It’s hard to tell if the tweet, liked more than 20,000 times, is lamenting or applauding the release of a new version of the video game Fortnite.
“Imagine kids hearing about Martin Luther King at school and be like ‘yo, that’s the guy in Fortnite,’” wrote someone with the Twitter handle “abbas | CAMPEONES.”
History will come alive for Fortnite users in a new virtual experience that allows them, through their video avatars, to have a front-row seat for Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.
The new virtual experience, “March Through Time,” dropped two days before the Aug. 28 anniversary of the March on Washington, where, in 1963, King gave what turned out to be one of his most famous speeches. The project is a collaboration between Fortnite and TIME Studios, the film and television division of Time magazine.
“The experience extends with museum-inspired points of interest, and collaborative mini-game quests you compete with others,” Fortnite creator Epic Games said in a statement on its website. “These activities progress players through the experience and bring to life important themes of Dr. King’s speech: We move forward when we work together.”
Traversing through a virtual Washington, D.C., called “D.C. 63,” players also can compete in challenges related to the civil rights movement to unlock bonuses.
TNS
TNS
Launched in 2017, Fortnite is an online multiplayer platform where participants can choose from a number of different game-play activities, ranging from shooting zombies to attending virtual concerts.
The “I Have a Dream” experience would be similar to attending a concert or event.
But with the announcement came confusion and skepticism among gamers, as well as social media users dismayed at how King’s image is being used.
Responding to comments from social media, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center issued a clarifying statement on its role in the project.
“The King Center does not license Dr. King’s intellectual property and, therefore, was not involved in any decisions concerning the endeavor with TIME Inc and PlayStation/Fortnite,” said a tweet from the center, run by the civil rights leader’s daughter, Bernice King. “These licensing decisions are made by Intellectual Properties Management (IPM).”
Intellectual Properties Management, known commonly as the King Estate, manages the for-profit arm of the King family’s finances. The King Center is a nonprofit.
The King Estate is famously protective of King’s image, although family members signed off on the project. The King Center will mark the anniversary of the “I Have a Dream,” speech this weekend with a series of events, including lectures, panel discussions and the unveiling of a new statue.
Last February, Time launched an interactive project “The March,” at the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, with the support of King’s estate. The Fortnite collaboration is a continuation of that.
“We continuously strive to move Dr. King from the history books and place his legacy directly into the lives of younger generations,” Eric D. Tidwell, managing director and general counsel of the King Estate, said in a statement. “Presenting his most famous speech in such an interactive format helps us achieve that goal.”
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