Farbflut Entertainment
Made a video game about being homeless!

Yesterday morning, as I always do, I walked into my son's room to kiss him goodbye before I go to work, and wish him luck in school. Like most mornings he was on his computer, but an image of a decrepit old man on his computer screen caught my eye. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was playing 'Bumrise.' He went to explain that you start off as a 'homeless bum' and you are supposed to get in fights, beg for money, and drink beer to get more points! My son said, 'It's fun.' I asked him where he got this game and he said it was online for free. I immediately turned off the computer and asked him to go to school.

I have never been so disappointed in my life. Once at work I decided to look at the game for myself, and my son was right. This game is based on being a homeless person on the streets of New York and you are supposed to fight, join gangs, beg and do a number of other horrible things to get ahead. There is even an indication of how DRUNK you are! This is absolutely the worst thing I have ever come across. Normally I am pretty relaxed, my kid plays plenty of computer games where he has to shoot and kill aliens, or is a ninja, or any number of other things that are clearly fictional, and he understands that. But to play a game based off of a real social problem is absolutely grotesque. How can we teach our kids to be morally and socially conscious and at the same time have a game making fun of the very problems we are trying to prevent?

Needless to say I had a long discussion with my son, who is only 10, about why this game is wrong and should not be played. I have told him he is not allowed to play this game as I firmly beleive it may have serious social repercussions such as the desensitization towards homelessness.

I looked ut up online and apparently other countries are having the same concerns as I do. Some French and German politicians tried to get the game banned with no success. Perhaps we as the biggest nation in the world can succeed in getting this atrocity banned?

I ask you, as a parent, please do what you can to BAN this game from being played. A game like this can only damage the fragile and easily influenced minds of our youth.

Please look for yourself and then put put yourself in a parent's shoes. (www.bumrise.com)

Sincerely

Martin Rankins

Company: Farbflut Entertainment
Country: USA

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