Sydney’s rental market is tough right now. Between huge rent increases, no-cause evictions and inspection lines snaking around the block , finding a place to live has never been more dire — a prospect made worse by neglectful and exploitative landlords.
While discussions of the rental crisis dissect the numbers and policies of it all, they often ignore the middle man: the leech that turns housing into a Game of Thrones plot, via landlord characters captured straight from the upcoming comedy-horror video game’s worst nightmare to Janet De Mornay as the ghetto lord (and witch).
Game developers Pete Foley and Scott Ford are seasoned tenants themselves, with their own fair share of rental horror stories. After examining the suspicious features of their own home, the couple from award-winning indie developer company Fuzzy Ghost set out to tease the relevance of their living situation.
“One day Scott was sitting upstairs in our current rent, and he was looking at the cracks in the upstairs wall,” Foley recalls. television.
“He told [the landlord] many times that when it rains there is a draft and the water will come in.
“But our lease is coming to an end and we don’t want to shake a hornet’s nest because if you try to insist on something, NSW has no grounds eviction laws, so [landlords] can say, ‘Look, that’s pushing too hard, get out’ .We were like, oh, this is horrible. This is good content.
It’s all too common for landlords to put profits before people, and this experience informed the writing of the game. Foley and Ford called for a real rental experience and continue to be astounded by the submissions they receive.
To provide space for tenants to have their stories off their chests, to have their voices heard and less alone.
“There’s a really weird dynamic where trauma makes us laugh together,” Foley explained.
“We really like getting other people involved, so we have this shared feeling about the shit we’re going through. Omg.
Noise pollution, weird smells and cockroach infestations are just the tip of the iceberg. One woman told Fuzzy Ghost that her landlord let himself into the house, found her in the bathtub, and continued to ask her questions about the property while she sat in shock.
Another tenant revealed their landlord would sneak inspections disguised as a handyman, while a third was horrified to find they were living in a secret space under the rear deck.
These anonymous true stories are then swept throughout the game as the real estate agent Janet hired to manage her estate loses case papers that players will be able to pick up and read as they progress.
Whether it’s the light streaming through a leafy hallway, a wall dotted with black mold or an oven that hasn’t been turned on in months, playing out scenarios of the housing shortage Sydney’s rental market is experiencing may at first feel too close to home. But Foley explained that while there are a few jump scares here and there — and a lot of mirror lifting — Fuzzy Specter isn’t interested in making people uncomfortable, and instead sees the game as a therapeutic outlet.
“The things that frustrate us about the way the media deals with renters are always abstractions,” Foley said.
“I really hope people stop thinking of ‘investment’ as having the same effective weight on someone’s roof. Like, it definitely shouldn’t work that way.
Stills of Janet De Mornay as Ghetto (and Witch) look like they came straight from Coraline‘s scene — an aesthetic choice made after rewatching ” Beetlejuice ” and “Pranksters,” which inspired To play with ideas of suburbia and fantasy.
Foley described the titular Ms. Monet as a representation of old-school money with an eccentric lady-boss tinge, inspired by Cruella Deville and Izma.
“They’re these powerful women, it’s just kind of shitty, but you love them, you love to hate them,” he said. “The villain is this rich woman who thinks she has you.”
But at the heart of it, all is the camaraderie and caring between three LGBTQIA+ roommates who work together to normalize queer families on the small screen through the wringer. Their bond transcends the absurd forces against them, and Janet is shown to be the common enemy in their relationship, but not the only thing in common.
If Foley had summed up the current Sydney rental market in five words or less, they would have been: “Good luck getting out”. While Janet De Mornay being a slumlord (and a witch) won’t let you go to a fair trade, Foley said he and Ford hope it becomes another voice to keep the pressure on important reforms that will make Sydney renters get better protection.
“Hopefully for people who are renting and going through bad times, it provides a little bit of comfort,” he said. “I mean, what’s a video game if it’s not a power fantasy? Your idea of beating this landlord? Chef’s Kiss.
Janet De Mornay’s Slumdog (and a Witch) will be released via Steam.