Chaos at Washington press dinner: indie developer behind Bohrdom faces review bombing after shooting

Suspect in the Washington press dinner shooting is identified as the indie developer behind the Steam game Bohrdom; the title is now suffering from review bombing.

A shooting during the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Washington Hilton resulted in the arrest of 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, who is accused of opening fire near a security checkpoint. Authorities say the president and members of his cabinet were likely targets.

Allen, a native of Torrance, California, identified himself as an indie game developer and had a title already available on Steam.

Who is the developer and the game Bohrdom

According to local press, Allen registered the trademark Bohrdom in 2019, which was released on Steam on December 20, 2018. Bohrdom is described as a 2D atomic combat game.

The game's description presents it as a fusion of bullet hell, racing, and self-propelled pins, with chemistry and physics references presented creatively.

On LinkedIn, Allen appears as a game developer, engineer, scientist, and teacher. His profile section introduces him as a mechanical engineer and computer scientist by training, as well as an independent game developer by experience.

In the experience section, he claims to be self-employed, working as an indie developer since September 2018, based in San Gabriel, California.

• Bohrdom was described as being developed in C++, with several musical pieces and over 750 custom graphics.
• Bohrdom's 2D physics engine, including collision detection and rotation component resolution, was also mentioned in the profile description.

The LinkedIn page also mentions a second game with the working title First Law, still in development and unreleased.

Impact on the Steam community

According to SteamDB, Bohrdom maintained a peak of only one or two concurrent players for most of its life. On Sunday, April 26, that peak rose to 22 — a noticeable, albeit modest, increase following the incident.

Bohrdom is also being targeted by a campaign of negative and positive reviews on Steam. Before Sunday, there were only two reviews; since then, 70 positive and 55 negative reviews have been recorded, many without significant playtime. The most helpful review criticizes the developer's publicity strategy.

The Bohrdom discussion page is active, with several threads opened in the last 24 hours, often with comments associated with current events.

The game, which cost $2, has apparently had its purchase/download option disabled. IGN has requested a comment from Steam on the matter.

Legal updates

According to the BBC, Jeanine Pirro, Attorney General for Washington, reported that the suspect faces two charges: using a firearm during a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon. He is expected to be formally charged at a hearing next Monday in federal court.

This is the current state of the facts, with the community and authorities monitoring the case as it unfolds.

What is your take on the relationship between public violence and the attention indie titles can receive after incidents like this? Leave your comment below with your opinion.

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