GamesBeat: Were there any other African-Americans on the team in different roles?
Thornton: Not that I met. Usually I’d be the only black person in the room. But there were other black people working in areas where I wasn’t involved. And of course, when we were doing the voice-overs, all the voice actors were black. From some of the pictures I’ve seen, there were programmers and other staff involved who were black, but our paths didn’t cross.
Above: We Are Chicago
GamesBeat: It’s interesting to come back again to this notion that this game probably wouldn’t have been made without white people.
Thornton: My question would be, if indeed it was conceived and brought to market by a black person – myself, let’s say – I wonder if we would have gotten the same press.
GamesBeat: Or the access to the money to make that.
Thornton: That too. But Michael has made a comfortable living off his previous games, so he had the disposable income to invest in the making of this game.
GamesBeat: It’s a rare thing for someone like him to do.
Thornton: Yes it is. Not knowing exactly how the game would be received, I give him high marks for taking a risk with his own resources.
GamesBeat: I went to journalism school at Northwestern. There was a quarter there where I was assigned to cover public housing. I spent some time in the Robert Taylor Homes, and Cabrini Green.
Thornton: Right, which are no longer there.
GamesBeat: It was a very stark experience for me.
Thornton: I can imagine. You’re originally from California?
GamesBeat: I’m from Sacramento, in the north, and I live in the Bay Area now, near San Jose. This was not something I’d ever seen growing up. It was very eye-opening.
Thornton: As I said, I grew up on the South Side of Chicago, and my first trip to Cabrini Green was an eye-opener too. Any project that you go too, it’s very intense. You have all these people thrown together in a small area. The education level and the income level is such that—I mean, it’s not like a high-rise in a richer part of town, where people have a pretty high disposable income and education and appreciation for the finer things. You have people who are thrown together, who don’t own much, and don’t have an appreciation for others who do, you know?
When you own property, whether it’s your home or your condo or a nice car, you appreciate nice things. You’ve been taught to appreciate nice things. It’s a difference from living in a neighborhood where you just see other people with things that you wonder if you’ll ever be able to afford. To the point where you have people robbing other people for their gym shoes. Things we can’t even conceive of. “They did what?”
GamesBeat: I guess you’ll find out soon out well enough how the game does. Has the project turned out well for you otherwise?
Thornton: As I say, I went back to school in 2013, 2014. If it hadn’t been for the game—we’ve gotten a lot of good press. Just months after returning to school, I got my first professional writing gig, and as a result of that gig I’ve been called on to do interviews on the radio, television, magazines, newspapers. It’s been a whirlwind. Of course I hope it’ll be my entry into having my scripts read, at least. With luck it’ll be well-received, and maybe it gets my foot in the door.
GamesBeat: Are you still down in Englewood, or do you live elsewhere now?
Thornton: I live in Roseland, which is a carbon copy of Englewood. It’s closer to my job. But it’s pretty much the same neighborhood.
GamesBeat: You mentioned 58. Is that how old you are now?
Thornton: No, that’s how old I was when I first went back to school. I just had my 62nd birthday. It’s a thrill to have made a career change at this point in my life, to have doors opening like this. It’s very flattering. I hope the game does well – not just so I can have some professional kudos, but because it’s instructing people about situations that they would otherwise have no knowledge of. Maybe it does something to promote understanding between different ethnicities. There but for the grace of God go I.