Facebook Stabbing Game App Causes Controversy
Facebook Stabbing Game App Causes Controversy
July 28, 2008
With knife crime a major social issue in the United Kingdom these days, it's probably no surprise that a Facebook app in which players "shank" one another is raising eyebrows.
Marketing Week reports that the stabbing game is part of Facebook's popular SuperPoke! application, created by Slide.com, an American firm. From the report:
The game... has come in for heavy criticism from family members of those affected by the recent spate of teenage knife crimes. The use of the word "shank", a street slang term for a knife, has led to claims that the game is specifically targeted at teenagers...
The application encourages users to "do stuff to their friends", options include kicking and punching as well as more conventional activities such as smiling and sending flowers.
A knife icon which players sent to one another in the game has apparently been removed in response to protests.
Via: casualgaming.biz
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Posted 07/04/09 at 06:33pm
Alyric: Of course, Mark falls into the common trap about Columbine, which had nothing to do with bullying, etc. See: http://slate.msn.com/id/2099203/?GT1=3256 for a more thorough explanation.
Alyric: Of course, Mark falls into the common trap about Columbine, which had nothing to do with bullying, etc. See: http://slate.msn.com/id/2099203/?GT1=3256 for a more thorough explanation.
Posted 07/04/09 at 06:32pm
PHX Corp: Read this http://www.destructoid.com/sgc-09-liveblogging-the-jack-thompson-debate-138502.phtml#ext
PHX Corp: Read this http://www.destructoid.com/sgc-09-liveblogging-the-jack-thompson-debate-138502.phtml#ext
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:54pm
PHX Corp: JT is afraid of such ban then advocates it That's what i call a total Hypocrite
PHX Corp: JT is afraid of such ban then advocates it That's what i call a total Hypocrite
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:50pm
PHX Corp: AE: JT is a -Bleeping- Jackass
PHX Corp: AE: JT is a -Bleeping- Jackass
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:07pm
Andrew Eisen: JT "knew it would be a good audience." Not what he said on Tuesday.
Andrew Eisen: JT "knew it would be a good audience." Not what he said on Tuesday.
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:01pm
Andrew Eisen: VG cause violent behavior. VG companies influence behavior to get sales. Yeah, that makes sense. (To be fair, the Twitter feed makes deciphering JT's point pretty tough.)
Andrew Eisen: VG cause violent behavior. VG companies influence behavior to get sales. Yeah, that makes sense. (To be fair, the Twitter feed makes deciphering JT's point pretty tough.)
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:52pm
Andrew Eisen: Yes, it's been proposed but as far as I know it has not been passed. Big difference.
Andrew Eisen: Yes, it's been proposed but as far as I know it has not been passed. Big difference.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:50pm
Cheater87: http://www.gamezine.co.uk/news/formats/xbox360/all-violent-video-games-be-banned-in-germany-$1301757.htm
Cheater87: http://www.gamezine.co.uk/news/formats/xbox360/all-violent-video-games-be-banned-in-germany-$1301757.htm
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:49pm
Andrew Eisen: Far as I know, Germany has not banned all violent video games.
Andrew Eisen: Far as I know, Germany has not banned all violent video games.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:44pm
Cheater87: Jack wants the US to follow Germany's total video game ban.
Cheater87: Jack wants the US to follow Germany's total video game ban.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:42pm
Andrew Eisen: Note to JT, it is not illegal to sell kids a ticket to R-rated movies.
Andrew Eisen: Note to JT, it is not illegal to sell kids a ticket to R-rated movies.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:39pm
Cheater87: Jack said we would be better with no rating sytem.
Cheater87: Jack said we would be better with no rating sytem.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:35pm
Alareth: So what was the introduction used for Jack?
Alareth: So what was the introduction used for Jack?
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:31pm
JDKJ: Heard one, you've heard 'em all. He repeats the same act, with the same half-truths, over and over.
JDKJ: Heard one, you've heard 'em all. He repeats the same act, with the same half-truths, over and over.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:31pm
Andrew Eisen: Using a credit card as age verification is not illegal. Hope Mark called him on that and his made up statistics.
Andrew Eisen: Using a credit card as age verification is not illegal. Hope Mark called him on that and his made up statistics.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:30pm
Alareth: Jack is special, his mommy always told him so.
Alareth: Jack is special, his mommy always told him so.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:29pm
Andrew Eisen: JT lied about that APA causation thing again. Wonder if Mark called him on it.
Andrew Eisen: JT lied about that APA causation thing again. Wonder if Mark called him on it.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:04pm
Andrew Eisen: Follow the JT/Methenitis debate on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jtdebate
Andrew Eisen: Follow the JT/Methenitis debate on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jtdebate
Posted 07/04/09 at 01:18pm
Andrew Eisen: Rodrigo - A fun idea but you might want to fix the typos.
Andrew Eisen: Rodrigo - A fun idea but you might want to fix the typos.
Posted 07/04/09 at 12:57pm
GRIZZAM PRIME: Happy 4th of July!
GRIZZAM PRIME: Happy 4th of July!
Copyright © 2007 ECA. All rights reserved.
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Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
Yes, because a picture of a knife, and the text "you've been stabbed by <name>" is turning people into violent murderers.... ugh.
Myspace has an application where you're a "mobster" and you can mug people, shoot your friends, etc etc. My sister uses it all the time. I'd think that would be a bigger issue than this facebook app
I'm so glad we got to the root of the teenage knifing problem.
Why don't we blame prisons and any movie or documentary about prisons on the teenage knife problem. Prison related movies talk about shanking all the time, and we all know teenagers like to be hardcore like prisoners.
I also like how they make it seem like the shank option was the most prominent of the superpoke options, or that it was one of the few. After using the feature so many times you get more options. I've only gained a few "levels" and I already have almost 240 options to choose from. That
makesmade shank less than .5% of my options. I believe you start out with around 30 options or even more at this point, I'm not sure.There are plenty of other options on there that are also not meant for kids (or any one if it was real). Hadouken. Hypnotize. Give wedgie to (*waits for the "this is promoting bullying" people*). Give beer to. Do a bodyshot with. Tase. Drop an anvil on. I don't think I have to go any further.
Really, this is getting the boot and dope wars is all good?
"Hey buddy!" :: Punches buddy in shoulder. ::
"You idiot!" :: Smacks friend up side the back of the head. ::
"I coulda had a V8!" :: Smacks self on forehead. ::
"Way ta go!" :: High five. ::
"Get ahold of yourself!" :: Gives friend a short but forceful shake. ::
"Wake up, you're late!" :: Slaps friends across face. ::
Nah, we only have expressive social violence on social networking sites.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Nightwng2000 has also updated his MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/nightwing2000 Nightwng2000 is now admin to the group "Parents For Education, Not Legislation" on MySpace as http://groups.myspace.com/pfenl
It's the social context, Nightwing ... check out my other post (and other UK posters) to read up on the Knife Crisis (media phrase du jour).
It strikes me as tasteless too, I've seen some pretty bad applications, but those were user created. I don't use it very often, I didn't even know the site extended to the UK at all.
As far as bad applications go, the SuperPoke! Application has dozens of other options. It's like someone decided to take offence with one part of the application, and a very small part at that. It's like going after Nintendo because there was turtle abuse in the Mario games.
- Children are our future, so we need to make sure we can exploit them as much as possible.
So the Pen is Mightier than the Shiv!
LOL at "The use of the word "shank", a street slang term for a knife, has led to claims that the game is specifically targeted at teenagers..."
Last I checked, the slang "shank" has been in use in prisons across the nation, if not world, for decades; it describes any weapon, be it real or macgyvered one, used to stab. If anything, this game targets ex-cons, not teenagers!
Must be a real slow newsday in the UK.
OR ... it could be that "shank" has only become widely known quite recently in the UK. Given the current media attention on the Knife Crisis (their words, not mine) in London and the rest of the UK, this just comes at a bad time. That's not all though, read my other post (further down).
Knives have been commonly referred to as shanks in areas of London for decades, however, it's only recently that the term has moved outside the city as far as I know.
This title was misleading. Here I was hoping for a game that would let me stab FaceBook. D :
Edit: I has much good grammar, yes! >_>
Dude, have they seen the other options on SuperPoke? Are they worried about the dramatic increase in sheep-throwing as well?
Sheep-throwing is a serious problem and should be treated accordingly.
As a person who has a severe allergy to pollen I demand that the ability to send flowers be removed from facebook… that stuff could kill me. I mean, what were they thinking? Not about our ability to distinguish reality from fantasy that’s for sure.
Wasn't it an ad about blocking violent TV shows the ones that brought out that "shank" is a verb, and "shiv" is the noun. You "shank" someone with a "shiv."
It was done humoruosly enough that I still remember that line of TV comercials. The tea drinking lady was saying like "Now Marcello, I can't have my kids watching you 'shiv' one another!" "It's 'shank', 'shiv' is a noun, 'shank' is the verb." Not even close to the real quote, but I can't find it on the internet right now.
I thought about the same commercial, so I went out and found it.
And from what I've gathered by searching, a shiv is a knife like weapon made out of non-metal materials while a shank is a knife like weapon made out of metal material, although they are often used interchangeably. Shank is also the verb for stabbing with a shiv or shank, with shiv also being used, but rarely.
How come there's never controversy when an app is revealed to contain malware despite being dressed up in a cutesy facade? I want to see a horde of concerned parents demanding an end to Comet Cursor.
---
The Mammon Industry
Hmm, none of the people compalining should watch Oz methinks. Probably would disapprove.
You know, I originally started off with the same opinion as everyone else on this board, and then I thought about it. Really thought it.
From the perspective of some people who have lost their children to knife crime, a game trivialising it is quite insensitive - and I know I would probably feel the same in their shoes. That said, we should also be asking ourselves exactly what we gain by having things like the option to stab your friends? I mean, who seriously thinks about killing their friends - even in jest? That said, if you really do think about that a lot, well ... you need new friends :)
What does it say about us as a race when we come to accept things like this? Have we become so desensitized to violence that it is utterly passe now?
The knife game is tasteles. And what is says about us as a race is that we accept tasteless entertainment options. People are not desensivitized to violence. They are desensivitized to people writing that they stabbed something on the internet.
I'm not so sure ... we accept much worse things than internet scribblings: the Saw movies, Hostel, Captivity, etc. Now I'm not saying we should ban everything, but once you take a moment to really think about it, do we need this much violence in our lives?
No, and truth be told, it probably isn't healthy. But the proper way to combat such movies is to show that enternainment doesn't have to be violent to be profitable. Not to censor the violence and hope it goes away. The focus should be on creating creative family friendly movies, shows, and games. Less Gears, more Katamari.
Or, one could realize that both are profitable, and both can be fun to the right crowds, when not taken overboard.
On another note...Steve, ever have a play sword-fight with a friend? That should be a lot worse than one option of an application that lets u virtually "stab" friends....Yet it's a very fun thing to do as a child or teenager
It's slightly different, though - in playfighting you don't actually want to hurt your friend (at least, in the beginning anyway ;). I'm not saying that if you click a button on the internet it means you want to kill someone, though!
Part of my objections to such games also comes from a lack of creativity on the part of the developers. It seems that the game industry is going along with the horror movie industry, i. e. don't have a compelling plot, add blood. Lots and lots of blood. A good, family friendly game has to work with more limitations than a M rated gore fest. Limitations foster creativity.
You know, I couldn't agree more :)
GamePolitics, you're guilty of Fox News-style sensationalizing, in this article. It's not a "stabbing game." It's not even a game. It's an app that expands on Facebook's built-in "poke" function, which allows you to prod someone by sending them a "poke," either to get their attention or say hello. SuperPoke merely allows you to do other things to people, besides poking them.
Come on, guys. Let's be a little more accurate, here.
Game politics recorded what the article said.. it was the article that was wrong.
STABBING. PARENTS. ARE. FUCKING. IDIOTS
Yes the stabbing problems are a threat but as long as we have the complete and utter stupidity of these brainless chimps then we ain't going nowhere!
Yes I'm British and frankly I don't give two planks.
This is utterly ridiculous. The SuperPoke application is in no way a "stabbing game," much less a "game" of any kind. It's even a stretch to be reporting it here on GamePolitics. Also, there is no "punch" or "kick" option. (Yes, there's "roundhouse kick" and "sucker punch," but that adds a dash of slapstick to the affair. Anyway.)
For a site where the commenters are usually super-attuned to distortions by the reporting media about the actual facts of the game (or non-game application in this case), I'm disappointed to see commenters eating up the notion that there's any kind of interactivity going on here. Shame, GP readers. Shame.
THANK YOU. I almost want to propose to you for your forward-ness and right-ness.
I think GamePolitics is the perfect place for this article - you may not define the SuperPoke P.O.S. as a game, but I think it's just close enough to be considered one.
And there is interactivity - SuperPoke doesn't just "shank" or poke people randomly ... people interact with the system, which then interacts with targetted users. If that's not interactivity, well, then - what is?
Shank is not Teenage slang nor does it mean knife...
Hopefully Dennis will apologize for this inaccurate reporting. I'm fairly opptimistic, seeing as how Dennis is usually very honest.
If you're reading this Dennis, all you have do is correct your mistake and all will be forgiven.
See that blue box surrounding the quote? See the words "From the report:" directly above said box?
That means he directly quoted something from another article. Those aren't his words. Regardless of MarketingWeek's inaccurate reporting, Dennis's is actually relatively accurate, considering he's not the original source.
Pff, the SuperPoke! app isn't tasteless. I say that in all seriousness. Stabbing is a verb. It's a freaking word. Now, if it were to say something like "Billy Dee stabs Helen Mirrim just like that one guy who ate it real hard in the face on Fox News yesterday at 6pm, right after the story about the skateboarding squirrel but right before the story about how something we're doing right now may kill us," then there might be a slight issue there, because it brings up a certain incident with the intent to compare. Just saying "Bob stabs Teddy" doesn't convey any sort of emotion. It doesn't incite anything, because there's no baseline to compare it to. It's a verb. Anyone who actually gives any more than a passing care about this really needs to find something to occupy their time.
All of the people claiming this is tasteless are just spouting Political Correctness mumbo-jumbo. Someone out there will always take offense to whatever it is that is presented in front of them. Tough. This is no different than when young kids would go play cops and robbers with toy guns (and conceivably, much less of an issue). They were effectively "shooting" their friends/siblings, and with at least a bit more tangibility than this act of clicking a hyperlink. Pretty sure that a large portion of our population is still relatively sane after growing up, so, there goes that theory.
O great human who is obviously vastly superior to those offering conflicting opinions: we pray thee ...
How would you feel if you had a son, and he'd just been stabbed three weeks ago by some random gangster. Yeah, I'd bet you'd be completely rational when asked to comment about a stabbing game.
It's my opinion. Deal with it. You have your own, I commented on it. Hooray - there's more than one side to the issue!
Anyway, yes, I'd be grief-stricken. Would I think that this "game" (which it hardly is) had anything to do with this incident or any other of its kind? God, I hope not. Hypothetical questions are hardly the best way to get your point across. Provide something poignant, not a "what if?"
You said it yourself - "Yeah, I'd bet you'd be completely rational..." You're exactly right. The people who are saying these things about the "game" are being completely irrational. As in, lacking the sense necessary to see through this bullshit. I don't want comments from someone who isn't rational - because they aren't thinking clearly.
And I commented on yours - where's the problem?
You stumbled onto my point in the last paragraph - the parents involved are irrational. When someone asks them for a quote on a knife game on Facebook that lets you shank / stab other people, well then you get the quotes you read in the article. I'm saying they weren't given the full facts, weren't expecting to be lied to (by omission of facts and context), and would probably have too much on their hands to research a silly game anyway.
As for your second paragraph, well ... sometimes you just have to think what it's like for others to understand what I mean. There's very little, if no, logic in doing this, but when you empathise with other people you become a better person.
I didn't say there was a problem. You seemed to be having a problem with me having an opinion.
I agree that empathy will make you a better person. And I do empathize - I can see how a tragedy would cause people to behave irrationally. What I don't agree with is using that as source material for facts.
It seems like politicians and video game critics are the ones who have telling the difference between the digital world and reality. They criticize the gamers, but I think we should weary of these individuals.
I know anyone with common sense is not going to play the Facebook shanking game and go and stab someone. I know that because it is ****ing retarded. Why do people waste the time of day on other people and do they really feel they are making a difference?
I can tell the difference between fantasy and reality. What is their problem?
In a word? Grief. Try and comprehend it before blasting people who's viewpoint you don't understand.
Also, you should also know that the parents who were quoted were actually blaming SuperPoke for the shank option. I don't believe a single one actually criticized gamers as a group.
Ok, when those people are done greiving, then their point of view can be considered valid. Until then, you say they can't distinguish reality from fantasy. They should be allowed to greive in private until they are able to process information in a rational manner.
Insensitive? Maybe. Reason to cause an uproar? Absolutely not.
They didn't cause the uproar - the "journalists" who solicited their opinion were looking for an extreme angle in the story. They got it. If anything, you should be blaming the journalists involved for exploiting a national tragedy to get a hatchet story for a slow news day.
Yeah, I agree. Sorry, I meant "they" as in the journalists.
I'm all for freedom of ttnet vitamin speech and allowing rent a car game makers to put whatever they want in games, but there's one thing about this app that has me scratching my head. Correct me if I'm wrong, but from araç kiralama the previous article araba kiralama on this I gathered that players can use Google maps in-game to find the other (real-life?) dealers in their area. If this is the case, has travesti anyone considered what's stopping someone from using this app to actually move drugs between hands for reals?
But majority araba kiralama of their outrage araç kiralama stems from what it could DO TO children, not the content itself. Talk to one of these people and you'll find they don't think any books kiralık araba should be banned from children. Mention American Psycho and they talk about kiralık araç the redeeming value of using imagination to construct a story. Reading, no matter what the content, is largely viewed as a consequenceless activity for people of any age. The reason why I mention American Psycho is because of the content itself. Gaming never has and likely never will have any scenes where someone has sex with a severed head. Not gonna happen. Yet despite this, they'll fight tooth and nail to protect their children from two boys kissing in Bully but whatever they read is harmless... yeah.
The entire arguement is kiralık oto based upon a social normality inflicted by luddites who can't figure out the controls for Halo so it's frightening and terrifying and obviously the cause of youth violence on the rise even though, in reality, it's in decline (which is actually a HUGE suprise given minibüs kiralama the economies status). In a perfect world, we would have parents that actually parent. The idea of sales restrictions on media on oto kiralama any form to accomidate parental unwillingness to get involved with their child's life is the real problem to me. Here I am, 32 years old, and being held up at a self-scan rent a car needing to show ID before I can buy a $10 M rated game all because Soccer Momthra can't be bothered to look at the crap Billy Genericallystupidson does in his free time. It's too hard for her, so I have to suffer?
I'm all for freedom of ttnet vitamin speech and allowing rent a car game makers to put whatever they want in games, but there's one thing about this app that has me scratching my head. Correct me if I'm wrong, but from araç kiralama the previous article araba kiralama on this I gathered that players can use Google maps in-game to find the other (real-life?) dealers in their area. If this is the case, has travesti anyone considered what's stopping someone from using this app to actually move drugs between hands for reals?
But majority araba kiralama of their outrage araç kiralama stems from what it could DO TO children, not the content itself. Talk to one of these people and you'll find they don't think any books kiralık araba should be banned from children. Mention American Psycho and they talk about kiralık araç the redeeming value of using imagination to construct a story. Reading, no matter what the content, is largely viewed as a consequenceless activity for people of any age. The reason why I mention American Psycho is because of the content itself. Gaming never has and likely never will have any scenes where someone has sex with a severed head. Not gonna happen. Yet despite this, they'll fight tooth and nail to protect their children from two boys kissing in Bully but whatever they read is harmless... yeah.
The entire arguement is kiralık oto based upon a social normality inflicted by luddites who can't figure out the controls for Halo so it's frightening and terrifying and obviously the cause of youth violence on the rise even though, in reality, it's in decline (which is actually a HUGE suprise given minibüs kiralama the economies status). In a perfect world, we would have parents that actually parent. The idea of sales restrictions on media on oto kiralama any form to accomidate parental unwillingness to get involved with their child's life is the real problem to me. Here I am, 32 years old, and being held up at a self-scan rent a car needing to show ID before I can buy a $10 M rated game all because Soccer Momthra can't be bothered to look at the crap Billy Genericallystupidson does in his free time. It's too hard for her, so I have to suffer?
Thanks good job;
Btw, I think Atari and Midway will drop out too, but mostly travesti because these guys have done nothing travesti or little and need to start saving costs. and dizi izle
YES.
Now I don't have to get off my ass for the important shit anymore!
Whats next, ordering pizza from Xbox live?
Wait... I think that sounds like a good idea.
But I think voting should MAKE you get off your ass, and see outside or a second while you go vote. I mean, your picking the president of the United States of America for God's Sake... least you can do is drive down there and punch out a card.