French Caribbean Games

Abstract

This chapter treats video games related to slave revolt in Haiti, authored by French Caribbean intellectuals in 1987-88. These overlooked games were likely the earliest made about slavery. The chapter shows how their creators, Muriel Tramis and Patrick Chamoiseau, used this medium in a groundbreaking way, at a time when official French narratives silenced the history of slavery, to honor their enslaved ancestors. Tramis was a pioneering game developer, Chamoiseau on his way to becoming one of France’s most eminent novelists (and one of the Caribbean’s leading theorists). The chapter offers detailed analyses of their games, comparing them to others about slavery; it draws on the games themselves and interviews with Muriel Tramis. The chapter shows how these games celebrated the courageous resistance of enslaved women and men in Haiti, Martinique and Guadeloupe, while highlighting the real obstacles blocking their success.