(C) BoingBoing This story was originally published by BoingBoing and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Drug dealing simulator surprisingly addictive [1] ['Grant St. Clair'] Date: 2025-04-28 It's been a while since a single-person, single-player indie project popped off just as hard as Schedule 1 is at the moment. As the name implies, it's a drug dealing simulator with a surprising amount of granularity and detail, which in large part is made possible by the goofy, low-budget art style. Much like the fictionalized drug dealers in the game, solo developer Tyler clearly has a product that works: Schedule 1 is currently in Steam's top 5 bestselling list, sitting comfortably next to heavy hitters like Oblivion and Marvel Rivals (the latter of which it's actually beating, impossibly). As mentioned, my current theory as to Schedule 1's success lies in its deep simulation. Production, sales, law enforcement, money laundering, the open-world trappings of the town around you – all these interlocking systems connect beautifully to deliver on the drug dealer fantasy in a feat of game design that the silly art style keeps you from thinking about too much. We can only hope no one actually tries following the game as a template, though. If you've ever thought about turning yourself into a home-grown Heisenberg, Schedule 1 even has a demo out for you to try. The first hit is free, after all. [END] --- [1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2025/04/28/drug-dealing-simulator-surprisingly-addictive.html Published and (C) by BoingBoing Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/boingboing/