Tampon Run is a 2014 endless running video game about tampons created by Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser. It started as a web game made available in 2014 and released on iOS in February 2015.
 | |
| Developer(s) | Andrea Gonzales Sophie Houser |
|---|---|
| Composer(s) | Drew Joy |
| Platform(s) | Web, iOS |
| Release | 2014 (Web) February 2015 (iOS) |
Gameplay
editAt the start of Tampon Run the game explains that de-stigmatizing menstruation is important.[1] The player then controls a character who runs through the level throwing tampons at enemies and collecting more by jumping for boxes.[2] Bumping into enemies causes the loss of some tampons; the game ends if the player runs out.[1][3]
Development
edit"It seemed so silly to us that we have all these video games where you can shoot people and kill people, and it’s so normal that you can have a video game where you can hold a gun and shoot it but none of us can talk about something so normal like menstruation, which most every woman does for a large portion of her life."[4]
Sophie Houser, developer
The game was created by Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser, two high school students from New York City, who started developing the game during a Girls Who Code camp. The pair designed the concept as a response to feeling like they couldn't openly discuss menstruation and wanted to create a game which could have a social impact.[4][5] They cite Wendy Davis' 2013 filibuster as inspiration for the game.[6]
The first version of Tampon Run was built in a week and a half at Girls Who Code. The game was then developed further afterwards and made available online in 2014, subsequently being released on iOS in February 2015.[2] Software development company Pivotal Labs worked with Gonzales and Houser to develop the iOS app, and over seven weeks the team added leaderboards, new enemies, achievements, and other features to the game.[2]
By May 2015 the game had been played 300,000 times across the web and app versions. [7]
References
edit- ^ a b Larson, Selena (February 4, 2015). "Teenage girls behind Tampon Run release an iOS version of their game". The Daily Dot. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ^ a b c Gilpin, Lyndsey (February 5, 2015). "Teen girls build game that lets you throw tampons at period shamers to fight menstrual taboos". TechRepublic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ^ Stoneback, Robert (September 12, 2014). "Tampons Are Weapon of Choice in Student-Made Tampon Run". The Escapist. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ^ a b Dockterman, Eliana (September 15, 2014). "These Girls Are Fighting Sexism With a Video Game About Tampons". Time. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ^ Kiefer, Elizabeth (September 21, 2014). "Meet the Girls Who Developed the Internet's Most Talked-About (and Addictive, and Awesome) New Game, 'Tampon Run'". Teen Vogue. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ^ Jennifer Gerson Uffalussy (February 6, 2015). "Ever Wanted To Hurl A Tampon In The Face Of An Enemy?". Yahoo! Health. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ^ Robie Flores (May 11, 2015). "It's like Mario Bros. -- with tampons". CNN Money. Retrieved November 17, 2015.