Bunce Island: Through the Mirror, an immersive video game project led by Trent’s Dr. Katrina Keefer, enables players to visit Bunce Island in the 1700s, a port integral to the trans-Atlantic slave trade in Sierra Leone. 

The game allows players to travel back in time to the 1720s and 1790s and witness the culture of African peoples before colonization, the complex trade networks of the region, the slave trade, and the many pirate attacks of that era.   

“This game represents a vision of anticolonialism, of cultural respect, and of community collaboration.” said Professor Keefer. “It is intended to be a pilot from which my team will build future games using the same model, giving space for historically marginalized peoples to tell their own stories.” 

To support the development of the project, Prof. Keefer also actively works with students, including Wacera Muriuki ‘18 (Gzowski College). 

“What I do is historical research. I am particularly focused on researching the lives of the people who have been written out of history and telling their stories which deserve to be told,” Wacera says. 

Originally from Kenya, Wacera earned her B.A. in International Development Studies from Trent University with a minor in History. She graduated in 2023 and continues to work on the project in Sierra Leone, now as a Trent alum. 

Developing hyper-realistic, immersive gameplay experiences

One of the project’s goals is to provide the necessary tools to tell historical and cultural stories.   

"Right now, if a student in Sierra Leone wanted to tell a unique story about their people using game technologies, the fundamental building blocks are simply not there,” Prof. Keefer says. 

As digital marketplaces lack fundamental assets like African flora, the Through the Mirror project aims to train students in Sierra Leone in game development in connection with Canadian students.  

“We are taking a slow and respectful approach to development, ensuring historical accuracy and fidelity by bringing in knowledge-keepers from various places. Although it may be a slower process, this method guarantees an educational and immersive end result,” Prof Keefer says.  

The finalized demo is set to be released in early 2024. 

Learn more about the Bunce Island: Through the Mirror project.