Franky Benítez

Ah, Smuggle Truck. The new game that takes a bunch of immigrants across the Mexican border is facing some heat and probably earning more publicity because of it. On February 8, I wrote to Alex Schwartz, the head of Owlchemy Labs, the makers of the app. I asked him the following five questions:

The immediate response I received read as follows: “Hello, Thanks for contacting Owlchemy Labs. Our PR firm will get in touch with you soon regarding your inquiry. Until then, please see our story page and blog for more information.”

On February 11, Owlchemy Labs issued a press release. It began:

Because of the volume of requests from media, we would like to release the following statement regarding “Smuggle Truck”, the new iPhone/iPad game being released in March, 2011.

“Smuggle Truck” was created to raise awareness of the issues surrounding legal immigration. We’re operating under the definition of satire which states, “First, make them laugh. Then, make them think.” This week, huge numbers of people have begun discussing immigration in prominent channels. We feel that we’ve achieved one of our major goals in creating this game, which is to get people talking about the issues surrounding legal immigration and how it can be reformed.

The release contain FAQS that the company answered. Here were the answers they provided:

Question 1.) Why was this game made?

The idea for the game was a reaction to the frustrations we felt as our friends struggled through a long and winding immigration process. We understood that creating a satire would be the best way to bring the issue to light and kickstart the process of getting people discussing immigration reform.

Question 2.) If you wanted to start a meaningful discussion, why not make a serious game instead of a satire? It could be a game about the paperwork maze the player has to go through to to get a visa.

This was our first thought, but elected to go with satire instead. We predicted that by approaching the issue from the complete opposite side, we would be able to reach many more people and make a bigger impact. There are lots of dry campaigns for immigration reform, but you don’t usually hear about them. In fact, you wouldn’t be reading this if we had gone that route.

Question 3.) What points, politically, are you trying to make? Are you pro/anti-immigration? Are you pro/anti illegal immigration?

There are major issues with the current system in place for legal immigration. It requires reform, at the very least. We don’t want to preach our views like many serious games attempt to do. We just want to be a catalyst for the discussion of change.

Question 4.) What do you have to say to those who believe this is in poor taste? Don’t you care about those who died trying to cross the border illegally?

If we didn’t care about those who lost their lives struggling to immigrate, we wouldn’t have created this game. “Smuggle Truck” has sparked a debate, and this discussion wouldn’t be happening right now if some feathers weren’t ruffled.

Question 5.) Do you think this will be approved by Apple?

As always, Apple makes the final call because it’s their own closed platform. However, we’re confident that our final presentation of the game will properly reflect the satire and that it will be judged as such.

Question 6.) The game has started some serious discussion regarding immigration, but has also provoked some racist and negative comments. How are you dealing with these comments?

“Smuggle Truck” has indeed encouraged quite a bit of thoughtful discussion, and has also (not unexpectedly) brought about some less-than-useful discussion. We’re currently working with a local immigration reform group in Mass to discuss how best to drive the discussions toward a focus of relevant reform topics. Stay tuned for more information regarding that initiative.

When I received the press release on February 11, I asked Schwartz via email: “Thanks for this but will you answer the questions I sent you three days ago? I would like comment on that.”

Today, having not heard form Schwartz, I emailed him the following: “When will you answer our questions that we submitted last week? We would like to report the piece and will run it (I get about 1,000 visits a day) without your comment. Thanks!”

Schwartz replied to me an hour later and said: “Hello Julio, Unfortunately we we receive too many personalized questions to be able to respond to them all. Sorry.”

No need to apologize. Just answer the questions, Alex.

People need to read REAL answers not those of a PR company. You claim you were inspired by the struggles of real friends and their experiences. You should talk about them to add more credibility to your intentions.

You are a GAME company, not a political organization. Quite frankly, you’re actually taking advantage of the immigration issue by profiting from it. While people die and families get broken, you get your downloads. Nice exploitation. If you were really interested in impacting change and awareness, you should create ways to help the voiceless tell their story. Take your technology to do something positive and proactive, not just make a game of it.

You don’t even address our questions about immigrant killings, and that says a lot in my eyes.

And, by the way, the immigration issue has been part of the mainstream media for a while. We don’t need a “satire” of a serious issue to raise awareness.

What we need are better answers and honest ones. Please answer the specific questions we asked you.

In the meantime, we are just going to say that you offered “no comment.” Press releases don’t count when specific questions are being asked. You cannot control this message, especially since your company’s intentions and plans is doing more to harm the immigration issue than help it.