Killing kids on your computer
Alex Dwyer
Issue date: 2/8/07 Section: Opinion
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On Tuesday, Feb. 13 at St. Rob's Auditorium beginning at 4 p.m., LMU students will be presented with the opportunity to play "Super Columbine Massacre RPG!" At 7 p.m., they have the chance to discuss or criticize the immensely controversial game with creator Danny Ledonne.
According to the game's Web site, "This game delves into the morning of April 20th, 1999 and asks players to relive that day through the eyes of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, those responsible for the deadliest school shooting in American history." This description alone already begins to twist your stomach.
Mostly out of initial disgust, I decided to Google the game to get some answers. I could have easily asked my Loyolan co-workers, who surely had good reason to bring such a seeming atrocity to campus in the name of the paper-but I wanted to find out for myself. I stumbled upon the official Web site and discovered a free download link to the full version of SCMRPG. I downloaded and played it for about 15 minutes.
The actual button pressing is limited, whereas the story and imagery being portrayed is emphasized. RPGs (Role Playing Games) are more like "choose your own adventure stories" than a traditional video game. Except in this game, you carry out the actions of an "adventure" that you already know the ending to. From the beginning to the end, the game is factually accurate in all aspects including times, names, quotes, places, etc. The creator made it his focus to keep the game's content as uncomfortably close to the terror that lurked throughout those halls as possible.
To even begin to understand how this game can be used for good, we must push aside our traditional beliefs about video gaming. The enjoyment, fantasy realization or thrill that supply the arsenal of appeal for most video games are feelings that are completely non-existent in SCMRPG. Imitation and desire to experience being someone else (or at least perform their actions) aren't exactly the reasons players are meant to play this game either. Instead, what Ledonne has introduced is a novel concept -- socially-conscious video games.