As a video game developer of 10 years, I am outraged by the arrest of the Clements High School senior for making a virtual map of his high school. What is society coming to when creativity and artistic freedom of expression are being trampled with absolutely no regard for civil liberties? Aren’t schools supposed to encourage and reward creativity?
Where is the crime here? More importantly, where is the motive? Where’s the intent? And since when is a hammer a deadly weapon? The last time I checked, there wasn’t a seven day wait on hammers at Home Depot.
I speak from experience when I say that just about every aspiring level designer starts out by building what he or she knows. In this case, this poor kid built his school because he was familiar with it. Over the years, I’ve personally constructed the house where I grew up, my old grade school and high school, my old work office building and my apartment complex in various level editors. Why? Because it was fun! Plain and simple.
Video games are the latest in a long line of societal scapegoats being demonized by the American public. Rock and roll was responsible for ruining society. So were the Communists. So was television. So was heavy metal music. Then movies. And after all of these ridiculous, bogus claims, now you want to start blaming video games? George Santayana once wrote “Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.” That was over 100 years ago, and people still aren’t getting it.
I realize that people’s world views are changing in the wake of the Columbine massacre, the Sept. 11th attacks and the recent Virginia Tech shootings, but it’s time for a reality check. While it’s every American’s duty to be vigilant in protecting themselves and their children, it’s not their duty to succumb to paranoia. People today seem to be of the opinion that if it’s not an American Flag, it’s probably a bomb. Enough already!
This country has plenty of real problems that need to be solved. The Iraq war. The national debt. The plight of the homeless. The sad state of health care. Bailing out social security. The list goes on and on. An aspiring game maker building his school in a level editor isn’t one of them. It’s time to focus on the real issues and stop looking for problems where none exist.
Video games are not your enemy and neither is this young man. It’s time that people wake up and start realizing that. Leave this kid alone and let him get back to his classmates and his life. This is America, not Amerika. He deserves better than this.
Kenn Hoekstra
Houston, Texas
Kenn Hoekstra
Houston, Texas
