Phone Story
Satirical game exposing the dark side of smartphone production.
Phone Story is a satirical mobile video game conceived by Yes Lab activist Michele Pineschi and designed by Paolo Pedercini for Molleindustria. The game aims to demonstrate what the developers refer to as 'the dark side of your favorite smart phone' through four minigames that address issues such as coltan mining, factory worker suicides, consumerism, and unsafe recycling. It was released on iOS on September 13, 2011, but was banned by Apple after three days for violating developer guidelines.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Phone Story
- Developer
- Molleindustria
- Platforms
- iOS (iPhone), Android, Adobe Flash
- Release
- iOS / September 9, 2011 (iOS) / Android / September 14, 2012
- Genre
- Satire, minigames
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Phone Story consists of four self-contained minigames, each with narration by a voice representing the user's phone. The first minigame involves controlling guards to prevent child laborers in the Third World from resting while mining coltan. The second requires the player to catch workers attempting suicide at a Foxconn factory. The third has the player slingshot phones to consumers, and the fourth involves dividing discarded phone components among workers in Ghana salvaging parts unsafely. Each minigame must be completed a set number of times before a timer expires; failure prompts the narrator to say 'do not pretend that you are not complicit.'
Reader's Guide
Phone Story's significance lies in its use of satirical gameplay to provoke reflection on the ethical costs of smartphone consumption. The creators stated the main purpose was to elicit a response from people who 'fail to realize how their fashionable consumption can have negative effects on people in the globalized world.' The game's brief iOS availability and subsequent ban by Apple drew media attention, with The Guardian questioning the validity of Apple's cited guideline violations. After the ban, the game was released for Android and as a free Adobe Flash version on the developer's website. All profits from sales were donated to charities working in the areas depicted, including a donation of over $6000 to a girl injured in a suicide attempt at a Foxconn factory. The game received mixed reviews: Android Rundown criticized its short length and repetitive gameplay, while Pocket Gamer praised its educational content but noted simplistic gameplay. The Phone Story website provides extensive information on the topics addressed.
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