Berlin Flat Quest recreates the painful process of finding accomodation in Berlin through a series of comedic mini-games. Under the comedic nature of the game, a subtext points out themes like racial discrimination or erratic public housing policies.
Bastien, here. Maker of Berlin Flat Quest. 👋
I'm super happy & proud to introduce you to BFQ today. 🎉
Berlin Flat Quest recreates the painful process of finding accomodation in Berlin through a series of comedic mini-games.
Each mini-game is a reimagining of classic arcade games, complete with pixel art, a twisted sense of humor and nice synthwave.
Under the comedic nature of the game, a subtext points out themes like racial discrimination or erratic public housing policies made by the city.
⌛ Background
Everybody in Berlin has stories when it comes to flat-hunting. It involves weird characters, strange situations. Those stories are comedic in nature, but they also tell a lot about the difficult housing market here.
Having heard a lot of them over the years, I decided to turn them into a game. 🙌
👤Who is behind this
I'm the one behind the original idea, concept and writing. This is because since 10 years, I'm also a blogger with settle-in-berlin.com. I help newcomers move to Germany/Berlin with guides on how to beat local bureaucracy. (read more about me here)
I was helped by my brother, who is a game designer. He did all the coding.
We hired pixel artists for some of the art, and did the rest ourselves.
📣What's the point/message?
With rent prices nearly doubling since 2011, flat-hunting in Berlin has become increasingly competitive and depressing. I wanted to create a catharsis for people to have fun with our common frustration.
I also wanted to pointed out some hard truths like the fact that people with foreign-sounding names have less chances to get a flat than people with German names. I also wanted to talk about choices made by the city that really impacted negatively the housing market for tenants.
💡Inspiration
Apart from the obvious arcade titles:
- Secret of Monkey Island's swordfighting
- Toggle.io's @Unicorn Startup Simulator
Have fun with it and tell me what your score is! 🏆
@gr I was asked the other day about the possibility of a game like this in another city. I guess so but I can't think of any other city than combines a crazy taste for personal freedom/lifestyle (and the characters & situation it creates) AND such rapid change in the housing market (rents have doubled on average since 2011, if I'm correct).
Berlin Flat Quest
Berlin Flat Quest