Blackstacy

For us, the video game is a medium above all others. I wish we could tell you exactly when they first entered our lives in a meaningful way. It feels like it happened before we could multiply without the help of a calculator. Cognition and reasoning were in play; albeit not at what we’d consider respectable levels. They were high enough to be enthralled with the worlds we encountered.

Be it circumstance, intuition or fate’s hand, games set in the realm fantasy drew us in and held us firm. Years were spent barreling through worlds that didn’t exist.

Our forays through Hyrule were magnificent. From Zelda: A Link to the Past¹, through to Majora’s Mask.

With these experiences, we explored themes of time, space and alternate dimensions. Through that we learned about consequence of action[s]. Not solely of the villain, but the hero as well.

We weren't congnizant of this at the time. Our faculties at the time were unable to see and appreciate these narrative nuances. for us at the time, the games just felt good. The multiple worlds "were cool". Why was it cool? Just because.

Something a little different happen upon encountering Shadow Man² for Nintendo 64, however.

Shadow Man was black. Not as in the absence of light; Nor do we mean evil (debateable). No, Shadow man was an African American. Black like us. Given that we were a child, Shadow Man's exitence and lore outside of the game were lost to us. The Game was more than enough, however.

It woke us up to possibities never before considered. Just as witnessing us make statements in other creative realms did. His and other black protagnists' existence showed us that there is a place for Us in fantasy. Beyond rewriting the short stories we had at the time to feature fellow Blacks, Shadow Man and his peers reminded us that we have a place in whimsy. That media featuring and starring us didn't have to lean [too heavily] on stereotypes and tropes³.

It reminded us that there is value to us in settings more surreal. That our value lie far beyond struggle and what had been done to us.

So to Shadow Man and everyone else you'll see pictured in the collage used for the cover image, I say thank you.

And to us, I say let's make more. Subsequent generations shouldn't be robbed of their chance[s] to be inspired the way we were.

Go in peace,

-- Xevi

1. Completely unrelated to anything I stumbled upon this page showing the differences between the beta and final versions of A Link To The Past. ↩

2. More about the Mr. Leroi↩

3.Yes, I'm still painfully aware that we are only barely turning the page on the decades long black hair in digital media issue.↩