Super Columbine Massacre RPG
Danny Ledonne / 2006 / USA
In its short life, Super Columbine Massacre RPG has become one of the most controversial video games ever made. The first-time effort of Danny Ledonne, the game uses actual footage of the Columbine killers laid over a 2D low-resolution, 1990s-style overhead “role-playing game.” The game, made with the free, downloadable role- playing game software RPG Maker, asks players to step into the shoes of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold on the day they massacred fellow students at Colorado's Columbine High School in 1999. Players control the Nintendo-like characters through the school hallway, into the cafeteria, and lastly through Hell where they are met by pop icons like monsters from “Doom” and singer Marilyn Manson. The game has raised serious questions about the appropriateness of using games to tackle such painful material. To some it's a glorification of tragic violence; to others it's a landmark in the way videogames can be more than just fun.
