This is The Mechanic, where Alex Wiltshire invites developers to discuss the inner workings of their games. This time, Viscera Cleanup Detail [official site].
Viscera Cleanup Detail is a game about cleaning. You ll wash blood and slime from floors and walls and pick up rubbish, bullet casings and body parts. Your slop will spill, your ichor-covered boots will leave prints over surfaces you ve worked hard to scrub, and you ll drop an oozing limb just as you thought you d made things right.
It s brutal, menial work, and every feature and level is designed to make it extra fraught with problems. A main theme is that everything in the world hates you, or is at least indifferent, developer Nolan Richert tells me. The noble janitor has a miserable job to do and no one cares or witnesses their struggle. They only complain about the results. It’s inspired by real life, you see.
Also it s fun, thanks to a set of tools that do all they can to hinder your attempts to just do your damn job.
THE MECHANIC: Physics bins and buckets and mops (more…)