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'V-Tech Rampage' Internet game sparks outrage
An Internet video game putting players in the role of Virginia Tech mass murderer Seung-Hui Cho may be nothing more than a twisted publicity stunt.
But the sick game is now in the cross hairs of state Sen. Andrew Lanza, chair of the Senate Task Force on Youth Violence and the Entertainment Industry.
The game, created by 21-year-old Ryan Lambourn of Sydney, Australia, is dubbed "V-Tech Rampage" and available on Newgrounds.com. The Web site features animations and games created with Flash.
Players take control of a crudely-designed Seung-Hui as he guns down his first victims, avoids police to mail his media package and continues his rampage.
"There are certain things in life you don't make light of and should not be turning into a game," said Lanza (R-Staten Island). "It's not a game, it's a tremendous loss of life."
Seung-Hui gunned down 32 people on April 16 on the Blacksburg, Va., campus, before killing himself. The murders drew parallels to the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, for which a much maligned Internet video game was also created.
Lanza called on retailers, manufacturers and Web site hosts to shun the game. But video game advocates were buzzing today about potential backlash, and noted that the game was the creation of an individual, not the industry.
"Anyone can make an online Flash game, period," wrote Matt Paprocki in the gaming section of Blogcritics.org. "From the best designers to those completely lacking in morals, everyday people create Flash games. 'V-Tech Rampage' is simply an example of how terrible they can be."
While unlikely to gain ground in the mainstream, Lanza said it was important to "make sure we keep it on the fringe." He compared it to the upcoming installment of the blood-soaked Grand Theft Auto series, where players will tear around a city loosely based on New York.
"You've got Grand Theft Auto where you murder police officers," Lanza said. "To me, I can't imagine people marketing and distributing it, and putting it in the hands of kids, but it's happening."
Lambourn, who was born in Australia but lived in the United States until he was 14, has so far refused to take down the game and went so far as to ask for money to remove it. He could not be reached for comment this evening.
But he told The Daily Telegraph in Sydney that, 'Yeah it's staying up - freedom of speech, man. Someone is offended by something all the time - it doesn't matter what it is."
He said that asking for up to $2,000 to take the game down from Newgrounds and his own Web site, and $3,000 to apologize, was a "joke." But the man, who is not employed and does not go to school, added that he wanted to use the money to buy a movie camera.
Source: Staten Island Advance
But the sick game is now in the cross hairs of state Sen. Andrew Lanza, chair of the Senate Task Force on Youth Violence and the Entertainment Industry.
The game, created by 21-year-old Ryan Lambourn of Sydney, Australia, is dubbed "V-Tech Rampage" and available on Newgrounds.com. The Web site features animations and games created with Flash.
Players take control of a crudely-designed Seung-Hui as he guns down his first victims, avoids police to mail his media package and continues his rampage.
"There are certain things in life you don't make light of and should not be turning into a game," said Lanza (R-Staten Island). "It's not a game, it's a tremendous loss of life."
Seung-Hui gunned down 32 people on April 16 on the Blacksburg, Va., campus, before killing himself. The murders drew parallels to the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, for which a much maligned Internet video game was also created.
Lanza called on retailers, manufacturers and Web site hosts to shun the game. But video game advocates were buzzing today about potential backlash, and noted that the game was the creation of an individual, not the industry.
"Anyone can make an online Flash game, period," wrote Matt Paprocki in the gaming section of Blogcritics.org. "From the best designers to those completely lacking in morals, everyday people create Flash games. 'V-Tech Rampage' is simply an example of how terrible they can be."
While unlikely to gain ground in the mainstream, Lanza said it was important to "make sure we keep it on the fringe." He compared it to the upcoming installment of the blood-soaked Grand Theft Auto series, where players will tear around a city loosely based on New York.
"You've got Grand Theft Auto where you murder police officers," Lanza said. "To me, I can't imagine people marketing and distributing it, and putting it in the hands of kids, but it's happening."
Lambourn, who was born in Australia but lived in the United States until he was 14, has so far refused to take down the game and went so far as to ask for money to remove it. He could not be reached for comment this evening.
But he told The Daily Telegraph in Sydney that, 'Yeah it's staying up - freedom of speech, man. Someone is offended by something all the time - it doesn't matter what it is."
He said that asking for up to $2,000 to take the game down from Newgrounds and his own Web site, and $3,000 to apologize, was a "joke." But the man, who is not employed and does not go to school, added that he wanted to use the money to buy a movie camera.
Source: Staten Island Advance
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