It’s a pleasure to meet you! My name is Aniya and I’m the founder of Mountain Gaming where we create rebellious video games based on true Black History. We recently launched our first game Insubordinate Time Rebel. The main character is Charles – a college student from Chicago who joins a secret organization called Insubordinate.
The Insubordinate Time Rebels unveil their revolutionary time travel technology & embark on missions devoted to the armed self-defense of Black people. In this third-person shooter game, players must rescue a fugitive slave woman who is about to be lynched by a mob of White slave catchers. Our game demo is currently free because we want to grow a following for the game, as we work to bring the full game to PlayStation and Xbox. We’re a self-funded startup and working on getting investors for further development. I spent much of my upbringing at my family’s record shop on 79th & Essex (S&K Records).
It was in 4th grade that my mom sent me to school in Minooka (a predominately White town). I realized then that what racial discrimination & injustice looked like. This passion for justice grew during my studies at UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago). Growing up with my father incarcerated influenced my studies in college. My primary research focus were the psychological effects of prison and the psychological effects of growing up without a present father. It was also in college that I recognized the gap between the world of academics and the average Black person I knew.
My cousins and brothers would NOT read the Black History articles I sent them, no matter how interesting. I’m currently using my degrees from UIC (Psychology & Black Studies) and USC (Design, Business, & Technology) to create revolutionary video games that have psychological benefits. Once profitable, Mountain Gaming is committed to using a portion of its profits to fund extracurricular activities for youth with an incarcerated parent
