Super Indy Game Massacre

As a result of last weeks visit to GameJam, Ive been trying to keep my eye out for interesting indy games. I stumbled across the Slamdance website which had a pretty good collection of indy games, and a little bit of contraversy. Slamdance is a competition where independant games are given recognition through prizes and promotion. The contraversy is around a game that was originally part of the festival, but was removed because of complaints and public outcry.




The game, Super Columbine Massacre, is a role playing game where the player re-enacts the columbine killings and takes on the roll of the killers. While many have criticized it as barbaric and horribly offensive, after downloading it I feel like it was intended as a poignant commentary on the nature of the event, and the psychology of the kids. It paints a bleak and depressing picture of two unstable teens, and rewards you for reenacting their actions. As the player reluctantly carries out the killings, they are forced to consider the event from the perspective of one of the killers.

While it was definitely difficult to play through (and not because its hard), I think its a valuable lesson in the power of video games for making social statements. While the production process of big budget games is often so long that any issue that they could comment on would be obsolete by the time games are released, quick independent games can make poignant and valid comments on society in a way that other mediums cannot. The interactivity of video games captivates the player and brings them into an alternate reality. Games can just as easily bring their players into a grim and evil reality as they can into the more cheery worlds depicted in games like Mario. I look forward to other games that make us not only look at gaming differently, but make us rethink the world around us.