Developer Pulls Out of Festival Competition in Protest over Super Columbine Decision
Developer Pulls Out of Festival Competition in Protest over Super Columbine Decision
January 7, 2007
Fallout continues from the Slamdance Guerilla Games Competition's recent decision to drop Super Columbine Massacre RPG from the upcoming event.In the latest news, an indepedent developer has withdrawn from Slamdance over the move. Braid creator Jonathan Blow writes that his decision is a protest against the removal of Danny Ledonne's controversial design.
Interestingly, Blow is not a big fan of SCMRPG. Here's more of what the Braid developer had to say about the decision:
(SCMRPG) lacks compassion, and I find the Artist’s Statement disingenuous. But despite this, the game does have redeeming value. It does provoke important thoughts, and it does push the boundaries of what games are about. It is composed with more of an eye toward art than most games. Clearly, it belongs at the festival.
So, in protest of game’s expulsion, I have dropped Braid out of the competition as well.
...games should be taken seriously as an art form that can expand the boundaries of human experience... As an art form they contain a tremendous power to shift perspective and to heighten wisdom... But if games are denied their appropriate level of societal recognition, growth of the form will be very difficult, and human culture will be the lesser for it.
In related news, Newsweek's N'Gai Croal slams the Slamdance decision, as does well-known designer Greg Costikyan of Manifesto Games, a Slamdance sponsor. Meanwhile, Arthouse Games has a great synopsis of this developing controversy.
GP: A shout-out to GamePolitics reader Shih Tzu for the tip!
UPDATE: A second indie game developer, that game company, has pulled out of Slamdance over the SCMRPG issue.
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Posted 11/07/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:26pm
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:23pm
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:18pm
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
Posted 11/07/09 at 03:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:58am
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:56am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:51am
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:48am
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:05am
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:03am
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:56am
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:45am
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:37am
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:36am
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:32am
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:30am
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:44am
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
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Comments
And while I respect a person's right to an opinion, I dont understand his line: "(SCMRPG) lacks compassion." It's a look into the mind of a sociopath - typically compassion doesn't figure into the mind of one such person.
Good! How can an independant festival have any credibility when the founder of the festival overrides the judges in what is and isn't worthy of a nomination?
I believe it should be showcased at this competition, and I think Jonathan Blow is doing the rightt thing. I hope others do the same.
Look at it this way. There is some question already as to whether video games should be included in Slamdance. Obviously, the head of Slamdance holds little regard for the media format. So, another video game developer dropping out, while still making a statement, will have less impact overall as opposed to directors/developers/etc of other media formats backing out in protest.
If other media formats started backing out in protest, then it appears as a solidarity of art in general. But if only members of the video game media format back out, then the argument by some could be "well, video games aren't really an art form so we'll just chuck that format from Slamdance altogether". Might get a bit of opposition, but without the support of the overall "art community", then a segregation and exclusion is very possible.
nightwng2000
NW2K Software
True, on the other hand, he'll have a harder time "cashing in" on the popularity of the medium the next time he runs the competition.
The sponsors are less likely to support him vs. another competition if his regular contributors and sponsors go somewhere else due to the clear inability of the competition to be anything but rigged.
Maybe the ECA should start it's own "Guerilla Games" show.
QUALITY CONTROL = CENSORSHIP
LET'S MAKE A MOUNTAIN OUT OF A MOLEHILL AND THEN CRASH AN AIRPLANE INTO IT
This isn't as muc habout the game as it is the festival organizer undermining what it's about.
http://grandtextauto.gatech.edu/2007/01/07/an-open-letter-to-slamdance/#...
Also, a note to Hank the Tank - A bit of a nitpick I know, but Freedom of speech and the first amendment aren't interchangable. The first amendment doesn't apply here but freedom of speech is still something to aspire to.
Nice to know some people still believe in this.
http://grumpygamer.com/1389788