Mapping school in a video game = Terroist threat

[Andrew Green]

The map the boy designed mimicked Clements High School. And, sources said, it was uploaded either to the boy’s home computer or to a computer server where he and his friends could access and play on it. Two parents apparently learned from their children about the existence of the game, and complained to FBISD administrators, who investigated.


“They arrested him,” Chen said of FBISD police, “and also went to the house to search.” The Lin family consented to the search, and a hammer was found in the boy’s room, which he used to fix his bed, because it wasn’t in good shape, Chen said. He indicated police seized the hammer as a potential weapon.


“They decided he was a terroristic threat,” said one source close to the district’s investigation.

http://www.fortbendnow.com/news/284...tudent-removed-from-clements-over-pc-game-map

Others on the same story:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/4766843.html

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=5263782


Making maps for games is common, and goes back years. Right to Doom as far as first person shooters go. And, yes, MANY people have mapped out schools or any other large building with large hallways and multiple paths to just about everywhere that they spend a large portion of there time in.

 

[bushidomartialarts]

absolutely ricoculous. a hammer as a 'potential weapon'.

i expect a little idiocy after v. tech, but seriously people.

 

[Kacey]

I have to wonder if they would have over-reacted so badly if he hadn't been Asian...

 

[tellner]

It's the wonderful thing about the RWA mindset. Everyone is a potential threat. Anyone can be detained, disappeared and deceased if you just say the magic word "security". Civil liberties are a quaint effeminate luxury because danger lurks around every corner. Everything is a potential threat.

In other words, we live in a world where justice, truth, common sense and bare sanity have been jettisoned so that we can be perpetually terrified. It's not an accident that one of the most acclaimed shows glorifies kidnapping, torture and murder in the face of constant faceless threats.

We gave up our freedoms. The terrorists won. Particularly the terrorists at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

 

[OUMoose]

I guarantee Jack Thompson wet his pants when he read this.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Wow. Guess I'm worse than Osama then.

When in HS, I used EA's Adventure Construction Set to create a game featuring every HS in Buffalo, put the teachers in as monsters (and a few annoying students), all the weapons were things you'd find in a school, text books, erasers, towels, ak47's, stuff like that. (I think a school lunch did 20 pts damage alone). Each school was based on it's 1st floor layout, and the map was pretty accurate considering it lacked most side streets and landmarks.

In college I did an entire 3 map theme for Duke Nuken 3D based on my old HS.

yep, pure evil I am here. Where are the government goons to come disappear me?

 

[MBuzzy]

Same thing, Bob - my friends and I created maps for any game we could find based on our school. Incidentally, it was a great place for Death matches!!! I still remember where the BFG was for Doom.......

 

[Andrew Green]

In college I did an entire 3 map theme for Duke Nuken 3D based on my old HS.

I had the Duke Nukem 3d High school as well

Only I never finished mine

 

[tellner]

When I worked at a local university the head of the School of Engineerings computer services made a Doom WAD of all the buildings that were part of engineering. He must have been the lovechild of Yassir Arafat, Bader-Meinhof and ibn Wahab.

 

[Carol]

Hmmm....well, I never built any models of schools but I did listen to bands with very politically incorrect names such as W.A.S.P, and their songs such as School Daze...

A firebell is ringing, hell I'd love to see it blaze...BURN IT DOWN!

School Daze, School Daze, I'm here doing my time

School Daze, School Daze, my age is my crime


*looks around nervously for the feds*

 

[MetalStorm]

This is just outright stupid.

I have mapped out my old high school in countless games when I was going to school, hell I am even thinking about making it in FEAR right now like 10 years after I have been in school.

Does that mean if I do I am a terrorist threat on the school even though I havent been there in like 10 years and find that it is an awesome massive building with weird corridors, basement, open spaces, pools, many small odd shaped rooms, etc.

Many building like large schools, libraries, etc would make great game maps.

Hell one game I played years ago got dumped by the companies backing them in early stages and the developers made a map on their own time of the game studios office and they would be the hostages. Last I heard they never got in trouble for it, people really need to learn the difference between harmless fun for amusement which does not hurt anyone and people that are actually dangerous.

 

[RandomPhantom700]

You have to wonder why kids playing with video games and possessing a hammer get nabbed, but stories of the next Wacco, TX cult being brought in are surprisingly lacking in the news. And Osama's still at large....what's it been, 6 years, 2 foreign countries made FUBAR, and our nation's foreign relations flushed down the toilet since then?

We have a serious priority problem, or at least the feds do. Such terrorists threats abroad (they're still there, of course, if not made stronger by our actions), and all our fears and attentions are drawn to our neighbors. Let me know when the march on Washington is scheduled, in the meantime I have some tinfoil hats to make.

 

[Marginal]

The news report didn't mention the kid's "Hammer time" posters. He was sooo gonna hammer.