In a world choc-full of MOBAs and MMORPGs, only a few simulators of the driving sort exist. But what if we told you that there’s a Jeepney Simulator being developed right here in the motherland by fellow Filipinos? You read that right, folks. The brilliant minds at Spacezero Interactive are working on a game that is about as Pinoy “motoring” as it gets.
Davao-based students developing Jeepney Simulator for PC
Photo: Spacezero Interactive
The brains behind this brilliant idea are classmates and friends Joshua Renzie A. Bicoy and Alvin Vann V. Arapoc, both of whom are from Davao. Their tech outfit, which they have named Spacezero Interactive, has a social media presence on Facebook and TikTok and seems to be well on its way to the big top.
Photo: Spacezero Interactive
The Jeepney Simulator was created in both the students’ spare time. It’s been about three and half months since they started and they stated that a working demo is close to being made available.
The point of the gamified driving sim? It’s literally everything our resident Mamang Tsuper ng Jeepney does; from transporting passengers to and from different locations to collecting fares and handing out change to riders, it’s all in this game. Part of its development is to put to light the relevance of a jeepney driver’s job, and that is through a “household system” where the player/driver will use their earnings to support their family.
There’s even word of possibly expanding with storyline campaigns in the game, but for now, we’re already excited about just the demo.
Photo: Spacezero Interactive
No specific date was given as to when the Jeepney Simulator demo might be released since, again, it’s still currently under development. The developer duo is gunning for a free as well as a paid demo in the “next couple of months, but there might be some delays”.
Currently, work that has been done and is being continued is “on the tutorial, story, and new landmarks. After that, we’ll do the family/household management loop where the player will use the money they earn to feed their family and buy school supplies (much like in Papers, Please), vehicle purchasing and basic customization, and the save system. And then, hopefully… demo release.”
The game is planned to be published on itch.io and Gamejolt. Steam is an option, but the developers said that the PHP 5K that they’ll need to pay is something out of their reach since they’re still students.
Photo: Spacezero Interactive
If you think the Jeepney Simulator won’t catch on, you’re wrong. According to Spacezero Interactive, someone has already ported their work to mobile phones. The Jeepney Simulator creators have advised the public that ” We are currently NOT MAKING THE GAME FOR MOBILE. It’s only going to be available on PC FOR NOW. … The game is NOT RELEASED YET. Do not download anything from untrusted sites. We plan to release only on itch.io, Gamejolt, and Steam.”
If anything, this is something everyone should feel very good about and be proud of. Homegrown talent at such a young age deserves the spotlight – and dare we say proper support and even funding – especially if the idea is sound and can be used on a wider scale. Just take the LTO‘s and Honda‘s driving simulators, for instance. If the Jeepney Simulator can be adopted in the proper training of PUV drivers, then learning should be a lot of fun. And relevant.
Kudos to you, Spacezero Interactive! We’re looking forward to the demo!
How to download this one