Fly over the picket line to get scab workers to the refinery – but watch out for dangerous working conditions while the plant runs under scab labour!
CO-OP Copter Scabs was created over a weekend as part of the Global Game Jam in Regina, Saskatchewan. The game was inspired by the recent labour dispute at the CO-OP Refinery Complex, where union workers from Unifor594 are locked out. In the game, you are a helicopter pilot transporting scab workers from the airport to the refinery, flying over the city and the picket line. As you transport more workers, the flame at the refinery gets higher and higher, as can be the case with less experienced workers running the refinery. If you transport enough workers, the refinery blows up and the game ends. If you don’t transport enough workers in time, talks resume and the union workers get back to their jobs.
The game can be played on Itch.io.
The game was featured by Emily Leedham on the podcast Rank and File Radio Prairie Edition on February 23, 2020. An interview between Emily and SpekWork’s Jonathan and Cat can be found here.
GIGCO: Escape the Gig Economy (2019)
Mobile application for iOS and Android
Programming by Jonathan Carroll, design and 3D modelling by Cat Bluemke, sound by Donovan Jonk, city design by Hilarey Cowan, voiceover by John Cameron, with illustrations by Jera MacPhearson and Hilarey Cowan.
