Modern Western Video Games Be Like: We're Making Tetris

MODERN WESTERN VIDEO GAMES BE LIKE:

This two-panel satirical meme jokes about perceived excessive pressure on modern western game developers to add racial and LGBTQ+ representation, even when it makes no sense for the game being developed. The top panel opens with the heading 'MODERN WESTERN VIDEO GAMES BE LIKE:', then shows a woman (representing an out-of-touch executive or diversity consultant) asking the game development team 'Can you add more blacks and gays to this game?'. In the bottom panel, one developer replies, 'Lady we are making Tetris' — Tetris is a completely abstract puzzle game with no human characters at all, making the request for representation absurd, and highlighting what the meme frames as unreasonable demands from non-technical management.

This meme circulated widely in western gaming meme communities, with this specific instance sourced from 9Gag, as noted by the original title 'Thank you BlackRock' which references common online discourse that blames large investment firms like BlackRock for pushing diversity initiatives in media and gaming. It has been reposted across platforms like Reddit, 9Gag, and X/Twitter as part of ongoing debates about representation in modern video games.