PARKLAND, Fla. – Several victims of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are hoping to stop the release of a new video game that allows players to act out a school shooting.
"Active Shooter" looks like a lot of other video games today. It's a first-person shooter-style game in which you see your character's hands holding a large assault-style weapon.
But in this game, players don't kill aliens or zombies.
In "Active Shooter," players choose whether to take on the role of a police officer taking down a school shooter or the gunman trying to kill police officers and students inside the school.
Ryan Petty, whose 14-year-old daughter, Alaina Petty, was killed in the Valentine's Day shooting said the game's concept left him stunned.
"My initial reaction was disgust," Petty said. He said that he can't believe the game was even created.
"I don't understand why a company would profit off a game that glamorizes or glorifies what has become a national tragedy, these school shootings," Petty said.
"Active Shooter" is made by a game developer who goes by the name Acid.
That developer has published other controversial games called "Tide Pod Challenge" and "White Power Pure Voltage."
"Active Shooter," which is set to be released in early June, will be sold on Steam, an online store for video games.
On Steam, the game is described as a "SWAT simulator in which dynamic roles are offered to players."
But Petty sees it differently and has already contacted the game store's parent company, Valve Corp.
"They do have policies that control the kind of content that are allowed in the game store. I think this one clearly violates their policy. My ask was to have them do the right thing," Petty said.
The right thing, Petty said, is to not allow the game on the company's platform.
In response to the criticism, Acid released a statement that says, "While I can see people's anger and why this might be a bad idea for the game, I still feel like this topic should be left alone," the statement said.
Acid said they would likely remove the shooter's role in the game if Valve won't let the game be published as is.
