It seems that Peter Baxter's messaging had been polished to a high sheen.
When Baxter first told Danny Ledonne that he was pulling the game from the Slamdance festival it was because of the threat of lost sponsors. When he told me why, it was because of personal objections to the game's morality. When he re-released a statement on the Slamdance page it was because of the threat of a suit. And now, well here's now:
The story of how this once-electric gathering lost its luster began with a phone call earlier this month by Mr. Baxter to Danny Ledonne, a 25-year-old Colorado filmmaker and the creator of Super Columbine. Overriding the panel of the judges who had included the game among the 14 finalists, Mr. Baxter told Mr. Ledonne that he had decided to withdraw his game because of outraged phone calls and e-mail messages he'd been receiving from Utah residents and family members associated with the Columbine shooting. He was also acting on the advice of lawyers who warned him of the threat of civil suits if he showed the game.
"I personally don't find the game immoral, because an artist has a right to create whatever he wants, whether a filmmaker or a game maker," Mr. Baxter said. "But when you're responsible for presenting that work to the public, it becomes more complicated."
That "how family members associated with Columbine" thing is patently not true. He said something similar to me in my interview, but when I asked him directly if any of the family members of those killed or injured in the Columbine shooting contacted him, he said no. Then he said something about people pointing out to him that the game was about real people who had been killed. Something I'm sure he knew going into the festival.
I hate to use the word liar, but if the shoe fits...
Check out Heather Chaplin's full NYT story (she's the one what wrote SmartBomb) for more details about half empty presentations and squirming festival directors.
Video Game Tests the Limits. The Limits Win [New York Times]
Follow slamgate on Kotaku 
