Slave-Themed 'Tetris' Video Game Causes Racism Uproar (VIDEO)
A "Tetris" video game recently caused an uproar with racism and anti-black accusations arising from its slave-themed gameplay.
"Playing History: Slave Trade," a game where players stack the most number of Africans they can into the hold of a ship, was hit by online complaints and accusations for being too inflammatory.
Created by Danish game developer Serious Games Interactive, "Slave Trade" depicted characters in the game as thin and gaunt black figures dressed in colored shorts in the place of traditional Tetris block tiles.
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Netizens took to Twitter complaining about the game and calling out its CEO, Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen for being a "clueless white Dane," saying the game was "dehumanizing and anti-black."
Egenfeldt-Nielsen, who holds a PhD on the "educational use of computer games," defended "Slave Trade," saying it was never meant to disgust people but to educate them on the history and horrors of the brutal slave trade. He also added "Slave Trade" had received the BETT award for Best Learning Game in Europe.
"Playing History: Slave Trade" was released in 2013 and targeted young users aged 11 to 14. It is geared at educating children about the slave trade firsthand, bringing them back in time to witness how it all took place.
Players will take on the character of a steward on a slave vessel crossing the Atlantic. Serving the captain and acting as his "eyes and ears," a dilemma is presented when the character's own sister is captured by slave traders.
The slave stacking portion of the two-hour "Playing History: Slave Trade" game only lasts for approximately 15 seconds, but was enough to generate fury online after it was launched with a 25 percent discount on Steam over the weekend.
Last week, the game was temporarily pulled out and updated with the "Slave Tetris" portion removed and the game's trailer and description edited.
