Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1554https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4989It wasn’t until I started playing Super Columbine Massacre RPG that I began to think about my responsibilities as both a gamer and a member of the community of the world at large. In previous games, the notion of my responsibility was never really questioned or considered because frankly, it wasn’t something that had even crossed my mind. However, after playing Super Columbine Massacre RPG I realized that playing this game made me, in certain ways, an irresponsible gamer in some sense. Because the game features two protagonists that resemble real life people outside of the virtual world of the game, my overall experience in the game was much different than any previous violent-featured game that I had played. Given that the main protagonists are meant to embody the actual Columbine High School shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the overall experience I had with the game seemed very dark and sinister to the point that I almost had to put down the game at times due to the historical information that had been made available to me through my research of the actual shooting at Columbine High. Filled with a sense of remorse after I had killed students and demons within the videogame while playing both protagonists, I realized that I was behaving irresponsibly as a gamer. Even feeling these emotions of remorse and guilt were a dead giveaway that I was perhaps committing something that I viewed as incorrect or immoral in some sense. I felt these emotions, coupled with the actions that I committed in the videogame, to be the actions of an irresponsible gamer because I was knowingly playing a videogame that resembled not only teenage protagonists but also one that displayed “real-life” murderers. As stated in yesterday’s response, I found it quite troubling to be playing characters that resembled teenage individuals because I was knowingly committing violent acts with protagonists that resembled minors/non-adults. I believe this further illustrates my lack of responsibility as a gamer because although I knew that these characters resembled teenage individuals, I still kept playing the game and committed heinous and illegal acts such as the murder of students/faculty within the school and I also utilized/owned weapons as a minor. Tue, 29 May 2012 00:02:26 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4989&iddiary=9246https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4989Given the historical context by which the game has been founded and created by, playing Super Columbine Massacre RPG has definitely been difficult to say the least. Although I have played many games through out my so called “gaming career” that may be deemed as violent or gruesome in nature, SCMRPG definitely takes an entire different spin on the genre of videogame because it is based on an actual tragedy that happened within the confines of a high school in 1999. One of the themes that becomes readily apparent to me, as I have been playing this game and also after doing some research on the topic is the theme of adolescents/teenagers. Although the this 8-bit fantasy world features a protagonist, as every game does, SCMRPG differs in the sense that the player is aware of the character’s exact age due to the fact that the game is based on a historical event. I found this to be very troubling as I was playing the game because I was knowingly committing murder while using a character that resembled not only an actual murderer but the character also resembled a teenager. Most of the first person shooter games I have played in the past along with other games that have featured violence I felt tried to put a sort of veil over the age of their protagonists in an attempt to conceal it from the player. Although certain inferences can be made about the characters in most first person shooters and games featuring violence, one can never be completely certain of the exact age of that protagonist. Generally speaking, most of the protagonists from the action games I have played tend to be portrayed as older and appear to have developed a sense of maturity. However, after playing my second session of SCMRPG, the theme of teenagers stood out to me because, as I stated earlier, I was knowingly playing a character that resembled that of a teenager. In some ways, I find myself to be more tolerant and more willing to play a videogame is the characters age is unknown to me and if the character resembles or is featured as someone who is older or mature. If the character is featured as older and more mature, it makes it more acceptable for me to commit crime/murder/cause havoc whereas if the character resembles someone who is younger I am more hesitant to continue to commit violent acts with that protagonist. Mon, 28 May 2012 17:23:54 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4989&iddiary=9239https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4989 When I first downloaded the game and after reading the title, it didn’t completely register that the game was based on the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. However, once I began to play the game and noticed the meaning behind the game, I decided to first research the school shooting before continuing my experience with the game. Among the many themes and concepts the game possesses, I was particularly intrigued by the game’s portrayal of violence. Super Columbine Massacre RPG definitely took an interesting twist through it’s depictions of violence, mainly because when I was examining the dialogue the characters had along with the missions that I had to complete in the story, I felt that the tragedy brought on by violence was being downplayed in some sense when compared to the actual event that the game embodied. I felt the game was downplaying the events that took place on the day of the Columbine shootings because, in reality, the tragedy that descended on the victims and those affected by the shooting was much greater. The Columbine massacre was potentially one of the worst school shootings in United States history therefore by turning this tragic real life event into a virtual game; violence is being turned into some form of entertainment. I also found the violence in the game to be particularly disturbing due to the fact that the main two protagonists that the player utilizes represented both of the killers that performed the massacre in the events that took place in 1999. I found the part of the game where one is required to do a recording before you go forth with killing students and faculty to be particularly disturbing due to the dialogue that is portrayed in the game. In the recording, the character mentions, “If you could see all the anger I’ve stored over the past four fucking years. I’m going to kill you all – you’ve been giving us shit for years. You’re fucking going to pay for all the shit. We don’t give a shit because were going to die doing it – I hope we kill two hundred fifty of you. You guys will all die, and it will be fucking soon. I hope you get an idea of what were implying here: you all need to die.” I found this dialogue to be particularly disturbing due to the troubling nature of the content that is said. Furthermore, the content in the recording also correlated with the theme of violence due to the fact that as the character, you are stating that you are going to assassinate every member in the school hat was in the school at the time. Sun, 27 May 2012 23:25:32 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4989&iddiary=9232https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4955 After playing my third session of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas I was able to further note some of the themes that exist within the game. Taking into consideration my entire experience through gameplay from the very opening scene up until my last mission accomplished which was the assassination of my fellow gang member’s, OG Loc, cellmate I was able to notice the recurring theme of brotherhood/family. From the very opening scenes of the game, the gamer is able to quickly note that a major part of the story line or background of the characters is centered on the theme of family. The whole storyline starts with the main protagonist, Carl, returning home after he was informed of the news that his mother was assassinated after a violent exchange caused by gang warfare. This notion of the importance of family continued when Carl arrived at the cemetery to meet with his brother in the burial of his mother. Several familial issues were denoted here being that since Carl had been distant and more or less disconnected from gang activity, to his former gang members, his return to his home ghetto was certainly not welcomed. Throughout the exchange of dialogue between characters at the burial site of Carl’s mother, the gamer begins to grasp the sense that the main goal of your character is to re-enter the gang lifestyle through the completion of tests or quests so as to gain respect and reputation from the gang once again. This interconnection between fellow gang members seems to be fueled by a narrative of drugs and violence being that a majority of the quests and dialogue consists of committing murders or doing drugs in order to gain respect from the gang and thus solidify the relationship between Carl and his former Grove Street gang members. To further demonstrate this one can look at the first section of quests that you are asked to complete as Carl. Most, if not all, are centered on regaining your reputation as a member of the Grove Street gang. This was detailed in the quests from tagging or placing your gang’s graffiti drawings over other rival gang’s or by sporting the “colors” of your crew along with committing murders in the name of your gang. These depictions of attempts to regain respect from Carl’s gang are demonstrations of the game’s theme of family because by performing these tasks, Carl is in essence becoming a “brother” once again not only to his biological brother but to the members of his gang as well. Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:06:53 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4955&iddiary=9197https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4955 After playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, I can honestly say that the game is unlike any other that I have ever played. Hearing about the game and actually playing it are two totally different concepts. When my friends had tried to explain the concept of the Grand Theft Auto series to me in the past, it seemed simple; one runs around the world reeking havoc through the merciless slaying of innocents and gangsters alike while stealing whatever vehicle one desires. However, after actually playing and living the content of the game I realized the severity of the game’s interwoven themes. Among the many themes and concepts the game possesses, I was particularly intrigued by the game’s portrayal of violence. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas definitely took an interesting twist through it’s depictions of violence, mainly because when I was examining the dialogue the characters had along with the missions that I had to complete in the game’s story mode, I felt that violence was being promoted. In other words, I felt as though the content that was being relayed to me, was encouraging me to commit as much mayhem and chaos as possible because, in the end, there were no consequences. If police showed up or if any other NPC tried to stop my “rampage,” I could simply just equip my AK47 and kill as many people as I wanted until I was satisfied with no formidable opposition. This “promotion” of violence became apparent to me shortly after playing both the missions at the pizza parlor and the mission to obtain guns from Emmet. Shortly after a failed robbery attempt on the cashier at the pizza parlor, I (playing as the character of Carl) was escaping with my equally unsuccessful partner in crime being that the cashier had now obtained a shotgun and had begun to fire upon my follow gang member and myself. Now, while I could have easily escaped in the “get-away” vehicle without causing any harm to anyone, I decided to run the pizza parlor cashier over in order to acquire his seemingly attractive firearm. This particular scene demonstrated the game’s encouragement of violence through the inclusion of an incentive. Meaning that if I committed murder, not only would I representing my gang but I would also be acquiring a very powerful firearm that I could later use in my future missions and if I had driven off, my reputation as a “badass” would have been damaged and I would have remained gun-less. Although the scene at Emmett’s gun shop wasn’t exactly the same, equal promotions of violence are portrayed. When I was at Emmett’s shop, shortly after my inquiry for firearms had concluded, I was asked by my fellow gang member to perform an exposition of my accuracy skills through the usage of my firearm. The reason I chose to examine this particular scene in the game was because after every successful shot I made, Emmet made comments that dictated acceptance and praise such as, “I’m so proud of you.” Needless to say, not only does this quote from Emmet demonstrate the acceptance of violence but it also promotes the gamer to continue on his or her violent path because if he or she does so, they will continue to receive praise for it. Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:24:53 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4955&iddiary=9193https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4955Even as beginner or “noob” to the series of Grand Theft Auto, after playing for my first 30 minutes of San Andreas I was able to grasp the concept of the game very quickly and its unethical content there in. While no game is perfect in the sense that the content it contains will be filtered of any kind of material that may be controversial to players, San Andreas raises that bar of controversy through its usage of character dialogue and actions displayed by the virtual protagonists. Even in the very opening scenes of the videogame before actual gameplay took place and most of the character background was developed through cinematics, issues regarding race and stereotypes became apparent. For example, in the opening cinematic where the main protagonist, Carl, is pulled over by cops; the rhetoric that is used is very racist and stereotypical in nature particularly referring to the African American male. Tenpenny, the officer that appeared to be in charge at the time when Carl was pulled over, addresses Carl by “boy” rather than addressing him by name. Although the word “boy” itself is not a racist one by any means, because of the context that it is used in (being that Carl is an African American male) and the tone which the officer used to relay the word, the whole scenario provokes the player to imply that the way in which Tenpenny was using the word, was racist in context. Tenpenny’s stereotypical vernacular continues further when he frisks Carl taking a large sum of money from him and directly indicating that the money is “drug money.” This “assumption” that the money that was taken from Carl was drug money, whether that statement was true or not, is unethical in nature because the officer is automatically assuming the money was obtained through illegal means rather than asking Carl or investigating the true origin of the money. Analyzing the scene further, as Carl is driven away in the back of the patrol car, officer Tenpenny along with his equally racist comrades attempt to pin the death of a fellow police officer that happened shortly before Carl was pulled over in an attempt to gain some form of information or knowledge from Carl. Needless to say, Tenpenny continues his seemingly never-ending racist rhetoric by telling Carl, “You work fast nigga.” Due to the very racist and stereotypical content the game contains, I believe that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas promotes stereotypical values and therefore reinforces stereotypes in general. Through the inclusion of racist vocabulary, particularly that revolving around the African American male, the game is solidifying and promoting stereotypes. I believe that through the usage of this rhetoric the game is promoting the African American male stereotype because by including these words and racist remarks in the videogame, the developers of the game are essentially creating a socially acceptable environment in where these words can be used. Furthermore, by exposing the player to this kind of vocabulary and racist content the player could potentially transcribe the racist content out of the virtual world and into his or her everyday life. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:46:00.)Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:45:30 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4955&iddiary=9173