Online Gamer Harassment Inspires Episode of Law & Order: SVU
NBC's long-running and award-winning crime drama Law & Order: SVU has announced plans to air an episode about gaming harassment. The episode, "Intimidation Game," will be broadcast on February 11.
Here's the top-level plot synopsis: "The virtual world becomes reality when a video game convention turns into a crime scene."
More plot details about the episode were published on NBC's media site. "Intimidation Game" will follow a female video game developer named Raina Punjabi played by Mouzam Makkar who has launched her first game and immediately faces death threats from the "male-dominated gaming community."
When a female employee working for Punjabi is assaulted at a gamer convention (they didn't say which one), Punjabi refuses to delay the launch of her game. As a result, NBC writes that the cops, including detective Tutuola (played by Ice-T), will have to "level up" to protect her.
The SVU episode will also feature series veteran Mariska Hargitay as Sgt. Olivia Benson, as well as guest stars Peter Mark Kendall, Susannah Flood, and Griffin Matthews.
SVU is not the first NBC show to take on a gaming plotline. An October episode of The Mysteries of Laura followed a detective tracking down a criminal inside of an MMO.
Stories about the harassment that Feminist Frequency creator Anita Sarkeesian has faced have made international headlines from a range of mainstream media in the past year.
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