Video Games = Art

Games Are Art, And Artists Are Sometimes Idiots



1605_vtech2_sp.jpgA flash game has appeared on the web which depicts the VA-Tech shootings, as you might expect controversy has erupted around the game and its creator has made little or no attempt to justify the game. Some claim that Ryan Lambourn (A.K.A. PiGPEN) has set back the acceptance of games as a legitimate art form 10 years, whilst others have praised him for his efforts. Mr Lambourn’s website is currently down, whether this is due to him exceeding his bandwidth or because his hosts have pulled it is unknown.

Lets be clear about this, V-Tech Rampage is no Super Columbine Massacre RPG. Where SCMRPG was a genuine attempt to try and understand what drove the perpetrators of that tragedy, V-Tech Rampage is simply a crass action shoot-em-up with little depth to it beyond killing as many people as possible. At best it is a waste of promising talent, at worst, a tactless attempt to gain notoriety for its creator.

The game itself is not actually that good, and its creator seems to lack even the basics of human empathy, he even posted on his blog that he would remove the game from the internet if people donated $2000 to him and would apologise for $3000. This compounds his folly by making it seem like he’s simply trying to cash in on a tragedy. In an interview for TEK he claims to be a fan of gaming but hates the community built around it, he hasn’t owned a console since the N64, and says “I also wanted a laugh at drama sponges.” Supposedly referring to those who are understandably up in arms about the V-Tech shootings and his depiction of it.

Now I’m going to play devil’s advocate and look at this from another point of view. Maybe he’s satirising those “drama sponges” he mentioned, maybe he’s not poking fun at the events but at those who crawl out of the woodwork afterwards and cast the blame on various things when there is no-one to blame but the perpetrators. Maybe he’s trying to point out that these things happen and there’s nothing we can do to prevent them. In comments to the Sydney Morning Herald he seems to be confused about his own motives for creating and publishing the game, saying that he made the game “because its funny” on minute and then admitting to feeling sympathy for those involved in the massacre, including the gunman, Cho Sueng-hui. Maybe he is trying to make a point but he sounds confused as to what it might be. Though he seems to come closest to explaining himself when he says “No-one listens to you unless you’ve got something sensational to do.” Is it a cry for attention on behalf of the disaffected youth of today? He doesn’t say so explicitly but I am of the opinion that this game is his sensational act, just as the massacre was Cho’s.

Personally I think the guy is an idiot. If he wanted to be artistic, controversial and poke fun, then the way he’s gone about doing so is tactless, unsympathetic and crass. This is one videogame which in artistic terms can only be compared with those tacky figurines of dragons or unicorns which adorn the living rooms of Britains tasteless masses. He’s a shameless self publicist, using the personal tragedy of others to further his own notoriety.

(From

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Posted on May 16, 2007 by Mandrill | Filed Under News
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