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The high scores awarded for these killings might Dark And Darker Gold have been a logical extension of GTA's points-for-carjackings, and its white supremacist victims further proof of the studio's fascination with the ugliest sides of America. But it proved to be too unflinching a reflection, and too obvious a form of bait for the decency brigade Clifford had first hooked.
The same was true for Trevor, the psychopath protagonist of GTA V. Murderous, unpredictable and unhygienic, he was the behaviour of GTA players made flesh—and not all players liked what they saw. Time Bandit reimagines Metal Gear Solid as a darkly comic work sim
But there too in GTA V was DMA's heritage, in the rounds of golf and the cable car that took you up to Mount Chiliad: a simulation of life in all its mundanity. Perhaps there's a little of Dave Jones left in Rockstar North after all.
What's the best way to get across an anti-capitalist message in a videogame? I don't know, but forcing you to work a gruelling, tedious factory job in real-time must be up there.
Coming to Steam and Itch.io later this year, developer Joel Jordan's Time Bandit is a pointed homage to Metal Gear Solid, complete with top-down views and screen-filling codec calls.
The difference is that you're not sneaking into fortified compounds full of monologuing eccentrics—you're putting in a full shift at the box factory. There's one more catch, too. Everything, from refuelling a forklift to getting a good night's sleep takes place in real time.
Compacting trash? That'll take you five, ten, thirty minutes or more. It is explicitly menial and knowingly tedious, and each task drains an energy meter that takes a full eight hours sleep to Dark And Darker Gold Coins recharge. Get caught napping on-shift? That's 12 hours behind bars.
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