''I'm O.K – A Murder Simulator'' is a 2006 freeware
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
developed by
Derek Yu, Chris Hanson, Philippe Jones,
Alec Holowka
Alec Holowka (30 October 1983 – 31 August 2019) was a Canadian indie game developer and co-founder of independent game companies Infinite Ammo, Infinite Fall, and Bit Blot. He was mainly known for the award-winning titles '' Night in the Woo ...
and
Christopher Howard Wolf. It was created as a satirical response
to a challenge by anti-video game-violence activist and disbarred attorney
Jack Thompson.
Background
This game was created and released in response to "
A Modest Video Game Proposal" issued in late 2005 by activist attorney Jack Thompson, known for his opposition to sex and violence in entertainment, including computer and video games. This challenge dared computer game producers to release a game following a "script" he outlined, in which the grieving father of a child killed by a computer gamer takes vengeance by murdering many people connected with the gaming industry in a brutal manner. Thompson promised to contribute a $10,000 donation to the charity of choice of
Paul Eibeler (then-chairman of
Take-Two Interactive
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in New York City founded by Ryan Brant in September 1993.
The company owns three major Imprint (trade name), publishing labels, Rockstar Games, Zynga and 2K ...
, one of the game companies most heavily criticized by Thompson) if such a game were released. However, he has since claimed that the
proposal was only a joke, and currently, no charity has been designated by Eibeler. The makers of the gaming-related webcomic ''
Penny Arcade
''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have establish ...
'' have, however, made a $10,000 donation in Thompson's name to the Entertainment Software Association Foundation, a philanthropic,
grant-giving body run by the
Entertainment Software Association
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is the trade association of the video game industry in the United States. It was formed in April 1994 as the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) and renamed on July 21, 2003. It is based in ...
.
The "O.K" in the title refers to the initials of the protagonist, Osaki Kim, but together with the first part of the game's name is also a play on the accusation that
video game violence is being considered normal by manufacturers and gamers. The reference to a "Murder Simulator" refers to what Thompson regularly proclaimed all violent computer games to be.
''I'm O.K'' is a
side-scrolling video game
A side-scrolling video game (alternatively side-scroller) is a video game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling grap ...
with
16-bit era
In the history of video games, the fourth generation of video game consoles, more commonly referred to as the 16-bit era, began on October 30, 1987, with the Japanese release of NEC Home Electronics' PC Engine (known as the TurboGrafx-16 in Nort ...
low-resolution graphics that shares (to a degree) the basic gameplay (and somewhat lowbrow humor) of the ''
Metal Slug
is a Japanese multimedia franchise and run and gun video game series originally created by Nazca Corporation before merging with SNK in 1996 after the completion of the first game in the series. Spin-off games include a third-person shoo ...
'' series.
References
External links
*
Download ''I'm O.K – A Murder Simulator''at Derek Yu's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:I'm O.K - A Murder Simulator
2006 video games
Clickteam Fusion games
Freeware games
Indie games
Parody video games
Retro-style video games
Run and gun games
Satirical video games
Side-scrolling beat 'em ups
Single-player video games
Video games designed by Derek Yu
Video games developed in the United States
Video games scored by Alec Holowka
Video games set in Los Angeles
Video games set in New York (state)
Video games set in Philadelphia
Windows games
Windows-only games
Jack Thompson (activist)