Slamdance and Super Columbine Massacre RPG!
Slamdance removed one game, Super Columbine Massacre RPG! from it's competition. This is the their (slightly belated) official comment from their web page:
"The Super Columbine Massacre RPG game has been withdrawn from Slamdance '07. While understanding the different positions people have already taken with the game, we want to express the struggle we had with ours. On one hand, a jury selected a game they believed merited programming, a decision that always leads to our organization supporting the creator's independent vision and freedom of expression. On the other, there are moral obligations to consider with this particular game and the interests and welfare of the Slamdance organization and its community. Ultimately, after much internal conflict and debate, we decided to pull this game and hope a choice like it will never have to be made again."
Apparently no contestant has ever been removed from Slamdance. I honestly don't know much about the game except what others have said. You play the role of Columbine killers in the game. It had been selected as finalist in the competition before being removed.
Five games (about 40% of the finalists) have pulled out of the competition in protest.
http://toblo.csnation.net/slamdance.html
http://onceuponatime.wakinggames.com/
http://toblo.csnation.net/
http://www.everydayshooter.com/
http://braid-game.com/news/
I think I probably agree with this protest. If you are going to support independent games, and solicit them to enter, and even make them finalists, and THEN boot them on moral grounds... well, something is wrong, for sure. I find it all fairly fascinating news, anyway. This will help determine the future of videogames, especially how they are considered as Art (or not). I applaud the contestants who have pulled out in protest, because it would be all to easy for this precedent setting event to set the wrong precedent.
"The Super Columbine Massacre RPG game has been withdrawn from Slamdance '07. While understanding the different positions people have already taken with the game, we want to express the struggle we had with ours. On one hand, a jury selected a game they believed merited programming, a decision that always leads to our organization supporting the creator's independent vision and freedom of expression. On the other, there are moral obligations to consider with this particular game and the interests and welfare of the Slamdance organization and its community. Ultimately, after much internal conflict and debate, we decided to pull this game and hope a choice like it will never have to be made again."
Apparently no contestant has ever been removed from Slamdance. I honestly don't know much about the game except what others have said. You play the role of Columbine killers in the game. It had been selected as finalist in the competition before being removed.
Five games (about 40% of the finalists) have pulled out of the competition in protest.
http://toblo.csnation.net/slamdance.html
http://onceuponatime.wakinggames.com/
http://toblo.csnation.net/
http://www.everydayshooter.com/
http://braid-game.com/news/
I think I probably agree with this protest. If you are going to support independent games, and solicit them to enter, and even make them finalists, and THEN boot them on moral grounds... well, something is wrong, for sure. I find it all fairly fascinating news, anyway. This will help determine the future of videogames, especially how they are considered as Art (or not). I applaud the contestants who have pulled out in protest, because it would be all to easy for this precedent setting event to set the wrong precedent.