Short Game Depicts Police Brutality from the Perspective of a Young Black Child

By Kyle McKenney | August 2, 2016 | 11:01am

Images via Yvvy

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Easy Level Life is a short game by independent game creator Yvvy that aims to show people the experience of being black in America as it relates to police brutality. This game, which is a few minutes long, does an incredible job of allowing you to experience someone else’s lived experiences, those of a young black middle schooler.

The game begins as the kid is on their way to school when they come upon three police officers beating a black man bloody with their batons. You are presented with a series of options at this point, including “Eat Breakfast,” “Cross The Street,” or “Stand There Quietly.”

You can download the game on Itch.io for free (though donations are appreciated). Easy Level Life subverts the standard game experience by preventing any sort of win condition. There is no overcoming the challenge presented. In that way, it accurately depicts a part of the experience of being black. Against entrenched systemic racism and a militarized police force, there is little one person can do.

“The closest thing to a win condition where police brutality is concerned, is simply not being the wrong skin color. The game is the same way,” Yvvy said in an interview with Killscreen.

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It seems that no matter what black people do when confronted by police, officers take their lives with horrific frequency. No matter if they are selling CD’s on the street corner or being pulled over for a routine traffic stop, black people’s lives are cut short by police officers for no reason. Hopefully this game can share some insight for those who are privileged enough to not be subjected to police brutality and the systemic racism that causes this widespread oppression. You can download Easy Level Life here.