Playing Columbine is now available on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video and soon will be available via Netflix. The documentary chronicles the controversy surrounding the making of Super Columbine Massacre, a game that let players jump into the boots of the Columbine killers. The game was downloaded more than a half a million times and caught the attention of the mainstream media who strongly condemned it as wrong and as a "murder simulator." Here's an excerpt from the film's about page":

How do you think violent videogame critics would react to a Tactile Gaming Vest that allows players to physically feel in-game shootings and stabbings?

The vest was created by University of Pennsylvania graduate student Saurabh Palan as part of his course work for a mechanical engineering class called Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environments and Teleoperation.

When hooked up to a game like Half-Life 2, the player is able to feel simulated gunshots, slashing by knives and blood flow from wounds. Feedback, according to Palan’s blog, is generated in the suit by a variety of “solenoids, eccentric-mass motors, and Peltier elements controlled by custom electronics and a personal computer.”

Hits on-screen also register on the appropriate part of the player’s vest and body.

More from Palan:

When the player gets shot in the game, the program will turn on the specific solenoid based on the position of gun shot in the game and also trigger the blood flow simulation process. The gun shot can be felt almost instantly as it occurs in the game.

Illustrating how few people pay attention to the terms and conditions of anything, UK retailer GameStation— as part of an April Fool’s gag—added a line to the fine print of its website that granted the souls of agreeing customers to the merchant.

The “Immortal Soul Clause,” as detailed by Bit-Tech, was slipped into a GameStation online sale promotion. 88.0 percent of the website visitors did not notice the clause and effectively signed away rights to an immaterial part of themselves (that may or may not exist).

Those who did notice the clause, and opted out, were awarded a £5 gift voucher.

For its part, GameStation said that it would not enforce the clause and plans to issue nullifications via email to those who were duped.

All in all, 7,500 customers reportedly signed away their souls.

Online game guilds and clans often become something of a second family for devoted players.

But if a WoW gamer unexpectedly dies, how will fellow guildies know?

The Associated Press looks into the issue:

When Jerald Spangenberg collapsed and died in the middle of a quest in an online game, his daughter embarked on a quest of her own: to let her father's gaming friends know that he hadn't just decided to desert them.

It wasn't easy, because she didn't have her father's "World of Warcraft" password and the game's publisher couldn't help her. Eventually, Melissa Allen Spangenberg reached her father's friends by asking around online for the "guild" he belonged to.

The AP notes that some hardcore MMO types are leaving detailed instructions in the event of their demise. There are even online resources that have been created for the purpose:

David Eagleman... set up a site called Deathswitch, where people can set up e-mails that will be sent out automatically if they don't check in at intervals they specify, like once a week...

If Deathswitch sounds morbid, there's an alternative site: Slightly Morbid. It also sends e-mail when a member dies, but doesn't rely on them logging in periodically while they're alive. Instead, members have to give trusted friends or family the information needed to log in to the site and start the notification process...