There is a new video game called “Thunderbird Strike,” which, according to an MPR story, allows “players to symbolically destroy oil pipelines and other infrastructure.”
On queue, industry groups are warning that the game will lead to eco-terrorism. And since a Minnesota state arts grant helped fund some of the game’s development, a Minnesota state legislator already has promised to introduce legislation to limit similar funding in the future.
According to the MPR story:
The game [Thunderbird Strike] depicts a mythical Native American figure called a “thunderbird” that gathers lightning that can be used to either revive creatures or destroy trucks and oil infrastructure, including a pipeline that’s also depicted as a snake, using hand-drawn images and stop-motion animations.
OK, I haven’t played video games since Donkey Kong, but I do know there are some pretty violent games out there, like the Mortal Combat and Grand Theft Auto series. Those seem a lot more violent than Thunderbird Strike.
According to Wikipedia, in Grand Theft Auto III, ” players could pay for the services of prostitutes to restore their health, and if they wished, kill them to get some of their money back.” Grand Theft Auto IV introduced a new drink-and-drive feature. The list of blood, gore, and violent images in video games is extensive.
If someone can point me to examples of the energy industry’s outrage about these violent video games, I’d be glad to republish them here.
healingmnstories.wordpress.com 
