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== 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> The game has a [[Metacritic]] score of 69.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor|url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/diaries-of-a-spaceport-janitor|access-date=2021-01-15|website=Metacritic|language=en}}</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/pc/diaries-of-a-spaceport-janitor |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 ==

Revision as of 08:31, 5 July 2022

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

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.

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 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 other NPCs are all intended as metaphors for capitalism.[3]

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.[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

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

  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. 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.
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