American Election
After the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police, the good folk at itch.io created the “Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality” in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement. 1,741 items from 1,391 creators were included in this bundle. This column not only serves to highlight those games, projects and other items from these generous creators, but is also a reminder that Black Lives do, and always will, Matter.
While the fight for racial equality and justice was news story #1 for only a few weeks, the movement did not stop when the coverage moved away. Protests march on, human rights violation occur daily, and justice continues to not be served. We must never stop fighting for what is right.
Breonna Taylor, an innocent woman, was shot and murdered in her bed at the hands of plain cloth police when they stormed her house as she lay asleep. Of the three officers involved, two were not charged, while the other was only charged with shooting through a wall and potentially endangering neighbors. This is not justice. This is why we fight.
If you have the means and/or time, you can find ways to help at https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/.
American Election - Free
Any guesses as to why this game is being highlighted this week?
American Election is an engrossing text based game, following the life and perspective of someone around the 2016 election. I’m not going to get any more into the story than that, because it’s worth experiencing how this political thriller unravels and making your own dialogue choices yourself, but suffice it to say that the writing is gripping from the outset.
The scope of the subject this game covers feels unwieldy, impossible to comprehend in it’s entirety. Focusing it down to the perspective of one young woman really helps boil this mammoth task down into a cohesive through line.
So many emotions ran through me over the two hours or so I spent here. With simply text and a few pictures - plus a little brilliantly used text shake - writer Greg Buchanan evokes a believable world and life.
Tensions across America, and the entire world, are at fever pitch right now. And… I’ll be honest, I have no idea what is going to happen over the coming days and weeks. I’m very, very worried for many fantastic people over in the states, and how this is going to affect the trajectory of the billions of lives across our one and only planet for decades to come. Irreparable damage has already been done, and any semblance of progress that has been made feels like it has not only been lost, but gotten worse.
But this column is about recognizing where we are, and fighting to make things right. Because change isn’t going to happen with just a few of us. Especially against something as titanic as the systems of power currently in place. But, and this is important, people are what matter. And together, we can push for, work towards, and create a better, fairer, just world. I truly believe that.
Play this game, go out and vote if you live in the US, and keep fighting.