This game makes me feel…
Belittled. Subserviant. Pathetic. Transparent. Also, conflicted. It makes me think of Ellison’s Invisible Man (though I know there was no intent here.)
If ever there were a game that is diametrically opposed to the rippling muscle scantily clad power fantasy drivel of the retail game industry, this is it. This is an anti-power fantasy in the truest sense. And, hey, it still manages to be misogynistic. Yay.
A couple years ago, we at Flashbang Studios were tracking the casual space very closely. We ultimately decided to depart for greener intellectual, monetary, and creative pastures, but at the time we knew quite a bit. Following a single game is a bit pointless because in the swirling clone-froth of the casual space, the only way to get ahead is to follow and predict the larger trends. A game comes out, like Nanny Mania, and it’s a big hit. This is unexpected; from the publisher’s point of view, if they’ve done their homework they will know that a certain game will be a big hit in the marketplace. This does not mean that said publisher knows what kinds of games to make in the first place, what kinds of games will catch on. No one does, to the hair-pulling consternation of the big players. So they put a ton of games out there and see what sticks. A game comes out, and it’s a big it, and three months later the clone armies crest the rise: the slaughter is on. The water runs red, and tons and tons of knockoff product is sold. The consumers don’t know any better; people who download and buy and love Cake Mania or Mystic Inn have no idea whatsoever that Diner Dash ever existed. And so it goes.
Anyhow, one trend I was tracking is the migration of retail industry-style games into the casual space. This is one of the many ways casual publisher and developers strive to cash in on the Casual Cash Cow. The “casualification” of games, if you will. On game that seemed particularly ripe for exploitation in this manner was The Sims. I mean, the Sims’ audience is already the audience they’re after. It’s a no brainer. So I was unsurprised to see that things like Virtual Villagers had caught on and was going strong. Enter Nanny Mania. Ouch.
I mean, it’s kind of a Diner game, but it takes advantage of the thematic familiarity and humanistic aspects of The Sims. Simply put, though, I find it horrifying. Go play it. If you wanted to make the anti-Gears of War, here’s your template. Something tells me that when the Clone Armies line up for this one, they won’t have that in mind.
*sigh*