In a teaser scene for Culture Shock Games' newest video game, Aaron, a high school student living on Chicago’s South Side, is seated at the dinner table with his family when the sound of a gunshot rings out during their meal.
But it isn’t panic or fear that’s depicted next, it’s frustration.
“I’m so tired of all these shootings,” says Aaron’s younger sister. “It’s like we’re prisoners in our own houses.”
In the last week of August, the city’s most violent month in nearly 20 years, Michael Block, a 28-year-old Indie programmer based out of Chicago’s North Side, released the teaser trailer to his latest video game for PC, We Are Chicago. We are Chicago is a narrative-driven adventure game that brings players to the South Side of Chicago and puts them into the shoes of Aaron, a young black male navigating daily life in Englewood, one of the city’s most violent neighborhoods.
Throughout the game, players interact with other characters in Aaron's life. Put in different situations, they're faced with decisions of what to say, or not say, and what to do, or not do. Block said that unlike other games where violence is a central theme, this game focuses more on the “subtle, interpersonal exchange” between characters and how players choose to manage the situations around them.
According to Block, who studied computer science at DePaul University, the idea to create a game based on real narratives was the result of a series of interviews Block and his team conducted with families on Chicago’s South Side.
“People talked about the prevalence of violent crime happening in their neighborhoods,” he said. “When we were talking to people and hearing their stories, we began to realize that these things were happening only a couple miles away from where we live. It was pretty obvious that we weren’t really hearing this stuff in [mainstream media].”
So Block and the creators of We Are Chicago created a virtual version of Chicago's South Side, one where they hoped they could bring the stories of the people they interviewed into the consciousness of the game's players. This game isn’t about the numbers that makes up Chicago Police Department’s shooting reports; it’s about real people — people who have become so accustomed to the violence in their neighborhood that if gun shots sound far enough away, they ignore them and continue about their day.
While Block said that most of the initial feedback for the game has been positive, it isn’t without criticism. Online, people have critiqued the game for technical reasons — occasional glitches and poor graphics — but some have also suggested it follows too much of an archetypal narrative — a single mom, an innocent little sister and a friend who might be getting himself into trouble.
#VideoGame PAX: We Are Chicago Dev Might be Aiming too High for First Game https://t.co/yLile5Jzza
— allinone (@bazmi119) September 10, 2016
We Are Chicago has a lot of potential and not much else: I respect We Are Chicago. It's a game that applies t... https://t.co/LNyGSOcS7b
— n8Bit / Nate (@The_n8Bit) September 4, 2016
In response to concerns that the game may not be authentic or that it might buy into stereotypes, Block emphasized the extensive interviewing process that went into creating the story lines that Englewood resident and writer Tony Thornton wrote into the game's dialogue. Plus, the point of the game is that everything is based on true stories, he said. Lacking authenticity or buying into stereotypes would defeat the purpose of their ultimate goal, which is to allow players the chance to develop a more accurate understanding of the social issues that exist in parts of Chicago that they may have never seen.
“We’re hoping people take away an understanding of what is happening in these neighborhoods, an understanding the more personal side to the news stories you hear, [and] an understanding of the way all this stuff plays out for somebody who may not be a direct victim of gun violence,” Block said.
With an expected launch date planned for early 2017 (it's currently available for pre-order), Culture Shock says it plans to donate a portion of the proceeds to non-profit groups around the city "who have a mission to help curb violence and provide positive and creative opportunities to people living on Chicago’s South and West Side." Block said they have already secured partnerships with two local non-profits, All Stars Project of Chicago and Reclaim Our Kids.
(Image via We Are Chicago)
