The Slaying Of Sandy Hook Elementary

knee jerk reactions (like looking at the summary or jut playing a little of the game and deciding you understand it) aside, i think its a pretty good idea. just as columbine massacre rpg and vtech rampage were good ideas. violence is terribly unrealistic and romanticised in the media. this kind of game doesnt pull any punches and puts you directly in the shoes of the violator. it brings a kind of realism to the event that just reading about it, or haring about it can not provide. i would have wanted more realism than it has, actually. violence, especially of that kind where you are deliberately killing multiple people, is not easy and is not pleasant. you have to have a certain kind of mind set and an ability to remove yourself from the reality of the situation.

it has nothing to do with respecting or disrespecting the victims. this isnt about their memory. its about the frank reality of the event. and the addition of the other modes was to give some idea of how thing would have been different in another situation, like not using a gun or the school staff being armed. and if you pay attention to the game, and its message, you`ll see that this is actually a thought experiment about the role of guns and violence in our society.

and if you really want to have a valid, well thought out, and relevant opinion about it, you will do more than just read the summary or play a few minutes. youll look at the credits and info (where the game maker describes his purpose for making this game - always useful for forming a valid opinion) and you will play it through to the end to see what it was really about. at which point youd find that there are other modes to the game that represent alternatives to the original event scenario. also useful for forming a valid opinion...

In defense of this game... I think if this game was not made, the tragedy of Sandy Hook and the implications of gun ownership would be in the minds of fewer people and there'd be somewhat less discussion about it...

Amongst people who are gamers anyways...

Which is why I think this is a necessary evil.

Gamers can be a desensitized bunch sometimes, I know many of them who spend hours playing Triple-A FPS games, or talk about wanting to shoot people, enemy soldiers, or crowds of zombies, most of them tend to advocate hyper realism in games.

Yet, I'm sure if they played this, most would agree that this is messed up.

Gamers can tend to be a bunch who usually don't get to experience anything other than the spectacle of glamorous hollywood style gun violence from the comfort of their arm chair, so this is definitely a much needed contrast for people to ponder over in my opinion.

Unfortunately, I think the opportunity for reflection on these issues will fly over most peoples' heads, some will play it like any other game and try to enjoy the narrative or conquer whatever challenge it presents or even play through it absent mindedly out of boredom. Games don't seem to be respected as an art form to be thought over like literature or anything like that yet- let alone obscure flash games.

Anyways, I'm sorry for this long comment or for offending anybody in case I did. Hopefully these thoughts will help people get a bit more out of the game than feelings of discomfort like I did.

This.....is really messed up....

This game.. so genius if you dig deep enough. The contrast between the killer and the world. Just brillant.

This... This...

It's just offensive!