School Shooter: North American Tour 2012 Pulled From Host Site

Controversial School Shooting Video Game Pulled From Host Site

A video game designed to allow users to emulate school shooting sprees has been pulled from its host site's databas, reports GamePolitics.

The object of School Shooter: North American Tour 2012, a Source modification of Half-Life 2, is to murder as many defenseless students, teachers and members of staff as possible. To do so, the player uses weapons based on those used by the likes of Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. After completing the spree, the player is encouraged to commit suicide before being captured by law enforcement officials.

Game developer Jaime Lombe (aka Pawnstick) told Escapist Magazine that he created the game because other school shooting games just weren't that much fun. "Nobody has ever tried create a proper game about a school shooting," he said, adding that he was not particularly moved by the tragedy at Columbine. "The way the news victimized the victims and overplayed the evil of the shooters disgusted me more than the actual shootings themselves."

In response to the game, the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors released a statement (PDF) decrying "the development and marketing of video games that present such video activities as 'fun'." The statement continued: "As campus mental health professionals who first hand experience the tragedy and devastation that occurs in the aftermath of campus violence, AUCCCD believes the production of such products is most deplorable and unfortunate."

In a statement, Scott Reismanis, founder of the game's source site ModDB, said that he removed the game due to pressure from critics.

Lombe said that the game will be released despite the setback.

Below, check out WPSD 6's coverage of the game, and let us know what you think in the comments section.

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