Sorry, why is it a stimulator and not a simulator?
Because it’s more hilarious dontyouknow. :|
If that’s an indicator of the level of ‘humour’ in this game, I already know not to buy it.
Weird AI disclosure:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2366590/Rideshare_Stimulator/
AI Generated Content Disclosure:
The main Campaign story, characters, and dialogue are written by a team of human writers.Why would you put in things that specifically are not AI in an AI disclosure?
Is that normal?The questionnaire first asks you if AI was used yes/no, and if you say yes it then asks you to describe in detail how and for what, and for many devs the first thing to do is to try to highlight all the important parts that it wasn’t.
Weird Al disclosure:
You have convinced me. 👍
This would make any game immediately 3 points better on the scale of 10.
They’ve said they’re working on an “infinite” slop mode where the conversations are AI-generated.
They used to have no AI disclosure, and people had to learn about them using AI through that disgruntled writer’s story.
So now given the very mature CEO answer, I’m assuming they’re butthurt that some people want to know about their AI use, and they’re using the disclosure to claim that part of their game is not AI instead.
Also your comment made me briefly wonder why someone got Weird Al’s comment on the subject, and it was a bit funny.
Yes Weird Al Yankovic is now commenting on AI in computer games? 🤣
I hate stupid fonts where different letters look identical, but I can’t seem to get rid of them!? 😡That CEO seems very shady IMO, I read his response previously, and it was just so obviously off. I think he is genuinely a sociopath with an inability to interact with people in a normal way, because he simply can’t tell the difference.
I also notice you call him “very mature”, so I think you may have had a similar vibe.
maybe because it’s not true, at least if what the ex-head writer said on bsky is to be believed.
It reeks of dishonesty. Very clearly they used AI, just not VERY SPECIFICALLY for the thing they were accused of firing a person over?
Glad I blocked them on Steam. The odds of me actually buying one of their games anyway was fairly low until a couple of days ago. Now it’s zero.
I read the article just to confirm this wasn’t a The Onion article. I understand there are games that simulate work like farming and even powerwashing. Even though I don’t play those, I can mildly see the appeal as you’re creating something (farming) or making something better than it was before (powerwashing). However, I see zero appeal for a game that simulates gig work like ridesharing. Can someone explain it to me, or have I reach a pivotal “too old” moment in my life?
there’s a certain poetry to someone making an uncritical game about a technology meant to cheat drivers out of a fair wage using a technology meant to cheat other disciplines out of a fair wage. the venn diagram of people who would make a game about this and make a game with AI is probably just a circle
Euro truck simulator is the closest game I’ve played in that genre. Sometimes I just want to do something with my hands and turn my brain off for a while, and playing a “boring” game is pretty good for that. Think of it like watching re-runs of familiar shows. Sometimes I play House Flipper as well, literally just painting walls and mowing the lawn lol
Love ETS2, but if you’re not playing it in VR, you’re missing about 50% of the game. I spend most of my time rubbernecking at the scenery. It’s so pretty.
I’m hoping to get a VR set at some point, but I’ve heard it’s difficult to get working on Linux so I’ve been putting it off. Maybe once the steam frame exists. I looked at the Valve index but it currently costs $4,000 in my country which is insane lol
Crazy Taxi.
Crazy Taxi (and Simpsons: Road Rage") were largely about driving poorly, crashing into things, and performing automobile jumps that would be considered suicidal if done for real. It was a fantasy driving game with the taxi business as the thinnest excuse to be driving. Unless I’ve drastically mistaken what Rideshare Simulator is, I don’t think Crazy Taxi example is applicable.
Fifteen years before Crazy Taxi, we had Space Taxi for the Commodore 64:
I’d say Space Taxi and Crazy Taxi had equal amounts of relevance to the taxi industry in the sense that they were an excuse to fly/drive in fantasy settings instead of an actual business simulator.
Fair enough. I admit, as someone who can’t drive IRL, I like things like Slow Roads too, or other driving sims that are generally not fantasy - just ‘cozy’ experiences.
I wouldn’t necessarily mind a ride-sharing or road trip simulator with decent dialogue or something like procedural generation for the passengers. But it’s also something I would never pay money toward.
Fair enough. I admit, as someone who can’t drive IRL, I like things like Slow Roads too, or other driving sims that are generally not fantasy - just ‘cozy’ experiences.
When I was forming my original question, I did consider an audience this might appeal to for those that couldn’t drive (for whatever reason). I appreciate you sharing your POV on this.
I always considered Rideshare driving as the opposite of relaxing because of the physical dangers to drivers as well as the stress the drivers have from trying to make their money against rising fuel costs, insurance costs, and competion from platforms forcing down fare rates. Perhaps the Rideshare game masks all of these elements of the actual rideshare business and simply presents it as a task/goal game with a social aspect which would be far more appealing.
It would absolutely become too much if the costs were involved, or the hyperactive nature of the apps was there. It’d be a great criticism of the industry though.
Microsoft flight simulator
