Life

This Video Game Is Far Too Real

Video games are known to have some pretty controversial themes and include scenarios involving violence, sexism, blood, and gore. So why is it that when a room of gamers was confronted with the fake video game trailer for Elika's Escape, which reflected real-life violence experienced by a young girl in Sudan, the gamers got offended and walked out?

A fake pitchman walked into a gaming conference to announce the release of a new video game created by his (also fake) company called Elika's Escape — in reality, he was showing a video that UNICEF created to raise awareness of the everyday horrors of people living in Sudan. The trailer introduced a game with "first person shooters," a "survival horror" narrative, and "wartime" and "post-apocalyptic" themes, all of which are pretty common content for video games and — and are pretty much real themes in the lives of real Sudanese girls who face impoverished conditions. The fake video game trailer was an attempt to raise awareness for real-life situations many young girls in Sudan face every day, but the gamers in the room couldn't handle the realness. After the introduction though, the fake pitchman said some things that really fazed the room and made people start leaving. Check out what happens:

Images: YouTube