2017 video game
We Are Chicago is an adventure simulation video game developed and published by American developer Culture Shock Games for Microsoft Windows. It was released on February 9, 2017.
Gameplay.
"We Are Chicago" is a video game set in the South Side of Chicago. The player assumes the role of Aaron, a black teenager dealing with the struggles of poverty and living in an area populated by gangs.
Development.
The game began as a thought experiment about how to use the video game medium to tell true stories. They were further spurred due to reading "slice-of-life-type books" based on people's accounts of living in the South Side of Chicago during the 80's and 90's, as well as volunteering with groups and talking with people. In this time, they found that a lot of people's issues stemmed from a history of redlining and race-based income inequality (which leads to exacerbations of other problems).
During production, Culture Shock founder Michael Block and his team gathered at transit locations in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago to interview its citizens regarding the problems they faced. They were told stories about the problems faced by these citizens, which included unemployment rates, as well as their portrayal in local media, all of which became the focal point of the video game.
Reception.
"We Are Chicago" received "generally unfavorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. "Destructoid" rated the game a 3/10, criticizing the graphics for its lack of polish and its characters for lack of emotion. "Polygon" gave the game a 7/10, praising the game's representation of the characters but criticizing character movement. "Kotaku" stated the game failed to address the broad issue of violence, citing a speech from local activist Ja'mal Green.
References.
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