It’s a grim time. I know it, you know it, we all know it. Sometimes when the world seems to be caving in around us, it’s the simple stuff that brings us back from the brink. That was the case in January (which feels like a million years ago) when we all took to playing ScoMo Simulator to cope with the way our government was reacting to the bushfire crisis, and it’s what we’re doing again now. This time, some Aussie legends at ArtDisrupt have created a game called ScoMo World.
The format of the game is one you’ve probably seen before: you’ve got to jump over the bad guys and collect things that will give you points. In this case though, you’re a poor, struggling Scott Morrison (complete with Hawaiian shirt and flowers on his head of course) who has to avoid such horrors as coronavirus doctors, Paul from Nelligen, and people on the street with bandannas over their mouths and toilet paper in their arms.
As for what you have to collect? Thoughts and prayers. You can never have enough of those.
It’s also a nice touch that the cursor is a bright red coronavirus germ, and that there appears to be ash falling from the sky. We really do live in the most apocalyptic timeline at the moment.
The guys behind the game are Andy and Matt. They told GOAT about what they were thinking about when they made ScoMo World.
“When you look at things that were happening in Australia this year – it’s pretty surreal and a bit like a parody. Smoke filled skies, Hawaiian holidays, the handshake, the toilet paper etc. We just started putting it all together into one environment, and we actually had trouble keeping up. Things are moving so quickly.”
“It’s a diary of Australia’s challenges and some of the reactions that our leadership offered in response to them. And however silly it is – the irony is that it’s also fairly factual.”
“We would love people to enjoy a distraction from the chaos – by playing a game about the chaos. With what we are all experiencing at the moment – having some fun has never been more important for your health. It’s also an opportunity to offer a light hearted reminder about the importance of taking responsibility for our own actions.”
We’ll come out the other side of this mess soon enough, but until then go and get your game on with ScoMo World.
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