There are a whole load of simulators out there today. We’re not just talking about the megabuck flight sims used for pilot training, or those used to keep Formula 1 drivers sharp. These days, we have truck driving sims, driving school sims, and even something called Goat Simulator. And, in case you’re curious, Goat Simulator (now in its third installment) is a must try.
But now, there is an upcoming sim that’s very close to Pinoy culture. The best part is, it’s being developed by two Filipino students from Davao. Behold, the Jeepney Simulator.
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Yes, you read that right. You can someday live a day in a life of a jeepney driver virtually, and it might even have its own ‘world’ too. Jeepney Simulator is the brainchild of Spacezero Interactive, consisting of the lead developer Joshua Renzie A. Bicoy, and the 3D artist and video editor Alvin Vann V. Arapoc. The duo are working hard to create Jeepney Simulator during their spare time.
So, how did Jeepney Simulator come to be? Joshua says it’s been on his mind for quite some time “mostly as a joke”. As it turns out, Alvin had the same idea and even asked Joshua during a jeepney ride home, “what if we made a game about jeepney driving?”.
“We laughed and joked about certain features in the game such as calculating change and not crashing into pedestrians, we quickly realized that people are very likely to play a game like this. When I got home that day, I immediately set to work on a prototype,” added Joshua.
Mind you, the birth of the game wasn’t exactly easy. Joshua’s experience was mostly involved in 2D games, making this his first 3D game. Progress was steady and he even got a drivable jeep and the game grew from there. However, Jeepney Simulator could’ve ended there after Joshua lost most of his progress from the game due to a strange Unity error. Enter Alvin, who stepped in and offered to make 3D models for Joshua. From there, Jeepney Simulator continued its progress, and Spacezero Interactive was born.
Of course, every video game development has its highs and lows, and Jeepney Simulator is no exception. “Personally, I love programming, especially making games. Having complete creative control over every detail is very satisfying. The entire process of making games in general is a highlight for me. I’ve always worked on my own before Jeepney Simulator, but having my friend collaborating with me and adding his own input was a surprising challenge in itself. We both have conflicting ideas sometimes and we just got better at communicating our thoughts. I’d say the lowlights for me are when we don’t agree on something because we wouldn’t get any work done,” explains Joshua.
For Alvin, the highlight is his freedom to create his own designs. The duo make it a point not to be strict and rigid in terms of ideas and the creative freedoms the two give each other makes for a good collaboration. But what’s been a challenge for Alvin was recreating famous buildings in Davao (where the game is based on), only to find out that buildings are copyrighted. Because of that, the two made their own designs. “Honestly, I think they look even better,” said Joshua.
As for current progress, “we’re currently three-and-a-half months into development. And we’re really excited because we’re getting really close to finishing the demo,” said Joshua.
So, what can we expect from Jeepney Simulator? Of course, it’s a given that you will be driving passengers to their destinations and calculating their change. However, the team wanted to add more depth to the gameplay loop. “We decided on adding a ‘household’ system where you must use your hard-earned fares to feed your family, buy furniture, and upgrade your vehicles,’ said Joshua. On top of that, Spacezero Interactive is planning on adding a story campaign. How’s that for immersion?
Of course, we had to ask if wearing a Good Morning Towel is required when playing the game. “Wearing a Good Morning Towel while playing Jeepney Simulator definitely isn’t a requirement, but it will add about 10 points to your charisma stat, which earns you more money so that’s definitely a strat players can go for,” quipped Joshua.
We wish Spacezero Interactive all the best, and we're looking forward to the first playable demo soon. We'd love to get our hands on it soon, and we'll play it with a towel on our shoulder with bills between our fingers and a coin box.
