Be Men, Not Destroyers :

This isn't it.

Rather than a means of acting out these fantasies, the alienated slog of SCMPRG, warns against it, while trying to argue why someone would want to do it in the first place. It's not a celebration. It's a lament.

The game ends with the lyrics from one of the pair's favorite bands, KMFDM: "He represents the problem - no, he emboldens the problem. If he is expelled, the problem will go away." Except not: "He is not in this alone. He is not the problem." Super Columbine Massacre RPG! isn't the problem. It's certainly not the solution - that's society and the people within it - but it's not a problem. It's something worth having an opinion on. It sits on the boundaries of what videogames have become and could become.

You won't enjoy it, and for that you should be grateful.

Kieron Gillen has been writing about videogames for far too long now. His rock and roll dream is to form an Electro-band with Miss Kittin and SHODAN pairing up on vocals.

Should SCMRPG have been kicked out of Slamdance?
This is a question that confuses the issue. Of course, Slamdance can invite or kick out whoever they want from their award. It's their award, and cries of censorship are simply misplaced. The game exists, and will continue to exist, no matter what Slamdance decided.

The real question is credibility. Removing a selected finalist purely because of its subject, for whatever reason, makes it difficult to take the organization seriously. Not selecting something to avoid controversy is one thing. Backing away from its decision in public simply tarnishes the award, no matter what reason. As described in their public statement, Slamdance argues they'd have faced legal and commercial annihilation if they didn't reverse course on SCMPRG, which makes you understand why they chose critical annihilation instead. It still doesn't make the critical annihilation any less absolute.

As an indie game award, it'll be fine. But that's all it's going to be. As a forum for games-as-art, no one will take Slamdance's selections seriously for the foreseeable future. The only moral here is: Be sure of your list of finalists before going public.

But all of this is completely irrelevant to the merits or failings of SCMRPG. It'd be just as detrimental to the festival, no matter what game was unceremoniously removed from their ceremony.

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Editor's Choice
Be Men, Not Destroyers

Did you know?

Editor's ChoiceBe Men, Not Destroyers

Editor's Choice
Be Men, Not Destroyers