V-Tech game creator willing to abort game for a price
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ May 15th 2007 at 3:25PM }
Australian Ryan Lambourn could have made his flash game based on the Virginia Tech Massacre and left it at that. However, the ensuing outrage and press coverage caused him to do something quite unusual -- hold the game for ransom. On his website he states that he'll take the game down from website Newgrounds if he receives $1000 USD, he'll take it down from his personal website if he receives $2000 and he'll apologize for creating the game for $3000.Danny Ledonne, creator of Super Columbine Massacre RPG, writes on Lambourn's site, "It would appear to me that Ryan has no intention of doing much other than making money and gaining immediate recognition after the Virginia Tech shooting. Inevitably, comparisons between SCMRPG and VTech Rampage are being made right now. Some bloggers despise both games equally whereas others recognize a level of commentary that SCMRPG attempted which was not evident in VTR. For myself I wish to point out that SCMRPG was never a for-profit endeavor and thus I never posted statements like that which is on the VTR game's homepage"
The only thing gamers can hope now is when this news hits the mainstream press they take a restrained approach and recognize that this is not an "industry game," and it never went through the ESRB process. Lambourn responds to Ledonne's statement saying, "Danny, the donation thing is there as a joke against all the people commanding me to take my game down. I didn't think anyone would donate money to it and so far my paypal account has proven me right."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Joshua @ May 15th 2007 3:34PM
What a pompous dick.
SGT Monty @ May 15th 2007 3:31PM
How about I give him 3000 punches to the face? Will he cry while he apologizes?
dark54555 @ May 15th 2007 3:37PM
Maybe there are other ways to persuade him.
http://lawofthegame.blogspot.com/2007/05/virginia-tech-massacre-game-what-can-be.html
megaStryke @ May 15th 2007 3:40PM
"Danny, the donation thing is there as a joke against all the people commanding me to take my game down. I didn't think anyone would donate money to it and so far my paypal account has proven me right."
Riiiiiight. A joke, and such a TASTEFUL one at that! ALMOST as tasteful as Jack Thompson joking that he would donate money to charity if a game following specific guidelines that he presented. ALMOST....
Baka @ May 15th 2007 3:45PM
Great way to improve gaming's public image.
Next-Gen-Gamer @ May 15th 2007 3:43PM
Gotta love how he believes his existence is relevant to us because he made a VT game. This thing will fall into obscurity, without money, and without media hype.
Baka @ May 15th 2007 3:43PM
Great way to improve gaming's public image.
megaStryke @ May 15th 2007 3:46PM
CORRECTION: Riiiiiight. A joke, and such a TASTEFUL one at that! ALMOST as tasteful as Jack Thompson joking that he would donate money to charity if a game were developed that followed his specific guidelines. ALMOST....
Baka @ May 15th 2007 3:44PM
The double posting was due to loading errors. I clicked refresh after it froze up trying to load.
RolexDPracer @ May 15th 2007 7:49PM
F- that dude.
sheppy @ May 15th 2007 3:52PM
I disagreed with the Columbine game, I definately hate this one. Especially after this behavior.
I mean, I though Danny Ledonne's move was fairly scummish (IMO) but this... this is just low class with no brass.
KilgoreTrout XL @ May 15th 2007 3:57PM
Douchebag. Is that Bob Novak's son?
Morale @ May 15th 2007 3:58PM
"others recognize a level of commentary that SCMRPG attempted which was not evident in VTR."
Consider this: Where was the uproar from everyone when the mainstream media used this event to increase their viewing audience and recieve more money from advertisers?
One kid makes a dinky Flash game and wants some cash. The other is a fat suit in an office making millions by putting this shit all over the television.
Maybe this Flash game is art: a commentary on the contrast of opinion and outrage between this kid and the mainstream media milking the event at Virginia Tech.
Listen guys, don't get upset just because 'it makes video game(r)s look bad, and they'll take away our precious GTA.' There are bigger things going on here than that.
Morale
Tommy G @ May 15th 2007 3:59PM
thats just sick, this will only drag out people like jack T. to say that this is what games have become.
Ryoga Vee @ May 15th 2007 4:07PM
Truth be told this guy is brilliant.
Not only did he use his creativity and harness it into something he felt passionate about, he also virtually flipped the bird to anyone that got in his way. This is NO different than when people were all up in arms about early pornography. Argument being the use of a camera in such a manner. Now the camera is a keyboard and a programming language.
I%u2019m sure people were wishing for the heads the Mortal Kombat creators too.
And if you have the argument about how this is a real life situation, don%u2019t you think it%u2019s hypocritical that we have WWII games where we are rewarded for killing Japanese? What about Battlefield: Vietnam?
I%u2019m SOOO happy some times to live in America. I%u2019m happy that people can pretty much represent themselves however they please and in any form or media.
Maybe it%u2019s too soon for this kind of subject, but hey, I%u2019ll give him $1 to continue working on this
Jack of No Trades @ May 15th 2007 4:11PM
People make movies the portray violent timelines in history. The Holocaust was made into multiple movies and you don't see Jews going nuts. So what if this guy makes a game on Columbine. Money runs the world.
sheppy @ May 15th 2007 4:17PM
"One kid makes a dinky Flash game and wants some cash. The other is a fat suit in an office making millions by putting this shit all over the television."
Actually, I thought the way network news handled the tragedy was fucking shameful as well. As do a vast majority of my friends. Between jumping the shark and identifying the wrong student just for the purpose of being the first with a name to actually airing the manifesto of the sick fuck, nothing about how any media handled the tragedy did anything more than fuck the dead corpses for every goddam penny they were worth.
I mean, even the gaming media took time out of their busy schedule to not only make sure everyone knew JT was up to his shenanigans but also to tell us Cho didn't play games AND JT was getting a media backlash. Out of the entire fiasco, about the only decent thing to happen, well... there's a banner right at the top of the page. And that's it.
How does this make gamers look as a worry? Maybe it's petty for a group of people who are regularly attacked for a few extra ads to take offense to these actions. As we've learned from the past. In the media and politicians eyes, the actions of one dictate the behavior of all. No other group is that targetted right now. Of course, we're not being hunted down so I guess I can deal with stern looks from your grandma while gramps tries to remember where the shotgun is, just in case.
Jack of No Trades @ May 15th 2007 4:21PM
This guy has the right to make a video game. Even if the game depicts how the Columbine Shooting took place.
For example: So should I sue Universal Pictures for distributing that 9/11 flight movie because I had a love one that died on one of those planes?
Jack of No Trades @ May 15th 2007 4:22PM
This guy has the right to make a video game. Even if the game depicts how the Columbine Shooting took place.
For example: So should I sue Universal Pictures for distributing that 9/11 flight movie because I had a love one that died on one of those planes?
gothsSCAREme @ May 16th 2007 2:25PM
Sick son of a bitch. I want to take that donation and shove it up his ass.
Rubang B @ May 15th 2007 4:31PM
The last time I czeched being an asshole or making bad jokes was protected by the Constitution.
gothsSCAREme @ May 16th 2007 2:25PM
Hey, I just thought of something. Lets put him into a room with a crazy demented asian with a gun and how he does.
Sam G. @ May 15th 2007 5:20PM
@#19: Agreed.
When I read this post, the first thing I did was laugh hysterically.
krizoitz @ May 15th 2007 4:44PM
"others recognize a level of commentary that SCMRPG attempted which was not evident in VTR."
No, it was sick, they both are. This guy trying to pass it off as "commentary" is either deluded or an outright liar. They both should be ashamed.
nrxia @ May 15th 2007 4:48PM
People in Australia have a strange sense of humor and no shame (my stepmom is an aussie). I'd be laughing all the way to the bank if I were him.
As tastless as it is, people have sunk lower just for money. If he does make something from this, I almost envy him. Given the way the internet works, I'd say this is pretty brilliant.
sheppy @ May 15th 2007 4:51PM
"This guy has the right to make a video game. Even if the game depicts how the Columbine Shooting took place."
Ummm, nobody is debating that issue. Welcome to the "no duh" effect. Just because you can do something doesn't mean that thing is not tasteless and disgusting. I mean, I could get up on a mailbox in Harlem and scream "I hate you, you n_____s" and as soon as I finish plying the bullets from my ass, the law isn't going to break down my door with an arrest warrant.
megaStryke @ May 15th 2007 5:00PM
@Rubang B
"The last time I czeched being an asshole or making bad jokes was protected by the Constitution."
I can't remember the last time I czeched anything. Naturally, I slovak on a number of occasions, and if I'm feeling frisky I might get a little hungary. Maybe I ought to get back into some good old-fashioned czeching myself.
EclipseGryph @ May 15th 2007 6:30PM
Actually, shep, you'd be nailed for inciting a public disturbance and disturbing the peace. :)
Regardless, I agree. This prick has a right to spread his filth, just as everyone else has the right (and the freaking obligation, I think) to opine negatively about it.
Rubang B @ May 15th 2007 5:09PM
Oh crap. Slovak is now also a verb in my vocabulary. Thank you.
Grant @ May 15th 2007 5:15PM
no matter what the reasons this little shit made the game for, it's TERRIBLE.
if your going to make something, controversial or not, at least make it right/fun.
I would literally have more fun smearing dog shit on a piece of paper with a stick.
this kid clearly just wants attention, mommy doesn't love him, so he needs the internet to give him his 5.5 minutes of internet fame.
Heliophage @ May 15th 2007 5:16PM
The only thing that bothers me is that it's a shitty game riding on shock value purely just to become e-famous.
It's like the mentally handicapped bastard child of BMX XXX and Postal.
Rubang B @ May 15th 2007 5:24PM
Maybe I should make one of these games. In level 1 you shoot up a school. In level 2 you play as the parents of the victims and you burn a bunch of books and rock and roll CDs and violent video games. In level 3 you make a video game based on the shooting. In level 4 you go on Joystiq and bitch and moan about it. In level 5... BURRITOS IN SPACE shmup level.
I'm gonna be so famous. You all heard it here first, so if it doesn't say "Made by Rubang B" in the corner, you know it's a sham.
Gadxooks @ May 15th 2007 5:35PM
I congrat this person. He was smart enough to ask for USD instead of AUD. Cause, ya know, your dollar is worth more than ours...
Cabcru @ May 15th 2007 5:36PM
Claims it was a joke but provided a paypal account for it... what, just in case? Ahuh.
sarah @ May 15th 2007 5:51PM
Ok, what this guy did may be offensive, it may be disgusting, but you know what? In a free society he has every right to be a f***ing a** hole if he wants to be. Does this make gamers look bad? Maybe, but it's his perogative. Us gamers get so up in arms about people trying censor our games but look how quickly you turned when something offended you. It's an all or nothing thing people. In order to protect your freedoms you have to protect others even if you don't agree.
FSK405K @ May 15th 2007 5:51PM
Lol this guy is awesome. It'll be great if he gets the money and removes the game...and then people start mirroring it and seeding it on torrent networks.
Spex @ May 15th 2007 6:33PM
True dat, Sarah. I fully agree. I've played the Super Columbine game, and those who don't agree it's an interesting documentary in the form of a game, giving a nice commentary on the event, for shame on your for missing the point of the game. You jumped to the concluding that "it's a game about a violent event and therefor is offensive and wrong." Congrats! You're not deputies of Jack Thompson!
Anyway, even if this VT is completely tasteless of is just getting a bad rep, he still does indeed have every right to make it, distribute it, and feel whatever the hell he wants to about the whole event.
Do you know how many people like the ones who visit this site got dumped on after Columbine? If you were caught REMOTELY looking sympathetic to the shooters, or being even the least bit unusual or different compared to the main-stream, OR played games like Quake and Doom, you were perused by the school system. You'd at least be observed and in many cases told to go into therapy or be expelled.
Now you want to tell him "NO! You can't do that! It's not the popular opinion!" Shame on you, all of you! I may not condone this game if it was tasteless, but I will defend this guys every right to make and distribute it, as well as use this lil joke/scheme of his.
krizoitz @ May 15th 2007 6:59PM
"Ok, what this guy did may be offensive, it may be disgusting, but you know what? In a free society he has every right to be a f***ing a** hole if he wants to be. Does this make gamers look bad? Maybe, but it's his perogative. Us gamers get so up in arms about people trying censor our games but look how quickly you turned when something offended you. It's an all or nothing thing people. In order to protect your freedoms you have to protect others even if you don't agree."
Yes but part of the price for living in a free society is that you also get to be criticized when you do use your freedom to be an asshole. Freedom of speech != freedom from criticism
Rubang B @ May 15th 2007 7:07PM
Go sarah go sarah, it's you birthday...
Here, I'll simplify the issue for everybody. Jack Thompson hates this game so I love this game. I haven't even played it and I might not remember to ever, but there you go. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. And there's no comparison to SCMRPG.
Rubang B @ May 15th 2007 7:11PM
Hey you can criticize him all you want, but then I get to criticize you for criticizing him. I'm not arguing against some nice debate here. I'm a total free speech nut, so I defend everything from the VT game to SCMRPG to the Left Behind games that have you slaughtering non-Christians. I oppose censorhip so I oppose Jack Thompson. If he wants to argue against violent video games on his wacky religious grounds, that's fine by me. But when he tries to make them illegal, that's not OK. Even if you hate these games, you're not trying to make them illegal, so I have nothing against you.
Anybody here play this thing yet?
(01) @ May 15th 2007 8:31PM
Could I request that Joystiq and all it's supporters/Partners immediately cease posting anything about this guy? By giving him attention, it doesn't matter if he gets the money or not, he's generating buzz for himself by holding a false apology ransom for the price of 5 PS3's; in essence being paid for being a tasteless, obscene waste of space. The Joystiq community did a good thing with it's anti-violence declaration, let's do it again by not letting trash like this get any more attention.
Canuckmikes @ May 16th 2007 12:45AM
I've played this, and I've played SCRPG.
I've seen what Danny LeDonne (SCRPG author) and Ryan (Vtech game author) have to say, and how they act when people ask them about their game.
Danny had a message. This jackass just wants attention. He's a Michael Crook who knows how to use flash.
His game is an awful piece of work, and I'm excercising my freedom of speech by making sure the agencies that represent the musicians who's works were used in the game, know about it. I've got a hunch that Collective Soul didn't license shine to this moron. It's how I'm trying to get this trash off line, without putting a cent in his pocket book.
Anonymous @ May 16th 2007 12:06AM
Free speech is free speech, but unfortunately Jack Thompson and his ilk will probably find a way to spin this against us all. Thank you Joystiq, for alerting him to this game's presence.
fishamaphone @ May 16th 2007 7:43AM
I'm actually an acquaintance of Ryan. I've been credited in some of his stuff before. I'd like to say I know him reasonably well.
Do I think this thing was tasteless? Yeah. In fact, I've told him he's going to Hell.
Do I think he had malicious/attention whore intentions, though? No.
This is his sense of humor. Within a week of Steve Irwin's death, he wrote a "Stingray through the Heart" song. After Katrina, he wrote a song called "Niggas is Wet." Before this game, his best-known work was a series of flash cartoons where he perverted and distorted his favorite TV show into a bunch of dick jokes.
I'm not going to defend the game, but people are making, in general, a *much* bigger deal out of this than needs be.
Jlodus @ May 16th 2007 11:23AM
There are a couple of things that I would like to point out.
First off, while I respect his right to make this game, I do not like the premise. Mainly because there are many people that are still grieving for the lose of their loved ones in a senseless massacre. To me, this is like pouring salt in the wounds. This emotional wounds are far too fresh right now for the people that were close to this incident. It may be easy for the creator of said game to make it because he had no connection to anyone there, but I think it shows a huge lack of consideration for the people that were connected and were hurt by this incident. I think that is just callous on the creator's part.
Secondly, while I do agree that he has the ability to program what he chooses, that does not mean he has to. That is a form of tact.
And finally, what worries me most is the simple fact that this has already been picked up by mainstream media. This is a problem for the industry and the community as we will now be portrayed based on this game even though it was not industry made. The larger problem will now stem from the fact that the average voter will view this and think this is what ALL gamers think of the incident. Not only will we get a horribly unjustified bad rap, but the industry will be under more scrutiny and there will be backlash against us as a community for something we did not do. Furthermore, the governments will of course outcry and disavow this simply not to appear sympathetic to Cho or this creator. The political aspect of this will be huge upheaval and we will pay the price.
And I doubt the creator of this game thought about the ramifications of his actions on a social level or a political level. And as such, the rest of us will end up bearing the burden.
JoseMiguel @ May 16th 2007 10:55AM
You people are acting silly. trying to forget these things is precisely why they happen. You ACT as though this guy killed someone with this game when all the thing is a game, nothing else. Maybe if you spent less time being apathetic about everyone else and stopped being dicks about the themes of artistic expressions these things wouldn't happen.
So he made a game about it? Though shit, someone will make a movie eventually, a song, a poem whatever. And you will be in the front row of the theather to see it, so stop being hypocrites.
Jlodus @ May 16th 2007 11:28AM
eep, sorry for the double post, I was trying to figure out my password >.<
In any case, JoseMiguel, I think you are missing the point entirely. The whole reason we are upset is because we are being SYMPATHIC for the survivors and the families and friends of the victims. We are not being apathetic to them. We respect their feelings and their lose. That is why we are upset. This boy has every right to make this game, and everyone here would back up his right to free speech. But I am no hypocrite, I would not see a play or movie or game based on these events, much like Uwe Boll's movie about 9/11. I will not see such a horrible event trivialized for profit at the expense of someone else's pain and misery.
vvvoice @ May 17th 2007 2:46PM
More power to him, I haven't played the game but the point is that I don't need to. Opponents of free speech are cowards and douchebags.
You assholes more concerned with "image" and what's "appropriate" should join Adolf and Stalin for a good ol' fashioned witchhunt.
blo me @ May 17th 2007 3:27PM
It's just a GAME you PC FOOLS. Better censor everything because someone somewhere will find it offensive right? Fuckin idiots!
blo me @ May 17th 2007 3:35PM
Where's the download for it? Anybody? And for all you azzholes who want to be on a witch hunt because this game isn't "appropriate"--GO FUCK YOURSELVES. Games are THINGS and things are neither "good" or "bad".
Class dismissed ;)