But it’s for a good cause!
We Are Chicago takes place in Chicago’s south side. It is a city whose residents are besieged by violent crime, with homicide rates that make Los Angeles and New York look like Pleasantville. Much of that is confined to the gang-heavy south side of the city that most of us don’t know beyond pop culture, typically music from the likes of Common, Kanye, Rhymefest, Twista, and more.
I can’t think of another game that explores the territory, certainly not one with a “myriad of in-depth first person interviews that are interwoven into the game’s story” and includes “music from local artists that live and grew up on Chicago’s south and west side.” That level of authenticity resonates with me, as an insufferable San Francisco native (also from the “bad” part) dealing with the rapid gentrification of the city and subsequent clash over income disparity — though San Francisco’s Bayview doesn’t come close to Chicago’s south side.
This is all to say I like what We Are Chicago‘s aiming for. Developer Culture Shock will even use, “a portion of the proceeds from the game to help raise awareness and support non-profit groups who have a mission to help curb violence and provide positive and creative opportunities to people living on Chicago’s south and west side.”
But playing a work-in-progress beta build of the first-person narrative game at GDC, it’s currently on the rough side, from almost-endearing stretched photograph textures on pasta plates (think Sam Lake’s face in Max Payne) to a locking camera during dialogue readings.
The current jankiness kind of overwhelms the narrative of Aaron, a high school senior nearing graduation who’s best friend has gone missing. The demo portion starts with Aaron’s mother coming home and prepping dinner for Aaron, his little sister, and his friend from work, James. Over a pasta dinner in the modest home gunshots ring out and characters speak on the oppressive level of violence outside their doorstep — violence that can easily make it into their home by way of a stray bullet. But while the voice performances are fine, the actual dialogue feels so expository and unnatural, overtly explaining the state of affairs to the audience and it comes off a bit stilted.
Same with the awkward dinner pause when the game seems to require you to filter through all the dialogue options for the meal to end. The next morning, one of Aaron’s friends knocks on his door so the pair can head off to school and you’re locked on-rails as the two of you walk and you explore dialogue options en route to an unexpected encounter with gang violence.
We Are Chicago has welcomed aspirations and wants to tell a fresh story. Some of the little touches like a mattress propped up on milk crates rather than a bed frame, or Aaron’s sister’s little bed crammed into her mother’s room, do that. Other bits in this early build, however, fail to organically evoke the same feeling, so I hope Culture Shock can tune them to resonate a bit more naturally when it launches for PC/Mac/Linux sometime this year.
