Homeless Sim Bumrise Launches Stateside, And It’s Free
By Jared Newman
Put your spare change away, and play Bumrise, a free, browser-based game that tastelessly simulates the homeless experience. Originating as Pennergame in Germany, and becoming quite popular there, Bumrise is the American version of the game, taking place in New York City. I’ll let developer Farbflut describe it for you:
The concept of the game is rags to riches. Characters start off as a homeless bum on the streets with no money, work up to being King of the Streets, and attain status as one of Manhattan’s elite. This is attained by begging, fighting, joining gangs, committing crimes, conducting animal fights, and heavy drinking. … Characters must also improve their education, dexterity, speech, cleanliness and musical ability to get ahead.
Yeah, so don’t expect this one to go over well with food shelters and advocacy groups.
In fairness, GamePolitics reports that Farbflut “regularly” donates proceeds to the game — generated from ad revenue, presumably — to homeless organizations. The developer acknowledges that it relies heavily on stereotypes, cliche and exaggerations, but says some players end up inquiring about where they can donate, probably to clear their consciences (a donation link directly within the game seems like an oversight, then). In any case, the game’s available now, and you can also play the Facebook version, called StreetRivals. [GamePolitics via Kotaku]
