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A new video game that encourages players to take part in a school shooting has triggered outrage online.

Active Shooter, lets players choose between taking on the role of a SWAT team member trying to stop an ongoing school shooting — or the role of the shooter themselves, shares Daily Mail.

Those who play as the shooter will be shown a tally of the number of civilians and police officers they have managed to kill during their simulated shooting spree.

Anti-gun violence charity Infer Trust has described the game as ‘horrendous’ and in ‘bad taste’ given the recent mass shootings in the US.

‘Pick your role, gear up and fight or destroy!’ the description on the Active Shooter listing declares.

‘Only in “Active Shooter”, you will be able to pick the role of an Elite S.W.A.T team member or the actual shooter.

‘Depending on the role, your objective might be to protect and extract or hunt and destroy.’

Anti-gun violence charity Infer Trust has called on Valve – the company behind the Steam online games store, where Active Shooter will be available to purchase – to take the title down before it goes on sale worldwide, on June 6.

A spokesperson for Infer Trust told the BBC: ‘It’s in very bad taste. There have been 22 school shootings in the US since the beginning of this year.

‘It is horrendous. Why would anybody think it’s a good idea to market something violent like that, and be completely insensitive to the deaths of so many children?

‘We’re appalled that the game is being marketed.’

The creator of Active Shooter, known via the moniker ‘ACID’ on the Steam online store, published a statement in response to the criticism.

‘Since this games storefront has been live, I have been stormed with accusations and heavy critics from people across the globe,’ the statement begins.

The developer states the video game ‘does not promote any sort of violence’ before pointing to the description of the game as a ‘dynamic SWAT simulator’.

“While I can see people’s anger and why this might be a bad idea for the game, I still feel like this topic should be left alone.”

“After receiving such high amount of critics and hate, I will more likely remove the shooters role in this game by the release, unless it can be kept as it is right now.”

Do you think it is an inappropriate format for a game?
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  • So are they saying this game increases the risk of kids who play becoming school shooters? Not sure I agree with that train of thought. If kids are influenced massively by console games, I think they already have mental health issues. Majority of kids would see it only as a game and treat it as such

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  • How many copycats will there be as a result of this. It should have been banned before it hit the shelves. The guy should be forced to buy back all that have been distributed in any way.

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  • Yeah, not the best of taste involved in creating this game. It’s not one I would consider buying fir my kids

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  • There is more than enough of this crap happening in real life. The world does not need video games where you act it out as well.

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  • I udnerstand the backlash and the extremely poor timing ( not the mention the extremely bad choice of words… Like seriousy…) with Active Shooter.

    If the dev had really wanted it to work – the dev should have implemented more SWAT options like SWAT 4. In SWAT 4 you’re able to use subduing tools like Tasers and Beanbag weapons to takedown and arrest the criminals in the game to save the hostages.

    What it failed to show is the possibility to show that you can have the ability to role-play and if it had time to be improved from other people’s opinions and feedback it would have become a game that people would like to play as a team SWAT taking out the shooter and saving the day – i’d wager it even have more maps and it wouldnt have been only the school. Despite how tasteless that is and its poorly thought out release as US has so many shootings caused by mentally ill state of mind the shooters have to commit crime.

    Honestly i’m surprised MW2’s No Russian mission and E.D.G.E (in edge defence its for government & local law enforcement services).

    not to say I advocate for this game no – because its original sole intent was to be a SWAT simulator with the extremely controversal option and I emphase on option to play as an shooter.

    Besides it was a really bad game and the only ones who would have brought it on Steam were people who like to have extremely bad games like Hatred

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  • If the developer actually put more emphasis on the swat side and giving them the option of subduing them & the option for the shooter to give up & importantly showed different maps – I think it would have been slightly acceptable.

    Despite that – EDGE is an video game that does the same.
    However the Goverment and Local Law enforcements are able to use it.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzlgiFsEZek

    if the dev of the extremely terrible name ‘Active Shooter’ had actually put more effort into showing that you can subdue the attacker and save the day instead of releasing it extremely badly. It probably would have barely acceptable. I mean sure its a WorkInProgress Indie Game – that its original intent was to focus on the SWAT shoes in preventing the shooter from taking lives.

    That being said, the dev stated he is completely open to additional changes even to remove from the game completely.

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  • What a terrible subject matter to make a game around, especially when you note the number of school shootings in the USA.
    Even if it had an R rating I’m sure kids could get their hands on this. Certainly not the first abhorrent game on the market but still disturbing non the less.

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  • A very inappropriate format for a game indeed !!

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  • Still no good even if they change it

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  • Not a very literate statement – which makes his reasoning sound even worse. Definitely a bad idea.

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  • Oh my!

    Reply

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