|
The video game industry has long been the target of crazed lawyers and out-of-touch politicians. Now, a new game simulating drunk driving -- yes, drunk driving -- is sure to raise some more eyebrows. But not so fast: don't expect to turn your Wii-mote, tilt your PS3 pad, or jam on the trigger buttons of your Xbox 360 any time soon. Called "Booze Cruise," the game sounds like an extremely irresponsible "Grand Theft Auto" clone. However, it's actually meant to be an educational tool. In fact, it was developed as a school project by University of Calgary professor Jim Parker and several of his students.
"The basic story is that this person is absolutely pissed [drunk] and woke up in the trunk of their car and now is going to drive home," Parker explained. To accurately recreate the experience of driving home drunk, the player's vision will be narrow and blurred. Obstacles will include pedestrians, other vehicles, a police checkpoint, and "pink elephants." Calgary Police also helped with the game. "I think it's going to be a great tool," stated Calgary policeman Const. Rob Haffner. "Whatever education that we can get out there is always going to be beneficial as far as drinking and driving goes." "This [game] is aimed not at adults, this is aimed at people who are 13 to 16," Parker revealed. "We want to stop them from doing it [drinking and driving] in advance." (Source: yahoo.com) "A lot of people believe they could drive drunk. It's not that big a deal, you just have to pay attention," Parker continued. "The game simulates the issues that drunks have in terms of perception." The game does more than just simulate the experience of drunk driving; it also highlights the aftermath, including fines, jail time, damages, and even death. Of course, Parker realizes that Booze Cruise won't be the next big thing in the video game world, no matter how important and relevant its message may be to today's teens. "It's not going to replace Halo, not even close," Parker admitted. "I think it's fun for a little, while, then the teachers can say, 'Let's talk about this.'" (Source: canada.com) Currently, Booze Cruise is undergoing tweaks and improvements. It will eventually be made available online, but that's still many months away from happening. (Source: canoe.ca)
-- Related newsletter articles:
2007/05/22 Virginia Tech Video Game Receives Outrage, No One Surprised (game)
2007/06/26 Violent Game Strangled by British Board of Film (game)
2006/06/13 Video Game Detox Center Opens for Addicts (game)
2007/06/29 Manhunt 2: Ban a Game, Boost its Appeal (game)
2007/07/06 IRS, Congress Hound Online Gamers (game)
2007/07/30 Sony PS3 Sales Skyrocket (game)
2007/10/01 Microsoft, Halo 3 Smash Sales Records (game)
2007/06/22 Xbox 360 Price Drop Coming? (game)
2007/06/11 Virtual Crimes Could Lead to Real Punishments (game)
2006/06/28 Spyware Left Behind in Religious Video Game (game)
2007/07/16 Sony Repents for Virtual Blasphemy (game)
2007/08/17 Halo 3 Goes Down in History (game)
2007/01/12 EA Fully Supports iPod's Entry Into The Video Game Market (game)
2007/07/11 Doctors Want to Put Game Ratings Under the Knife (game)
2006/06/28 Gaming Giant EA Seeks to Overpower Console MMORPG Market (game)
2005/11/17 Championship Eurchre Pro Review (game)
2007/04/03 All Nike Running Shoes to be iPod Compatible (parker)
2007/07/25 Microsoft's Moore Moves to Madden (game)
-- Recent articles (from all channels): 2008/05/12 Today in History: for Monday, May 12, 2008
2008/05/12 [ShellX 20080512]: 'Remote Manager', and 'Cyber Bandwidth ...
2008/05/12 Video Gaming Trade Group Struggling
2008/05/12 T-Mobile Finally Joins 3G Phone Race
2008/05/12 Apple Slammed by Environment Watchdog
2008/05/09 [ShellX 20080509]: 'Advanced Run', and 'Diver Windows Manager'
2008/05/09 Texas Refuses Facebook Friend Request
2008/05/09 Photo-Enforcement Technology Replaces Officers On Patrol
2008/05/09 Cuban Government Says 'Ok Computer'
2008/05/09 Excel Can E-Mail Your Weekly Reports For You!
2008/05/08 [ShellX 20080508]: 'Shell Enhancer', and 'Lansweeper'
2008/05/08 Xobni: MS Outlook Social Networking Technology for your Inbox
2008/05/08 Music Companies Jump on GTA IV Bandwagon
2008/05/08 Fascinating: Memristor to replace Binary
2008/05/08 Adobe Hopes To Make Flash Master Of The (Mobile) Universe
2008/05/08 Spiffy Envelopes and Labels in MS Word
2008/05/07 [ShellX 20080507]: 'Winbin2iso', and 'Loop Typer'
2008/05/07 Yahoo Adds Security Warnings To Search Results
2008/05/07 Apple to Lose Money on iTunes Movie Releases
2008/05/07 Amazon.com takes New York Tax to Court
2008/05/07 Need Glasses for the Slide Sorter View in MS PowerPoint?
2008/05/07 After Winning The DVD Format War, Blu-Ray Sales Tank
2008/05/06 [ShellX 20080506]: 'Visual Basic 6.0 Portable', and 'Double-...
2008/05/06 Yahoo Outsources to Jajah
2008/05/06 New HP Circuit Could Change Technology Forever
2008/05/06 Movie Downloads To Match DVD Release Dates
2008/05/06 Microsoft Ends Yahoo Bid
2008/05/05 [ShellX 20080505]: 'Ie7 Pro', and 'Desktop Ok'
2008/05/05 The WB Network Hops Online
2008/05/05 Microsoft Slashes Price of Xbox 360 Overseas
2008/05/05 Google CEO Wants YouTube to Take More of Your Money
|
