NeoCabmaytakeplaceina dystopian
future, but the setup addresses
contemporary issues. Capra could well be
an analogy for the Googles and Amazons
of today, omnipresent and hungry for as
much of our data as possible. Soon after
Lina arrives, her best friend Savy
disappears, and she has to dive deep
into the workings of Automation City.
All the while, she has to make a living,
and so you balance your search for
clues with your job. You choose a
passenger on your map, meet them at the
designated pick-up location and then drive
them were they want to go. Each night
you’re trying to keep your car’s battery
charged, hit your income quota, and
maintain a four-star customer rating to
avoid losing your job. Lina tries to reinforce
how a human driver can offer more than
just a ride from A to B.TA XICAB CONFESSIONS
“We want to emphasise the value of
interpersonal connections,” creative
director Patrick Ewing tells me.
“Throughout the game people ride with
Lina repeatedly because the automated
rides aren’t working for them. They wantto have more conversations.” Meanwhile
Lina’s ability to empathise with others can
take a toll on her personally. Locked in a
confined space with a stranger,
conversations can get awkward, and by
selecting Lina’s answers and monitoring
her emotional well-being you constantly
ride the line between a good rating and
speaking up for yourself. In order to tell
what Lina is feeling, you can check her
Feelgrid, a wristband that communicates
her emotions through colour. Once Lina is
intensely angry for example, her Feelgrid
will turn red, telling you it’s time to do or
say something that may calm her down,
which becomes much harder to do once
she’s already angry.
“We’ve taken inspiration from Papers,
Please in giving you a choice between the
actions you need to take in order to be
successful at your job, and the things
you’re prepared to make sacrifices for
because they’re right”
This can include small things like
choosing to avoid a parking ticket that
would result from meeting a passenger at
their requested location, to helping a
young woman get away from home even
though her mother holds the NeoCab
account she used to request a driver.
Chance Agency also turns a
critical eye to automation, and
throughout the game you will have
just as many people arguing the cons of
self-driving cars as the pros. “Cars are
dangerous and I do believe automation will
eventually decrease the mortality rate,”
says Ewing. “Driverless cars, the core
catalyst of the events in NeoCab, will
replace a large number of drivers within
the next five to 15 years. That’s going to
happen in the near future, and cyberpunk
is supposed to be a way to portray that
extreme we could be headed towards, not
a neon-lit fantasy but a cautionary tale.”
Ewing also acknowledges there’s
several ways to look at the gig economy. “I
use these services myself and have
friends who are drivers. Formal interviews
and informal chats form the backbone of
my research. Again, you need to
acknowledge the conditions these people
are working under. We want to offer hope- Lina’sworkmaybeundervalued,but
shecanstillenjoyit,begoodatit and
makea differencetosomeoneelse.”
MalindyHetfeld
W
e meet protagonist Lina en route to her
new life in Los Ojos, California. Known
as Automation City, most of its
workforce has been replaced by AI
designed by megacorporation Capra. Lina’s never
been to Los Ojos, but she’s planning to be the city’s
only human cab driver.Explore the relationship between
emotional health and employmentNEOCAB
“LINA’S ABILITY TO EMPATHISE
WITHOTHERSCANTAKEA
TOLLONHERPERSONALLY”RELEASE
2019DEVELOPER
Chance AgencyPUBLISHER
Fellow TravellerLINK
http://www.neocabgame.comNEED TO KNOWF I R S T
LOOKNeocab features a diverse cast of
passengers by diverse writers.NeoCab
PREVIEW
One night, Savy disappears – is
tech giant Capra involved?