Give a Shit
Duration : 5 Days
Platform : PC
INTRODUCTION
Manual scavenging is a term used mainly in India for the manual removal of untreated human excreta from bucket toilets or pit latrines by hand with buckets and shovels.
It has been officially prohibited by law in 1993 due to it being regarded as a caste-based, dehumanizing practice
Yet this inhumane practice still goes on in the country. Mainly due to the lack of awareness about the illegality of the practice and the toll it takes on the manual scavengers.
WHY MAKE A GAME ON THIS ?
Despite many campaigns, documentaries and movements currently spreading awareness regarding the malpractices of manual scavenging, a huge chunk of people prefer to avoid the graphic nature of this issue altogether (prefer not to look at people drowning and dying in the sewers).
​
We as a team of game designers decided to target a more sensitive and younger audience and propagate awareness about this issue in a stylized and abstract game, which could help the player realize that something like this is actually going on right their feet after every wrong flush.
DESIGNING A "CRAP GAME"
Our game design ideology: Designing a game as n agent of awareness for the issue, while we still present a fun game play which is complimented by a wacky visual language
OVERVIEW
As a manual scavenger of the state, you are tasked to keep the city clean by diving down into the sewer and literally cleaning up other people's shit. The game is an abstraction , representing the plight faced by manual scavengers till date in India.
​
GAME PLAY
The core game play involves collecting and dumping poop to keep the sewers and the city clean
​
FILTHY SEWERS ARE TOXIC FOR THE CITY AND THE PEOPLE CLEANING THEM
​
The challenge that comes in terms of maintaining the player's health and keeping the sewers clean despite all odds against you.
This core game play is a shout out to the immensely underappreciated karamcharis (manual scavengers) who do this job in real life, just to clean up someone's sh*t.
​
PLATFORMER WITHOUT JUMP
The game presents a unique opposition mechanic by not allowing a jump in a platformer game. This combines very nicely with the other opposing entities of the game like the sewer rats and septic tank
.
The no jump feature also adds complexity into the level design, making it a more challenging experience traversing between platforms solely by climbing ladders.
THE GAME EXPERIENCE
-
An abstracted and stylized game play on the daily struggles of a manual scavenger.
-
A Casually serious platformer.
-
A platformer without jumping where everything goes wrong ... eventually.
-
The core mechanic of the game abstracts the act of manually cleaning waste/feces from the sewers.
-
A Game where you literally have to TAKE CARE OF SHIT.
MARKET OPPORTUNITY
- The game can be really helpful as an aid in the various awareness campaigns and movements all throughout India. These movements include NCSK, MSC and Safai Karamchari Andolan.
​
- Being a casual platformer with India as its local market. A mobile version of the game can expect to have a vast number of downloads provided we get the right advertising.
DESIGN PROCESS
LEVEL DESIGN
FINAL RENDER OF THE LEVEL DESIGN
GAME PLAY Design
We based the flow of the game like reading an article.
​
Our main aim is to spread awareness so, we decided to split the chunks of information given to user into two parts. Mandatory reads and optional reads.
​
The mandatory reads are delivered at the lax time in the game whereas the optional reads appear during the actual game play.
VISUAL LANGUAGE
The visual language chosen is wacky and stylized so as to depict the issue in a way that can appeal to a younger audience without losing the dark and cringe factor that surrounds the issue.
The Main screen logo is an abstraction of a manhole and represents the filth in the sewers but also at the same time suggests a quirky style to it for our targeted audiences.
Thank you for reading
Please spread the word about manual scavenging
