McDonald's Video Game
| McDonald's Video Game | |
|---|---|
 Screenshot from McDonald's videogame | |
| Developer(s) | Molleindustria |
| Publisher(s) | Molleindustria |
| Designer(s) | Molleindustria |
| Engine | Macromedia Flash 7 |
| Platform(s) | Web, Flash download |
| Release | 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Tycoon simulation game, Parody |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The McDonald's Videogame is an online Flash game created by the Italian group La Molleindustria.[1] It is part of the general class of "anti-advergames", in which games are a satire of specific companies and their business practices.[2]
The McDonald's Videogame is a parody of the business practices of the corporate giant McDonald's, taking the guise of a tycoon style business simulation game. The game presents the player with four views, the farmland, the slaughterhouse, the restaurant, and the corporate HQ,[2] and through each of these views, decisions can be made which will affect the fate of the player's company. In the game, the player plays the role of a McDonald's CEO, choosing whether or not to feed the player's cows genetically altered grain,[3] or plow over rainforests, or feed the player's cows to other cows. The player can also choose advertising strategies and public official corruption to counteract opponents of the player's actions.
Some choices within the game, such as the opportunity to demolish villages or bribe public officials, paint the corporation in a negative light. These aspects of the game are unflattering to McDonald's, who issued a statement saying that the game "has no association with McDonald's, and is therefore a complete misrepresentation of our people and our values."[1]
On some websites Molleindustria released a version of the game called Burger Tycoon, which is exactly the same except that it eliminates all mention of McDonald's such as the franchise logo and a bear replacing the Ronald McDonald mascot. This was done in order to avoid copyright sanctions.
The game has been translated into nine languages; English, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, Danish, Turkish, Portuguese, French and German.[4]
References
- ^ a b Bluestien, Greg. "Creators Put Politics Into Video Games", The Associated Press, published January 21, 2007, accessed April 20, 2007.
- ^ a b Tiwari, Neha. "Cow slaughtering with Ronald McDonald", CNET News, published July 5, 2006, accessed April 20, 2007.
- ^ Gerson, Jeff. "Bully beats back game critics", The Toronto Star, published November 15, 2006, accessed April 20, 2007.
- ^ McDonald's Videogame splash page, accessed April 7, 2015.