Swatting and the Dark Side of Being a Gamer

A Swat Raid appears on the stream of Jordan "Kootra" Mathewson

 
Being a "gamer" used to be a simple thing. You'd log into your various online persona, play for a few hours, gloat as victor and inevitably bitch when you lost. Yet we have come upon complicated times, in this day of live streaming matches via Twitch, YouTube, and other venues has brought about a troubling incident. I speak of the rise in the trend of players "swatting" other players. The most recent incident, involved the swatting of  "koopatroopa787" better known as  Joshua Peters of Minnesota. Peters was live streaming a session of Runescape when ten police officers raided the home where Peters, his little brother, and mother all live. Peters is a Air Force veteran who is also an avid gamer and known for his broadcasts via Twitch. Thankfully the officers were well disciplined and after Peters explained that he was live-streaming a game and was probably being "swatted" the attending officer's attitudes quickly changed and no one was hurt. However since the incident it has been reported that Peter's 10 year old brother has since been suffering from nightmares and has frequent migraines.

According to the an article from 2009 on the FBI's website, the phenomena started in 2008 with phone hackers obtaining personal information and then calling the police attempting to convince them to send out a SWAT team, or some kind of armed response team to a innocent home. More recently swatting events have been targeted at specific players or live streamers. The usual reason, especially if the game involves a first person shooter, has to do with frustration directed at a particular player.

In one incident in Colorado in 2014, Jordan "Kootra" Mathewson was also swatted. Mathewson started the streaming group called The Creatures, and was detained while streaming Counter Strike: Global Offensive. Kootra was waiting for a match to begin when he heard loud voices and bangs coming down the hall from where he was playing. In a video captured via his stream he announced that he might be at the receiving end of a swatting attack. Several police officers enter the room moments later and detain Kootra. After being searched and asked whats going on, he explains that he is streaming a video game match. The officers then realize that they are being filmed and shut down the feed. Adding insult to injury the schools near the building police raided were also evacuated. While no one was hurt during this raid, there was still a massive waste of police resources as well as dangerous for all involved.

Kotaku (the source for the previous story) posted a swatting related article on January 13th of this year. This article was a recounting of the swatting of a couple who streamed game sessions together. The couples names are Max and Victoria Zeisberg, they have three kids and they live in Tennessee. The event occurred on on a Friday night while couple were streaming their Call Of Duty sessions to a particularly large audience. This is not to say that the Zeisberg's are a popular streaming personality, rather a few dozen people. That particular evening the chat room was livelier than normal, beginning with Mr. Zeisberg being called a Nazi by one viewer resulting in a ban. Comments in this vein continued and then references to Mr. Zeisberg's previous residency in Germany.  As these comments continued more ban's were being handed out. While this is going on, someone had found Mrs. Zeisberg's realty website was found and malicious calls were being made to the house. At some point someone had called the local police department. According to the police report the sergeant in charge at the scene.reported that a man identifying them self as "Max Ziegler" had called a non emergency line of police dispatch and had claimed to have killed his wife with an AR-15. SWAT and other police officers had been dispatched to the house and set up a perimeter while dispatch tried to keep "Ziegler" on the line and talk him down. To make matters worse, the caller claimed he knew where the police officers were stationed outside the house and said he would shoot anyone who entered his house.

Parallel to these events, the Zeisberg's were getting ready to call an end to the evening and put their kids to bed at 11:00 pm when viewers began to offer them money to keep streaming. Then one of their kids came downstairs and told them that the Police were outside. When they realized they had been swatted they managed to keep their cool but were still decidedly worried. Mrs. Zeisberg had the presence of mind to call 911 and inform dispatch who she and her husband were and that they believe that someone was pulling a prank, while Mr. Zeisberg told his kids to follow any instructions they were given if someone came upstairs. Thankfully, the event ended peacefully with the Zeisbergs leaving the house voluntarily, being handcuffed, having the house searched, guns being pointed at children and the police coming to the realization that the whole event was a hoax. The Zeisbergs still have no idea as to why they were singled out to be swatted but their ordeal has not stopped them streaming gaming sessions. After a brief halt to their sessions they began to stream again without acknowledging the previous event, claiming that they will continue to stream for the people who like watching them play and not be bothered by the "trolls" of the gaming world.

Thankfully, as this trend of pranks grows, policy makers are starting to take notice. In October, NBC 10 of Philadelphia posted an article with video to their website concerning a local swatting incident. This incident was similar to most and also was resolved with no injuries to the victims of the prank. New Jersey State Senator Paul Moriarty called for for harsh penalties for instigators of swatting incidents. Senator Moriarty planned on introducing a local law that would call for mandatory jail time as well a financial penalties. In the senator's mind "The penalty should be more severe and they should be required to pay for every dollar that was spent by the municipality to send these people out here."

I'm at a loss to understand this behavior. Perhaps I'm too mild a gamer, that I am not angered by defeat in digital combat. I never really complained when playing DOTA or DOTA 2 when I'd get my ass handed to me. Nor did I take any real offense when I got beaten by better Call of Duty players than myself. To me, if there is no life/death struggle or money on the line I'm not going to get terribly bent out of shape. It baffles the mind as to why people go around doxing and swatting people for what ever whim suits them. What seems like a harmless prank could turn dangerous and harmful to the target should the police over react; which seems more and more possible these days. That these "trolls" wreak with their pranks is a reflection of darkness hidden within our generation. Are we so driven to "win at all costs in all things" that we feel the need to punish those we scorn with grievous danger to fill some void in the soul? Sadly I have no answers to this question for the behavior is beyond my understanding. I ask those who read this to look inside themselves and seek their own answer to this question: Is it worth putting lives at risk for a prank?

David is a local historian, techie, home brewer, stage hand, gamer, and geek. He loves Star Wars and Shakespeare with equal passions and is prone to quoting it at random!

Sources
http://www.polygon.com/2015/2/9/8004183/swatting-victim-to-harassers-ten-cops-pointed-guns-at-my-little
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/NJ-Family-Swatted-by-Video-Gamers-280455482.html
http://kotaku.com/call-of-duty-couple-recounts-scary-night-swat-team-raid-1679219596
http://kotaku.com/internet-prank-goes-too-far-sends-schools-into-lockdow-1627719530

Did you enjoy this article? Follow us on Facebook to get more great content! We have a weekly podcast you can find on our main site. Also follow us on Twitter and Tumblr!  

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Review

Gamers who play first person shooters are always looking for the next big thing. That game changer, that alters how shooters are made. Bay Area company Sledgehammer Games may just have that in their brand new installment of Call of Duty. Why is it special though? Is this reviewer just perpetuating internet hype, or is there something to this latest installment of the storied Activision Franchise. Based on my time with the game, I can say that Sledgehammer Games has the pedigree of a great design company, as well as the wisdom to innovate and borrow from other games to make the one of the best first person shooters out on the market.

Sledgehammer Games' Roots

 Sledgehammer games was started by Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey. They are veteran developers who left Electronic Arts developer Visceral Games, after starting the Dead Space franchise, to start their own company. Their first work as a new company was to co-develop Modern Warfare 3 with Infinity Ward. If anyone reading this has played those games, then you will know that those are some solid bona fides. If you’ve been living under a rock and never played either Dead Space or Modern Warfare 3, I suggest you start educating yourself. They were both seriously great games. Either way, Sledgehammer’s owners made a killer and down right deviously scary horror/shooter for EA and their new company cut its teeth on a previous Call of Duty game. They were ready to develop this one on their own.

Multiplayer; its what really matters right?

Since Valve launched Counter Strike, multiplayer has become the driving force of shooters.  Since then, new games have to evolve to survive. Whether it was increasing the number of players on a map, adding vehicles, or a slew of other options multiplayer can be what makes or breaks a game. We saw that with Mass Effect 3, who’s multiplayer mode felt like an almost complete part of the game. It was a survival mode instead of team deathmatch; admittedly it tied into the story portion of the game to drive players towards it. Previous COD titles have had varying structures of multiplayer design. Whether it's adding on new modes or adding new options for custom classes; Activision's developers have always tried to add new things.

Instead of going for something new, Sledgehammer borrowed from aspects from a variety of titles and perfected them. Players who played Call of Duty Black Ops II will enjoy a return to a familiar mechanic: the fully customizable load out system pioneered by Treyarch. Here players can alter their guns through attachments, equip exo suit abilities, change perks, alter their killstreaks, and add Wild Card perks. Unlike Ghosts and Black Ops I, there is no money or coin system that earns new guns or attachment faster, so players will have to be patient and level up to get new guns. New to the game are Exo abilities. Exo abilities are specific perks that have a battery life. Once activated the battery drains and does not recharge. The Exo abilities allow you to do very Crisis-like things, like run faster, or cloak.

Another borrowed mechanic that is “new” to COD is the Supply Drop. This is not like the killstreak reward, but rather a post match reward that unlocks new rare items. Those familiar with Mass Effect 3 multiplayer will remember either spending hard cash or grinding out in game currency to purchase supply drops for new guns, buffs, or new playable characters. In Advanced Warfare players earn them by leveling up or by completing challenges. They contain random items that vary from a free in game reward like a supply drop, different cosmetic clothing or armors, to rare varieties of base weapons earned in the game by leveling up. The values are denoted by colors: Enlisted (green), Professional (blue), and Elite (orange). Slegdehammer has also reintroduced the competitive ranked modes from Black Ops, for those players who either play professionally or want a greater challenge than offered in public matches. There is a survival mode that plays similar to Halo ODST's Firefight mode, but allows players to choose between 3 Exo frames ( light, heavy, or specialist) each with its own available weapons, as well as benefits and drawbacks. Finally, Zombie mode will also return to the game at an undisclosed time as DLC. 

Story: It's Important, and in this case, worthwhile!

For the competitive player who enjoys first person shooters, story mode is an afterthought. In the case of Advanced Warfare, Sledgehammer added a gimmick that may just drive players to play through their story to earn a competitive edge against their friends and opponents.

Before the gimmick, let it be said the narrative for Advanced Warfare brings new emotional currents to the well known COD story. There is a formula to COD stories: Exposition, Act One, Conflict/Betrayal, Act Two, Climax, Resolution, and finally a cut scene set up for next game. I won't be revealing the story in this article, but play the campaign, its worth it for the story alone. I will say that what the writers at Sledgehammer Games injected emotional life into their shooter that is rarely seen outside of a role playing game. The writing team encourages, nay drives, players to emotionally connect not only with the character they are playing, but with the villain as well. The writers inject real emotions to each glimpse of joy, frustration, or sorrow that occurs in the game.

The gimmick added by the game developers is tied into the Exo Suit upgrade systems. Throughout the campaign, players are encouraged to complete challenges: getting a certain number of kills per level, headshots, grenade kills, and the ever present "collect the intel." As each level of the challenge is completed, an upgrade point for the Exo Suit is earned. Players can upgrade their suits to get better passive better response from their suit. Upgrades range from increased reload speed, to threat detection, to sprint duration. There are 2 upgrade levels, with level one costing one point, and level two costing two points. As upgrade levels are maxed out, players will unlock multiplayer supply drops earning players a potential edge to online combat.

Design for the sake of art and brilliant mechanics

Call of Duty hasn't always been the best looking game. Granted, the franchise has stayed abreast of industry standards but rarely can I say that the game was beautiful in the same way Skyrim or Mass Effect 3 were beautiful. That being said, the artists and creators at Sledgehammer Games have made a beautiful looking game. Game levels have depth of field, and beautiful texturing that grab the eye. The cut scenes are film quality with principal character faces and bodies are completely motion captured. The dialogue helps bring emotion to the campaign as well as creating a stage for Kevin Spacey to run wild with acting chops worthy of Calculon! Looking at this game is a feast for the eyes. One can tell that the developers took time and care making this game.

The game mechanics for this game feel like a return to Modern Warfare 3, with bits of Black Ops and other games tossed in. The speed of multiplayer is reminiscent of that game. Players are not being slaughtered left and right but now players need to think in new directions. The Exo suit allows players not only to boost jump but to dodge quickly on the ground as well as in mid air. Possibly borrowed from Titanfall, this dodge ability feels smoother and more practiced in its new home. Players now can reach new heights in their attempts to find sniper hideouts, as well as new avenues for escape to dodge incoming fire. Exo abilities grant players timed bonuses to make them tougher, faster, quiet, or nearly invisible. This grants each player with new avenues for strategy to deal death upon their opponents. These new tools breath fresh life into Call of Duty while retaining the core values that have made the IP great.

Play it all

When it comes down to it, this new addition to the Call of Duty family is a great game made by a company that cares about quality. They borrowed and adapted aspects and mechanics from previous games to bring new life to a multiplayer franchise that had started to feel stale, as seen in Call of Duty: Ghosts. The return of the ranked competitive playlists will surely make competitive gamers happy and content in an arena designed for professional tournaments. For myself however, what made this game great was the story. A story of a man tired of the failure of governments who takes a step too far. Like the Greek tragedies of old hubris brings the downfall of a man who reached to far, and the player is the deus ex machina that resolves the imbalance. A great cast led by Kevin Spacey dives into a story that touches our current problems and provides a cautionary tale of loss, sorrow, righteous anger, and ultimately the futility of attempting to end violence with violence. Sledgehammer Games has released a classic that has set a new benchmark for the Call of Duty franchise as well as shooters as a whole.