A Game About Being African American

[Cadillac]

CLIQUE IS A GAME ABOUT FACING PREJUDICE

An African-American team translates growing up in Detroit to a game.

When he was growing up, Daniel Wilkins didn't go out much. He spent a lot of time at home, indoors and playing video games.

For a budding game developer, that's not such an unusual story. There are plenty of origin tales in gaming about young enthusiasts secluding themselves away from suburban sunshine and sports teams, to battle aliens and best beasties.

But Wilkins had other reasons to stay indoors.

Wilkins grew up in various Detroit neighborhoods, which he describes as being beset by lack of opportunity, poverty and crime. Now he — along with his creative partner and friend Neil Jones — are writing a game about their experiences.

Clique is split into two sections. The first is a top-down fantasy exploration world in which a black alien character interacts with other alien characters, of different colors. The other characters treat the protagonist with suspicion.

"As African-Americans, the team at Dead Art Games wanted to show our struggle in the world of today," says Wilkins. "Being judged by the color of our skin, we find ourselves going the extra mile just to prove that we are the same as the next person. That we just want to be accepted without prejudice."

But there's also a a first-person non-fantasy section that tackles the developers' personal experiences of growing up.

This section of the game features a young woman who is seeking escape from the limits of her life, stuck in a depressed neighborhood. It's a story mode with dialog trees.

"She received this [fantasy] game for her birthday from her brother, and she’s trying to ignore all of her problems around her, like her neighborhood," says Wilkins. "She just wants to stay in her room and play the game."

A Kickstarter campaign is currently underway, seeking $35,000, with the money going toward hiring extra help to get the game done.

Clique is a game about facing prejudice

 

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