'Slave Tetris' video game sparks massive online backlash
Many are furious about an educational online game about the slave trade which allows users to stack slaves in a ship like a game of Tetris.
Many are furious about an educational online game about the slave trade which allows users to stack slaves in a ship like a game of Tetris.
Playing History 2: Slave Trade is a game targeted at kids aged 11 to 14 that is supposed allow users to “travel back in time and witness the horrors of slave trade firsthand.”
“You will be working as young slave steward on a ship crossing the Atlantic,” the description reads. “You are to serve the captain and be his eyes and ears. What do you do, when you realize that your own sister has been captured by the slave traders?”
The Dutch gaming company’s CEO, Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen, said the “Slave Tetris” section of the two-hour game lasted only about 15 seconds. However, amidst the recent pushback, the Tetrist portion of the experience has now been removed altogether.
Even though the game was released in 2013, the public outcry only began recently, after Serious Games offered a 25% discount on it via Twitter. Soon, potential customers became irate tweeters intent to let the vendor know that something was amiss with the target of their latest promo.
https://twitter.com/SeriousGamesInt/status/637698331465117696
@SeriousGamesInt appalling. The trafficking of human lives is not a game. Pull this now.
— Super Guppy (@superguppy) August 30, 2015
https://twitter.com/The_Gloshow/status/638108125090852865
https://twitter.com/Ranoey/status/638079014851051520
