Street-Cleaning Computer Game

I was wandering through town the other day when I ended up in the local “Game” store. I was browsing the shelves and stopped in amazement when I saw the game in the photo above for sale. This is a computer game based on a street-cleaning machine, tucked in there right next to mainstream Conformist games like Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto and Age of Empires. Here’s its website: http://www.excalibur-publishing.co.uk/streetcleaning.htm This program, by Excalibur Games, puts the user in control of a virtual street-cleaning vehicle. The conformist reaction to this is to laugh scornfully: “Who’d be interested in playing that!?” I hear. I find it always amusing to ask a Conformist why he thinks nobody would be interested in playing that and he’ll stutter and fluster for a couple of seconds then come out with classic lines like: “Well… that’s just the way things are, Mate.” or “Look, it just is, OK?” These are not answers, they’re non-answers! They are fire-escapes for your mind when uncomfortable concepts appear in your brain.

I’m delighted that there is a market for games about street-cleaning. It seems that gamers want to learn about what the Conformist mind dismisses as a menial and worthless occupation. Hospital Portering is regarded in much the same way; I’ve even been told at one point: “Ben, don’t tell ‘em we’re Porters!” See: http://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2007/12/dont-tell-em-were-porters.html Perhaps I should get together with a games designer and write a new game based on Hospital Portering; if that sells well I’ll know for sure that nonConformism is beginning to take hold en masse!