File under “disturbed genius”: Friday, the Dutch digital ad agency Pool Worldwide unveiled “Google Shoot View,” a video game built on Google's Street View mapping service. A user chose a neighborhood from the database, and the game superimposed a machine gun on the screen. The “player” was then free to traipse around the 'hood while spraying it with bullets by moving and clicking his mouse.
The game was so popular, there were 3,000 visitors per minute. “It also crashed our website,” creative director Erwin Kleinjan told Business Insider this morning.
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But “Google Shoot View” was shut down late last night after the agency received a notification that they were violating Google Street View's terms of service. Google revoked their right to the use the software that permits third parties to include Street View in their own applications. Kleinjan said the agency shut the rest of the site down after they were sent the alert.
The game attracted plenty of criticism in its four-day lifespan. Considering its tagline — “Explore the beauty of the world's cities, towns and villages through 360-degree street-level imagery … and fire a M4A1 assault rifle.” — we understand why.
