These days, Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two Interactive seem to get more court time that the average NBA team.

Gamasutra is reporting that E.S.S. Entertainment, owners of the Play Pen, a Los Angeles "gentleman's club," filed suit against Rockstar in April 2005 for trademark infringement over the inclusion of a strip bar in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas called the Pig Pen.

At issue was the Pig Pen's similar awning and logo (both pictured) which, like those of the Play Pen, feature the nude silhouette of a female dancer in the stem of the first letter "P". Additionally, the GTA Pig Pen's exterior displayed the words "Totally Nude," a phrase also used by the real-world Play Pen.

AE: Maybe things are different up in L.A. but down here in San Diego, all the strip clubs feature the words "Totally Nude" somewhere on their signs. I only know this because I, um... can see them from the freeway.

Displaying a clear grasp on the concept of parody, Judge Margaret Morrow said in her ruling, "Any visual work that seeks to offer an artistic commentary on a particular subject must use identifiable features of that subject so that the commentary will be understood and appreciated by the consumer."
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Last year's so-called "modest proposal" by Jack Thompson sparked a firestorm of controversy that culminated in the Miami attorney filing a complaint against Penny Arcade with the Seattle Field Office of the F.B.I. (that complaint went into the circular file, by the way).

Now comes an entirely new PC game based on the Modest Propospal fiasco. Published by a team calling itself Thompsonsoft (we're pretty sure Jack isn't involved), the game is I'm O.K. - A Murder Simulator.

"I'm O.K." features SNES-style graphics and gameplay. There's even a judge who looks a little like Mario.

So who are the designers? The website says, "Consisting of 3 alcoholics and a foreign exchange student, Thompsonsoft is a new game company formed around the singular idea that Jack Thompson is the most brilliant game designer in the universe... Our first title, "I'm OK", is based on Jack's masterful design from "A Modest Video Game Proposal" and it's a murder simulator so cruel, so bloodthirsty, so horrifyingly violent that it makes Grand Theft Auto seem like Sunday Funday."

"How does one explain why, in a world overflowing with disease, war, and other horrifying realities, a man would spend 18 years crusading against video games? Easy. You say that it's the most extensive, ingenious marketing campaign for a video game in the history of MAN."

Features of "I'm O.K." include: 7 unique weapons including uzis, shotguns, rocket launchers, and a baseball bat and something called the Realistic Urine Engine (R.U.E.).

It's all tongue-in-cheek of course. Thompson's reaction will be interesting, since the game closely follows the design he laid down in his Modest Proposal. Can he complain about his own script?

Probably.

UPDATE: Read the full text of Jack Thompson's Modest Proposal in MS Word format.

UPDATE, II: Jack posted his thoughts about the game here in GP's comments section.

UPDATE, III: "I'm O.K." is now officially an international sensation, being reported on a Swedish game site.

UPDATE, IV: It seems that the Thompsonsoft site listed above is now down, with a mention that some pressure may have been applied to the hosting company.

Sadly, GP must own up to being old enough to have fond recollections of text-adventure games distributed on 5.25" floppies.

So we got a definite larf when we found - by way of Kotaku - defective yeti's Iraqi Invasion: A Text Misadventure. The hero, of course, is one George W. Here's a sample:


Oval Office
You are standing inside a White House, having just been elected to the presidency of the United States. You knew Scalia would pull through for you.

There is a large desk here, along with a few chairs and couches. The presidential seal is in the middle of the room and there is a full-length mirror upon the wall.

What do you want to do now?

> INVADE IRAQ
You are not able to do that, yet.

> LOOK MIRROR
Self-reflection is not your strong suit.

> PET SEAL
It's not that kind of seal.

> EXAMINE CHAIRS
They are two several chairs arranged around the center of the room, along with two couches. Under one couch you find Clinton's shoes.

> FILL SHOES
You are unable to fill Clinton's shoes.