More than 15 million copies of a shoot'-em-up 3-D computer game called "Doom" are floating around the world, used by players who wield virtual guns and chainsaws to blast away monsters.
One such user apparently was one of the young gunmen in Colorado, who knew the game well enough to design his own map. A Web site believed to have been originated by Eric Harris indicates his interest in "Doom," which features imaginary combat on a number of escalating levels of difficulty.Harris and fellow gunman Dylan Klebold reportedly dipped into the Gothic subculture, wearing black clothes, trench coats and playing fantasy games. They are believed to be members of what was called the Trenchcoat Mafia.
But blaming video games for the Littleton tragedy is ridiculous, "Doom" enthusiasts said Wednesday, the day after 15 died in in Colorado and a week after families of three students killed in a school rampage in Paducah, Ky., filed a lawsuit against video game software companies, saying the violent games contributed to the attack.
As the name "Doom" began to surface, Internet chat rooms and billboards frequented by fans of the computer game were buzzing with reaction.
"I can't imagine people playing the game and deciding to emulate the game unless they have severe problems otherwise," said Andrew Stine, 17, a San Diego high school student who moderates a "Doom" Web site. "I don't think playing Doom and committing violent acts have any relationship to each other."
Stine said he had watched a televised account of articles being removed from Harris' house, including books based on the game "Doom," and found it "creepy." But he still places no faith in the theory that violent video games, which have been around for years before software makers figured out a way to create 3-D adventures, cause violence.
Matthew Dixon, 20, a college student in Canada who is studying education, agrees. An avid fan who plays about an hour a day, Dixon thinks "poor parenting" is amore likely cause.
"Everyone is losing sight of what the problem is," he said. "If better parenting were involved, none of this would have happened."
Internet comments echoed their thoughts.
"Granted I enjoy this game," said one message on a billboard devoted to "Doom." "I'm not about to go through my school with a double barrel and empty a few slugs on an unsuspecting crowd."
Said another message, "To families of those who died: I feel sorry for being a human . . . guns should be restricted to video games."
The families in Kentucky also sued other entertainment companies, alleging that the movie "The Basketball Diaries" influenced the killer. Among the list of video game defendants was id software inc. of Texas, maker of "Doom."
"Doom," developed in 1993, has been joined by newer games created by id and other companies, said Doom players. Id's Quake games are similar to Doom, with players being guided through battles that can be played singly or in groups.
Quake III features "heart-thumping action" along with "atmospheric use of fog and spectacular lighting," according to id's Web site.
The games are far from limited to a subculture, say users. They're widely known to high school and college students, not merely those who are fans of Gothic style. Id's Web site says that more than 15 million copies of the free version of Doom have been downloaded worldwide. More than 2 million copies of a subsequent version available in stores have been sold, it says. The game has won numerous awards from computer game magazines.
"I found it surprising they'd be playing Doom," said Stine, who stuck to the game because of its simplicity and the fact it runs on his older model computer. "It's such an old game. My Web site gets only about 1,500 unique visitors a day. It's creepy to think that two of those might have been those two kids."
Dist. by Scripps Howard News Service