You might have heard about this game V-Tech Rampage. In it, you play the person responsible for the April 16, 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech, and it's your job to carry out the notorious events of that day. True to life, the game ends (and you "win") when you complete your mission and kill yourself.

This game's starting to get noticed around the Internet, and as you might imagine, most people don't think too highly of it. BlogCritics described it this way: "The game is riddled with embarrassing typographical errors, the ridiculous screens that follow failure are beyond pathetic, and the choice of music is sure to cause copyright issues. It’s a sad cry for attention, and a miserable use of a tragedy in an attempt to reach that goal." Kotaku.com says, "V-Tech Rampage doesn't bring anything more than shoddy, tacky game play to the table. Free speech and free expression are great. Just make sure you've got something to say."

Not content to stop there, the author, PiGPEN, has set up a page on his personal webpage stating that, if enough people deposit money in his Paypal account, he'll take the game down. Some of the people weighing in on this feel that we should pre-emptively take it down, especially in light of PiGPEN's attempt to profit from it.

Does this game have any merit, or is it strictly an exercise in poor taste? Are you offended by it? Did you enjoy playing it? Should it be taken down? What do you think?

Eh, I kinda liked the V-Tech game better than that Super Columbine thing.

I think it should be taken down because it is mocking a horrible tragedy.

No, it shouldn't be taken down! Newgrounds is has had offensive material on it before; there's even a 9/11 collection of Flash. Let it stay.

You wouldn't believe the reviews for it lol.

In any event, that game is no worse than the 911 flashes or columbine. I say let it stay. It''ll die down like everything else.

Did it make it through the judgement system without having the whistle blown or getting balmmed? Yes?

Then I say it stays on NG, like most of the other shit that manages to pass.

If it ain't fun to play...
Then fuck for all I care, take it the fuck down.

in that case, why should the 9/11 flashes stay? both are disrespectful...he could've at least made the game from a survivor's point of view....

Well it's too late now, it's already popular.
If some people are stupid enough to send him money, then they deserve to be parted with their cash.

If you take this one down, you're saying flashes like this are not acceptable in the future on this website, and that's not a path I think newgrounds should go down. Obviously the game is just aiming to get some attention, but anyone should realise that before they play. Plus it's not that shittily made.

So I think it should stay.

DELETE IT NOW!

Keep it there, if some whiney bitches who probably make jokes about the holocaust and Iraq want to cry about it, let them, just don't let it affect who can say what and when.

I think the guy is desperate. We had a little discussion about it in the Flash Forum, and pigpen posted there too. I just think the guys a little to pathetic - yes yes we knew somebody would, you're the lucky guy I guess.

What i'd love to see happen is this morons parents contacted... let his real life friends and family know about this.

I think it's brilliant game. Leave it up.

People need to just get a hobby other than trying to make the world a prefect place. The game may not have been the best, but its still fun to play. If people don't think so, then they don't have to play it.

At 5/15/07 04:56 PM, Twone wrote: I think it should be taken down because it is mocking a horrible tragedy.

Should we remove all content that makes light of a tragedy? Do you want your right to make light of a tragedy via artistic expression (Flash game, Flash toon, painting, song, play, movie, et) taken away because it may offend someone? Where do we draw the line? Can we draw a line? I think it's all or nothing, and I don't think many people would enjoy the later.

I think it's pretty offensive to the people that took part in the tragedy. The guy does have the freedom of speech and everything so that weighs in on this. I don't think it should be taken off but it should be put under the mature zone, it's a mature topic. I played it and the gameplay isn't bad it's just a bit offensive. But then again Newgrounds has it's history of offensiveness. I say keep it on in the mature zone.

It shouldn't be taken down because of offensive stuff. You must remember, thi is NG, we have had tons of submissions making fun of tragedy and massacre, and we also have tons of crap on the site. This one is just getting noticed, it doesn't make it any worse then the other shit in the portal.

That is a Sick game.

If the author of the game is wanting to profit off of it- and it's being hosted here, then yes. It should be taken down. This site is known for it's controversial content, but with the author using the tragedy to profit? I don't think it belongs here anymore. He can host it on his own site if he wants to capitalize on it.

it's fine he's just an attention whore. who would actually donate to get him to remove it. THE INTERNET IS SERIOUS BUSINESS!!

At 5/15/07 04:56 PM, Twone wrote: I think it should be taken down because it is mocking a horrible tragedy.

That's like saying "TAKE DOWN ALL THE HILARIOUS FLASHES ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST, 9/11, SCHOOL SHOOTINGS ETC" >:(

At 5/15/07 05:02 PM, WadeFulp wrote: Should we remove all content that makes light of a tragedy? Do you want your right to make light of a tragedy via artistic expression (Flash game, Flash toon, painting, song, play, movie, et) taken away because it may offend someone? Where do we draw the line?

Child molestation. And that's about it.

He should do the pay pal and then don't take it down.

Aren't we just giving him the attention he wants? I'm not saying hes a bad guy, but have some sympathy for the family and friends of the killed.

Anywhoo, if Newgrounds starts to get blamed, destroy it, there are more important things for the site to worry about. If pigpen or whatever his name is gets accused, then just leave it be.

I think it shouldn't be taken down.

Why should it be?

Keep it up for sure.

And lol at him trying to make money off of it.

Leave it up

The internet is no shelter from the harsh realities of the Real World. It was bound to happen, everyone saw it was coming. You remove this one thing, everyone will want ever tragedy parody/game/movie to be removed. Thats not happening. People DO have freedom of speech, and the internet is hte best way to express that, we take taht away....than we have nothing.

People will be offended and angry. Yes. People will try dumb law suits and all this bullshit to try get justice. But the internet is no place for that. People will have their opinions.

The game to me seemed like some kind of history test. The news networks covered the event almost non stop for days, pounding the time line of events into our brains. They showed us actual images, actual people with injuries, students jumping from windows, the shooter's videos, etc. I think those images are more harmful and more upsetting than any game. The game tests to see how well you paid attention to the time line and you simply walk through the chain of events in the right order to beat the game.

Now we watch as the same media that shoved these images down our throat tries to pass blame on Newgrounds and this Flash author when they themselves aired the shooter's video against the wishes of many of the victims of the V-TECH shooting. Hopefully the media will stop being so hypocritical one of these days. They profitted the most from this tragedy with their non-stop coverage of the event giving them huge ratings. They played the shooter's video knowing it would give them huge ratings. NBC handed out the videos and images with their branding all over them to promote themselves when other networks shared the images with us. It would be pretty stupid if they tried to look down on us for hosting a Flash game.

At 5/15/07 04:55 PM, MadCow wrote: Eh, I kinda liked the V-Tech game better than that Super Columbine thing.

No ways, Super Columbine pwns.

At 5/15/07 04:54 PM, Ross wrote: Not content to stop there, the author, PiGPEN, has set up a page on his personal webpage stating that, if enough people deposit money in his Paypal account, he'll take the game down. Some of the people weighing in on this feel that we should pre-emptively take it down, especially in light of PiGPEN's attempt to profit from it.

not that i see anything wrong with the game, but if he's going to be a dick and try to profit from it, you should just take it down.