ModDB Shuts Down School Shooter Mod

[Motiv_]

God dammit. You guys are acting like ModDB broke into the guy's house and deleted the mod from his computer. No. They just won't host it on their website. You can still download it once it's released.

I personally agree with their decision. Freedom of Speech or not, it's in extremely poor taste and the creator sounds like a psycho. I'll stick with 1187 and Research & Development.

 

[Angus565]

On the one hand, this mod is down so that's kind of relieving.
On the other hand,Ol' Jackie will probably declare this another victory for him. *sigh*

 

[Savber]

Like Rapelay, does the person have the right to make this? Hell yeah..

But like Rapelay, anyone who plays this and enjoys it is probably having BIGGER problems than the game he's playing.

 

[Drake_Dercon]

Good job, ModDB. While free speech is important, there is a line that can be crossed and it's important to watch it.

I wholly support your decision and am now your bestest friend.

 

[freaper]

I supported the release of this game until I read about the reason of its production...

Nonetheless, if anyone makes a violent and alienating game for a purpose other than "Anyone who wants to be a school shooter, but is too big of a pussy to actually do anything." will get my full support.

 

[Powerman88]

Always a but isn't there? We're all for freedom of expression. But. An oxymoron that always bothered me that.


Still, hadn't had plans to play the thing anyway, still feels that for all the times games like GTA, Mortal Kombat, Postal et al. are defended it comes off as people sitting on a scale with regards to what they're willing to allow with fiction, replete with points at which they think things have gone too far.

I'm not expecting people to defend the content, just that they stick to their principles (if indeed they claim freedom of speech or expression as one of those), and yes, that means taking the shit with the gold. What you feel comfortable with and what makes you want to vomit. And again, you are under no obligation to view on consume any material with which you find offensive.

Well said but I think you can stand up for moral principles by saying this game crosses the line. Where is the line? The moral line is just like good micro in Starcraft; I can't define it but I sure as hell know it when I see it.

 

[Quaidis]

Meanwhile at the offices of Valve Incorporated...


<youtube=-VRZOf8sU9s>

I could watch that all day.

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

I'm also supporting ModDB's decision. Having games where people play out there fantasies instead of doing them in real life is no excuse. If those fantasies even *need* an outlet before they become a reality, that person needs to seek help, not vent in a game. This applies to any such fantasies, from pedophilia to mass murders at schools.

I might get flamed for this, but let's face it, games are *still* in a precarious position because of the ridiculous portrayal by the media and older generations that games are just for kids. While they are trying to solidify themselves as a legitimate media form as music, literature and film, this is not helping. I can only hope that day will come sooner where no one will differentiate them - and games will only receive the same amount of controversy as anything else. Until then, the bad taste should be held down somewhat, I mean there's enough gore and realism in games as it is (maybe a bit of a bias against in terms of sex, but that's just *another* aspect the general public needs to be aware of, not crying over one little scene like in Mass Effect)

 

[vazzaroth]

At first I was sad because I thought this was a mod I saw ages ago (Maybe HL1) where all the weapons are home(/school)made weapons out of, like, pencils and pens and rubberbands and ruler-swords and stuff. But then I found it was was some dumb troll project. D:

I wonder whatever happened to that cool project...

 

[RicoADF]

And ModDB crumbles under pressure.

If there was a point or msg to be told then yes your right that free speech should be protected and be anoyed that ModDB caved, but "Anyone who wants to be a school shooter, but is too big of a pussy to actually do anything." pretty much removes any artistic or cultural value, thus removing free speech protection.

 

[harvz]

usually i would stand for the dev, they put time into it, but this was totally and intentionally in "bad taste"

 

[crystalsnow]

Holy shit. I wasn't really caring at first, but now that I read that quote from the second interview, I'm fully behind this decision. The guy who made this is a tragedy waiting to happen.

I still think Jack Thompson is a moron though.

 

[SlugLady28]

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

This guy needs to see a councilor or something.

I think it's safe to say a bunch of us are sighing with relief that this thing is gone.

 

[beema]

I completely support this action. Good riddance.

And ModDB crumbles under pressure.

Oh shut up. Did you read what was happening to the site? Would you of preferred the entire site shuts down due to it being inundated with hate mail and other attacks? Possibly eventually facing legal action?

Nobody is censoring this idiot's freedom of speech. He can go ahead and buy his own webspace and host the mod there. Moddb is a private organization, and as such, the 1st amendment does not apply.

Just because someone can do something, doesn't mean they should. Please explain to me how this guy's "free speech" was in ANY way furthering games, gamers, intelligence, art, design, or doing ANYTHING remotely beneficial to anyone?

What do we lose by Moddb taking this down? Nothing. What would we gain by them leaving it up to "protect free speech?" Possibly the shut down of the whole site and the loss of exposure and resources for other more legitimate and praise-worthy mod developers.

Meanwhile at the offices of Valve Incorporated...


<youtube=-VRZOf8sU9s>

Lol
I've never heard such a compelling mashup of Rudy, A Message to You and Bear Necessities before.

lymphoma sesple

 

[Kadamon]

Looks like it would have sucked anyway!

 

[Risingblade]

This isn't just a small controversy. This is something that no one should want to see. It's not just "this is in bad taste because it's a game", it's something that would be in bad taste in any medium.

I wouldn't want to watch a movie where some guy went on a shooting rampage in a school. I wouldn't even want to read a book about it or look at a painting of it. This isn't freedom of artistic expression, this is just completely crossing the line.

As gamers, we stand up for our medium when a game is harassed because of the medium it is. For example, when a war game is trying to portray a very specific battle with very specific people. In a movie, it would be acceptable, but in a game it would be controversial. This is where we stand up for games. But if it's something that no one would ever want to see in any situation EVER, then it's crossed the line.

I've actually seen a movie about that