Scandalous Games Scandalous Games

Historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story of a video game controversy to his friends: Andy Hunter, Kate Lynch, and Phil Thomas. At long last, we have finally made it to the final episode in our extremely deep dive into the self-proclaimed "killologist" Lt. Col. Dave Grossman. In our thrilling (troubling?) conclusion, we close the book on arguably the most influential figure in the violent video games discussion by examining the violent media moral crusader/police trainer within the context o...

Historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story of a video game controversy to his friends: Kate Lynch, and Phil Thomas. This time around, we finally start wrapping up our deep dive into Dave by learning about his career as a police trainer and the kinds of totally healthy and not dangerously upsetting messages he shares with America's law enforcement communities, school officials, and anyone else willing to pay him thousands of dollars.Content warning: discussion of violence throughout. Bri...

Historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story of a video game controversy to his friends: Andy Hunter, Kate Lynch, and Phil Thomas. We continue looking at what Dave has been up to over the past decade and how the self-proclaimed killologist may be putting out more work into violent video games, quantity still doesn't equal quantity. Plus, what does it mean when a guy who thinks Bible says it's OK to kill every now and then also says the video game industry is warping kids minds? Topics discussed...

Historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story of a video game controversy to his friends: Andy Hunter, Kate Lynch and Phil Thomas. We leave the quirky little town of Harvest to continue our look into the self-proclaimed "killologist" Dave Grossman. This time around, we start looking at what Dave has been up to on the violent video games train in the last decade or so, and we take some time to think about the "why" of Dave. Topics discussed include: Scandalous Games is officially a Pulitzer...

Historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story of a video game controversy to his friends. This time, we wrap up Harvester with an interview with Aarno Malin, host of "The Harvester Show" and the Harvester Facebook page. Aarno graciously shared his experiences as a Harvester superfan and we discuss the process of tracking down people involved with the game, and he shares his thoughts on what might have kept the Harvester from joining the pantheon of controversial 90s video games. Be sure to check...

Historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story of a video game controversy to his friends: Andy Hunter and Kate Lynch. Today, it's the thrilling conclusion to our look into the over-the-top PC game Harvester (DigiFX, Merit Studios, 1996). We warp up by examining how its creators attempted to market Harvester, its reception (or lack thereof), and its surprising resurgence over the past decade. Topics discussed include: Harvester's creators desperately try to find someone who will get m...