Now we're talking! The game that was so dangerous that it drove CNN to madness and so tasteless that it had the audacity to remind the families of Columbine victims of their lost loved ones... because they might have otherwise forgotten? Yeah, the controversy was pretty overblown. SCMRPG is actually a thoughtful examination of the motivations of arguably the two most infamous school shooters in history. And you can tell it's an impactful one because it still has a reputation, unlike the gutless and usually completely fictionalised films that were also inspired by (read: shamelessly capitalizing on) the event. And if you're wondering about the name, we'd like to point out that this was released in 2006. It's so old that, when it was removed from Slamdance, Jonathan Blow pulled Braid out of the competition in protest. This was when indie gaming was just barely starting to go mainstream and the scene was obsessed with self-awareness. At the time, there was an audacity not only in creating a game about Columbine but in creating a game that was really about anything at all. But gaming has come a long way since then. Unfortunately, our ability to prevent violence in schools has not, which is why we have...
Eric Day co-hosts the Murderville Podcast at www.welcometomurderville.com
Give it a listen. Five minutes. Maybe you'll dig it. Maybe you'll hate it. But at least you'll have tried something new.
