''Do Not Feed the Monkeys'' is a 2018

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

and

life simulation Life simulation games form a subgenre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual characters (human or otherwise). Such a game can revolve around "individuals and relationships, or it could be a simulation ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed by the Fictiorama Studios and published by Alawar Premium for

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

and

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

Gameplay

''Do Not Feed the Monkeys'' casts the player as a spy who monitors multiple live video feeds via an in-game desktop computer. The player gathers information about people and objects caught on these feeds, while managing

elements such as the

player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...

's health and apartment rent. Although the player is told not to interact with the people under surveillance, it is possible to do so, which provides bonuses but endangers the player character.

Development

Spanish company Fictiorama conceived ''Do Not Feed the Monkeys'' around the time that it completed its debut game, '' Dead Synchronicity''. Hoping to explore the concept of

voyeurism Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". A ...

, the team drew inspiration from the film ''

Rear Window ''Rear Window'' is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder". Originally released by Paramount Pictures, the film st ...

'' and the website Insecam, which allows users to view unsecure

surveillance camera A closed-circuit television camera can produce images or recordings for surveillance or other private purposes. Cameras can be either video cameras, or digital stills cameras. Walter Bruch was the inventor of the CCTV camera. The main purpose o ...

footage from around the world. According to Fictiorama's Luis Oliván, the company's chief goal with ''Do Not Feed the Monkeys'' was player immersion coupled with a sense of agency. Nevertheless, the game also provides

social commentary Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace ab ...

on issues related to

mass surveillance Mass surveillance is the intricate surveillance of an entire or a substantial fraction of a population in order to monitor that group of citizens. The surveillance is often carried out by local and federal governments or governmental organizati ...

and

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

Reception

''Do Not Feed the Monkeys'' was nominated for three awards at the 2019

Independent Games Festival The Independent Games Festival (IGF) is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), the largest annual gathering of the independent video game industry. Originally founded in 1998 to promote independent video game developers, ...

, including the

Seumas McNally Grand Prize The Seumas McNally Grand Prize is the main award given at the Independent Games Festival (IGF), an annual event that takes place during the Game Developers Conference, one of the largest gatherings of the indie video game industry. The award is na ...

. ''

HobbyConsolas ''HobbyConsolas'' is a Spanish video game magazine founded in 1991 by Hobby Press and published by Axel Springer SE. The first issue appeared in October 1990. The monthly magazine offers information about games for all consoles, and since 2012 ha ...

'' named it one of 2018's best Spanish-made games, and '' Edge España'' nominated it for the magazine's "Spanish Video Game of the Year" award, although the game lost to ''

The Red Strings Club ''The Red Strings Club'' is an adventure game developed by Deconstructeam and published by Devolver Digital. Gameplay and plot ''The Red Strings Club'' is an adventure game set in a cyberpunk world. In this world, devices implanted in humans have ...

''. ''Edge España''s editors similarly nominated Fictiorama as their pick for 2018's best Spanish game developer, a distinction that ultimately went to Nomada Studio for its work on '' Gris''. The game also won the award for "Best FS Play" at the 2018

Titanium Awards Fun & Serious Game Festival is a video game festival that takes place, in Bilbao, Spain, from late November to the beginning of December since its foundation in 2011. Its main objective is to recognize the cultural importance of video games. To do ...

; in addition, it was nominated for "Independent Creator" at the 2020

Webby Award The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories include ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official site
2018 video games Alawar Entertainment games MacOS games PlayStation 4 games Point-and-click adventure games Single-player video games Video games developed in Spain Windows games Nintendo Switch games