A flash game developed for Urban Ministries of Durham has hit it big with a post from Kotaku.

http://kotaku.com/#!5772286/the-bleak-despair-of-abject-poverty-in-video-game-form

It's pretty cool since UMoD is downtown right near where my Mom works and she serves in the free meal program for them. Try it out yourselves. It's like Oregon Trail, only with poverty instead of being able to shooting 20 bison when you can barely carry one back to your wagon.

http://playspent.org/

2/28/2011 10:18:38 PM

This game is a bit dishonest. It's not easy to live on a small amount of money, but the game hits you up with some ridiculous fees over the course of a month.

2/28/2011 11:15:28 PM

i dont know man, that shit seems fairly accurate

yeah some of the fees are kinda random or unrealistic but i sure as hell feel like i get nailed left and right every week...doesn't matter what you call it, it all affects the bottom line

not saying i'm poor, i do alright for myself but i've spent much of my adult life worrying about the 5th of every month

2/28/2011 11:40:33 PM

^

2/28/2011 11:41:36 PM

It's possible though. Expenses vary every month and if you are on a low, fixed income it can sometimes be hard to deal. It's supposed to make you ponder the small things that you may take for granted.

2/28/2011 11:41:37 PM

sorry, but it pulls some serious bullshit. it drops all kinds of scheduled payments without prior warning. you think I wouldn't know about my loan payments or car payments until the day they're due? i sure as shit wouldn't have bought the kids ice cream the day before if I knew it was that tight

[Edited on February 28, 2011 at 11:53 PM. Reason : .]

2/28/2011 11:52:12 PM

^ how is that bullshit?

You should have seen all that coming.

I had $342 left at the end of the month with only my tooth and cell-phone bill unpaid, while HAVING Internet access at home.

I could suffer the pain for a few months, and get my tooth taken care of, and spring for a cheaper cell plan.

This doesn't mean things aren't hard for someone in that situation and they make some great points about depression and the mentality that a struggling person can slip into.

2/28/2011 11:58:36 PM

Just curious if anyone passed the typing test. I played twice and failed twice.

FYI, the game isn't about winning and reaching end of the month with money. It's about the choices poor people have to make and their consequences.

Buy cheaper food = save money but worse health in long run.
Don't buy health insurance = save money but you're fucked if you get sick or injured.
Don't join union = not risk losing your job but you won't see any better working conditions.

At the end of the month, you're left with less money than what you started with and may face similar problems if not next month, then somewhere down the line. Message: Living Impoverished is Hard. 2nd Message: Donate to UMoD. I didn't but someone might.

3/1/2011 1:18:40 AM

^ it told me i passed... i made a lot of errors, i just assumed as long as you typed it, you passed.

3/1/2011 1:19:17 AM

I might have typed too slowly. I was going for accuracy which I thought I was 100% the second go through but I didn't get it. The first time, I accidentally added a comma to the end of the list, which I believe is still acceptable writing style. Regardless, I know I typed fast enough to get a job typing as long as it isn't a stenographer or anything.

3/1/2011 1:25:19 AM