Following up on the Slamdance debacle (Slamdance Slams Itself..Hard) comes word that several developers have pulled their products out from consideration.
The festival has been under considerable attack since the original announcement of dropping Super Columbine, all the more so since the organizers requested it in the first place.
This latest move by some of the finalists isn’t much of a surprise. Obviously, they don’t want to see any precedents set here that might affect future competitions. A show of solidarity is important in this matter, whatever they may think of the game itself.
Several who have not dropped out have issued an open letter to Slamdance. It says, in part:
We believe that reinstating Ledonne’s game is highly consistent with supporting trail-blazing gamemaking. Keeping the game out of the festival would suggest that games are for kids and can only deal with kid-safe topics, that they are for amusement only and cannot deal with matters of importance…
I certainly agree that, well and thoughtfully done, computer games can deal with matters that are important or controversial. However, Super Columbine isn’t one of them, and I think that part could have been phrased differently.
As a counterpoint, Aspyr has just released The Shield, based on the popular TV series. The lead role is an unscrupulous and less-than-honest police officer. I wonder if there will be complaints about that one?
In any case, it will be interesting to see what finally happens at Slamdance, and whether the resolution will leave this indie game festival in a shamble…if it isn’t one already.
Just to add fun to the mix, coming in here to check the posts, I saw an ad for (I kid you not) online cockfighting. At least the birds are virtual, but still….
While I agree that the game is in poor taste it sets a bad precedent to remove it due to the sponsor’s pulling out. I saw a comment on another forum about it:
“Imagine Dominoes Pizza deciding it objected to the theme of Brokeback Mountain and told the Academy Awards to remove it.”
I’m kinda bummed, as Slamdance is in my backyard (Park City is only about a half hour away – though the snows of January can make it a bit longer). But unless there’s either a reorganization or a massive change in its commitment, Slamdance has all but stated directly that it doesn’t feel that games are as worthy a form of artistic expression as film (which is the bread-and-butter of the festival… the alternative to the “too mainstream” Sundance Film Festival which also takes place here in Utah).
If that’s the case, it is the wrong venue for showcasing the innovation of independent gaming. They may continue to run the “Guerilla Gamemakers” competition, but they will be a long time repairing the damage they’ve done to their reputation.
Scorpia,
Here is a new game you can develop:
A game where the player takes on the role of an organizer to bring the best indie games together without offending anyone.
The only thing is you can only allow games approved by a mysterious woman that goes by the name S that works for an organization named CGW (Computer Games for Women).
Good, they deserve the backlash.
Someone should make a game where the player is sent back in time to a school to stop a shooting. Make in a 3D FPS and the player has to find the assailents and gets rated on how many students they saved.
BTW – I read a review of Super Columbine Massacre over at Ars Technia that hailed it’s solid game coding and didn’t even mention anything about the game except that you shoot unarmed students. Somehow I doubt they played the game.
Vag, that sounds like a tech report, not a review. Maybe Ars didn’t want to get into what the game was about.
Doubtful, hehe. However, I doubt (!) you could put together an indie festival where someone wasn’t offended.
Incidentally, the count is now at 6 finalists withdrawing in protest, and one sponsor. (The sponsor isn’t a big one, I don’t think – it’s a game development school, and one of their teams was a finalist).
The only thing that really disturbs me at the moment is that the game may gain credibility it doesn’t deserve.
I agree with the principle of what the game devs are doing, but I’d rather not see SC lauded for what it isn’t.
I agree entirely. My personal opinion is that his stated “purpose” for the game was tacked on after the fact.
I agree Coyote. The game diesn’t really take a look at the real event, it’s just a distortion.