At least that's how the news is being reported today in The Tennessean. Three-year-old Cheyenne Alexis McKeehan had been playing a Nintendo Wii game in her living room using a gun-shaped controller which, according to the story, "looked very similar to the real handgun" her stepfather used to scare away dogs that were hanging about the family's home.

The child had been playing a Nintendo Wii video game, Ashe said. The game's controller was shaped like a gun that looked very similar to the real handgun, which her stepfather had put on a table in the living room. Ashe said the girl pulled the gun off the table and it went off.

My question is this: why is the Wii even mentioned in this article? Someone left a loaded handgun in reach of a three-year-old girl. That's the story here.

The fact that the child was playing with a Wii controller that looked like a real gun is a non-issue. This is a three-year-old we are talking about. Three-year-olds touch everything, regardless of whether or not it looks like something they were allowed to touch previously.

Not to mention the fact that most Wii gun controllers are either white and blue or Nerf-colored, none of which is a color commonly found on handguns.

This story is horrible, unfortunate, and tragic, but the way that things are worded here make me wonder if there aren't pair of parents out there thinking that had they not let their child play that Wii game, she would still be alive today.

I don't think the majority of our readership needs clarification on this, but just in case, no - if her stepfather had not left a loaded weapon within reach of a curious three-year-old's hands, she would still be alive today.

Accidental shooting kills Wilson County child [The Tennessean]

Authorities say that 25-year-old Echols was playing a war video game with fellow sailor Louis Urbana on Wednesday afternoon at a San Carlos, California apartment. Police detectives have determined that at some point during game gameplay, Echols pointed a gun at the 20-year-old Urbana. The gun went off and Urbana was shot. According to the police, Echols did not immediately report the shooting, and by the time help arrived Urbana was beyond saving.

Echols was taken into custody later that evening, arrested on suspicion of murder.

While it remains to be seen wheether or not this was a simple accident or a deliberate act, there is a lesson to be learned here. Do not handle firearms when engaged in an activity that requires your fingers to make trigger-pulling movements, or better yet, just don't screw around with loaded weapons.

Man Accused of Killing Fellow Sailor During Video Game [Fox News]

Starting next month, Galeria Kaufhof will no longer stock games and movies carrying an 18-plus rating. This follows the shooting spree of 17-year-old Tim Kretschmer last week, whose Counter-Strike habit has politicians pointing the finger at violent video games. The retailer's knee-jerk decision has German game developers shaking their heads.

"I think (Kaufhof's decision) is a complete overreaction ... it borders on impulsive hysteria," said Stephan Reichart, managing director at German video game developers association G.A.M.E. "It would be sufficient if retailers made sure their cashiers don't sell this material to young people."

Reichart makes a good point. The only thing banning violent content from the shelves of Galeria Kaufhof will accomplish is forcing customers to shop somewhere for mature content.

To an extent I can understand the reactions from the less-game savvy German people. A terribly tragedy like this needs explaining, and violent video games are an easy way to explain away the behavior of this disturbed young man. I just fear that by grabbing at the easiest answer, people aren't getting to the real root of the problem, and incidents like this will continue to occur.

German retailer pulls violent DVDs, games [Reuters]

The plot of the game involves 50 Cent and his G-Unit crew who are performing a concert in a "war torn country." Things start getting bad and Fifty and his pals must use an arsenal of weapons to help stop the terrorists involved. Something about watching this game being played really left me with a feeling that everything was kind of tacked on. Like they started out to make a terrorist themed arcade shooter and when it don't work out, added in 50 and friends to help sell some units.

The game makes use of an over the shoulder style of shooting and employs the good old "run and gun" and "duck and cover" mechanics to much use. The whole games point system is based on killing as many people as you can and watching your score go up. Each character has their own weapon of choice that can be added to with twenty various weapons that can be found lying about or taken off of downed enemies. There is also hand to hand combat involved with contextual button kill moves that were really rather disturbing in their stark realism.

The whole game smacked of a certain stereotypical representation of the rap community that seemed a bit forced. I mean you pick up "bling" which you can then sell to buy more weapons and includes a mechanic called "Gangsta Firing Time." Haven't we moved past this sort of thing? The whole thing left me with a sort of empty feeling of a game with no real substance.

That said, the graphics were nice and those of you out there who are 50 Cent fans will be pleased to hear that the soundtrack will include exclusive tracks by Fifty and crew from their upcoming album. The game will support co-op play and online drop-in co-op as well as leaderboards. Hopefully they will be able to do something to improve this title before it launches on the 360 and PS3 this fall.

Witnesses told authorities that Suarez then put the gun down on the kitchen counter and began saying, "This just didn't happen," according to court documents.

This is similar to the incident back in July, where a young boy stabbed his older brother to death for not letting him have his turn at a video game, in both situation and press reaction. Some of the headlines I have seen include:

Family: Game led to teen's murder - BostonHerald.com
Video game linked to fatal shooting in Brockton - The Patriot Ledger

Just don't be surprised if the major news outlets pick this up with accompanying inflammatory anti-video gaming headline.

Video game linked to fatal shooting of 15-year-old [Wicked Local Brockton]

A 15-year-old boy from Marble Falls is at Austin's Brackenridge Hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to the head. [...] The boy was playing a video game with a friend when that friend loaded a gun and shot him in the head.

Police said the 13-year-old shooter is being held at the juvenile detention center in Belton and is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The newspaper said the boys were playing a video game called "God of War".

Hopefully this won't lead to a media frenzy - news is sparse right now, but we'll see how it continues to develop.

13-year-old shoots friend in the head [News 8 Austin]

"I am profoundly sorry," Causey said against a backdrop of the United States and North Carolina flags. "I cannot begin to imagine the immense sorrow the Strickland family must continue to feel, but they will forever be in my thoughts and prayers. It is my hope that the Strickland family will accept this apology and know that it is offered with compassion and sincerity."

How much does a fatal mistake cost? According to county officials, $2.45 million. Strickland family spokesperson Joyce Fitzpatrick says the money will go towards establishing a foundation for need-based scholarships.

"The Stricklands were not interested in money," she said. "That cannot bring their son back."

''One's in jail, one's in the hospital,'' she said. ''I won't know exactly what happened until I talk to [my son]. He's incoherent yet; they have him heavily sedated. (My ex-husband) did the shooting but it was an accidental thing that took place"

Clearly the Xbox 360 was really just a catalyst in what appears to be a long standing major family dysfunction. Sad, sure. Weird, definitely. But seriously, you couldn't make this stuff up.

When boy said 'shoot me,' dad did, police say [The Morning call]

Brooks is wanted after allegedly shooting and killing one person and wounding two others in the apartment complex next to Fresno State University.

Police say the shooting took place during a confrontation over a video game. The two people who were wounded do not have life-threatening injuries.

A SWAT team earlier communicated with Brooks by phone to try to get him out of the apartment complex, but as of the article's posting, he has not come forward. Kim Phu

1 Dead In Fresno St. Shooting; Suspect At Large [CBS 5, thanks Juan]

Yep, despite the fact that he's a known liar, infamous for threatening fellow attorneys and judges and is on the cusp of (one would hope) losing his license to practice law in Florida, Jack Thompson managed to weasel his way onto Fox News to spew his own particular brand of hate and lies.

That's right, Thompson is trying to link the worst shooting in U.S. history, the one that occurred earlier today at Virginia Tech, to video games.

What I love about this is that just about everything he says on live television is blatantly not true, like blaming video games on the Red Lake High School shooting.

It saddens me that filth like Jack can get on national television to gloat and revel in the deaths of so many and try to put it off as education. Brian Crecente

UpdateHere's the video and a run down of all of the half-truths and lies Jack told.

Coming out for Xbox in the US this May (though it has been in Japan for quite some time), Battle Storm: Senko no Ronde is the UbiSoft's American version of the Japanese fighter/shooter that looks like it could melt your mind in about two seconds. I could easily take an epileptic seizure if that's not available, though. Kim Phu

Shooting, fighting, androgyny: Senko no Ronde coming stateside [Joystiq]

The Associated Press reports that the district attorney in New Hanover County is continuing the investigation. But what about that threat of charging the man twice for the same crime? According to a Wake Forest law professor quoted by the AP:

There's no constitutional bar to them going back again. If you're talking about double jeopardy, it doesn't actually attach to the case until a trial jury is seated.

Who thought that shooting to death a PlayStation 3 thief would cause such a rollercoaster of courtroom drama?! Michael McWhertor

D.A. in PlayStation shooting still investigating deputy [CNN]

Color me speechless.

Remember yesterday when I said how very rare it is for a police officer or deputy to be charged in a shooting case and that I was surprised that a decision was made to charge the deputy involved in the shooting of the suspected PS3 thief?

Turns out, it was an accident. No, not the shooting, the filing of charges.

After holding a press conference and telling the family of the teen shot to death that there would be charges, the New Hanover County District Attorney said today that it was a mistake. Apparently, the grand jury foreman said he had checked the wrong box on the indictment paperwork.

A copy of the indictment filed as evidence Tuesday shows a checked box for a "true bill" of indictment crossed out, with a heavy mark made through "not a true bill," followed by what appears to be the foreman's initials and Tuesday's date.

When a grand jury wants a murder indictment, it returns a "true bill." When it decides it does not want to issue an indictment, it returns "not a true bill."

The development drew a quick reaction from Strickland's family, which had praised prosecutors after they won the indictment against Long.

"Yesterday, our son's murderer was going to have to answer for what he did," Don and Kathy Strickland said in a statement. "Today, we just don't know what is going on in Wilmington. We are upset, confused and searching for answers."

The Associated Press reports that the mistaken charge could prevent the DA from filing charges against the deputy down the line because of the threat of double jeopardy.

Haven't they ever heard of polling a grand jury in New Hanover. Brian Crecente

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Officials dismissed a murder charge Tuesday against a sheriff's deputy accused of shooting an unarmed teenager who authorities believed had stolen video game consoles, after a grand jury foreman said he had checked the wrong box on the indictment paperwork.

The dismissal came a day after New Hanover County District Attorney Ben David announced the second-degree murder charge against Cpl. Christopher Long.

David said Monday that the 34-year-old sheriff's deputy opened fire as police raided the home of Peyton Strickland, who police believed stole two Sony PlayStation 3 video game consoles from a college student in Wilmington.

Brenda Tucker, the court clerk in New Hanover Superior Court, confirmed the charge has been dismissed. Don Beskind, the law partner of Strickland's father, said the grand jury foreman told a court Tuesday that he checked the wrong box on the indictment form by mistake.

A copy of the indictment filed as evidence Tuesday shows a checked box for a "true bill" of indictment crossed out, with a heavy mark made through "not a true bill," followed by what appears to be the foreman's initials and Tuesday's date.

When a grand jury wants a murder indictment, it returns a "true bill." When it decides it does not want to issue an indictment, it returns "not a true bill."

The development drew a quick reaction from Strickland's family, which had praised prosecutors after they won the indictment against Long.

"Yesterday, our son's murderer was going to have to answer for what he did," Don and Kathy Strickland said in a statement. "Today, we just don't know what is going on in Wilmington. We are upset, confused and searching for answers."

David's office referred questions to the chambers of Superior Court Judge Ernest Fullwood, who did not immediately return a call. It was not immediately clear whether the error would prevent prosecutors from refiling charges against Long, a 12-year member of the sheriff's office who was fired last week after the Dec. 1 shooting.

Cpl. Christopher Long, 34, was indicted Monday on second-degree murder for the death of 18-year-old college student Payton Strickland, which was shot Dec. 1.

Stories do not address whether Strickland had a controller in his hand when he was shot, though his roommate said that might have been the case. The stories do say he was unarmed.

District Attorney Ben David said Long mistook the sound of another sheriff deputy's battering ram hitting a door as a gunshot. Strickland was shot in the shoulder and once in the head. The fatal shot first ricocheted off of another object, according to an autopsy report.

Deputies believed that the raid would be high risk because of pictures found on the Internet which showed one of Strickland's friend's posing with guns and because UNC Wilmington police had said they had received information that the friend, who didn't live with Strickland, was known to carry a weapon.

Strickland and two friends were suspected of beating a UNC Wilmington student and robbing him of two Playstation 3s in November.

"This indictment is an important first step in holding accountable everyone responsible for Peyton's death - but this is only a first step," his parents, Don and Kathy Strickland, said in a written statement. "None of these actions can bring Peyton back to us, but perhaps they can save someone else's child."

Family and friends of Long, who was fired last week, described the man as widely known, respected and loved. He has, they say, received death threats since the shooting.

These cases are never black and white and in my investigatory experience, which is quite substantial, charging an officer or deputy in a case like this is very rare. Brian Crecente

Former N.C. sheriff's deputy charged in death of teen during raid [AP]

The masked gunmen, one armed with a handgun, the other with a shotgun, confronted the line of 15 to 20 people about 3 a.m. and demanded their money. After the robbery and shooting the two fled and the victim was taken to a local hospital. His condition was unknown today.

Good thing they didn't try to take on that Colorado Best Buy line, they would have been shanked, or tackled into next week. Brian Crecente

Thugs rob people in Playstation 3 waiting line, shoot 1 [Rocky Mountain News]

I also managed to squeeze a few minutes out of Ian Bogost, of Watercooler Games, to talk about the game's connection to the shooting. Brian Crecente

Q: What was your reaction to the news that the gunman in Canada liked to play the Columbine game?

A: A tragedy like this saddens and disturbs us all. Like most people who learned about it, my thoughts were and remain with the victims and their families. It was clear from the start that the media would latch onto the games Gill played, rather than the problems that drove him to this disturbing act.

Q: Do you think this "proves" that the game shouldn't have been made?

A: Gill was clearly a disturbed man. Should "Braveheart" not have been made because Gill also watched it? The tragedy here lies in the unfortunate, sad, unhappy life of this man, not in something inherent to the media he consumed.

Q: In retrospect, do you think that the game should have been made differntly or perhaps come with some sort of notice or paper that explained the issues the game's creator was trying to raise?

A: The creator did write an artist's statement posted on his website that explained his reasons for making the game, but like any artifact those who encounter it can interpret it as they wish. Games are art, and art can be dangerous. We can't put disclaimers on our culture, but we can offer support to our friends and family in need of it. Clearly Gill needed help he did not get.

By: Brian Crecente

Back in May I spoke with Danny Ledonne about his game Super Columbine Massacre RPG and why he made it. In light of last week's shooting at Dawson College in Montreal, I decided to revist the issue with Ledonne.

Q. When and how did you first learn of the possible connection between your
game and the shooting at Dawson College?

A. Thursday, September 14th, 2006. The phone kept ringing. I didn't have
to be at work until 11am and had every intention of sleeping in. I thought,
"why there be this many calls back to back at this hour...?" Soon enough, I
check the answering machine to find half a dozen messages from reporters
wanting interviews. I knew something had happened and I knew it was with
the Columbine game. Ten minutes online was all it took to figure out the
rest.

Q. What was your initial reaction?

A. My very first reaction, frankly, was to head to my toilet bowl and throw
up. I knew what was in the works and I knew the next week would be spent
keeping my head above water while the press tried to bury me with
guilt-laden questions and implications of complicity in murder. I also knew
that this was no time to fold or get weak-kneed. I made a game. I believed
in it. Now it was time to defend it. No one would do that except me.

I sifted through old emails and posts on the SCMRPG forum, looking for
anyone that might've come my way from Kimveer. I thought, "did I know this
guy?" "Could I have stopped any of this?" "Was there a fan who left
warning signs that I ignored amidst my daily routine?" Thankfully, the
answer was "no;" Kimveer had never contacted me at all. Period.

Q. In retrospect, would you still create the game knowing what you know now?

A. Knowing that the game would become an underground cult obsession, knowing
that someone would eventually ferret out my identity, knowing that I would
get death threats and receive requests for autographs, and knowing that one
mentally disturbed man would cite my game as one he liked to play before
randomly shooting at college students... there's no way to honestly answer
that question. I would LIKE to say, "yes, there's no question." But of
course that's impossible to gauge.

I didn't know I was making something that became part of a movement to give
video games an agenda, a social conscience. I didn't think more than a few
dozen of my online friends would play it. I think the game needed to be
made. Despite my lack of technical skill with video game design, it turns
out the person that made it was me. Maybe that sounds deterministic but the
concept of a deep, dedicated game about Columbine was waiting to happen;
that shooting happened at a very formative age for an entire generation of
gamers and I'm sure it marked us all in one way or another.

It's hard to imagine the last two years of my life without the development,
release, and reactions of SCMRPG. It's almost like my double-life... filled
with names I don't have faces for and a cast of tremendously thoughtful,
talented, curious, or angry people. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't
have bothered to remain anonymous for over a year; in the end I never wanted
the game to be about who made it but rather what it is.

Q. What do you say to those out there who point to the shooting as a reason
why your game should not have been made?

A. This is a question with very deep implications that are worth dissecting,
I think. If one is interested in making something for the public to
view—be it a painting, a book, an album, a film, or a video game, should
the POSSIBLE harm that may come out of this work be grounds for its
suppression from society? This is, in a sense, pre-crime. If you believe
in what you're doing and you want to express yourself, the expression should
be primary and any interpretations that come after must always remain of
secondary importance to the creation of the work itself.

On another level, the entire correlation between the Dawson College shooting
and my game is unfounded. Though it was far from shooter Kimveer Gill's
favorite game, it was among the list of games he liked to play. I can only
assume, after 150,000+ downloads of the game, that it is also a game that
other people like to play (ones who won't be going postal). What else did
Kimveer like? Black clothes? Goth music? Pizza?

"Super Columbine Massacre RPG!" hardly contains the graphic violence someone
wishing to destroy the world would be looking for. It requires a lot of
reading, some puzzle solving, and menu-based combat that is so far removed
from any real act of physical violence that you might as well be playing
Smash Brothers Melee for your fix. The game is devoid of bomb-making
recipes or any skill-building in sighting in a firearm. If Gill "got"
anything out of SCMRPG, it was merely that there were once two boys as angry
and bent on destruction as he was. This of course, would be just as easily
deduced by reading a few documents online (of which he certainly did as
well).

If anything, the Dawson College shooting is proof positive that games like
SCMRPG SHOULD be made; until video games are no longer among the "usual
suspects" for homicidal rampages, the public needs to more carefully
consider why interactive electronic media is somehow the manufacturer of
Manchurian Candidates.

Q. What were you trying to achieve with your game?

A. "Achievement" is difficult to speak to in the sense that I didn't expect
my game to find a mass public audience at all and the CREATION of the game
was foremost in my mind rather than any RECEPTION it might have. This
aside, I wanted to put the game online to give people a unique way of
looking at the worst school shooting in US history. I wanted to give people
something to talk about—more over to take a subject we thought we knew and
challenge how well we know it. I wanted to engage people in the idea that a
video game can be more than a way to pass the time—that in fact it could
challenge the player's sense of morality and leave them with a chilling,
accurate depiction of a real-life event (one that was of great significance
to me).

Q. Do you think that was achieved?

A. SCMRPG has far exceeded any and all expectations I had for it... except
one... which is your next question.

Q. Do you think that perhaps the message in your game is too buried or
intellectual for everyone to find, does it worry you that perhaps some might
misinterpret what you were trying to do with the game?

A. I think there are elements of the game that are completely lost to most
people. This is in part because the subject matter doesn't flag down our
most intellectual sensibilities and also because, of course, video games
don't usually contain philosophers, poetry, or deeper meditations on
society. The base assumption is that this is a game where the stated
objective is to kill as many innocent kids as possible. Most people never
make it through the game and certainly don't readily consider the game as a
sociological critique or a deconstruction of the form (that is, "the video
game").

I think people that have come looking for a graphic exploitation of the
shooting—one that celebrates violence for its own sake and saturates the
screen with blood and torment—are always disappointed. I have gotten much
disparaging email about having not made a first person shooter, having no
way to "win" except to reflect upon the event with the press conference at
the end, and in general taking away all the sexy action and supplanting it
with dialogue and maudlin Smashing Pumpkins midi.

In short, most people misinterpret what I was trying to do with the game...
thankfully some of them are willing to really listen to what I have to say.
This was a game that was created in response to the scapegoatism video games
face today and as such it is the "perfect target" for already zealous
critics of video gaming. In the end, SCMRPG is something of chimera that
becomes whatever the player wants it to be: a horrible exploitation, a
thorough research project, a crappy little 16-bit game, or a point of
fixation for someone who wants to kill people.

Q. Do you think good things have come out of the creation of the game?

A. Absolutely. I am contacted all the time by people thanking me for
telling the story that most people won't touch—and it a way most people
would deem unthinkable. Moreover, many young people are now talking openly
about something they used to keep bottled up inside. Looking over the lives
of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, it was precisely that lack of contact with
the rest of humanity that permitted them to fall so far off the deep end of
nihilism.

Through the forum and personal communication, I have gotten angry young men
to think through the consequences of "another Columbine" and can say with
confidence that I've made a positive difference in the lives of young people
who don't really have anyone... the ones who are pushed into lockers, called
"faggot," ridiculed and ostracized. I can tell them I've been through it,
that life isn't always that way, and if they can find something they love
and excel at it, they'll be miles beyond their tormentors in just a few
short years.

The positive correspondence also comes in the form of women who spent their
teenage years suffering with depression and suicide, sometimes deeply
sedated by SRIs like Luvox, Zoloft, and Prozac (the first of which, as
SCMRPG players know, Eric Harris took and abruptly stopped before the
shooting). The fact is that for some people Columbine reads as an
"alternative history" to the daily agony they face in their teenage years.
I feel like I can help them to see past that and find ways to process their
pain without leaving a trail of blood and television crews.

Q. Did you ever have any contact with 25-year-old Kimveer Gill?

A. None. I know a friend online who had contact with him briefly. That's
really the extent of it.

Q. Have you had any contact with the people affected by the Dawson shooting?
Who contacted you and why?

A. I have been in contact with one survivor in particular who wrote me out
of a kind of sobering curiosity. He wanted to understand why I made the
game and felt as though it was in part responsible for the shooting. After
we spoke further, he began to understand the content of my character and the
game took on a slightly different context for him. I told him about CHS
survivors I have befriended and, more than anything, listened to him and
extended my empathy for what he's going through.

Q. What was that conversation like?

A. Conversations like that are never easy but nonetheless very important.
Part of "owning" my creation means being open and available to talk with
people about it and to meet them on common ground. It's amazing to me,
though: when people are truly willing to listen to one another, there's
almost nothing that can't be overcome. Talking with people on opposing
points of view, and slowly finding how much we really are alike after all,
is one of the most humanizing and transformative experiences of my life. I
think we have a lot to learn from our abilities to reconcile and accept one
another. There surely needs to be more of this in the world today.

Q. Have you considered making any other video games?

A. (smiles) Grand Theft Election: Miami-Dade.

I'm no video game programmer; films are still my foremost passion and I
think cinematically when I want to tell a story (much of SCMRPG felt like
"directing" scenes with dialogue and action sequences... the flashbacks in
particular).

That being said, I work on lots of smaller games with youth in my community
center (using RPG Maker and similar programs) but if anything Columbine was
the one subject I HAD to make a game about. It was something inside me that
needed to be confronted. I may not have another game like that in me... but
then again I'm a pretty non-linear thinker and I'm always interested in how
electronic media of any kind can affect us.

Honestly I think video games where such a part of my childhood that I'll
always view them as a means through which to see the world. In some ways
they are prohibitive to understanding something but in others can yield so
much interactivity that their power is undeniable. I think gaming is still
in its teenage years and as such there's much to explore in terms of what a
game is and how we can play it. I'm totally addicted to Dance Dance
Revolution, for example, and make my own songs and steps all the time with
Step Mania. I'm almost good enough for Heavy Mode now.

Q. Would you make a video game about what happened at Dawson College? Why or
Why not?

I'm not an ambulance chaser who makes games. I think there are very
interesting stories out there—some of them can lend themselves to gaming.
Just recently I tried out Persuasive Games' Airport Security and that was
completely arresting in an unexpected way (as was the Sim McDonalds game).

I'm not sure there's as much of a story at Dawson College as there was at
Columbine. Maybe I'm wrong. Someone spitefully suggested making a game
where players work as the SWAT Team to kill kids in black trench coats. I
told him to do it; I would link his site to mine if I liked it. I think
gaming could someday be as personal as the blog or the YouTube phenomena;
everyone with a computer and a Net connection can make a game to express
their worldview. It needn't be a top-down medium of producers and consumers
of games. Frankly I'd prefer it not be.

Q. Is there anything else you would like to add about this?

A. "Super Columbine Massacre RPG!" is, from the title on, a satire. It is a
satire of how the media came to view the shooting but ALSO a satire on the
conventions of video gaming itself. I wanted to deconstruct what a video
game could be about while still using many of the conventions available in
gaming. This is difficult for some to understand insomuch as the event
itself was tragic and painful for so many people but I believe true satire
can be aimed at even the most uncomfortable of topics (even nuclear war, per
'Dr. Strangelove.') In the case of SCMRPG, a GAME seemed to be the
appropriate response to so much vilification of gaming.

One of the seminal moments in popular video gaming was the encounter between
Mario and the first Goomba in World 1-1 of Super Mario Brothers for the NES.
There were really three possible options open to the player: 1) jump OVER
the Goomba and continue, 2) jump ONTO the Goomba and receive 100 points, or
3) walk INTO the Goomba and lose one of Mario's three lives. From this
crude simplification of how sprites in video games would interact came an
entire industry based largely on hit detection and other physically-driven
mechanisms for game play. Mario could not give the Gooba a high five
(Goombas don't have hands), could not ask for directions (who needs them in
a 2-D world?), and didn't so much as respect the Goomba's natural habitat in
the Mushroom Kingdom (what with all the vandalism of blocks). Mario could
not even enlist any help for creating his path of destruction until Yoshi
the dinosaur came along six years later...

The article written on SCMRPG for Wikipedia really understands much of the
effort and thinking behind the game. It's encouraging to see that yes, some
people really do understand that the game is critical not just of the
Columbine shooting and how it was handled in the press but also of the
operating constraints and conventions of the medium of video games itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Columbine_Massacre_RPG%21

Most of all, if nothing else I want SCMRPG to convey this: MAKE SOMETHING!
If you have something to say about the world, don't wait around for someone
to create that thing for you, DO IT YOURSELF. No matter who you are, you
have something to share and there's absolutely no reason media conglomerates
should have a monopoly on the creation of culture. In the digital age, we
have been empowered to reshape the horizon of understanding ourselves. So
set aside your MySpace blog, turn off the TV, and put down the controller
for your X-Box. Make something... and don't be afraid that your idea might
not be accepted; the truth is there is probably already a world of people
waiting for you to create it—whatever "it" might be.