More than half of the nine developers who worked on the game either obtained a US visa or tried to do so but were unsuccessful. Most of them come from China, but the team also intentionally recruited talent from other countries in hopes of including more diverse immigrant perspectives.
“Everyone knows someone who has a visa, but not everyone is vocal about this part of their identity,” says Andrea Saravia Pérez, an immigrant from Colombia who joined the team in February as a narrative designer. “How can we develop a design that is interactive and shows people this immigration system that many Americans are not familiar with?”
Yang says there is growing interest in the gaming industry in creating political games. When her team invited H1B.Life to its annual game developer conference in San Francisco last week, she said they were met with overwhelming interest and support because they were tackling an essential social issue without expecting much profit. (The game was supported by a philanthropic organization, and the developers also plan to raise additional funds in the future Kickstarter campaign.)
Yang says she has also heard from people in Germany and Australia interested in licensing or adapting the game for different countries. “The whole world is turning to the right, and life for all immigrants is becoming more and more difficult,” he says.
“I think if we just put people in our shoes, it can have a very positive impact,” says Saravia Pérez. “As long as the players are having fun and are able to empathize and understand it a little bit more, I think we’ve done our job as a team.”
Courtesy of Reality Reload
Technical issues and emotions
The H-1B visa program, created in 1990, is one of the most reliable U.S. immigration pathways for college-educated white-collar workers. In recent years, the program has issued around 85,000 visas a year, but because there are often more applicants than places, a lottery system decides the final selection. And if you fail, you’ll have to wait a full year before trying again. Every person who has gone through this process has their own story of success or failure to tell, myself included.
The team behind H1B.Life started creating the game by interviewing immigrants. So far, Yang says he’s interviewed more than two dozen people about their H-1B journeys and used those interviews to make the game more realistic and precise. The biggest challenge now is finding the balance between thoroughly explaining intricate immigration rules and ensuring the game continues to be entertaining.