see how this could be viewed as a satire. Something that shows an extreme view if only to point out how ridiculous it is. Someone playing it might realize that, hey, the people who end up shooting schools are fucking nuts.

 

[Fuhjem]

Sounds fun, if only to give the middle finger to society.
EDIT: Now that I've actually seen the trailer...I felt sick. And I never feel sick about this stuff. I think this is wrong. And I laugh at 9\11 jokes. Maybe it's because I never knew anybody, but still this is disturbing. I can see trying to make it educational but it's doing it wrong. This is just sick.

I'm going to use you as an example.

You come off as the person who is usually unaffected by violent media. You make 9/11 jokes. You play violent video games. Now, if just the trailer for this game makes you feel sick, imagine playing the game.

It shows you first hand how horrible murder is. You see how sick and evil it can be. It's all presented in a "fun" environment just to make it sicker.

Now, look at the results of this. You are now most likely a bit more sensitive to violence and violent media. That's what a game like this can do. It brings attention to the horrors of murder through example and extreme views.

 

[Steven Glenn]

The thing that bothers me the most is that this screwhead sounds literate, educated and capable of defending his opinions. With such talents, he could have directed his energies at anything - absolutely fucking ANYTHING.

...and he creates a game that glorifies the slaughter of innocent men, women and children. Not because he's out to make a statement, or to try and force the hand of a government to ban these kinds of games. No, because the earlier versions of this kind of game weren't "fun".

This is the most...deplorable creation I've ever seen in a very, very long time. My faith in the general community of game designers and what's left of our collective imagination has fallen today. Aren't we capable of something FAR greater than this? Is this the best that we can do?

Come ON.

If you read my earlier post, and done your own research, you would know that there is actually zero killing of children. You're killing Half-Life 2 citizen NPC's. This is a political stunt designed to make you angry, and it was poorly executed. The sheer THOUGHT that it's school shooting is what angers you, but in reality the game is HL2 with you allowed to kill Citizen NPC's on a small map, where Metrocops eventually attack you. Stop getting angry and voicing yourself until you have at least investigated the article BEYOND face value.

Scroll up, check my links and sources.

 

[deadxero]

I don't think I can properly express myself about this without eating the ban-hammer, so I'll bite my fist and try to forget that people like this were ever shat into existence.

 

[annoyinglizardvoice]

All I have to say is:

I think the media tried to cover it in a way that made the events more dramatic than they actually were. Even in my younger age, I saw right through most of it. The way the news victimized the victims and overplayed the evil of the shooters disgusted me more than the actual shootings themselves.

That's a horrible point of view to take. Utterly sickening.

I can agree with that sentiment. I can't see any justification to object to the media pointing out that an evil person is evil.



Personally, I don't think that the game should be banned or anything like that, but I do feel that it's both poorly timed and very purile.

 

[MetalGenocide]

The dev was brutally honest. And, he was right. Which is why so many people are pissed off.

 

[Mcface]

get over yourselves.
this is no worse than what we do in GTA 4 on a daily basis.

like stated above, the dev was honest, he said what many people feel. "I wasn't there, I don't care" mentality. if you cant come to terms with him being right, that's on you.

really. you are shooting a bunch of half life NPCs, walking around in jumpsuits. I do this in garys mod all the time anyway.

 

[Tsunimo]

I probably won't play it myself, but only because it does not look all that fun.
He has good points in his responses. I think people should just get over it.

 

[Steven Glenn]

I probably won't pay it myself, but only because it does not look all that fun.
He has good points in his responses. I think people should just get over it.

Guess what man, the game is free. Except it's not a game, it's a MOD. It's such a piece of garbage it's not even worth the space it will take on your computer. Educate, research, check it out:
http://www.moddb.com/mods/school-shooter-north-american-tour-2012

 

[Elf Defiler Korgan]

I doubt we have as much compassion as so many are so quickly eager to claim.

This is a tsunami of claiming moral authority, of how good some of us are, how sympathetic and respectful of the community we claim to be, and how awful the developer and his team is.

 

[Tdc2182]

I love how you assume I think i'm being a hero by defending his right not be told that he can't mod a game in his own free time.

- which is about shooting up a school based upon real school shootings that happened.

Kinda forgot a few key words there, didn't you?

 

[roostuf]

Great! another fucking twelve years of back-tracking for interactive-storytelling future.

 

[Tsunimo]

I probably won't pLay it myself, but only because it does not look all that fun.
He has good points in his responses. I think people should just get over it.

Guess what man, the game is free. Except it's not a game, it's a MOD. It's such a piece of garbage it's not even worth the space it will take on your computer. Educate, research, check it out:
http://www.moddb.com/mods/school-shooter-north-american-tour-2012

You should probably try to realize a spelling error before you start posting crap like this.
So please, feel free to take your head out of your ass anytime you like.

 

[tzimize]

-snip-

Mmmmm. I dont really have a response other than satisfaction. This is one of the main reasons I come to the escapist. Posters able to post as well thought out and articulate posts as this. Its food for my brain. And I'm full.

Thanks, have a nice evening ;D

 

[Captain Booyah]

This is on something like the 312th page and it'll never get read, but whatever.

I think this is a real grey area. I mean, you absolutely cannot deny that a school shooting is a horrid concept to base a game around; I don't think I could even bring myself to argue against anybody who would say otherwise. But then there's the counter-argument that it is just a game -- ultimately, none of it is real.

However, I just can't defend this thing. Not really. I mean, it's mentioned at the very beginning that people pointed fingers towards media such as films and games causing events such as the Columbia and Virginia Tech shootings in the first place, so...you go ahead and make a game about it afterwards? What kind of backwards logic is that? Is there even a word for that? Counter-productive; redundant? I just can't see how it's really advancing or progressing anything, besides the anti-games campaign.

This is just my two cents, but overall, it's just too soon. The shootings are pretty recent, all things considered, and the wounds just haven't quite healed yet. It's fine and good to incorporate Nazis, for example, into games and such now, and poke fun at them (Grammar Nazis, Feminazis, etc.), but that almost certainly wouldn't have held true a couple of years after WW2. One day, we will be able to make fun of school shootings and 9/11; one day we will be able to include the Taliban in our games. For now, however, we need to allow society time to move on. That way, there is no controversy, complications, or upset, and it's beneficial to both parties. Whether playing the waiting game is right or wrong is irrelevant.

And lastly:

We're also in the process of writing catchy one-liners that the player will spout just before ending his life.

Tasteless beyond belief. Period. I mean, real classy. You wanna get Nolan North in and everything?

My humble opinion, anyway, so no flaming like I said I just sexed up your mother or something.

(I have no idea what my Captcha actually said, but I could have sworn it said 'Synthetic Booty'. WTF.)

 

[AngryFrenchCanadian]

I love how you assume I think i'm being a hero by defending his right not be told that he can't mod a game in his own free time.

- which is about shooting up a school based upon real school shootings that happened.

Kinda forgot a few key words there, didn't you?

The only resemblance this mod has with any shooting is in the name. You're just killing HL2 NPC citizens, and the SWAT is Civil Protection. One could argue that you can do the same thing in Garry's Mod.