A mobile game based on Insecure is coming soon to an app store near you.
If you want to galavant around Los Angeles with Issa Dee and nem, you will be able to do so without having to leave your couch thanks to Glow Up Games. The company is behind
Insecure: The Come Up Game, a role-playing game based on the HBO series, according to Indie Wire. Players will be able to customize characters who will navigate the world with Issa, Molly, Kelli and Tiffany.
Think the Sims with seasoning.
Glow Up tapped Enongo “Sammus” Lumumba-Kasongo, an underground Afrofuturist rapper, to help incorporate hip-hop into the game. Players will be able to come up with bars to rap in the mirror.
Glow Up was founded by three women of color who wanted to diversify the gaming world. Latoya Peterson, CXO and director of the culture, is a journalist and writer who covers technology, race and culture. Mitu Khandaker, Glow Up’s CEO and director of technology, is a programmer and designer. Tara Mustapha, the third founder, is a designer and developer in the gaming industry. She is also the company’s CDO and director for creative production.
"When we approached Insecure, the stakes got high. You don't see a lot of of-color IP being adapted into the game space," Peterson told Wired. "It doesn't mean that shows like Girlfriends, Living Single, and Martin don't deserve games. Or, you know, Atlanta or Black-ish. But they just don't get them. We knew this was going to be a high-profile adaptation."
"We recognized that, if we're to make a change in how video games look in terms of both representation and behind-the-scenes in terms of developers, then we were the ones to do it," Khandaker said.
Representation is important to the trio and motivated them to approach the show.
“One of the reasons we were drawn to the Insecure universe is because one of the things the show does so well is show not only the struggles but also the joy of being a woman of color," Khandaker said. "We want to create opportunities for joy in people who don't often get to see themselves represented in games."
Show creator Issa Rae called the game “a perfect, natural extension of Insecure,” in a statement.
"It was such a rewarding experience to create this game alongside an all-women-of-color-led team,” Rae continued. The game will hit the App Store and Google Play near the end of the fourth season, which premieres on April 12, according to Shadow And Act.
By the way, Rae had nothing to do with the season debuting on Easter.
“I have no control of the date, but I am not mad at it…I was just happy it was coming out in spring,” she told The Knockturnal. “A lot of people were expecting it to come out summer or later, but I think it’s funny that it comes out on Easter because it’s like we’re back from the dead.”
