The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded a $100,000 grant to a Norfolk University history professor to develop a video game which tells the tale of the Underground Railroad.
Prof. Cassandra Newby-Alexander said that the history of the Underground Railroad, a network which helped slaves escape from the South in pre-Civil War days, is not well understood:
The underground Railroad was a much more complex issue than it's been made out. When you push a person to a point where they have nothing to lose, that's when you create a formidable enemy. Ultimately, human beings are going to be free.
When you ask people to describe the Underground Railroad, they think of Harriet Tubman on foot, with a gun. Most slaves didn't escape that way. I don't want to dumb-down the game.
Newby-Alexander is working with a local playwright to create a script for the game, which is expected for PC in 2011.
Via: Kotaku
Comments
Re: Underground Railroad Game Funded by National Endowment ...
Alright, if the Underground Railroad isn't understood, how do they plan on making a game about it? What kind of a game are they making? Considering the fact that there were a lot of different paths people could take on the Underground Railroad, this seems like a very complicated game. I wish them well with this, but without more information, I can't possibly imagine this being made into a decent game.
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Freedom of speech means the freedom to say ANYTHING, so long as it is the truth. This does not exclude anything that might hurt someone's feelings.
Re: Underground Railroad Game Funded by National Endowment ...
I remember Freedom on the Apple IIe.
I never got very far.
Re: Underground Railroad Game Funded by National Endowment ...
There was a game for the apple IIe that was based around it. I used to play it. Too bad I can't remember the name of it.
Re: Underground Railroad Game Funded by National Endowment ...
I actually wanted this to be made into a video game for quite sometime. Glad to see i wasen't the only one who thought of it.
http://www.magicinkgaming.com/
Re: Underground Railroad Game Funded by National Endowment ...
Well, time to wait for the outrage.
Re: Underground Railroad Game Funded by National Endowment ...
Just sit back and enjoy the ride. It's going to be a big one, that's for sure.
---You are likely to be eaten by a Grue.
Re: Underground Railroad Game Funded by National Endowment ...
From who? he's getting the script for the game from a Playwright. It would take a very small minded person to....
Nevermind, i get it now. Damn.
Re: Underground Railroad Game Funded by National Endowment ...
"they think of Harriet Tubman on foot, with a gun. Most slaves didn't escape that way. I don't want to dumb-down the game"
Aww damn, I wanna play "Harriet Tubman: Out for Revenge" the First Person Shooter!
Re: Underground Railroad Game Funded by National Endowment ...
I would TOTALLY play a game with Harriet Tubman, on foot, with a gun. Yes, it's historically innaccurate, and it could (likely would) piss people off- but if Mel Brooks can make The Last Supper and the French Revolution funny, then someone can definitely make a game like that for shits and giggles.
Nevertheless, it's a decent undertaking to make a game based around the issue and events.