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After Danny Ledonne made his game, he got more than he bargained for in Playing Columbine

The game Super Columbine Massacre RPG! was a game that sparked controversy the moment it appeared on the Internet.  It is a role playing game where players can be the two killers of the school shooting.  Creator Danny Ledonne made the game more to come to his feeling about the shooting. Playing Columbine is a documentary about entering the game at the Slamdance Video Game Competition and it being rejected by the judges after it had been accepted.  One judge even quit over the snub.

But the movie is about how video games have changed society and how they may have many unforeseen advantages to society.  Danny Ledonne is also the creator of the movie as well as its subject. 
When did you decide to document your experiences with “Super Columbine Massacre RPG!” and what was it that tipped the scales as you made that decision?
During the six months after the game was receiving criticism and praise in 2006, I was considering how a documentary could be made that would highlight the issues being raised by the game.  After the game was pulled from Slamdance in 2007, it was clear to me that there was a full story to be told here and set about filming in Park City, Utah where the festival was held.


How did the documentary change (in your eyes) from inception to completion?
I had some profoundly good luck with interviewing people who really knew the subjects of games, art, and free speech.  I learned so much from them that now I find myself quoting them in most of the press I do.  In terms of “change,” I would say that I was fortunate enough to get interviews with several prominent opponents of videogames like mine and that added a level of credibility to the arguments the film was designed to make.  As I edited the film, I realized that the best approach was a multimedia mosaic that highlights not only videogames but press, film, and television media connecting to this issue.


What is the best thing about having your film at AFI FEST?
AFI fest was the “long shot” of my initial festival submissions.  I kept my selection modest with the exception of AFI and when I learned that it would be screening there, I knew that the chances of “Playing Columbine” receiving widespread attention was much more likely.  In a way, it also validated the struggle I’ve been engaged in since having released “Super Columbine Massacre RPG!” in 2005.


Does Slamdance completely suck or is it kinda okay because of the snowboarding?
Slamdance and other festivals like it are important environments for experimentation.  To the extent they are willing to stand behind their programming choices, they are doing artists, the medium, and the public at large a great service.  However, when a festival like Slamdance contributes to a chilling effect - essentially the OPPOSITE of its stated mission, it does tend to - in your words - “completely suck.”  Then again, SCMRPG was never supposed to be an easy choice for anyone to program… so perhaps the game being pulled from a “guerrilla” gamemaker competition is the highest praise it could have received.


Who surprised you with their views during the interviews you conducted for the film?
While most interviewees delivered “the goods” as I imagined they would during the interview, there were some surprises along the way.  On a good day, for example, anti-game activist Jack Thompson is surprisingly pleasant to interview (just don’t challenge him too overtly or he’ll call you a “schill for the videogame industry” or issue baseless legal threats against you).  Another surprise was a panel discussion at USC in which the creator of “9/11 Survivor” debated another game developer who was in NYC on 9/11.  The debate became about not subject matter in games so much as how one represents a tragic event.  This can be seen in the film.


What were the biggest challenges with making a documentary in which you, yourself are a central focus and subject?
Despite having made the game itself, I consider myself (and everyone else) as supporting characters.  SCMRPG IS the main character.  If I may analogize, the game is Frankenstein’s monster and I am merely the doctor.  Having said that, basically I saw my challenge as one of steering this film away from a personal doc narrated, hosted, and starring me.  I knew that the interesting story here was not about myself as creator but the broader implications and movements represented by my creation.  Striking a balance of my own on-camera presence without omitting or inflating my importance was a difficult editorial challenge but I think I (mostly) succeeded after eight drafts screened to audiences.


What documentaries influenced you in making PLAYING COLUMBINE?
I’ve been watching a lot of documentaries since shooting my own - mostly having the effect of pushing me to consider how I could have made it differently.  I can tell you that Sick: the Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist, Baraka or Fast, Cheap and Out of Control are my favorite documentary but I don’t think they had particular influece in creating this film.  I suppose I must recognize Spencer Halpin’s Moral Kombat as a primary influence because it deals with the same subject in a different way.  We shared some interview subjects, notes, and became buddies in the process of making our respective films.


Was the film just a way to get out your point of view about the game or was there a greater purpose?
The purpose of the film is far greater than getting out my own point of view about the game.  Firstly, many other people provide their own nuanced assessment of SCMRPG and its merits.  However, the “great purpose” is to contextualize one videogame in the movement of videogames for change—and further to suggest the role of controversial free speech in the digital age.


Were you surprised by the reaction of the gamers to your game?
Gamers react to SCMRPG in a variety of ways and for variety of reasons.  I receive emails from players who learn more about the shooting than from any of the previous media sources.  Others connect with the game on a more personal level as understanding with great empathy the situation of the two boys who committed the shooting.  Of course, there are always those who are offended by the game and its representation of a tragic event.  I believe one of the most valuable aspects of SCMRPG is the polarizing discourse it creates.


What is you favorite game?
I have a few favorite videogames but generally I answer “EVO: The Search for Eden” for the SNES because it is relatively unknown but is worth playing because it is an example of a relatively early attempt to inject large ideas into a simple game mechanic.


Have you gotten many reactions from Columbine survivors and what were they?
Most of the “survivors” who were actually involved have more or less stopped reacting to every media incarnation of their personal tragedy.  Naturally, a few that have heard of the game (but to my knowledge haven’t played it) have been vocally critical in the reactionary media that interviews them about the subject.  However, one such survivor is interviewed in the film and supports its value to provide deeper insight into the shooting.


Where do you see gaming in twenty years?
In twenty years I imagine gaming will continue to provide engaging entertainment.  However, games will continue to expand in other ways, as well—including games with social messages, community building, and perhaps a deeper level of interaction with our daily lives.  Videogames will become more ubiquitous for not just teenage boys but a wide demographic of people who play games for different reasons in different circumstances.


What was the hardest interview to get?
Virtually all of the interviewees agreed on the spot to do an interview.  Denver resident Roger Kovaks (who originally “outed” me as the creator of SCMRPG) expressed reservations about interviewing initially but later agreed because he felt I have conducted myself maturely since “going public” with the game.  He helped to tell the beginning of the story of SCMRPG and gave a succinct objection to a videogame being made of a recent tragic event.


What did you discover about yourself after seeing the final product?
I have a deeper appreciation for free speech issues as well as tolerating diverse points of view.  I carry a copy of the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights all the time now and openly defend other game designers whose work generates controversy.  I would say I’ve become more of a free speech absolutist and activist for the cause of keeping the Internet free and unregulated.


This film has made you a bit of an expert on both violence and gaming.  Do you see any parallels at all between the two?
Insomuch as games (as with all media) represent violent as a reflection of our society, I think violent videogames generate controversy about representation and reproduction of violent acts.  SCMRPG was chosen because the topic itself (a school shooting) was blamed in violent media (videogames in particular).  As a teenager who played videogames, I was very frustrated with the punditry in the aftermath of Columbine.  This game was a way of challenging those assumptions and I have been able to further that argument in the more accessible documentary film medium.


What were your feelings when you were ‘outed’ as the maker of Super Columbine Massacre RPG?
I faced a real choice between defending my work or retracting it and apologizing.  At first I didn’t know if I had made the right choice by standing behind it; it is difficult to defend your decisions when you feel relatively alone in their sentiment.  However, as more people defended the merits of the game and I became aware of more socially-conscious games, I realized that SCMRPG was worth defending beyond my own personal interests.


What are your feelings about the reaction to this film when you first screened it?
I am tremendously pleased with the reception to the film at colleges and game conventions at which it has screened.  The film seems to be very well-understood and provides audiences with a variety of important questions to consider with regard to the future of interactive technology, free speech, school shootings, and the state of mediated discourse in our current culture of sound-bite journalism.


What are you working on now?
I am working on my MFA in film production from American University.  I have a variety of small film productions in progress—narrative and documentary.  I have some other plans in the distant future to work on a graphic novelization of a sci-fi screenplay I wrote years ago.  Interested parties may visit www.emberwildeproductions.com for more information.

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