Most people like to think they're pretty decent. I think I'm a reasonably nice person, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy Everyday Misanthrope, a free text-based game about ruining people's lives. It's basically a douchebag simulator: you can talk over people in meetings, drive slow in fast lanes and leave restaurants without paying. Everything you wouldn't normally have the audacity to do (if you're a nice person) can be done with no retribution in Everyday Misanthrope.
The object of the game is to ruin as many lives as possible. Starting with 50 misery tokens, you spend these on different ways to inflict undue pain on other people. For example, if you choose to drive to work you're given the freedom to decide how you'll comport yourself in heavy traffic:
Having no restraint, I selected "slow down in the fast lane", and had this outcome:
Six lives ruined with a measly three misery tokens! I'm pretty good at this game.
Everyday Misanthrope is the work of Liz England. She describes it as "a choose-your-own-misery simulation in which you gain catharsis from spreading everyday suffering". That's pretty on the ball. It was created during a recent Ludum Dare gamejam, and can be downloaded here.
Cheers for the heads up, BoingBoing.
