'Slavery the Game' revealed as a viral ad for Dutch TV history series

Mike Schramm — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:45:00 EST

Last weekend, we posted about a website featuring something called "Slavery the Game," which seemed to be a viral ad for a fake video game. It turns out the grim, weird site was a viral ad, but not for a video game. Rather, it's a project put together by a Dutch public television network named NTR, designed to promote an upcoming series talking about "the European and Dutch involvement in trans-Atlantic slavery."

There's more explanation in this YouTube video, in which one of the researchers behind the series explains that the goal of the project was to raise awareness in the Netherlands about the historical issue of slavery, and "create attention" about the issue. He also says that the American media "reacted much heavier" to the trailer, "because the topic of slavery has had much more attention."

So it sounds like a culture clash of sorts, with a message meant for Netherlands viewers sneaking out to a much larger, and somewhat more sensitive, audience. The NTR series is set to start up on Dutch TV later on this month, and there is even a "children's version" of the series, called "De Slavernij Junior" starting at the same time.

[Thanks, Jim N]

'Slavery the Game' revealed as a viral ad for Dutch TV history series originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Slavery the Game isn't a real game, is a real website, is really uncool

Jessica Conditt — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 20:30:00 EST

Slavery the Game isn't a game -- at least, we really hope it's not -- but it is a wonderful example of just how warped the Internet's sense of humor and decency is. Slavery the Game's website is horrifyingly legit at first glance, boasting a trailer, contact information, share buttons, the insignia for Xbox 360, PS3, PC and an ESRB rating of AO (Adults Only).

These are lined up at the bottom of the site, right next to the overwhelming sense of relief we felt when we realized neither 360 nor PS3 release AO titles. Further, the ESRB doesn't list a rating for anything called Slavery the Game and the proposed developer, Javelin Reds Gaming, doesn't exist. One YouTube version of the trailer credits The Creative Assembly with making Slavery the Game, but it isn't mentioned anywhere on The Creative Assembly's site. We've contacted The Creative Assembly for clarification. [Update: The Creative Assembly has clarified it has nothing to do with this project.]

We do wonder, if Slavery the Game isn't a game (and it's not; notice the lack of italics here), does it have a larger goal, or is this it; a mysterious website with a gruesome reminder that society can be a more powerful force than individual morality? We thought we already had one of those.

Slavery the Game isn't a real game, is a real website, is really uncool originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 03 Sep 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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