Main Street Massacre video game set on Vancouver's SkyTrain

A violent video game is using a Metro Vancouver transit hub asa backdrop for virtual murder and mayhem, and while some are troubled by the depiction,not everyone is outraged.

The game,Main Street Massacre, begins with a seemingly innocent introduction:The main character,Mack,is a construction worker who is frustrated after a long day at work.

He becomes annoyed withthe crowded train, and fumes at systemdelays. Finally,he snaps anddecides to vent his anger with a gun.

The browser-basedgame's settingbears a fairly closeresemblanceto the SkyTrain and the actual Main Street Station. It usesthe train's acceleration noises anddepictsthe station's platform, stairwayand ticket machines.

A statement issued by Metro Vancouver Transit Police Wednesday says it isaware of the"disturbing" internet video game.

"We are in the process of reviewing this video to determine if any police related issues come to light," transit police said.

Jason Lee Elliott, who teaches game design at The Art institute of Vancouver, says theMain Street Massacre game isn't necessarily promotingviolence. Elliott said he believes the game creator'swork is more of an artistic piece.

"Through the experiences he's had on SkyTrain, he wanted to find a way that he could use his voice toexpress his frustrations of the situation of riding the SkyTrain every day.It just happened that games is his medium," Elliott said.

After two prolonged, system-wideSkyTrainshutdowns during rush hour in the pastmonth,it's a frustration manyVancouverites can relate to.

Game maker defends his work

Reached by CBC News Wednesday afternoon, game creator AlexiWildman said that was exactly the point he was trying to make.

"It's a work of art. It's a political statement. It's provocative, it was designed to be," he said.

Wildman explained that like the character in the game he, too, is a Metro Vancouver construction worker, and that daily life can reach a boiling point for many in his industry.

"It's such a frustrating thing working in construction. The last thing we need at the end of the day is SkyTrain delays, a station that's halfway closed down for, like, six months."

To anyone expressing shock atthe violence depicted in the game, Wildmancountersthere isrealphysical violence actual beatings and fightsthat happens at some work sites.The game is meant to express the pent-up rage he and others feel some days,not to encourage anyone to snap.

"I don't advocate doing that whatsoever," he said. "If someone's going to way that my game is going to be the cause of someone actually shooting up a SkyTrain station,committingacts of violence that's not because of the game."

• Read more about the first SkyTrain shutdown
• Read more about the second SkyTrain shutdown

It's not the first time a Metro Vancouver location has been a backdrop for a violent game.Last year, a clip designed to be part of the popular video gameCounter-Strikeused Port Moody Secondary Schoolas its model.

The demo clip depicts a gunman with an assault rifle inside the halls of the school.

• MORE |Port Moodyschool used asbackdrop for violent video game

In that case, Port Moody RCMPsaid the game was "ill-conceived" and contacted the developer, but said no laws were broken and the game maker posed no threat to staff or students at the school.