Super Columbine Massacre RPG!: The Procedural Rhetoric of Critical (Gun) Play

Susan A. Sci; Brian L. Ott

doi:10.1177/1532708616636071

Super Columbine Massacre RPG! The Procedural Rhetoric of Critical (Gun) Play

Susan A. Sci, Brian L. Ott

CoMC Dept of COMS

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

This essay offers a counter-reading of Super Columbine Massacre RPG!, a controversial video game about the infamous school shooting at Columbine High School in 1999 in which players adopt the roles of the shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebod. Focusing on the game's unique procedural rhetoric, we argue that SCMRPG! juxtaposes interactive, non-realistic violence-reflected in a campy nineties video game aesthetic-with photographic evidence, extant dialogue, and a detailed narrative of the tragic events at Columbine to promote critical thought about gun violence generally and school shootings in particular. The essay concludes with a brief reflection on the vital that role video games can play in critical pedagogy.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	125-132
Number of pages	8
Journal	Cultural Studies - Critical Methodologies
Volume	17
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1532708616636071
State	Published - Apr 1 2017

Keywords

critical play
gun violence
persuasive games
procedural rhetoric
video games

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10.1177/1532708616636071

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Super Columbine Massacre RPG! The Procedural Rhetoric of Critical (Gun) Play

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