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One I'm surprised I missed, CHANGE from developer Delve Interactive (PONCHO) is a survival game where you're homeless in a randomly generated city. Currently in Early Access and so it's still in development.

Unlike Bum Simulator, CHANGE seems to take a much more mature approach to this type of survival experience. They will also be donating 20% of each sale to homeless charities, so that's quite nice to help raise some awareness and help people out.

CHANGE is an emotional homeless survival experience set in a randomly generated city with rogue-like elements. Explore, survive, earn perks, find items and more to develop your character and escape to a new life.

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Features:

  • An endless city to explore filled with randomly generated items, events and environments, unique to every playthrough
  • Develop perks by experimenting with different methods of survival
  • Beg, busk or work your way to finding a new home
  • Randomly generated "night events" lets you develop your own abstract story
  • Find companions, find shelter, find kindness
  • A complete weather system will force you to adjust your survival strategy in rain and snow
  • Build your own inventory with food, items for survival and more.
  • Unlock new items for your next playthrough as you progress

These types of games can be a touchy topic, but with their aim to be more realistic with their approach it seems to be getting a pretty decent reception from users so it looks like they might be onto something here. I'm very interested in trying out, so I've reach out to the developer to see if we can check it out.

Find it on Steam.

Hat tip to razing.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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buenaventura 8 Nov 2018
That's very interesting, can't help but think of Urban Pirate of course, altho the tone and setting is different. I regularly buy the local street magazine and this month they had a special edition about homeless kids in Sweden, of which there are many, so sad. It's a very good paper, always gets awards for investigative journalism and stuff, faktum.se.


Last edited by buenaventura on 8 Nov 2018 at 1:45 pm UTC
Liam Dawe 8 Nov 2018
That looks like the most depressing game ever made.
You could see it that way, but it depends how it's done. Could end up being an interesting story of rising up and succeeding through life's struggles.
Inspector_Gidget 8 Nov 2018
That looks like the most depressing game ever made.

I hope so. Papers Please was loads of fun, and this looks worse (I mean better)
ison111 9 Nov 2018
Is it wrong to say that I think it would be hilarious to get an actual homeless person to play this game and film their reaction?
HadBabits 9 Nov 2018
I'll probably wait for after EA, but I definitely can appreciate then intent. I remember being open mouthed when discussing homelessness with a co-worker who simply said "I'd just get a job until I could afford a place to stay." They eventually recanted after I pointed out how hard it would be to get and hold down a job without a reliable source of hygiene, transport, or even an address.

Said co-worker was actually a decent guy, but they were also quite privileged, which definitely affects your perspective. They ended up leaving that job altogether and got a place out of state and pursued a higher education, all on their parents dime. I'm happy their doing better now, but I'm also pretty jealous of such an opportunity :P

Is it wrong to say that I think it would be hilarious to get an actual homeless person to play this game and film their reaction?

A little? It would be a person in a horrible situation playing a horrible situation simulator. It would be like having a war refugee play This War of Mine; probably interesting, but I don't see much humor in it.
Eike 9 Nov 2018
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I remember being open mouthed when discussing homelessness with a co-worker who simply said "I'd just get a job until I could afford a place to stay."

A colleague of mine stated homeless people are all romantic clochards preferring the free life...
oldrocker99 9 Nov 2018
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I remember being open mouthed when discussing homelessness with a co-worker who simply said "I'd just get a job until I could afford a place to stay."

A colleague of mine stated homeless people are all romantic clochards preferring the free life...

Both people have zero idea of what bad things can come to people when a job is lost, medical bills are too high to pay, a divorce leaving a man homeless, the mentally ill, and the financially poor.

Show a smidgen of compassion. There, but for the grace of God, go you.
slaapliedje 10 Nov 2018
I remember being open mouthed when discussing homelessness with a co-worker who simply said "I'd just get a job until I could afford a place to stay."

A colleague of mine stated homeless people are all romantic clochards preferring the free life...

Both people have zero idea of what bad things can come to people when a job is lost, medical bills are too high to pay, a divorce leaving a man homeless, the mentally ill, and the financially poor.

Show a smidgen of compassion. There, but for the grace of God, go you.
There are all kinds actually. So on the one hand you have (probably the majority) that are homeless because of terrible events, income related most times, or natural disasters, etc.

There are those that will just refuse any sort of help and for whatever reason want to be homeless. Usually they are mentally ill in some way or another, and quite possibly fear what others will do to them or what they will do to others.

But yes it is an unending cycle. Can't get a job because a job requires an address. Can't get a domicile because they can't get a job. And usually if you have reached homelessness it is because no one gives enough of a crap about you to let you crash for a while. It sucks for sure that we as a species are so centered upon our own survival.

I had always thought if I won the lottery I would buy a huge building where homeless people could use it as a place to get hygiene and an address so they could find a job and become not homeless.
oldrocker99 2 Dec 2018
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Is it wrong to say that I think it would be hilarious to get an actual homeless person to play this game and film their reaction?

That's just mean.:><:
Eike 2 Dec 2018
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Is it wrong to say that I think it would be hilarious to get an actual homeless person to play this game and film their reaction?

That's just mean.:><:

If you exchange "hilarious" for say "interesting" or "informative"...
I'd like to hear a homeless person's opinion about what the game shows.
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