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| developer = Sundae Month
| developer = Sundae Month
| publisher = [[tinyBuild]]
| publisher = [[tinyBuild]]
| platforms = PC
| platforms = [[macOS]], [[Microsoft Windows]]
| genre = Adventure
| genre = Adventure
| released = September 16th, 2016
| released = September 16, 2016
| image = Diaries_of_a_Spaceport_Janitor_Cover_Art.jpg
}}
}}
'''''Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor''''' is an "anti-adventure" game developed by Sundae Month and published by [[tinyBuild]]. The game became available on [[Steam (service)|Steam]] on September 16, 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Burn alien trash in Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor, out next week|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/burn-alien-trash-in-diaries-of-a-spaceport-janitor-out-next-week/|last=Sykes|first=Tom|date=2016-09-10|website=PC Gamer|language=en-US|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref>
'''''Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor''''' is an anti-adventure video game developed by Sundae Month and published by [[tinyBuild]]. The game released on [[Steam (service)|Steam]] on September 16, 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Burn alien trash in Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor, out next week|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/burn-alien-trash-in-diaries-of-a-spaceport-janitor-out-next-week/|last=Sykes|first=Tom|date=2016-09-10|website=PC Gamer|language=en-US|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref>


== Gameplay ==
== Gameplay ==
The player controlled character plays the role of an NPC, acting as a janitor in a sci-fi themed bazaar. The player character must pick up and incinerate trash, the ability to do so is on a cooldown rate per day, while managing hunger and periodically purchasing "[[gender]]".
The player-controlled character is a janitor in a sci-fi themed bazaar. The player character must pick up and incinerate trash.


== Development and plot ==
== Development and plot ==
''Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor'' was created in light of the [[Gamergate controversy]], where female video game developer Zoe Quinn was repeatedly harassed for non-conventional projects. Developer James Shasha said:<blockquote>"Obviously, [harassment] wasn't new. We all knew it was happening. We were feeling pretty disenchanted with certain aspects of the community. I think it's impossible at some level to separate certain cultural things about game spaces from games themselves. We had a lot of conversations about what player expectations are, and how we can either subvert, play with, or outright fuck with their expectations,"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title='Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor' Asks Players to Find the Beauty in Garbage|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/jm5gek/diaries-of-a-spaceport-janitor-asks-players-to-find-the-beauty-in-garbage|last=Knoop|first=Joseph|date=2016-09-28|website=Vice|language=en|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref></blockquote>The player's role as a janitor that [[Social mobility|never escapes]] their original routine, the regular [[Police brutality|abuses of power]] by the game's police force, and interactions with other NPCs are all intended as metaphors for capitalism.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Diaries of A Spaceport Janitor Makes Cleaning Up Trash Beautiful|url=https://kotaku.com/diaries-of-a-spaceport-janitor-makes-cleaning-up-trash-1786777168|website=Kotaku|language=en-us|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref>
''Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor'' was created in light of the [[Gamergate controversy]], where female video game developer Zoe Quinn was repeatedly harassed for non-conventional projects. Developer Isobel Shasha said:<blockquote>"Obviously, [harassment] wasn't new. We all knew it was happening. We were feeling pretty disenchanted with certain aspects of the community. I think it's impossible at some level to separate certain cultural things about game spaces from games themselves. We had a lot of conversations about what player expectations are, and how we can either subvert, play with, or outright fuck with their expectations,"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title='Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor' Asks Players to Find the Beauty in Garbage|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/jm5gek/diaries-of-a-spaceport-janitor-asks-players-to-find-the-beauty-in-garbage|last=Knoop|first=Joseph|date=2016-09-28|website=Vice|language=en|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref></blockquote>The player's role as a janitor that never escapes their original routine, the regular [[Police misconduct|abuses of power]] by the game's police force, and interactions with non-player characters are all intended as metaphors for capitalism.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Diaries of A Spaceport Janitor Makes Cleaning Up Trash Beautiful|url=https://kotaku.com/diaries-of-a-spaceport-janitor-makes-cleaning-up-trash-1786777168|website=Kotaku|date=18 September 2016 |language=en-us|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref>


In addition to this, the game contains themes of transgender experience and of mental health. The skull that follows the player immediately after finishing the introduction is a metaphor for depression as well as whatever the player's personal experience with mental illness be.<ref name=":0" /> In order to avoid the player's field of view from going hazy, they must regularly purchase "gender" -- a metaphor for dysphoria.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How Video Games Discovered Their Humanity|url=https://frieze.com/article/how-video-games-discovered-their-humanity|last=Martin|first=Gareth Damian|website=Frieze|language=en|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref>
In addition, the game contains themes of transgender experience and of mental health. The skull that follows the player immediately after finishing the introduction is a metaphor for depression as well as whatever the player's personal experience with mental illness be.<ref name=":0" /> In order to avoid the player's field of view from going hazy, they must regularly purchase "gender" – a metaphor for dysphoria.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How Video Games Discovered Their Humanity|url=https://frieze.com/article/how-video-games-discovered-their-humanity|last=Martin|first=Gareth Damian|website=Frieze|date=16 December 2019|language=en|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref>


== Reception ==
== Reception ==
{{Video game reviews
⚫
The game's themes and narrative were praised for being "a reverse-power fantasy"; even being compared to ''[[Papers, Please]]'' and ''[[Cart Life]]'', if only "with a happier aesthetic".<ref>{{Cite web|title=A frustratingly good poverty simulator of a space janitor|url=https://www.theskylineview.com/the-focal-point/entertainment/2017/03/23/a-frustratingly-good-poverty-simulator-of-a-space-janitor/|last=Beltran|first=Blynn|website=The Skyline View|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref> Its "gender" mechanic allowed itself to be placed in the "Queer Games Bundle" on Steam.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Steam's Queer Games Bundle puts LGBT representation front and center|url=https://www.polygon.com/2018/8/9/17665834/steam-queer-games-sale-bundle-tacoma-gone-home-lgbt|last=Heller|first=Emily|date=2018-08-09|website=Polygon|language=en|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref>
| MC = 69/100<ref name="MC">{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/diaries-of-a-spaceport-janitor/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |title=Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor for PC Reviews |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=2021-01-15}}</ref>
}}

⚫
The game's themes and narrative were praised for being "a reverse-power fantasy"; even being compared to ''[[Papers, Please]]'' and ''[[Cart Life]]'', if only "with a happier aesthetic".<ref>{{Cite web|title=A frustratingly good poverty simulator of a space janitor|url=https://www.theskylineview.com/the-focal-point/entertainment/2017/03/23/a-frustratingly-good-poverty-simulator-of-a-space-janitor/|last=Beltran|first=Blynn|website=The Skyline View|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref> The game has a [[Metacritic]] score of 69.<ref name="MC" /> Its "gender" mechanic allowed itself to be placed in the "Queer Games Bundle" on Steam.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Steam's Queer Games Bundle puts LGBT representation front and center|url=https://www.polygon.com/2018/8/9/17665834/steam-queer-games-sale-bundle-tacoma-gone-home-lgbt|last=Heller|first=Emily|date=2018-08-09|website=Polygon|language=en|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==
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[[Category:Adventure games]]
[[Category:Adventure games]]
[[Category:2016 video games]]
[[Category:2016 video games]]
[[Category:LGBT-related video games]]
[[Category:LGBTQ-related video games]]
[[Category:Transgender-related video games]]
[[Category:Transgender-related video games]]
[[Category:macOS games]]
[[Category:Windows games]]
[[Category:Windows games]]
[[Category:Science fiction video games]]
[[Category:Science fiction video games]]

Latest revision as of 02:27, 23 September 2024

Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor
Developer(s)Sundae Month
Publisher(s)tinyBuild
Programmer(s)
  • Isobel Shasha Edit this on Wikidata
Writer(s)
  • Bradford Horton Edit this on Wikidata
Platform(s)macOS, Microsoft Windows
ReleaseSeptember 16, 2016
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)

Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor is an anti-adventure video game developed by Sundae Month and published by tinyBuild. The game released on Steam on September 16, 2016.[1]

Gameplay

[edit]

The player-controlled character is a janitor in a sci-fi themed bazaar. The player character must pick up and incinerate trash.

Development and plot

[edit]

Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor was created in light of the Gamergate controversy, where female video game developer Zoe Quinn was repeatedly harassed for non-conventional projects. Developer Isobel Shasha said:

"Obviously, [harassment] wasn't new. We all knew it was happening. We were feeling pretty disenchanted with certain aspects of the community. I think it's impossible at some level to separate certain cultural things about game spaces from games themselves. We had a lot of conversations about what player expectations are, and how we can either subvert, play with, or outright fuck with their expectations,"[2]

The player's role as a janitor that never escapes their original routine, the regular abuses of power by the game's police force, and interactions with non-player characters are all intended as metaphors for capitalism.[3]

In addition, the game contains themes of transgender experience and of mental health. The skull that follows the player immediately after finishing the introduction is a metaphor for depression as well as whatever the player's personal experience with mental illness be.[2] In order to avoid the player's field of view from going hazy, they must regularly purchase "gender" – a metaphor for dysphoria.[4]

Reception

[edit]

The game's themes and narrative were praised for being "a reverse-power fantasy"; even being compared to Papers, Please and Cart Life, if only "with a happier aesthetic".[6] The game has a Metacritic score of 69.[5] Its "gender" mechanic allowed itself to be placed in the "Queer Games Bundle" on Steam.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Sykes, Tom (2016-09-10). "Burn alien trash in Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor, out next week". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  2. ^ a b Knoop, Joseph (2016-09-28). "'Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor' Asks Players to Find the Beauty in Garbage". Vice. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  3. ^ "Diaries of A Spaceport Janitor Makes Cleaning Up Trash Beautiful". Kotaku. 18 September 2016. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  4. ^ Martin, Gareth Damian (16 December 2019). "How Video Games Discovered Their Humanity". Frieze. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  5. ^ a b "Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  6. ^ Beltran, Blynn. "A frustratingly good poverty simulator of a space janitor". The Skyline View. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  7. ^ Heller, Emily (2018-08-09). "Steam's Queer Games Bundle puts LGBT representation front and center". Polygon. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
[edit]
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