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We have stumbled across this serious, but curiously addictive, Sweatshop Sim game, which has been commissioned by NOW, Nottingham’s Arts Festival and designed by New Pollution .You are a factory worker, tasked with making shoes on a production line.  The website blurb invites you to: ‘enter the world of the sweatshop and become a factory worker.’  It challenges, ‘Can you tirelessly make sports shoes for less than a dollar an hour as you struggle to support your family?’

The rules are straightforward, although harsh; ‘A standard working day is 12 hours. Work hard to fulfil your quota and you will be paid your full wage. But if you make a mistake or fail to complete your quota your pay will be docked.’

The game is worryingly realistic, since as you work through the day, your energy levels fall, your eyes tire and the shoes begin to blur.  In addition, what the rules don’t state are that you will be forced to work overtime without extra pay and when you are given the chance to form a union your employer hires a gang of thugs to beat you up.  All of your hard-earned money is spent on food or drink to maintain your energy levels at work.

The game is well researched and designed, and has a series of useful references with back stories about workers’ lives.  The use of a game to spread information about the reality of sweatshop labour is particularly innovative, and we hope this game will pique the interest of a new generation of young consumers, currently being targeted by initiatives such as ‘Blood, Sweat and T-shirts‘, MTV’s initiative with Radiohead,  and the BBC’s new ‘Thread‘ magazine.

It’s definitely worth checking out if you have a spare 10 minutes.

A good interactive step towards practical education on the matter. Great find