Bully (video game)

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Bully
Developer(s)	Rockstar Vancouver
Publisher(s)	Rockstar Games
Engine	Advanced GTA San Andreas Engine: RenderWare
Release date(s)	October 17, 2006 25 October 2006 27 October 2006
Genre(s)	Action / Adventure
Mode(s)	Single Player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen OFLC: M BBFC: 15
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Media	DVD

Bully, also known as Canis Canem Edit in the PAL region ^[1], is a video game released by Rockstar Vancouver for Sony PlayStation 2 on October 17, 2006 in the USA, and October 25 in the UK. An Xbox version was planned but has since been cancelled for undisclosed reasons^[2]. The game takes place in a fictional reform school called Bullworth Academy. The motto of the school, "Canis Canem Edit", is Latin for dog eat dog. The game will also be available as a special edition that includes a limited edition comic book, and a dodgeball of the same style as the ones used in the game, with the word "Bully" engraved on it. It is unknown whether there will be a special edition for other markets.

A press release by Take-Two Interactive, publishers of the game, states, "As a troublesome schoolboy, you'll laugh and cringe as you stand up to bullies, get picked on by teachers, play pranks on malicious kids, win or lose the girl, and ultimately learn to navigate the obstacles of the fictitious reform school, Bullworth Academy."

Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Setting 3 Characters 3.1 Cliques 4 Weapons 4.1 Equipment 5 Controversy 5.1 Sexuality 5.2 ESRB 6 References to popular culture 7 Reception 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Gameplay

Early information released by Take-Two Interactive seemed to indicate that the player would be taking the role of a bully, and screenshots printed in Electronic Gaming Monthly showed the player-controlled antagonist administering a "swirlie" and throwing a punch at another student. However, a new trailer in 2006 suggested this idea was abandoned and instead the player is in control of a new student Jimmy Hopkins standing up against bullies.

The released trailer shows Jimmy engaging in a wide variety of activities, running from bullies, dealing with teachers, and exploring the school. The game appears to be heavily story driven with a wide cast of both male and female characters, including the stern looking Principal Crabblesnitch, popular cheerleaders, and faculties of varying personalities.

The game uses an Advanced Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Engine through Renderware, completely changing all the programming codes to make the gameplay different. The fighting combat is similar to another Rockstar Games title, The Warriors. What also makes the game engine unique is Rockstar Vancouver's tendency to avoid using more than one model of the NPC's with the exception of pedestrians.

[edit] Setting

The game takes place at Bullworth Academy, a fictional Independent reform school. The school itself is located in the also fictional town of Bullworth, which resembles New England (this would also explain the high prevalence of very wealthy 'Old money' and 'Nouveau Riche'). The school itself is a classical neo-gothic design and is similar to many other schools and colleges in New England and Britain), in particular Fettes School in Edinburgh.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of characters in Bully

The game focuses on Bullworth's newest student, Jimmy Hopkins. As he advances through his academic career at Bullworth Academy, he may interact with the school's students and teachers, many of whom will give him tasks to complete. He is greeted by Gary Smith, a scheming, unstable sociopath and Petey Kowalski, a shy student who has yet to make many friends.

[edit] Cliques

Like every school, Bullworth Academy has various cliques amongst the student body. Depending on the choices he makes, Jimmy can make friends or enemies of the various cliques on campus. In keeping with American high school stereotypes, most students Jimmy deals with will fall into one of six cliques. A member of a certain clique can be identified by their unique clothes (not unlike gang colors):

• Nerds: Wear Green "Astronomy club" vests
• Preppies: Wear Light Blue
• Bullies: Wear plain white shirts
• Jocks: Wear Sports Jackets
• Greasers: Wear Blue with a black leather or denim jacket
• Townies: Wear normal clothes

[edit] Weapons

There are various weapons in Bully that can be used for either defensive or malicious purposes. While none of the weapons in the game are lethal, using a weapon will raise Jimmy's chances of being punished, especially if used against a woman, an adult or an authority figure. Weapons can be found scattered across town, bought in stores, or at any one of Jimmy's hideouts once they've been successfully unlocked. For example, firecrackers, stink bombs and itching powder can be concocted in Jimmy's dorm room after he passes Chemistry class.

• Slingshot – The slingshot is the most fundamental weapon in Jimmy's arsenal. It has the ability to fire an unlimited amount of pellets and is upgradable through completing various missions. The slingshot is the only weapon not taken away by teachers, police, or prefects.
• Firecrackers – Small explosives that deal large amounts of damage to anyone caught in its blast radius.
• Stink bombs – When stink bombs are thrown, a cloud of green gas appears, leaving those caught in it temporarily stunned.
• Itching Powder – Similar to the stink bombs, itching powder causes one to become temporarily distracted. When thrown, the powder will be released, sending any victims into a fit of itching.
• Carton of Eggs – Though throwing an egg at someone will not cause much damage, a harsh blow from such a toss can knock someone back. Eggs are messy and throwing them at someone is almost sure to start a fight.
• Bag of Marbles – When Jimmy throws a bag of marbles, the marbles spill on the ground. Anyone who runs across them will slip and fall.
• Bottle Rockets – Bottle rockets are powerful explosives that can be launched with a "bottle rocket launcher". Though they are somewhat inaccurate at long range, a direct hit will almost always knock someone out.
• Spudgun – An invention of the nerd clique, the spudgun is an effective weapon that fires potatoes at enemies.
• Rubber Band Balls - An unlockable weapon if all 75 rubber bands are collected. The weapon can be thrown towards surfaces and bouncing everywhere. The weapon cannot be used anymore if all rubber band balls were used up.

[edit] Equipment

• Skateboard – Jimmy receives a skateboard early in the game as his first means of transportation.
• Camera – An essential item for taking Photography classes at Bullworth. Bully enables the player to take in-game photographs and save them to a PlayStation 2 Memory Card for viewing. The camera is used in many of Jimmy's mission to take incriminating photographs of students and citizens. It can also be used to take students' yearbook photos (Jimmy and Gary's are automatically added when received the yearbook, and beating Gary, respectively). At first, Jimmy receives a black and white camera, but it can later be upgraded to a digital camera capable of taking color photographs.
• Spray Paint – Spray paint is mainly used to tag walls, revealing an insult to one of Bullworth's cliques. Spraying graffiti is considered vandalism and will bring Jimmy attention from authority figures. It can also be used offensively against other students, stunning them.

[edit] Controversy

Bully has caused controversy among parents, and educators. Criticisms are due to the adult nature of previous Rockstar games, in particular, the Hot Coffee mod in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and to certain aspects of the game, for example, its title (despite the fact the lead character is able to defend others from bullies as much as be a "bully" himself, and any picking on female characters or smaller children is a transgression within the game's internal rules). Groups such as Bullying Online and Peaceaholics have criticized the game for glorifying or trivializing school bullying. Most of these criticisms, however, were voiced before the contents of the game were actually available to the public. In 2006, the United States-based Entertainment Software Rating Board officially gave Bully a rating of "T" (suitable for ages 13 and up).[1]

[edit] Sexuality

Bully creators have allowed characters to have a range of sexual orientations, such as bisexual, gay or straight. Jimmy Hopkins can kiss certain boys in the game, and the characters engage in natural dialogue that does not appear to have issues when it comes to sexuality[2] [3]. In the United States, Bully is rated T for Teen by the ESRB (see below) and the box clearly states that there are some "sexual themes". It is perhaps worth noting that the kissing of boys is not necessary to progression through the game; gamers can complete the game without ever kissing a boy if they don't want to. In contrast, kisses with girls may be - or may not be - engaged in by the player as Jimmy, as per the player's choice, but some scenes of kisses with girls occur following the completion of certain missions, without the player intiating them. For example, after retrieving Beatrice's diary for her in "The Diary", she and Jimmy smooch during a cut-scene, the substance of which is out of the player's control. A similar approach was taken in the popular Sims and its sequel.

[edit] ESRB

Prior to both the ESRB's rating and the release of Bully, Jack Thompson, a Miami lawyer and video game critic, filed a lawsuit attempting to have the game blocked from store shelves in Florida. Thompson declared the game a "nuisance" and "Columbine simulator" (in response, many of his detractors have mockingly referred to it as nothing more than a "Dennis the Menace simulator"). Also, the protagonist of the game, Jimmy, is not a bully towards the nerds and misfits, but more of a defender of unpopular kids and bully towards bullies. He also argued this point on Attack of the Show along with Adam Sessler (with him on the opposite end) on the show's "The Loop." [4] Thompson's petition, filed with the 11th Judicial Circuit Court, asked for Wal-Mart and Take-Two to furnish him with an advance copy of Bully so he could have "an independent third party" play the game and determine if it would constitute a public nuisance in the state of Florida (in which case it could be banned).^[3][4] On 2006-10-11 Judge Ronald Friedman ordered Take-Two and Rockstar to provide him a copy of the game within 24 hours. On 2006-10-13 Friedman subsequently ruled in favor of shipping the game, noting that there was no content in the game that was not already on late night TV. Thompson responded to the ruling with fiery speech directed at the judge^[5].

Similar attempts to have the game banned have also been made by the charity Bullying Online and Labour Party M.P Keith Vaz in the UK^[6]

In Belgium, a petition was started by three teachers to ban the game from the shelves. After the petition was closed with 32,000+ signatures, another petition was started in favor of the game.^{[citation needed]}

When given preview build, however, the mainstream media took a generally positive opinion of the game. Press coverage has described the game as free-form, focusing on building a social network and learning new skills from classes, with strictly enforced punishments for serious misbehaviour (for example, having to clear snow away as punishment for hitting a girl).^[7]

Currys and PC World, both owned by DSG International plc said that they wish to not sell the game in the UK because it is "not appropriate for Currys' family-friendly image". The official statement lists what Currys believes is "the explicit link between violence and children" as the reason behind the ban, and continues: "We haven't taken this decision lightly, particularly considering the excellent relationship we have with Rockstar." However despite this decision other high street retailers including Game, HMV and Woolworths, Virgin Megastores have all announced an intention to stock the game.^[8] Interestingly, DSG stores still stock other Rockstar games including the GTA series, and other violent games like Manhunt, which both have BBFC18 ratings, where Bully has a BBFC15 rating.

[edit] References to popular culture

• The phrase "I'm the daddy now!" is taken from the 1979 film Scum, where it is used in a near-identical context (adolescent superiority).
• A variation on the Revenge of the Nerds theme plays when the Nerd clique chase you.
• On an errand in Bullworth Town for a bike shop dealer he can be heard saying "Dude, where's my bike?" a reference to the film Dude, Where's My Car?.
• Random Greaser NPCs can be heard saying "Stay Gold Ponyboy" and "Do it for Johnny". These are references to the S.E. Hinton novel, The Outsiders. In fact, the term Greaser and their appearance is also a possible reference to The Outsiders.
• If the player beats up Melvin O'Conner, he will exclaim "’Tis only a flesh wound", in reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
• The mini-game Con Sumo uses sound effects from Metal Slug.
• Random Nerd NPCs can be heard saying "They say that kids imitate video game characters, but I have yet to turn into a moustachioed plumber". This is a reference to the Nintendo character, Mario, a possible breaking of the fourth wall, and a satire on the criticisms leveled against critics such as Jack Thompson by video gamers.
• The keycode for the observatory gate is '1138'. Given the fact that nerds control this area, it should come as no surprise that this is a reference to George Lucas' first film, THX-1138.
• A nerd can be heard saying "I only have a few chapters left in Kavalier and Clay". This is a reference to The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay a 2000 novel by Michael Chabon which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001.
• The nerd Fatty sometimes greets Jimmy with the phrase "Hailing frequencies open". This is a reference to the various Star Trek TV shows.

[edit] Reception

Bully has received generally positive reviews from critics. ^[9]. The game received ratings of 8.9/10 from IGN-US, ^[10] 9.0/10 from Games Radar, ^[11] a perfect 10/10 from 1UP.com, ^[12] 8.7/10 from GameSpot, 8.75/10 from VGRC.net, ^[13] and 5/5 from X-Play. Critics generally praised the game's storyline, while they complained about particular stealth missions, as well as the camera. Critics also noted that the game is substantially easier than veterans of the Grand Theft Auto series (Rockstar's flagship titles) would expect.

[edit] See also

• Rockstar Games
• Video game controversy

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Bully Homepage
• Official Canis Canem Edit Homepage
• IGN: PS2 Collectors Edition Xbox
• Press Release by Take Two Interactive
• BBC News article about the controversy
• Attack of the Show: Bully Debate
• Youth Council of Ireland wants boycott of “shocking" game
• Canis Canem Edit Gamestyle PS2 Review
• 1UP: Bully PS2
• TrustedReviews review of game
• Bully Cheats - PS2