V-Tech Massacre: Tasteless Videogame based on the Virginia Tech Massacre
A 21-year old Sydney man, Ryan Lambourn, has sparked outrage by creating a game based on the Virginia Tech Massacre. The game, called V-Tech Rampage, is far from technically impressive, but has nevertheless understandably upset quite a few people. One of the real difficulties is that while there have been a number of important political games and simulations which have tried to ‘speak’ about political issues (from September 12 to Donkey John to World Without Oil) this game – if it does have a point – really doesn’t make that clear. Over at Joystiq, the creator of the game based on the Columbine Massacre is quoted, citing his disappointment with the V-Tech game:
Danny Ledonne, creator of Super Columbine Massacre RPG, writes on Lambourn’s site, “It would appear to me that Ryan has no intention of doing much other than making money and gaining immediate recognition after the Virginia Tech shooting. Inevitably, comparisons between SCMRPG and VTech Rampage are being made right now. Some bloggers despise both games equally whereas others recognize a level of commentary that SCMRPG attempted which was not evident in VTR. For myself I wish to point out that SCMRPG was never a for-profit endeavor and thus I never posted statements like that which is on the VTR game’s homepage”
Adding fuel to the Lambourn posted a notice say he would only remove the game if he received $2000 in donations. This sparked even more vitriolic comments on the game, but in those comments Lambourn defends the donations statement, say it was a further aspect of satire:
PiGPEN – May 15th 2007
Danny, the donation thing is there as a joke against all the people commanding me to take my game down. I didnt think anyone would donate money to it and so far my paypal account has proven me right (BUT I COULD USE SOME FUCKING MONEY THANKS!).
And i’d appreciate if you didnt use the name “Ryan”. That name is reserved for my close friends and family… i cant help the people that gleaned personal information from my website but i would hope you would have the courtesy to not disrespect me in such a manner on my own website…Danny.
Of course, the irony of courting controversy and then being surprised when it results in negative public sentiment (and the post of Lambourn’s full name, address and phone number in numerous locations online) is pretty thick. On the web, even thought two wrongs don’t make a right, they’re never far from each other!
See The Age for more details.
Update (17 May, 2:25pm): The ‘official’ version of the game hosted by Lambourn (and this whole website) have been taken down. (That said, given the nature of digital culture, if anyone looked I’m sure they’d find another copy somewhere”¦) Lambourn’s website now sports a “This Account Has Been Suspended” notice.
Update 2 (4 June 2007): After reviewing the case, Australia’s Office of Film and Literature Classification gave the game an MA15+ rating, not banning the game as had been suggested.
links for 2007-05-16
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The sad story of how JPG Magazine lost its founders … and a piece of its heart.
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The Paul Robeson Library at Rutgers have come up with this nifty set of short videos to teach their students how to cite properly and avoid plagiarism. It’s funny, too! [Via]
The Value of Slideshare
Slideshare – the YouTube of powerpoint – has been around for a while now, but I’ve always wondered in slides, by themselves, are all that valuable as a teaching and learning tool. Of course, if I’d been thinking like Steve Jobs’ catchphrase “think different” I’d have soon realised that the best slides online are those which are purpose written for that context.
Today, browing Slideshare, I came across this breakdown of Pleasantville using slides:
Apparently the author – mcmrbt – uses these slides in teaching high school students. My first reaction was to think I really wished my high school media classes had been like this! Secondly, though, I think I’ve now seen how Slideshare can be used well – as an online resource which complements other classroom teaching, not slides which were used in snyc with a face to face presentation.
links for 2007-05-15
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“A former US machine gunner’s irreverent memoir about his year fighting in Iraq has won the Blooker prize for the best book of the year based on a blog.” (Read the blog:My War: Killing Time in Iraq)
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“More than half of children in the UK using the internet have had an “unwanted experience”, a poll suggests. The NSPCC found 50.4% of 2,053 children had experienced problems such as bullying, being threatened or sexually harassed while online.”
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On Star Wars and Special Effects: “Thirty years later, the ramifications of this re-emphasis on technological exhibitionism are now apparent…”
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“…studies the practice of “spoiler fans” of the TV show Lost, who seemingly short-circuit the program’s narrative design by seeking out advanced plot points online. Drawing from an online qualitative survey…”
links for 2007-05-14
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Funny ‘PG’ version of 300. Watch for the ending!
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A parody re-release trailer for David Lynch’s 1984 cult-classic DUNE. Features redubbed scenes. (Funny re-dubbing, at that!)
Mary-Jane Watson … Likes to Wash Peter’s Spider-suit?!?
Marvel’s statues folk have really out-done themselves with these uber-sexist models of Mary-Jane:
As one would rightly imagine, there is considerable disappointment and outrage about this image. While comic books have never exact been modest in their representation of women (or men), this particular statue is ridiculously misogynistic and patronising, even by the standards of early comic books, let alone the twenty-first century. Nor, sadly, is this a unique case, evinced by more examples in ArcanaJ’s “Comics Industry Bullsh*t” Flickr set.
While such an image is clearly sexist, whatever the context, it’s doubly disappointing to see Mary-Jane, who has always been at least a strong, active figure in the comic books, reduced to the sexed-up laundry lady. The latest film, I guess, really doesn’t do much to argue with such a representation – there were moments, there, but MJ was a sadly under-developed character in Spider-Man 3. However, given the huge number of people, and especially kids, looking to find their heroes in comic-books and the films they inspire, this, and similarly images, really need to scrubbed out.
In a different way, Nancy Lorenz replies even more forcefully (and graphically) by showing how ridiculous Spider-Man would look in this pose!
[Via Falling Apart In Half Time]
Update (18 May, 9.45am): Boing Boing links to a post by artist Tom Hodges, a friend of Adam Hughes (who designed the MJ statue). Hodges post includes these comments:
Now I may be wrong, but ANYONE who complains about this piece obvious does NOT read Superhero comics. If you did, I’d consider you a hypocrite. I enjoy the Indie stuff (SiP and Lenore) but without Spider-man, X-Men and other comics, they wouldn’t exist. Do you think Terry Moore is offended by this piece? I HIGHLY doubt it!
That’s probably a fair point; most indie comics came into being on the back of the success of the superheroes comics (and funnies) in establishing comic books as a recognisable form of entertainment and (although more controversially, even today) art. Also, I think Hodges is right in that this statue is not an outlier, but rather representative of a large part of the way Marvel, DC, and many independent comic books, represent women and men. I did read superhero comics a fair bit when I was younger and occasionally pick up stuff at the moment (I enjoyed parts of Marvel’s Civil War and have been consistently impressed by the current Justice mini-series by Alex Ross et al). That said, I think that what this statue represents is the worst aspects of this tradition; I don’t think Adam Hughes should bare the blame for the conventions of much of the art in the superhero genre, but I do think his representation lacked subtlety enough to crystallize the sexist nature of many comic books, even today.
Hodges also suggests this statue may be ironic – pointing out that Mary-Jane in the comics is a far more successful supermodel. Even if that was the intention, I fear it’ll be lost on the majority of people who purchased the statue.
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