Another interview with School Shooter devs

[Surggical_Scar]

Some other site just did an interview with those Checkerboarded guys. Sounds kind of different to how it sounded on here.

http://beefjack.com/features/interview-checkerboarded-studios-on-school-shooter/

 

[Thaluikhain]

Apparently it's for "Anyone who wants to be a school shooter, but is too big of a pussy to actually do anything."

They had some reasonablish sounding arguments up til then.

 

[Surggical_Scar]

I was suprised at how different Pawnstick sounded. I mean, sure, he's aggressive, but he came across totally differently in this one.

 

[starwarsgeek]

Gotta say. I am looking forward to this game.
The nature of this interview was vastly different to the other one they gave. I am just wondering if the other interview was run through some biased sources shall we say or if they are simply dropping nut in the face of the overwhelming number of hate mail they would have received.

In any event. I hope they do decide to see it through and it does not end up as just another abandoned mod that was halfway finished.

Either way though it could be interesting. If it gives people the thrill they seek then they will be less inclined to snap and shoot people at a real school. If it plays out horribly and sickens them (like No Russian did for some) then they will then have no desire to actually perform such a action in real life.

Really no down side.

No downside? You know when people point to any game with a gun and say it trains people to go on murderous rampages? Almost anyone can see how that's ridiculous...Half Life and Halo have you fighting aliens, Resident Evil and Left 4 Dead put you against zombies, ect. Anyone who stops to think about it, even if they've never played a video game in their life, can see how idiotic the argument is.

But with a game about a school shooting? To someone who's not experienced with the medium, that won't seem ridiculous. This will give the anti-gaming crowd the best source they have for backing up their incorrect claim, because it will sound legitimate to the people they are trying to convince. There's a downside.

 

[starwarsgeek]

*snip*

You mean the same people who claim that Mass Effect was a rape simulator?
That because Bulletstorm has the word "topless" that it can turn you into a rapist?
That games clearly are responsible for school shootings already even when it is revealed the kid was not even a gamer, was horribly abused at school and even after reporting it to teachers nothing was done?
That their 12 year old kid who has been having problems for a long time suddenly snapped because they bought him a R18 game that the store would have refused to sell to him but they decided he was mature enough for since they know him soooo well?

Those people who regardless of what comes out and how we try to "clean up" the games industry will always be there attacking us over every little thing we do?

Yeah well, fuck those guys.

And fuck people that purposefully give them ammo too.

 

[Steve Butts]

I am totally for people exploring games in any way they please and will not kowtow to your average idiot Joe public just for the extremely unlikely chance that he will tolerate my hobby of choice as long as I know my place and we do not do anything he does not like.
It is really quite depressing that not even gamers have any faith in their own industry.

That's a terrible argument. It's based on the assumption that we're gamers first and human beings second. Are you saying that gaming and gamers have no social responsibility? That attitude is what allows the critics of this medium to invent their own ammunition. When you say our critics are "idiots" and don't matter to us, you're perpetuating the problem. Not only is it hypocritical in its casual dismissal of another point of view, but it only proves the point of people who assume that gaming and gamers are immature and anti-social.

Of course we're going to enjoy things that make non-gamers uncomfortable, but you don't help anyone by simply demanding respect from people when you're not willing to offer it yourself.

 

[godofallu]

Gotta say. I am looking forward to this game.
The nature of this interview was vastly different to the other one they gave. I am just wondering if the other interview was run through some biased sources shall we say or if they are simply dropping nut in the face of the overwhelming number of hate mail they would have received.

In any event. I hope they do decide to see it through and it does not end up as just another abandoned mod that was halfway finished.

Either way though it could be interesting. If it gives people the thrill they seek then they will be less inclined to snap and shoot people at a real school. If it plays out horribly and sickens them (like No Russian did for some) then they will then have no desire to actually perform such a action in real life.

Really no down side.

I'm all for freedom of speech and all that, and they should be allowed to make the game and sell it. That said I have to completely disagree with your "no downside" opinion.

Some topics just shouldn't be touched. Would you be all for a teen rape simulator? You could use the same logic that you used before "If it gives people the thrill they seek then they will be less inclined". More likely it's a way for them to actually do it and get a thrill from it. And when that initial thrill from the game wears off, what next? Just go on with your life? People that want to fantasize about this stuff are already more likely to do it in real life. Giving them classes on just how to pull it off seems like a step in the opposite direction.

 

[Fappy]

The interviewers questions, while hard hitting, kind of felt... I don't know... it kind of felt like he was emphasizing with them. I guess it was just the way some of the questions were worded. In any case that last quote, "Anyone who wants to be a school shooter, but is too big of a pussy to actually do anything" kind of made the argument fall through the floor for me. It feels like the developers have different reasons for making this game, and unfortunately the lead designer has a disturbingly simple one.

 

[Awexsome]

At first it sounded a lot better than I thought it was gonna be. But then they end it with that quote that's already been stated.

If you're going to go with something controversial trying to express the horrors of it to make a statement... that last section of the interview completely undermines that premise. I'd still be on whoever's side would shut them down since I remain unconvinced that this in any shape or form good taste.

And that's pretty bad when you still come across like that with one of the most heavily biased interviews ever.

 

[godofallu]

*snip*

I demand nothing from these people. I do not expect them to respect me. I know it will never happen. I am more in favour of them all falling down wells.
And yes, these "critics" are idiots. They have already decided the entire medium is worthless and will never, ever listen to reason. What reason to I have to care what they say when they have proven time and again that they will never listen to a single word from gamers?

As for the games themselves. We have not played it. We have not seen anything about it. The interview from the developers has changed quite a bit. So I am happy for them to finish their work and refuse to judge it before touching it simply because it has to deal with a subject people may not like. It could end up a happy go lucky shooter or a emotional train wreck like No Russian. If we do not let people experiment with all subjects then we will never evolve as a industry.

*snip*

Teen rape simulator? Sure. Why not? I have played some of the Japanese "platinum" games.
Also your argument that once the thrill wears off that people will escalate until they do commit a crime, how close are you to going out and shooting people after playing a video game? Does playing GTA leave you with a desire to just drive over any citizens that come your way? Because if so then I have to tell you, that aint normal. Most rational people are able to distinguish between fantasy and reality and use gaming as a way to vent their aggression.
You are not able to say that playing GTA is "just a game" then in the next breath claim that a FPS that takes place in a school or a rape sim is going to increase the likelihood of them committing these crimes.
Hell by even claiming these things give you tips on how to pull it off is giving credence to the anti gamers who claim that playing CoD actually teaches you how to operate a gun.

Oh and if these rape games are so detrimental then please explain why Japan is 54th on the list of rapes per capita while the US is #9.

And as I just said, no topic should be considered off limits. Especially before we even know what they are going to do with it. That sort of mentality is what killed Six Days in Fallujah.

You're not being fair here, I never said I think people will commit school shootings after they play this. I simply implied an increased chance of risk. A yin to your yang. Or a possible negative to releasing these kinds of games.

Any topic has the right to be covered, but some topics are better left untouched. I don't want my neighbor playing teen rape simulators and I don't want other kids who go to school with mine playing school shooter mods. It's not my place to tell others what to do, but when people have sick fantasies those fantasies shouldn't be supported.

 

[Neverhoodian]

If video games truly are art, then this is "shock art." While shock art can be used in some circumstances to point out the absurd or disturbing aspects of culture, I get the impression the mod team is making this for the same reason most shock artists do their work:

They're desperate for attention and they don't care how they get it.